Announcing the 2018 RISING STAR Award Finalists

Rachel Berros - “Love You Better”

Love You Better by Rachel Berros is about one woman who abandons her family for her children’s benefit, and another who says goodbye to the man she loves so they can both fulfill their dreams. When a postcard entwines their lives, the women discover how change can help them fulfill their hearts’ desires without abandoning their goals.

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Miranda Darrow - “What Comes After Four”

In What Comes After Four by Miranda Darrow, West German pairs skater Claudia Wolff came to the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary to skate for gold, for adventure, and possibly a first romantic fling. She didn’t come to fall in love with an East German skier. If their relationship stands a chance, Claudia will have to face her family, the consequences of her choices, her greatest fears, and the Berlin Wall.

Ginny Elkin - “Looking for Darcy”

Having trouble bouncing back after a disastrous divorce, in the book Looking for Darcy by Ginny Elkin, Anna's family convinces her to travel to England, to uncover her grandfather's mysterious past. She finds secrets larger than she anticipated, as well as meeting two very different and intriguing men. Anna must decide if she is willing to trust herself and take a chance, having gained knowledge and power on her journey.

Robin Facer - “Up the Gum Tree”

Lynne Frank just wants to go home already. Being dragged from the suburbs of Boston to the wilds of her husband’s West Australian hometown has only inflamed her fear of flying, crocodiles, and being judged a bad mother. When she wakes up to her mother-in-law’s plan to keep her son Down Under long-term, Lynne must forge a path through her own fear - embracing unlikely allies and dodging cockatoos - while she struggles with the meaning of the word home.

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Shelby Riley - “Angel Falls”

Angel Falls by Shelby Riley is about three adult sisters, tricked into returning home by their dysfunctional mother, who find themselves drowning in the past. When they realize their mother’s using the claim of death, and her subsequent request for a mercy killing, to manipulate them, they are forced to make sense of their family roles and must go to great lengths to break free from the dysfunction, while still remaining connected as a family.

Congratulations to the finalists!

Winner will be announced September 28, 2018 at the Annual WFWA Retreat in Albuquerque, NM.

More information about the RISING STAR Award can be found here.