Stephen Woodfin and I at Caleb and Linda Pirtle were honored to work with The New Kindle Book Review to showcase many of the authors whose novels and non-fiction works had been named a Top 5 Finalist for Best Indie Book of the Year in 2013.

Three of the authors featured on Caleb and Linda Pirtle were eventual winners.

Angela Wallace for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy.

Bonnie Barel Latino and Bob Vale for Best Romance

Paulette Alden for Best Suspense/Horror

They are three of the most talented authors producing books these days, and their novels are definitely the kind you want to read.

We thought we would tell you a little more about the Award-Winning Books and their authors.

The Book: Earth Tones

The Author: Angela Wallace

The Category: Science Fiction/Fantasy

The Story: Nita Young doesn’t know if she has a future with college sweetheart Keenan Donovan—two star-crossed lovers of opposing elements—but she invites him up to Alaska to see if Earth and Water can rekindle their old flame.

When a series of wild animal attacks strike the inhabitants of Yakutat, Nita has to put her romantic plans on hold. Mangled bodies are turning up, and a mysterious black panther has been spotted in the woods. Fur, scales, and a venomous bite suggest the cat is supernatural in origin—and evidence indicates that someone not only summoned it, but is using it to target those Nita cares about. It’s the perfect murder weapon: no fingerprints, no evidence. And in a town this small, the killer is someone she knows.

Nita’s strength will be put to the test as she faces losing her friends, her town, and the man she loves.

About the Author: Angela Wallace has been penning adventures ever since she was sucked through a magical portal as a child. What she saw and whom she met gave birth to exciting and complex fantasy worlds where defying the laws of physics was a bonus. She has since come back down to earth, only to discover this mortal realm has magic of its own. Now she is also quite at home in the world of urban fantasy, though believes that love, faith, and hope are of a stronger magic than fire wielding and sorcery.

She loves gun-toting good boys, and could have been a cop in another life except real blood makes her queasy. She’ll have to stick to solving supernatural mysteries. Language is her pleasure, whether it’s weaving words on a page or lassoing linguistics into translations as a sign language interpreter. Angela is currently working on her next book.

The Book: The Answer to Your Question

The Author: Paulette Alden

The Category: Suspense/Horror

The Story: After raising her son, Ben, by herself, librarian Inga Daudelin is blindsided when he is accused of the murders of four young women. At the same time, Jean, a young, pregnant waif who seems both simple and wise, “imprints” on Inga at work, drawing her into an unusual friendship. When Ben kidnaps Jean, Inga and lead detective Ron O’Loughlin, with whom she is falling in love, search for the two, who along with Jean’s baby, have formed a strange but human family.

“This wonderful novel is a success at every level–an engrossing thriller and a nuanced examination of love–written with artful directness. I loved every word and could not put it down.” — Scott Turow

About the Author: Paulette Bates Alden is the author of two critically acclaimed books: Feeding the Eagles, a collection of short stories published by Graywolf Press; and Crossing the Moon, a memoir published by Penguin. She has recently published a novel, The Answer to Your Question, with her imprint, Radiator Press.

Her work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Ploughshares,Mississippi Review, The Antioch Review, and elsewhere.

Paulette was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A former Stegner Fellow, she received her M.A. from Stanford, where she taught as a Jones Lecturer in Creative Writing.

For many years she taught undergraduate and graduate level courses in memoir and fiction writing as an Edelstein-Keller Writer-in-Residence at the University of Minnesota, receiving a University College Distinguished Teaching Award. She has also taught creative writing at Carleton College as a Benedict Distinguished Visiting Professor and at St. Olaf College, as well as workshops at the Key West Literary Seminar and the Madeline Island School of the Arts.

The Book: Your Gift to Me

The Author: Bonnie Bartel Latino and Bob Vale

The Category: Romance

The Story: Emotionally scarred years after her husband died in a fiery Special Operations helicopter crash, Gulf War widow and Alabamian, Emily Ann Meade, is having a near-life-experience. She clings to her vow never to get involved with another man committed to a dangerous profession … until she meets F-16 pilot, Ted Foley, in Hawaii. Although they are mutually attracted, the charismatic widower’s fighter wing in Japan recently lost two pilots in unexplained air crashes.

Allowing her mind to wander through fields of dreams on which she can’t afford the emotional mortgage, Emily lowers her barriers. She discovers Ted’s greatest virtue: he makes the ordinary feel sacred. Healing in shared confidences solidifies their bond. When another crash reignites her fears, the relationship shatters. Unless Emily finds a path through her emotional minefields, she risks never discovering she is rejecting the only type of man to whom she is genuinely attracted, a man who leads by example and from the front. And that man’s life could be in danger! Like STEEL MAGNOLIAS and TOP GUN, this inspirational love story and mystery celebrates the human spirit’s capacity to triumph over tragedy.

About the Author: A lifelong journalist and former columnist for the Stars and Stripes newspaper in Europe, Bonnie Bartel Latino is the co-author of the military love story, Your Gift to Me.

A military wife for thirty years, in 2011 the Military Writers Society of America honored her with its William E. Mayer Award for Literary or Artistic Excellence, and more recently, its 2012 Gold Medal in the Military Super Romance category.

A licensed Lay Eucharistic Minister in the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast, Bonnie lives in Alabama with her husband, retired Air Force Colonel Tom Latino.