| PALE SURFACE IN THE NEWS | |||||
Multicultural Novel Wins Seven National Awards! Kings Park, New York (PRWEB) July 8, 2008 -- Janey Bennett’s The Pale Surface of Things, an independently published novel with a small initial print run, has swept the boards of book industry awards, winning Gold Medals in the Multicultural Fiction division from USA BookNews Awards, Indie Excellence Awards, and The Next Generation Indie Awards. The Pale Surface of Things also placed second in the Overall Grand Prize for Fiction from The Next Generation Indie Awards. Such a sweep is rare across competing awards. Bennett’s novel, The Pale Surface of Things, tells the story of a young American archaeologist on the Greek island of Crete to study Minoan ruins and to marry his fiancee, after which he'll go to work for her father, and his life will be over. He flees his wedding to begin a modern odyssey that will change his life. He lands in a traditional Cretan village, still torn apart by divided loyalties from World War II. The archaeologist becomes the central pawn in a vicious family vendetta, while the young village priest works to uncover wartime secrets and bring some measure of harmony to life in the village. Bennett writes with colorful imagery and rich detail as these two cultures first collide and then interweave after discoveries are made, their meaning understood, and the opportunity to heal and move forward begins. The book has been hailed by Greek-Americans as a true and respectful representation of life on Crete. The descriptions of life off the tourist-track on the history-rich Greek island brings a different experience of Crete to readers. The Pale Surface of Things also won a gold medal award from Publishers West for its use of environmental materials: the book is printed by Friesens Printing on 100 % post-consumer recycled paper using vegetable inks. Bennett’s novel was also a Finalist in the Multiculture/Aboriginal category of Nautilus Book Awards and had an Honorable Mention in General Fiction from the Beach Book Festival Awards. The Pale Surface of Things, published by Hopeace Press, retails for $21.95 and is available nationally through local and online bookstores. For additional information on Janey Bennett’s The Pale Surface of Things and its multiple national awards, contact Sharon Castlen of Integrated Book Marketing, ibmarket@optonline.com, or visit www.PaleSurfaceOfThings.com. AUTHOR: Described as a multitalented Renaissance woman, Janey Bennett grew up in San Diego, the daughter of an English professor whose love of literature shaped Janey’s early life. She graduated from UCLA and has enjoyed colorful and varied careers, from radio announcer to horse trainer and drama critic. She spent five winters teaching English to Buddhist nuns in Thailand. Her writings on architecture have been published in the United States and Finland, where she held a Fulbright research fellowship. Research for this novel led her into the study of classical Greek, Byzantine icon painting, geology, botany, the vernacular architecture and sociology of Greek villages, Minoan culture and art, the science of archaeology, World War II on Crete, and criminal law in Greece. A cellist, freelance editor, and author, Bennett divides her time between Bellingham, WA and Hornby Island, BC. ABOUT HOPEACE PRESS ---------------------------------- Author wins on two fronts Hornby Island author Janey Bennett is winning awards for both the content and the packaging of her first novel A Pale Surface of Things. This week, it was announced the Publishers Association of the West had awarded the book and its independent publisher Hopeace Press the gold medal for best use of environmental materials. “It makes me feel slightly less guilty for all the trees and water I’ve used in my life,” said Bennett, who lives part-time on Hornby Island, laughingly about the award. “It pleased me … it pleased me a lot.” The first 4,000-book run of The Pale Surface of Things was printed by Friesens Printing using 100 per cent post-consumer recycled paper and vegetable inks. According to an eco-audit, that choice saved 53 full-grown trees, 19,000 gallons of water, 27 million BTUs of energy, 2,473 pounds of solid waste and 4,640 pounds of greenhouse gases. Bennett said she hoped the award would raise attention to the availability of such products, and show people the difference those decisions can mean. And while she was happy her book could represent that, she was especially pleased with an award announced later in the week for the story itself. The Pale Surface of Things was announced as first-place winner of the national indie excellence awards in multicultural fiction. The book is set on the Greek island of Crete, and examines the difference in values of a young American man and the people of a small village he arrives in. She said the book wasn’t so much about being multicultural, as pitting different backgrounds against each other, to see what it would take to integrate. “What I set out to write was what would it take ... to move an unaware mindless young American into being an integrated person and part of a culture,” said Bennett. The Pale Surface of Things is Bennett’s first novel.
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