Pahl Overcomes Heartbreak to Capture Bronte Prize

2007-08-30T14:57:00.000-07:00

After a three-month span that included the sudden and early deaths of both the canine companion he called “daughter” and his beloved father, indie lit penmaster Nelson Pahl deserved a break.

He finally got one—even if it pales in comparison to his heartbreaking winter.

Pahl’s Bee Balms & Burgundy, published on independent imprint Café Reverie Press, won romantic fiction’s biggest award, the Bronte Prize. The accolade recognizes the best love story published in the U.S. and Canada annually. Pahl’s debut title was chosen victorious by a jury of three.

To win the coveted award, Bee Balms & Burgundy beat out novels from two of mainstream literature’s biggest sellers, Angels Fall (Putnam) by Nora Roberts and Finding Noel (Simon & Shuester) by Richard Paul Evans. Pahl’s novella also bested fellow indie lit titles Tear Down the Mountain (Soft Skull Press) by Roger Alan Skipper and Water for Elephants (Algonquin Books) by Sara Gruen.

Bee Balms & Burgundy is the tale of Mia Lawson, a 30-year-old post-mastectomy breast cancer survivor who, in the aftermath of her diagnosis, realizes her lifelong love for childhood neighbor Nick May. Narrated by “Nicky,” the story weaves the reader through Mia’s three dilemmas. First, how will she tell her childhood buddy of her feelings? Secondly, if he feels the same, how will she cross the necessary bridge to her first intimate encounter since her mastectomy? Thirdly, if all else works out, will she live long enough to savor the culmination of her lifelong love for him? The story is set in St. Paul’s Lowertown and Highland Park neighborhoods, as well as Vancouver, British Columbia.

For winning the Bronte Prize (www.bronteprize.org), Pahl receives $12,500, which he’s already earmarked in full for his Palace of Light Foundation, where the monies have been allocated to breast cancer awareness and research.

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You can Nelson Pahl's Bee Balms & Burgundy here. You may read a free chapter here.

Lit Award Winners

Pahl Overcomes Heartbreak to Capture Bronte Prize