RONE Nomination for DIAMOND IN THE DUST

I am beyond excited that the third book in the Second Chances Time Travel Romance Series, Diamond in the Dust, is nominated for a RONE award this year. 


RONE stands for Reward of Novel Excellence, and is a leading award given to Independently published books by IND'TALE Magazine. In order to be eligible for nomination, a book must have received a 4 star or higher rating by the professional reviewers of the magazine. A 4.5 review or higher is called a Crowned Heart Review. Diamond in the Dust received a 4.5 star review in March of 2015. 

IND'TALE is one of the leading publications in the Indie Publishing Industry, and getting a 4 star review from them is in itself a great achievement. Being nominated for a RONE is like being nominated for an Oscar, at least that's how I see it. 

I sort of chuckled when I saw that my book was one of the nominees in Time Travel Romance. It's the book I balked at writing, because I didn't want to write something in a mostly contemporary setting, and I had no idea how readers were going to react to the hero. Gabe McFarlain was the "bad guy" in the previous Second Chances book, and I had to turn him into a likable, hero-worthy character in his own book. I'm glad my readers kept pestering me to write his story. I loved the story when it was all finished. 

I then submitted the book for review with IND'TALE on a spurt-of-the-moment whim. I hadn't submitted the second book, Ain't No Angel, for review, but Book 1, Come Home to Me, also received a 4.5 review from them in 2013 (for some weird rule about the date when I submitted the book, it wasn't eligible for the RONE that year)

Now that Diamond in the Dust has been nominated, the second phase is readers vote on the books to see who makes it to the finals. The finalists in each category are then judged by industry professionals.

Personally, I don't enter contests, because they usually always boil down to who is the most social media savvy at getting votes. I like the fact that this isn't a contest that one can "buy their way" into, but a book had to be reviewed highly to qualify. The second phase, qualifying for the finalists,  is up to readers.  I'm not savvy on social media, and I'm not comfortable chanting "vote for me," but I'll give it my best shot, because I truly believe in my book, and it would be a great honor to make it to the finals.

I want to extend a huge congratulations to the other nominees in my category, Time Travel Romance, and the best of luck to all of us!

Voting for Time Travel Romance begins April 13 - 19, and the link to vote is right HERE. So now I'm asking you all to go out and vote for your favorite. If you've read Diamond in the Dust, I hope you'll support me and vote for the book. 

~Peggy