Every year Outskirts Press has the honor of publishing thousands of amazing books, and every year we nominate a small percentage of those for submission to the Colorado Independent Publishers Association EVVY Awards. And every year, a percentage of those official nominees win an EVVY Award, thereby representing the best of independent publishing as determined by a committee of 3rd party judges from the publishing community.
From among all our EVVY winners, we select 3 finalists for our own Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year Awards. These finalists compete head-to-head-to-head in a public poll to see who can garner the most votes.
Because this is a public vote on this blog, the Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year Award not only demonstrates to agents, editors, publishers, and readers that the author is the talented writer of a technically and artistically award-winning book (as evidenced by the EVVY win) but also that he or she knows how to successfully market a book. The Best Book Finalists also introduce brand new and remarkable books for the public to read and review in order to cast their votes.
This year, Outskirts Press won 22 EVVY Awards, the most among all participating publishers, and all excellent books from excellent authors in their own right. So selecting three finalists is never easy. Yet, every year, we must systematically narrow down all our published books from the past year to select three finalists for the Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year Awards and its $1500 Grand Prize.
Our first finalist is Andrew Ceroni, author of Meridian. Meridian won a 1st Place EVVY Award in the Action/Adventure category and a 2nd Place EVVY Award in the Science Fiction category. Mr. Ceroni has had a distinguished career as a special agent, conducting global counterespionage and anti-terrorism operations. While this may sound like the biography of the main character in a high-octane thriller, it is actually the author’s real-life biography. Andrew received his B.S. Degree from the US Air Force Academy; M.A. Degree from Case Western University; and studied several foreign languages at the University of Maryland. So to suggest he writes adrenaline-filled action/adventure novels filled with intrigue based upon his true-life experiences would be an understatement. He lives in Colorado with his family. He is also the author of a previous Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year Award, Snow Men.
Introducing Meridian, by Andrew Ceroni, one of the finalists in the 2016 Outskirts Press Best Book of the Year Awards.
It is the biggest of America’s big secrets—MERIDIAN, the deepest black and most intensely protected program since the Atom Bomb. The MERIDIAN program contains the furthest leading edge of weapons technology and with origins more profoundly startling than the technology itself. Governments will stop at nothing to get it. Laszlo Csengerny, a Russian–controlled spy, a man haunted by demons from his past, has uncovered the key to destroying the program. In this prequel to SNOW MEN, CIA agent Pete Novak is racing to Europe with orders to stop Laszlo, to kill him if that’s what it takes. Several agents have already died trying. Novak’s dedicated security escort, J.T. Brannon, former assassin unmatched in the art of killing, is leery of Novak’s assignment and warns him of its danger. As Novak unravels the alarming secrets behind the MERIDIAN program and his path converges with Laszlo’s desperate pursuit to annihilate his demons, Novak and his family are swept into the cross-hairs of rogue Agency assassins. Only Brannon can save Novak’s family, and he is committed to sacrificing his own life to do so. The final confrontation and profound revelation of MERIDIAN explode into a deadly struggle over what may be the very future of mankind itself.
As a finalist, Andrew Ceroni has already won a book video trailer. Take a look!
Sound intriguing? It gets better!
As one of three finalists, Andrew Ceroni and his book Meridian will be competing head-to-head-to-head with the other two finalists in a public poll on this blog September 9th through September 14th. Andrew has already demonstrated he has the writing chops to win this prestigious award, as evidenced by his EVVY Award win. Does he have the marketing prowess to make it as the Best Book of the Year author in this digital age (for the second time)?
Stay tuned tomorrow and Wednesday for the announcements of the next two finalists and then come back September 9th through September 14th to cast your vote for the book you believe to be the best among the three. Order it now to help you decide!
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