Bindlegrim's On Stranger Winds named NM Book Co-op 2013 Finalist in Science Fiction/Fantasy Category

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Oct. 15, 2013 - PRLog -- New Mexico Book Co-op (promoting the best in local books) announced finalists for the 2013 New Mexico & Arizona Book Awards, naming Robert Aaron Wiley's “On Stranger Winds: Tall Tales for Shorter Days” in the Science Fiction and Fantasy category. New Mexico Books promotes the best in local New Mexico & Arizona books, and in June the NM Book Co-op mentioned processing as many as 1200 entries for the combined categories of the contest. Final winners will be announced at the 7th Annual Book Awards on Friday, November 15, 2013; the full list of sponsors and finalists are found here: (http://nmbookcoop.com/BookAwards/2013-finalists/2013-finalists.html).

On Stranger Winds (Tall Tales for Shorter Days) is particularly appropriate to the fall season, offering six autumnal journeys that range in mood from sweetly innocent nostalgia to morbid tales of magic. The stories are the author's first collection of short stories with content including a non-illustrated version of the poem "The Pumpkin Dream" released earlier as a fully illustrated book.

Even if the book is not declared a winner, the author says he is ecstatic that not only the writing, but the additional post-production (editing, layout, design, publishing, marketing, etc.), may have helped the book get some attention. "Being named a finalist feels like an acknowledgement of all that hard work," Wiley says, "and anyone who has ever tried the self-publishing route must certainly understand the amount of time and effort that goes into every facet of the project, trying to get it perfect. This book was written and created using zero-budget freeware software, publish-on-demand services, and of course the support of close friends."

The author is also thrilled to continue receiving positive comments from readers. "I really enjoyed the book, I savored it like the last few flickers of a Jack-O-Lanterns Candle late on Halloween night." (rebelshade Amazon.com). "These stories range from darkly poetic, to whimsical in that way you only find on Halloween, when you're as likely to see a princess or a fairy as a ghost or a mummy walking down the street... With nicely creepy hints, and without being what I would call all-out scary, this book will be an indispensable part of my fall rotation" (SaraB! Amazon.com). With that in mind the author does warn this book is not a crossover sensation - and is meant, as one of the previous reviewers put it, for autumn people. A recent romance reader (and spoof product reviewer) on Amazon "threw caution to the wind" and found not only the vocabulary too challenging (ironically similar to the character Pearl in The Herbivorous Witch), but gave up reading the book. The author believes this is all part of finding the correct audience.

"On Stranger Winds: Tall Tales for Shorter Days" © 2012 Robert Aaron Wiley is currently available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and can be found in print and e-book. Amazon print & Kindle (http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=a9_sc_1?rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Abind...). Barnes & Noble Nook (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/on-stranger-winds-robert-...) Cover art is by David Irvine (The Gnarled Branch) and Foreword by Daniel Boyer of Critical Corner. Font selection used on the newest cover is by Sinister Visions.