The Killer Nashville Experience

For those of you that don't know, Killer Nashville is an all-weekend conference and book competition for authors and readers alike. This year, over 500 people were there experiencing the fun. Script writers, editors and agents and award winning authors from years prior.

I had a table set up in the bookshop area of the hotel with many other amazing writers. I met several like-minded people who had mind-blowing resumes. I couldn't believe the amount of talent that was at this event. Not only that, but the community was also very welcoming to a couple of newcomers like my wife and myself.

As the weekend progressed, I was more than happy that we came. The networking alone made Killer Nashville worth making the trip...Before we knew it, the award ceremony for the book competition was upon us. My wife entered my 2nd novel, Jericho Burning, into the book competition and it was selected as a finalist in the Action Adventure category for this years Falchion award.

My wife and I got ready and walked to the ceremony. She asked me a few times if I was nervous, to which I lied, "no." I felt like a nervous wreck, trying to maintain my composure, and tampering expectations.

When we arrived at the awards ceremony, I quickly ascertained for myself how big of a deal this annual event was. Not just to me but to so many people in the author community. This event was handled with great care and love, which was obvious from the minute we walked through the door.

I went to the bathroom, checked out my outfit to make sure I looked halfway decent, and started heading back. I couldn't have been gone longer than three minutes. I checked my phone and noticed a text from my wife: HURRY PLEASE!

As I walked down the hallway outside of where the ceremony was held, I heard laughter. I also heard someone talking on a microphone and assumed that the MC had made a good joke.

When I walked back into the ceremony Every. Single. Person. was looking right at me as I stood in the doorway. I glanced at my table where my wife was no longer seated and realized she was standing by the stage motioning for me to hurry in her direction and yelling "You won! Get up here!" The crowed erupted into laughter and cheers and I was struck with instantaneous emotion.

I walked to the stage, accepted my award, gave a speech that I was certainly not prepared for, and returned to my seat. We were in blissful shock. The night couldn't have been more unbelievable, until...

Not only did Jericho Burning win best in Action Adventure, it was selected as the 1st runner up over all the other nominated books and categories; 77 nominees, 17 categories, hundreds of submissions and it came in 2nd overall! Someone pinch me.

Later that night after we celebrated, I walked to the window of our room and looked outside. Most of you know that I write fiction, but a lot of my ideas come from my real life experiences as a detective. Both of the books I've written in the Warren Lawson Series were born from an injured nervous system, that of victims I've served and my own. I couldn't help but remember the many cases I've worked which in part inspired Jericho Burning and it's counterpart Tribal Honor. Not everyone gets to turn dark memories into something beautiful; that is the magnetic pull of writing and one of the many reasons why I love it.

It's a lonely gig, this author job, but my readers, all of you, make it more than doable. The awards Jericho Burning received would not have happened without the outpouring of support I've received. Thank you, to every last one of you.

Want to read Jericho Burning? Get it here