Robert Shemeld and Philip Derrick are 1st Place PenCraft Award Winners...

The PenCraft Awards committee is proud to announce that two of its 1st place winning authors are also combated veterans. Robert Shemeld the author of The Narraganset Files which took 1st place in “Fiction - Suspense,” was a Marine who served in Vietnam during two of its most volatile years. Some of his experiences during his 1967 and 1968 tour are woven into his book.

Philip Derrick, the author of Facing the Dragon and 1st Place winner in the category, Fiction Thriller - General is a veteran who served in the Army during the Vietnam war. PenCraft Awards salutes them for their service. Mark Wulf, a coordinator of the November 10th PenCraft Awards ceremony, stated, “We’re happy to be able to celebrate their success as authors during Veteran’s month as recently declared by President Trump.”

Author Robert Shemeld describes his novel as a modern love story between two typical people who become entangled in untenable, terrifying circumstances. Shemeld’s protagonist, Steele is routinely affable, even boring under everyday circumstances, but when the lives of his family and friends are threatened, he morphs into a formidable being . . . a predator. Shemeld gave his main characters some of his own DNA. In fact, Shemeld stated he wove some of the best attributes of his closest friends into his novel’s cast of heroes and villains. His book is a fast-paced thriller with suspense, intrigue and political challenges, a worthy read.

Shemeld's numerous life experiences as a Marine, an investigator, a sailing aficionado, finance expert and more - clearly qualified him to write his novel with authority which in turn created that feeling of authenticity as you read it.

Shemeld, a resident of Virginia, will be attending the 2nd Annual PenCraft Awards Ceremony and Dinner. He will be joined by Vietnam Veteran Philip Derrick from the great state of Washington. Philip’s award-winning novel is a fictional story about a young 15-year-old boy, Jim Peterson, who takes on the identity of a soldier murdered on his way to serve in Vietnam. Could a fifteen-year-old boy have the ability to pull off the switch? Yes, one could. In 1968 Dan Bullock, who was only 14, forged his birth certificate and became a marine. He was killed at age 15 in Vietnam on June 7, 1969. In Derrick’s novel the 15-year-old impersonator does not only take up the identity of a murdered soldier and goes to Vietnam, but he’s also there to find the man he believes responsible for the death of PFC Travis Nickels.

Philip Derrick has a Ph.D. in Education/History from the University of Idaho. He currently lives in the Cascade Mountains just an hour from Seattle, teaches high school history and watches the deer pass by his living room window on a daily basis. He not only writes books, but loves them; in his study are more than 1,000 of them. Much of what Derrick wrote comes from his own experiences in Vietnam. He is a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Robert Shemeld and Philip Derrick were chosen as the best in their categories out of hundreds of submitted books.

The PenCraft Award winners were selected by a judging criterion that incorporated a recommendation from the initial AuthorsReader’s reviewer or PenCraft Award reviewer and then a further evaluation by our judges. An important criterion considered for the 2018 PenCraft Award Competition was the marketplace popularity of the submitted book and the effort the publisher or author appeared to be taking in promoting their book. From this criterion, the winners of each category were chosen.

For more infirmation or tickets to the 2nd Annual PenCraft Awards visit: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2nd-annual-pencraft-award-ceremony-for-literary-excellence-public-invited-tickets-51495825400

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