Welcome back to member milestones. Today, the Alliance of Independent Authors is continuing the series of posts celebrating your success. As always, we're very proud of all of our members at every level. A huge congratulations to the members featured today.
Author Fiona Graham
Author Member
Fiona Graham is an author and screenwriter. She wrote the award-winning feature film Songs for Amy, and The Chancer is her debut novel. Find out more about Fiona on Facebook.
Milestone
I've published my debut novel The Chancer
Why are you proud?
It's something I've always wanted to do
What have you learned?
Just do it
Author Wendy J. Dunn
Author Member
Wendy J. Dunn is an award-winning Australian author obsessed with Tudor history. Living in Australia makes it hard at times. Find out more about Wendy on her website.
Milestone
I am incredibly excited to announce that All Manner of Things has yet another accolade to add to its many awards. It has now been recognised as a Book Excellence Award Finalist in the Historical fiction Category.
Why are you proud?
Out of thousands of books entered into the Book Excellence Awards competition, my book was selected for its high quality writing, design and overall market appeal.
The book was released in 2021 and is the conclusion to my Falling Pomegranate Seeds duology, which tells the story of Katherine of Aragon through the eyes of two remarkable women. In the first book, The Duty of Daughters, it is Beatriz Galindo, the tutor of Catalina of Aragon, who tells the story of Catalina's early shaping, while in All Manner of Things, it is Maria de Salinas, Catalina's closest friend, who continues the story of Catalina's years in England.
What have you learned?
That it is so true – Perseverance furthers. Writing is a difficult road to walk at the best of times – but moments like these keep me motivated and determined to grow in my craft. And that All Manner of Things is a self-published work makes this award even sweeter.
Author Dan Bailes
Author Member
Dan Bailes has a light-hearted touch to storytelling and uses humour and a sense of adventure to tell his tales. His stories centre around themes of friendship, courage, self-reliance and embracing our differences. Find out more about Dan on Facebook.
Milestone
From Imagination to Image was published in the SCBWI Highlighter Spring 2023
Why are you proud?
I wanted to share my experience working with an illustrator and the article allowed me to detail the process and show how we collaborated on the illustrations for my children's chapter book. I've heard from other writers that they found my article helpful for their own author journey.
What have you learned?
I learned that it's better to go ahead, make mistakes and learn from them rather than be too afraid to try in the first place. And that you should work with the best people you can find. It will make your own work all the better.
