Will Rogers Bronze Medallion Winner

On October 24, 2015, my novel Eagle Talons, The Iron Horse Chronicles–Book One received the Will Rogers Bronze Medallion Award for 2015 Western Fiction for Younger Readers. The Will Rogers Medallion Award Committee’s mission statement adheres to the goal of bringing “outstanding Western Media and Books to the general public in an appealing and accessible manner and with high quality publication values that invite readership in competition with other forms of literature.” Awards were given this year in thirteen categories. You can learn more about the awards and peruse a listing of previous and present winners at: http://www.willrogersmedallionaward.net/#!award-history/cnnz. It may take a few days for photos and information about this year’s winners to appear, so keep checking back.

A fun part of the festivities, preceding the presentation of the Will Rogers Medallion Awards, provided finalists the opportunity to offer their books for sale to the public at Red Stegall’s Cowboy Gathering Trade Show in the historic Fort Worth, Texas, Stockyards. Here I am rubbing Will Rogers’ shoulder for good luck, since he’s standing next to my book Eagle Talons. Maybe it helped, because at that time I did not know I had won an award.  The world-famous Cattleman’s Steak House in the Fort Worth Stockyards provided the appropriate venue for the banquet and awards presentations later that evening. If you haven’t eaten a Porter House steak at the Cattleman’s, you’ve missed out on a truly, buttery, first-class piece of beef. But I digress.

During the three days that I mingled with the nominees for the medallion awards, I met outstanding authors (in all the genres) with whom I enjoyed discussing our mutual love of writing. To be selected as a finalist among such distinguished writers was worth the trip to Fort Worth; but, to actually wear one of the prestigious medals gets the heart pounding.I was pleased, following the awards ceremonies, when members of the Will Rogers Medallion Award Committee encouraged me to continue to write western-oriented literature for younger readers. In the ceremonies’ official program, the committee states: “Outstanding books in this category will fill an almost impossible task of being interesting to that entire age span [elementary school to young adults] and to adults as well.”

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Remember that Bear Claws, The Iron Horse Chronicles–Book Two will be released by Five Star Publishing on November 18, 2015. Bear Claws is now available for preorder from Amazon.com and from Barnes & Noble. Follow the links in the right sidebar of this website to take you to the places where you can order the book. I assure you that I will submit this second volume in The Iron Horse Chronicles to the Will Rogers Medallion Award Committee for consideration in their 2016 competition.