Finton Moon has been nominated for The 2013 Sunburst Award in the adult category for "excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic." Needless to say, I'm ecstatic, as this is turning out to be quite a summer and this shortlisting is a hugely unexpected honour. With Moonlight Sketches
winning the NL Book Award (sponsored by Ches Crosbie Barristers) in 2012, it's gratifying to receive national recognition with my follow-up novel.

It's particulary thrilling to be in the company of such excellent authors and books.

Besides Finton Moon, the other 4 nominees are:

• Maleficium, Martine Desjardins; Fred A. Reed and David Homel, trans. (Talonbooks)
• Over the Darkened Landscape, Derryl Murphy (Fairwood Press)
• The Blondes, Emily Schultz (Doubleday Canada)
• Westlake Soul, Rio Youers (ChiZine Publications)

I know we all can't win, so good luck to us all. Here's hoping all of you enjoy the nod to your work as much as I do. I plan to read each of the other books and I'm sure I'll enjoy them - I hope some of you do the same. And regardless of who wins, this has already been a rare and rewarding experience.

If you want to know more about the Sunburst awards and the stellar list of judges (Rebecca Bradley, Tony Burgess, Shari Lapeña, Barbara Roden and Leon Rooke), click on the link: http://www.sunburstaward.org/2013-sunburst-shortlists. The judges had to read over 230 books (at my count) to arrive at their two shortlists - an extremely arduous task. Results will be announced in the fall.

I will point out the significance of the fact that Finton Moon is the only book nominated in the Atlantic provinces this year, and I have to give credit to my publisher at Killick Press (an imprint of Creative Publishers). Donna Francis, in particular, snatched up this novel immediately after the success of my short story collection, Moonlight Sketches, an act of faith that means a lot to me, particularly since for many years I was unable to get my books of fiction published at all. So it's nice to have her belief in my work rewarded for us both - and also a great feeling to know that I made the right decision in continuing to write and in choosing a publisher for whom both the first and second book were well fitted. Also, thanks, Pam Dooley, for working tirelessly on behalf of all the authors, including me. And the incredibly talented and big-hearted Russell Wangersky, overseeing manager of Creative Books, for his encouragement, advice and belief.

If you want to details on how to buy either Finton Moon, Moonlight Sketches or my Fierce Short story, "The Long Last Year," you can visit my website: http://www.gerardcollins.ca/

Also, feel free to join me on Facebook, either my personal page or my author page. I'd love to see you there.

Finally, thank you to all the readers who have supported my career so far by reading my books, getting the word out through FB, Twitter, Goodreads and good old coffee shop chatter, or by reviewing in whatever format you have available to you. Not only for me, but for every author, it makes a difference and means a lot.

GC