Peachtree City resident and author Victoria Wilcox is garnering critical acclaim in the form of prestigious book award nominations for “Gone West,” the second title in her historical fiction trilogy, “Southern Son: The Saga of Doc Holliday.”
“Gone West” was published in May 2014 by Knox Robinson Publishing and explores how a southern son named John Henry Holliday become a Western legend called Doc Holliday.
Wilcox is founding director of the Holliday-Dorsey-Fife House Museum in Fayetteville, where she discovered the story that led to the Southern Son trilogy. She spent 18 years researching and writing about Doc Holliday while she crossed the country to all the places he knew in his adventurous life. Her work has made Wilcox a nationally known expert.
Among many nominations, “Gone West” has earned Wilcox a second nod at the Georgia Author of the Year Award. She won the award last year for her novel “Inheritance,” the first book in the Southern Son trilogy. The award is given by the Georgia Writers Association.
“Gone West” also has been nominated for the Spur Award in Historical Fiction by the Western Writers of America. The Spur is given for distinguished writing about the American West. Previous winners include Larry McMurtry for “Lonesome Dove” and Michael Graves for “Dances With Wolves.”
“Gone West” has also been nominated for the 2014 Reading the West Book Award from the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association. Nominees exemplify the best in writing whose subject matter invokes the spirit of the mountains and plains region.
The book has also been nominated for two more awards: the 2014 Independent Publisher Book Awards (the IPPYs) recognizing excellence in independent publishing, and the 2014 IndieFab Awards, from Foreword Reviews and judged by librarians and booksellers. Their decision takes into consideration editorial excellence, professional production, originality of the narrative, author credentials relative to the book, and the value the title adds to its genre.
“The Last Decision”, the third book in the trilogy, will be released in May. Visit the author’s website at www.victoriawilcoxbooks.com to explore the world of Doc Holliday.
