I’m thrilled to announce that my novel Implanted is a finalist for the 2019 Compton Crook award for best first science fiction, fantasy, or horror novel. The award has been presented through the Baltimore Science Fiction Society since 1983. File 770 has a good overview of the award, along with the BSFS site.

When I first received notice of the award the day before, I kept rereading the email, wondering how on earth I finaled in a field of over 100 SF/F/H debuts. Even as the announcement went live yesterday to a flurry of congratulatory tweets and RTs, it still hasn’t quite sunk in. I mean, just look at the other finalists:

•    S.A. Chakraborty – The City of Brass
•    R. F. Kuang – The Poppy War
•    Rebecca Roanhorse – Trail of Lightning
•    Rena Rossner – Sisters of the Winter Wood
•    Nick Clark Windo – The Feed

These are all impressive writers with equally impressive debuts. Needless to say, besides some kermit flailing, impostor syndrome struck hard, but as with anything, the only antidote is to keep writing. At least that’s how it’s always been for me.

But the one thing that didn’t surprise me was Rebecca Roanhorse’s presence on the list for the electric Trail of Lightning. We were able to do some joint bookstore events when Implanted released, and we’re also in the same NM-based writing group. I’ve seen her work up close and personal, and I’m here to tell you she’s the real deal if you haven’t (somehow) read her stuff yet.

Anyway, I want to congratulate all of the finalists, give my thanks to the Baltimore Science Fiction Society for the time they’ve invested in curating this award over the years, and encourage everyone reading this to go out and support a debut novelist!