When a writer takes a while to update her website, you know that something is cooking in the background.
The photo for this post offers a hint that my creative brain isn’t in Germany anymore. I’ve mentioned in many a bio that my family tree has more than one Passionist missionary hanging from the boughs. These people have a real knack for going to dangerous places during interesting times. My great granduncle, Fr. Viktor Koch, C.P., found himself behind enemy lines in Nazi Germany. In 1924, a nephew followed in his footsteps and became a missionary for the Passionist order. His name was Fr. Basil Bauer, C.P. His destination—West Hunan, China, during the chaos of the Warlord Era.
At the fresh young age of 26, Fr. Basil accompanied twelve other young missionaries who were fast-tracked through ordination, given crash-courses as field medics (useful in an area where people were 100 miles away from the closest physician), paraded around the USA, hailed as “athletes of the Church,” and shipped to a mountainous, bandit-infested territory the size of Kentucky. They didn’t know a word of Chinese when they arrived. This wave of missionaries dubbed themselves the “Lucky Thirteen” to dispel the gloomy numerology that hovered over their band. Eventually, over 80 missionaries would serve in Hunan before they were expelled by the Communists in 1955. Their stories are dramatic, to say the least.
Twelve of thirteen Passionists who comprised the 1924 missionary band to China. It’s striking to me how young they all are. Standing: Fathers Theophane Maguire, Basil Bauer, Anthony Maloney, Gregory McEttrick, Cyprian Frank, Terence Connelly, Jeremiah McNamara. Seated: Fathers William Westhoven, Rupert Langenbacher, Clement Seybold, Ernest Cunningham, and Godfrey Holbein. Not pictured: Fr. Cuthbert O’Gara, who joined the mission band just days before departure. Photo courtesy of the Passionist Historical Archives China Collection.The wealth of history here demands not just a novel, but a series. Also, I have the obvious challenge of preventing readers from being overwhelmed by too many names. I’m currently in the research, development, and world-building stage. It’s a fun place to be! As I make progress in the coming months, I’ll share the tidbits of history that I’ll weave into a historical fiction framework.
In other news…
Over the summer, The Sower of Black Field has continued to rake in the awards! Here’s an up-to-date listing of what it has won so far.
MAJOR AWARDS for The Sower of Black Field
• CATEGORY WINNER – RELIGIOUS FICTION – 2024 American Writing Awards
• GOLD MEDAL WINNER – RELIGIOUS FICTION – 2024 Readers’ Favorite Awards
• 1ST PLACE WINNER – RELIGIOUS FICTION – 2024 Firebird Book Awards
• CATEGORY WINNER – RELIGIOUS FICTION – 2024 Literary Global Book Awards
• SILVER MEDAL WINNER – HISTORICAL FICTION – 2024 North American Book Awards
• CATEGORY WINNER – RELIGIOUS FICTION – 2025 Independent Press Awards
• CATEGORY WINNER – RELIGIOUS FICTION – 2024 Indies Today Book Awards
• 1ST PLACE WINNER – 2024 Chanticleer Hemingway Award (20th Century Wartime Fiction)
• CATEGORY WINNER – RELIGIOUS FICTION – 2025 Next Generation Indie Book Awards
• CATEGORY WINNER – RELIGIOUS FICTION – 2025 Indie Reader Discovery Awards
• CATEGORY WINNER – FACTION – 2025 National Indie Excellence Awards
• 1ST PLACE WINNER – CATHOLIC NOVEL – 2025 Catholic Media Awards
• 1ST PLACE WINNER – SELF-PUBLISHED BOOK – 2025 Catholic Media Awards
• CATEGORY WINNER – RELIGION AND SOCIAL JUSTICE – 2025 International Impact Book Awards
OTHER PLACEMENTS for The Sower of Black Field
• FINALIST – RELIGIOUS FICTION – 2025 International Book Awards
• FINALIST – DEBUT FICTION – 2025 International Book Awards
• FINALIST – RELIGIOUS FICTION – 2024 American Fiction Awards
• FINALIST – DEBUT FICTION – 2024 Literary Global Book Awards
• FINALIST – DEBUT FICTION – 2024 Firebird Book Awards (3rd Quarter)
• SHORT LIST – Discovery Editor’s Choice Award (top 16 of 2,000 entries)
• FINALIST – 2024 Chanticleer Goethe Award (late historical fiction)
• FINALIST – INSPIRATIONAL FICTION – 2025 Next Generation Indie Book Awards
• SHORT LIST – 2025 Hawthorne Prize (by the American Writing Awards)
• FINALIST – RELIGIOUS FICTION – 2025 National Indie Excellence Awards
• SEMI-FINALIST – LITERARY FICTION – 2025 Kindle Book Review / Best Indie Book Awards
