Below is a brief commentary for your entry in the 25th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards. Thank you for participating!

Entry Title: The Red Leaves of Autumn 

Author: Dana Cornwell Bodney 

Judge Number: 18 

Entry Category: Genre Fiction

• Books are evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning “needs improvement” and 5 meaning “outstanding”.

Structure, Organization, and Pacing: 4

Spelling, Punctuation, and Grammar: 4

Plot and Story Appeal: 4

Character Appeal and Development: 4

Voice and Writing Style: 4 

Judge’s Commentary*:

 By setting her novel along the Atlantic coast of South Carolina and on its nearby islands, the author gives her readers a terrific sense of Low Country local color. This is apparent consistently, from the physical descriptions of the little tourist towns and communities to the venues themselves. There are lots of South Carolina references – Clemson football, cuisine, the changing season. Autumn is designed not only to provide the author with a great deal of potential sensory imagery but also to represent the season of the protagonist couple – retired, content, still passionately in love. This is as much a romance as it is an easy mystery involving drug dealers, murder and a missing capsule. The author uses good writing techniques, especially sensory descriptions, and occasional fresh word choices. There is some comma usage errors and a few variations on style. But overall, the 46 chapters move along well because the characters are almost always in motion – a good writer’s technique. The characters are sufficiently built to hold the reader’s attention even when there is no immediate threat or danger from the nasty drug dealers that use the coastal waters to ply their illicit trade.