On Winners and Sore Losers (CLFA Book of the Year Awards Wrap-up)

First things First: We have a winner!

From Conservative Libertarian Fiction Alliance News Release:

First Place went to action favorite and Sad Puppy extraordinaire Larry Correia for his novel Son of the Black Sword (Saga of the Forgotten Warrior Book 1).

In second place, the winner is Michael Sheldon with his debut novel The Violet Crow: A Bruno X Psychic Detective Mystery.

Jack July took third place with the second in his contemporary warrior series Amy Lynn: Golden Angel.

It was especially gratifying to see the variety of novels in competition this year, everything from thriller to military sci-fi to dystopia, with self-published authors holding their own against some of the biggest names in genre fiction. And that, of course, is how it should be. What we as readers want is great stories above all, and authors who produce them deserve recognition, both tangible (sales) and intangible (complimentary reviews and awards).

I also want to congratulate the rest of the nominees for making it into the Top 10 and encourage the readers to add those novels to their (no doubt over-grown) To-Be-Read list. 

Who were the losers, you ask? Good question. One would think that both writers and readers everywhere, no matter their political persuasion or literary preferences, would be happy to see quality novels get some love. One would, of course, be wrong.

Fueled by resentment of those whose views don't match their own, in combination with truly bizarre grudge against this year's winner, the usual suspects have engaged in laughably petty hate-fest against both CLFA and the winning novel. And these, my friends, are the true losers, no matter how much money or accolades some of them might have earned, no matter how prestigious they consider their position in the industry, no matter how many sycophant journalists they have at their disposal.

If you come across a group of fellow readers and writers celebrating the kind of art they happen to enjoy, and your first reaction is to denigrate, mock and search for reasons to complain, then YOU are the loser, not only at your craft but at life. I'd like to feel resentment towards this type of person because their venom is in fact directed at me as those I consider friends, but all I can muster at the moment is pity. Contrary to their ever more strident protestations, they are the past, and their world is small and dark, getting more so at time goes on. They are not worth our attention and energy. Let them have their little corner. We have too much work to do in the real world, and we have only just begun.

Happy 4th of July to all!