Janet K. Shawgo, author of “The Look For Me” series

Janet at Barnes & Noble

Dear Chanticleer Book Reviews,

As a new author sending your first book to contest is like stepping off the edge of a cliff on your first rappel or hanging on for your first zip-lining across treetops. It is an experience.  You hope that you will be acknowledged for the time and love you have placed in your writing. However, until the names are released, it is still an unknown.

 I found out about Chanticleer through Romance Writers of America. I took a deep breath and entered “Look For Me” into the CBR Blue Ribbon Awards for Published Novels. To be a Finalist was wonderful, but to win First Place was fireworks!  The exposure in winning a contest gives your work credibility and exposure you would not have otherwise. I have been blessed with increasing sales and my work continues to be acknowledged. I can never thank you for all the support that “Look For Me” has received from CBR. 

I want to thank everyone at Chanticleer Book Reviews for the honor of being selected as a first place winner in the historical fiction category. Am I entering the second book in my series? You bet I am!

Sincerely, Janet K. Shawgo, author of the Look For Me series.

Editor’s note: Ms. Shawgo sent us this photo of her and her CBR Blue Ribbon the morning of a Look For Me series book signing at Barnes & Noble. Authors, you will be glad to know that she sold out of all her copies at the signing. She has entered the second of the series, Wait For Me, into CBR’s Historical Novels contest 2013. We wish her much success!