I’m a happy author today, as yesterday something unexpected happened; something I didn’t even know was a thing until I received an email telling me it was!

One of the amazing folks at Barbour Publishing emailed me yesterday to tell me my debut novel, “Ruth’s Ginger Snap Surprise“, which comes out December 1 from Barbour (have I told you this before – maybe 10 times??) had received a very good review from Publishers Weekly.

I was thrilled to learn I’d received a good review, but I didn’t understand the significance of this particular review. Of course, I’ve heard of Publishers Weekly. But I wasn’t certain how important their good review of my novel was.

So I Googled them!

Here is the result: “A Publishers Weekly review is the most highly regarded review in the publishing industry. It is a capsule book review of about 200 words. PW reviews are primarily geared toward helping booksellers and librarians decide which books to purchase.”

Hold the phone: I received a very good review from the most highly regarded source in the publishing industry? May I just say, wowsers!

I’ll copy the link to the review at the end of this blog post. It made me feel very good, saying things like,

“Blackburne debuts with a stirring second-chance Amish romance featuring a 33-year-old widow who struggles to start over with the help of a mischievous pet kitten—and possibly a new beau.”

And . . .

“Blackburne delicately weaves Ruth’s and Jonas’s tenuous hopes for happiness with their conflicted feelings about moving on from their first marriages, lending the narrative depth and resonance. Readers will look forward to the next outing from this promising new voice.”

Oh boy, oh boy!

It’s as if I hadn’t realized yesterday was Christmas, and woke up to a lovely gift I didn’t expect.

Whomever the anonymous review at Publishers Weekly is, God bless you! You’ve made me very, very happy!

Read the review here!