I am honored to announce that H’Ilgraith was awarded a silver medal at the prestigious 33rd Annual Benjamin Franklin awards for 2021, sponsored by the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) https://www.ibpabenjaminfranklinaward.com/winners-science-fiction-fantas. This is H’Ilgraith’s second literary award in the category of Science Fiction and Fantasy. H’Ilgraith was also awarded Finalist by the American Fiction Awards in 2020.
H’Ilgraith recounts the tale of a key character from the novel Homo transformans: The Origin and Nature of the Species. In Homo transformans, an old woman saves an orphaned child from the destruction of their village. She hides the child inside enemy territory to avoid discovery and eventually brings the child within reach of safety just before she dies. H’Ilgraith describes the adventures of this character from the time she was a youngster through adulthood. It reveals how her personality and her alternate species – a gray fox, a lynx, a badger, and a great horned owl – forged an independent, resourceful, and driven individual; and recounts her confrontation with a gray mountain wolf who tested her patience and changed her way of life.
H’Ilgraith is richly illustrated by the graphic artists of EpicMade who rendered paintings of dramatic scenes from the narrative and line art illustrations of many creatures encountered in the story. Several can be viewed at https://www.maryames.org. Tantalizing excerpts from the narrative also can be found on the website.