Another Turn Around the SFR Galaxy

I'm back from our holiday hiatus and have been plunked down squarely in the coordinator's seat of something I really hadn't planned on. Because it's January, and that means...

The SFR Galaxy Awards are coming!

For the second year in a row (and probably my last), I've been asked to take the reins and shoulder the responsibilities so the awards can again be presented at the end of January. Although I hadn't planned on the added time commitment in my schedule, my deep-down gut feeling is that these awards are too important to the SFR community as a whole to abandon.

This will, after all, be the seventh successive year that the awards will be presented. In our rapidly changing industry, that's almost an era!

Here's an explanation of what these awards are all about from the SFR Galaxy Awards site.

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What is the “SFR Galaxy Awards”?

The SFR Galaxy Awards is an annual, multi-award event for science fiction romance books. Launched in 2012 by bloggers Laurie A. Green of Spacefreighters Lounge and Heather Massey of The Galaxy Express, the goal of this event is to honor a variety of standout stories.

How is this award event different?

The theme of the SFR Galaxy Awards is inclusiveness. Instead of giving an award to a single book, this event will recognize the worth of multiple books and/or the standout elements they contain. The basic philosophy behind this approach is to help connect readers with books.

Authors of the winning books will be awarded the “SFR Galaxy Awards” graphic icon for their blogs or websites. Naturally, they are encouraged to share this news on their sites and/or social media venues.

How does it work?

A select group of science fiction romance readers and bloggers will each create unique awards for up to 5 books released in that year. Judges will create award categories based on criteria of their own choosing. The goal is to deliver a group of awards that are fun, unique, meaningful, and informative for readers.

The awards can range from serious to fun to quirky. Examples: "Best Interstellar Kiss;" "Most Plausible Use of Technology;" “Best Worldbuilding;” “Funniest Line of Dialogue Overheard in a Space Station Bar.”

On January 31st, the awards for the previous year will be posted on this blog. Additionally, the news will be shared on various social media sites.

Eligibility

Any science fiction romance book in any given year is eligible (published, self-published, print, digital; all lengths, subgenres, and heat levels). As long as there is a cover and a buy link available (including free or discounted books), a judge can consider a book for an award. Although current year book titles are the focus, the judges may also select a title from a prior year and may select a film, television series, video, graphic novel or game containing science fiction romance. 

Books released by any of the current judges or coordinators are ineligible.

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One of things that makes the SFR Galaxy Awards so unique is that the authors don't submit their own books for consideration. Judges--who are book bloggers, avid readers and reviewers--make their selections from the books they've read that have made a lasting impression, so an author may be completely unaware that they are an award winner until it's announced on the site or they're contacted by the coordinator.

Please mark your calendars for Thursday, January 31st, and tune in to this year's award rounds, which normally begin at 8:00 AM Eastern Standard Time, followed by a new round posted every hour. You can also sign up to follow the SFR Galaxy Awards site, as shown on the right sidebar of that site.

Hope to see you there!

Our Thyme was not Endless - A Grateful Goodbye

As I've mentioned a few times on this blog, we had a very fun and exciting 2018 in our Thoroughbred endeavors after our trainer, Justin Evans, brought home a wonderful four-year-old race mare that he'd bought at the January Keeneland Sale in Kentucky.

Endless Thyme is the daughter of a champion sire and she'd already won a race at the iconic Churchill Downs, with two more back-to-back wins at Belterra Park a few months earlier in the summer of 2017. We were very excited to be offered half-ownership of this very promising mare.

Thyme ended 2018 with eight starts at four different tracks and never finished off the board, with two wins, three seconds and three thirds--a very impressive record! We had friends and family with us to celebrate when she won this race in August by a spectacular seven length margin!

Sadly, Thyme was entered in a claiming race on December 29th, and was promptly claimed by a new owner. We'll miss her very much, and we wish her every success with her new connections.

For us, 2018 will forever be the Year of Endless Thyme.

Just a few days ago, I was surprised to discover a video that my iPhone had spontaneously created that captured a few moments we shared with Thyme and watching the morning workouts at Albuquerque Downs on July 3rd, 2018. I had no idea my phone had created it--complete with a soundtrack--until I stumbled on it. It will forever be a very special keepsake for us.

I'm happy to have this chance to share it with you.

Have a great week.