The RIO Award of Excellence is sponsored by the Reviewers International Organization and is the only award of its kind in a daunting business where more than 172,000 books a year fight for attention from book reviewers around the world.
According to the RIO website, all of the winning books were nominated and voted on by RIO's member reviewers rather than reader polls or an individual review site contest. Literary agent Roberta Brown of the Brown Literary Agency adds, "The books are nominated by international reviewers from all over the world. Authors can't enter their own books."
Although Bacarr has published numerous business books and articles about Japan, including the 2005 Benjamin Franklin Award winner, The Japanese Art of Sex, winning this award is special to her.
"I'm thrilled to win the RIO award with the book of my heart," she says. "I've been a devotee of geisha for years and although it's unlikely a gaijin or foreigner could ever be a geisha, I always wanted to explore that world through a Westerner's sensibilities. So I created a 'what if' scenario
in 1892 Japan where I could do just that."
Bacarr’s Geisha beat out competition in a huge playing field of adult fiction, which included multi-published author Elizabeth Chadwick's The Greatest Knight, the second place RIO winner, and the widely acclaimed novel, The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue, the third place RIO winner.
Bacarr’s win reflects growing acceptance of and respect for the world of erotic fiction, a genre that has exploded in popularity over the past several years. Several major publishing houses and imprints, including Avon, Harlequin, and Kensington, have created new erotic imprints to meet the demand.
"Steamy sex is the hottest trend in women's fiction," Bacarr said. "Winning the RIO award in mainstream fiction means a lot to me because it demonstrates that the book publishing business recognizes erotic fiction as a true art form and not just sex between the sheets."
The Blonde Geisha tells the story of Kathlene Mallory, a young American girl living in Japan at the end of the nineteenth century. When a threat to her father's life puts her own in jeopardy, she is sent to live in safety at the Tea House of the Look-Back Tree, where she is allowed to glimpse inside the sensual world of the geisha.
“It was important to me to re-create the world of the flowers and willows as it was over a century ago, including the Westernization of Japan happening alongside the fascinating world of the geisha,” said Bacarr. “I also wanted to debunk the misperception that geishas were prostitutes. While sex plays an important role in my book, I wanted to show that these women are true artistes and entertainers and must choose between their art or falling in love.“
Bacarr’s next novel, Naughty Paris, will be out in July. It’s an erotic time travel that tells the story of a woman who travels back to 1889 Paris and has a wild affair with a lost French Impressionist.
"My books are adventure stories in exotic locales, but they all have a common theme," she says. "The art of seduction is a powerful aphrodisiac. Be careful how you use it."
For a complete list of the RIO winners, go to:
http://www.rio-
To schedule an interview or photo, please contact Jina Bacarr at jina@jinabacarr.com or through her website: www.JinaBacarr.com
