03/04/2026 The Wilburn-Thomas Award from Scares That Care!

The Wilburn-Thomas Award

It’s been quite the weekend, and a full day since I’ve been home from Scares That Care: Authorcon VI. I’ve had some downtime to process the events of the weekend and what this award meant to me. I won’t get too far into my writing journey and how this has been my one and only dream since I learned to read as a child. Anyone who knows me even a little can tell you how true that is. They can also tell you how terribly shy I’ve always been, how I stutter when I’m nervous, or how I try to stay far away from the spotlight. I’m a true introvert and always have been.

Which brings me to the part of my writing journey that I do want to touch on: the beginning. I knew no one in the industry. I had zero friends in real life who were authors, let alone readers, not counting my mom and my kids. I had one online friend who was an aspiring writer with whom I often brainstormed ideas with, but she had not yet entered the industry. She was the person that got me to write again; she is how and why my first novel, Breach, was born. She is the one who challenged me to publish it, to not just let it sit, so I set out to do that.

But it was hard not knowing how to start, what websites were actually useful, what tools were worth the price, and the list goes on. I eventually found a way to learn the basics and made a few friends along the way that helped me immensely. Aron Beauregard, the late Travis Heermann, Daniel Volpe, Eric Butler, Mike Ennenbach, Andy and Brandy Carroll, Marian Elaine, and Christina Pfeiffer, and Rowland Bercy, Jr., to name a few of the first ones to help along the way. A bit later on, I found myself being supported, encouraged, and lifted by Brian Keene, Mary San Giovanni, Jeff Strand, Ronald Malfi, Rebecca Rowland, Linda D. Addison, Josh Malerman, Jonathan Janz, and S.A. Cosby. Without their help, patience, and willingness to guide, I would not be where I am today. They are why I do what I do in the community.

Once I found a little solid ground within the community, I started reaching out to others that might need some help like I did. I started offering to review books for new authors, offering to mentor authors on how to use KDP, Atticus, or one of the several useful websites that I consistently use for marketing and promoting. I also mentor on story development, give feedback on manuscripts, offer editing assistance and more. My website was built not only to promote my work but also the work of others. Our review team is full of awesome people who want to help my mission. Author resources were added to my website so new authors could easily find cover artists, reviewers, editors, and more.

Every day, multiple times a day, I spend ten to fifteen minutes at a time scrolling my various social media searching for indie author posts that have not been shared, liked, or commented on, and I do all I can to help boost their posts. I share, repost, restack, heart, like, love, and cheer on as the post needs, then scroll to find the next one. I write articles on various topics to try to help new authors, including blurb request etiquette, social media etiquette, editing tips, tools that work, and more.

No one said I had to do this; no one told me to do it. I did it because I had no help until I did. I do it for all those who lifted me, for all of those who took an interest in helping me build my platform and my courage. I do it for all those who might enter our world tomorrow, still carrying their childhood dreams and hoping for a helping hand.

It is because of all these things that I do, all the little ways that I try to help others, that I was presented with the 4th annual Wilburn-Thomas award for exhibiting the ideals that Jay Wilburn and Dave Thomas were so passionate about during their lives, supporting and lifting other authors, sharing the mission of the charity, advising, mentoring, and tirelessly assisting others in the community, and advocating for those not able to advocate for themselves.

While I was not fortunate enough to know Dave Thomas, I had known Jay for the last few years of his life, and Jay was an incredible human being as well as an author. Just being in his presence was uplifting and mood changing as he always had a smile and a kind word for others, despite his severe and ongoing medical challenges. Even when he knew he was losing his own battle, he still made time to encourage and uplift others and to spread the word about Scares That Care and how important their mission is to so many. I have heard plenty about Dave, more than enough to know that he was also a champion of this charity and this industry, just as passionately as Jay Wilburn, as Brian Keene is, as Joe Ripple is, and I am.

This award means the world to me, and there are not enough words to fully express my gratitude, but I hope this message conveyed at least a fraction of it. Thank you to Brian Keene, Joe Ripple, and the entire board at Scares That Care. I'm beyond honored by your recognition and extremely proud to support such an incredible charity.

#fightrealmonsters #scaresthatcare #Authorcon6