Romy Wyllie on IRDA Winning “Loving Andrew”

In October 1993 a devastating wildfire destroyed fifty percent of the houses in our neighborhood but left our home untouched. I thought of all the letters, photographs, and journals that I had kept with the idea of one day writing the story of bringing up a son with Down syndrome.

Continue ReadingRomy Wyllie on IRDA Winning “Loving Andrew”

Kirt Manecke on IRDA Winning “Smile: Sell More with Amazing Customer Service”

I do have a terrific quote from Ben Cohen of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream at the start of my introduction: "When we give, we receive — when a business does something good for somebody, that somebody feels good about them."

Continue ReadingKirt Manecke on IRDA Winning “Smile: Sell More with Amazing Customer Service”

Julie Mannix von Zerneck and Kathy Hatfield on their IRDA Winner “Secret Storms”

A pregnant, upper class nineteen-year-old Philadelphia Main Line debutante is confined, against her will, to a state mental hospital. She spends her pregnancy surrounded by the mentally challenged and the criminally insane.

Continue ReadingJulie Mannix von Zerneck and Kathy Hatfield on their IRDA Winner “Secret Storms”

Don M. Winn on the IRDA Winning “The Knighting of Sir Kaye”

“The Knighting of Sir Kaye” is about young Kaye Balfour and his best friend Reggie during the Middle Ages in the fictional country of Knox. Together they have adventures, deal with bullies large and small, and try to help the inexperienced young queen start getting her damaged kingdom back on its feet.

Continue ReadingDon M. Winn on the IRDA Winning “The Knighting of Sir Kaye”

Freddie Owens on IRDA Winner “Then Like the Blind Man: Orbie’s Story”

Then Like The Blind Man: Orbie’s Story is the enthralling debut novel by Freddie Owens, which tells the story of a spirited wunderkind in the segregated South of the 1950s and the forces he must overcome to restore order in his world.

Continue ReadingFreddie Owens on IRDA Winner “Then Like the Blind Man: Orbie’s Story”