As December winds down to a close, I’ve been taking stock of the journey to publish The Sower of Black Field. Here’s the latest news, awards, and more!
The novel is currently being republished through my new imprint, Time’s Arrow Press.
I’m partnering with an agency that has a proven track record for promoting WWII fiction, and I’m optimistic that The Sower will reap commercial success in 2025. More importantly, the novel will reach a far broader number of readers. The paperback will be available for sale on Amazon (and other book retailers) on January 8. The Kindle eBook is in pre-order status until January 15. The audiobook version is perpetually available on Amazon / Audible.
Want to be notified when The Sower is available from Time’s Arrow Press? Sign up for my mailing list and I’ll send you a reminder.
What is Time’s Arrow Press? This will be the imprint I use to publish my books. I started out writing sci-fi in my high school years, and once I learned about Fr. Viktor’s travails in Nazi Germany, I found my interests gravitating toward historical fiction. I love sweeping readers into other times and places, letting them live historical events through the senses of a well-crafted character (rather than just reading about them), or ponder what the future may hold, for good or ill. For that reason, Time’s Arrow Press felt like a fitting name. I may revisit that little sci-fi story someday. I think it could evolve into an entire series of novellas. We’ll see!
Throughout 2024, The Sower has been racking up a list of awards and 5-star reviews!
I’ve compiled the top awards in the graphic above, but if you have any trouble reading that tiny print, here are the highlights:
- CATEGORY WINNER – RELIGIOUS FICTION – 2024 American Writing Awards. (The novel was also a finalist in the category of Best Debut Fiction.)
- GOLD MEDAL WINNER – RELIGIOUS FICTION – 2024 Readers’ Favorite Awards
- 1ST PLACE WINNER – RELIGIOUS FICTION – 2024 Firebird Book Awards (The novel was also a finalist in the category of Best Debut Fiction.)
- CATEGORY WINNER – RELIGIOUS FICTION – 2024 Literary Global Book Awards (The novel was also a finalist in the category of Best Debut Fiction.)
- SILVER MEDAL WINNER – HISTORICAL FICTION – 2024 North American Book Awards
- FINALIST – RELIGIOUS FICTION – 2024 American Fiction Awards
- 5 STAR RATING – Chanticleer Book Reviews
- 5 STAR RATING – Readers’ Favorite
- GET IT RATING – Kirkus Reviews
On December 20th, I also had the happy news of learning that The Sower was shortlisted for the first-ever Discovery Editors’ Choice Award! A contest coordinator told me that the judges considered a whopping 2,000+ books for this contest, but only sixteen titles made it into this shortlist.
The Sower is also currently rising through the ranks in Chanticleer Book Reviews’ Goethe Awards Contest (post-1750’s late historical fiction) and Hemingway Awards Contest (wartime fiction). Winners for both contests will be announced in 2025.
In case you missed it—check out my presentation with Fr. Rob Carbonneau. On Veterans Day (Nov. 11, 2024), we recorded this as part of an episode of Our Passionist History, a podcast produced by Holy Cross Province. This presentation covers the historical context for The Sower. Watch it on YouTube, and feel free to share with anyone else that might be interested…
