Nautilus Award but something even better

I’m thrilled to announce that my most recent book, Someday Is Today: 22 Simple, Actionable Ways to Propel Your Creative Life, has won the Nautilus Award’s gold medal in the category “Creativity and Innovation.”

I know what you’re thinking:

What is a Nautilus Award?

When my editor alerted me about this honor, I wondered the same thing because when you become an author, you do not receive an instruction manual of any kind.

No one tells you anything.

So even after publishing six novels and two books of nonfiction over the course of 14 years – including internationally in more than 25 countries – I still feel like I know nothing and often find myself asking questions that I think I should already know.

There’s a good lesson to be had here:

Nobody knows everything, and everybody knows almost nothing at times. You’re never alone in your ignorance. Better to simply ask questions and gather information rather than pretend to know and remain ignorant.

I ask a lot of questions.

So, what is the Nautilus Award?

The Nautilus Award’s core mission is to celebrate and honor books that support conscious living and green values, wellness, social change and social justice, and spiritual growth. It recognizes, honors, celebrates, and promotes books that inspire and connect our lives as individuals, families, communities, and global citizens.

It’s also been around for 23 years, so I can’t claim to be unaware of this award because it’s brand new.

So I’m thrilled that my book has been honored with a Nautilus Award gold medal. Anytime a bunch of people recognizes the excellence of your work, it’s an honor. And this particular honor means a lot given the mission of the organization.

Years ago, Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend was honored with the Dolly Gray Award, which recognizes authentic portrayals of individuals with developmental disabilities in books for children and youth.

That, too, was an honor, especially given that I am a school teacher and a parent of a child with autism (though I didn’t know that until eight years after publishing the book and receiving the honor).

But the best honor of all, at least in 2023, came just yesterday when Clara popped her head into my office while I was consulting with a client to say, “By the way, I read Something Missing, and I loved it. The ending was great.”

Something Missing is my first novel, published in 2009, three years before Clara was born. The little devil had scooped a copy off one of my shelves and read it in a day without telling me.

I haven’t asked or insisted that my children read my books, and so far, both of them have read Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend (which is also used in the curriculum at their school), which was thrilling for me.

Being surprised by Clara’s reading (and loving) of Something Missing was the best book award I could ever receive.