The Year We Lived gets a golden nod – Caithness author's delight at literary award
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A historical fiction novel by a Caithness author has just been awarded a prestigious gold medal by an online book club.
The Year We Lived, by Virginia Crow, received the award from the Coffee Pot Book Club which specialises in historical fiction.
Virginia said: “The Coffee Pot Book Club prize is a brilliant one to be mentioned in, let alone get a gold medal, because the winners and runners-up are selected by people who have a specific interest in historical fiction. That means you know the target audience have really enjoyed the book. You can’t get better praise than that."
The Year We Lived, which follows a group of Norman and Saxon characters in the years after the Battle of Hastings, has been lauded by readers and critics alike as a "gripping historical fiction with an astonishing twist". After being shortlisted for the 2022 Rubery Book Award and the 2021 Chanticleer Chaucer Prize for historical fiction, the novel finished its award season with a Gold Medal for Supernatural Historical Fiction from the Coffee Pot Book Club.
More information on Crowvus and how to purchase The Year We Lived and other titles can be found at at www.crowvus.com/
The author is currently promoting her recent book, Haunting Whispers of Highland Waters, a break from her usual historical fiction, to create a story which encompasses a journey through the Highlands. It was commissioned as part of the Spirit:360 project.
Virginia added: “I was on the first day on a holiday following Zip and Irene’s journey from Haunting Whispers when I found out I was shortlisted for the Coffee Pot prize, and then the trip finished with discovering that I’d won the category gold medal. So obviously I spent the whole weekend feeling like an author living their best life.
“Crowvus released The Year We Lived during the lockdown in Spring 2021 so I thought it would be a difficult one to promote and engage people with, but the response I’ve had from readers and critics – and now book prizes – has just been overwhelming.”
