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Megan Frances Edwards (born December 17, 1952) is an American writer and editor.
Biography
editEdwards was born in Great Lakes, Illinois, near North Chicago, December 17, 1952. She graduated with a BA from Scripps College in classics and an MA in education from Claremont Graduate University, after which she worked in Germany, Greece, California, Texas, and Nevada, as a teacher and also a school principal. She was also a columnist (1993–1998) for the Pasadena Weekly and a contributing writer (2000–2001) for the Las Vegas Weekly.
On October 27, 1993, the house where she and her husband lived in California burned down in a wildfire, destroying nearly all their possessions. Instead of rebuilding, they bought a custom motorhome, named it "Phoenix One" and began a road trip that lasted six years. During this time, the couple pioneered the (then difficult) art of connecting to the internet while traveling.[1][2] One result was "RoadTrip America", a web resource started in 1996 for touring in North America.
The first four years of her adventures in Phoenix One are recorded in the book Roads from the Ashes.[3] In general, the book was well received.[4][5][6][7][8]
In 2008, a collection titled Caution: Funny Signs Ahead was published. The book contains pictures of actual signs that are humorous due to juxtapositions, misspellings, double entendres, etc., and which were originally published online at RoadTripAmerica.com.[9]
In 2010, Edwards contributed a short story to The Perpetual Engine of Hope, an anthology featuring stories written by seven Las Vegas writers.[10] She became a contributing writer for Nevada Public Radio's Desert Companion magazine in 2012.
In 2014, Edwards contributed a short essay to Nevada: 150 Years in the Silver State from Geoff Schumacher (editor) with Stephens Press.[11]
In 2017, Edwards debut novel, titled Getting off on Frank Sinatra: A Copper Black Mystery, was published by Imbrifex Books in March 2017. In general, the book was well received.[12][13][14][15]
In 2018 Edwards's novel Getting off on Frank Sinatra was the Gold winner of the Benjamin Franklin Award for Best First Novel.[16] It was also a Bronze winner for the 2017 Foreword INDIES[17] and a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards.[18] Her novel Strings was a Gold winner for the Benjamin Franklin Award for Romance,[19] and it also received Honorable Mentions in the 2017 Foreword INDIES,[20] as well as the Reviewers Choice Award for Romance, Music & Arts. Full Service Blonde was the 2017 INDIES Honorable Mention winner for Mystery.[21] Edwards's novel Full Service Blonde was the Gold winner for the Benjamin Franklin Award for Mystery.[22]
Edwards is a 2023 Silver Pen Awardee.[23]
Publications
editMegan Edwards has had several books published and has contributed to anthologies.
Books
edit- Roads from the Ashes: An Odyssey in Real Life on the Virtual Frontier, Trilogy Publications (May 1999)
- Strings: A Love Story, Imbrifex Books (September 2010)
- The Perpetual Engine of Hope: Short Stories Inspired by Iconic Las Vegas Photographs, CityLife Books (September 2012)
- Getting Off on Frank Sinatra, Imbrifex Books (August 2016)
- Full service Blonde, Imbrifex Books (November 2017)
- Live Through This: An Anthology of Unnatural Disasters, Huntington Press (September 2018)
Notes
edit- ^ Samantha Miller, People Magazine Dec 2 1996 pg. 38, "Lost in America"
- ^ Annette Winter, Westways Magazine March–April 2000 pg. 60, "Millennium Gypsies" Archived 2007-10-28 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Megan Edwards, "Roads from the Ashes", Trilogy Books, May 1999; ISBN 978-1-891290-01-5
- ^ Al Martinez, LA Times March 19, 1999 Metro Section page B1, "A Song of the Open Road"
- ^ JoAnne Mary Benson, Library Journal, May 1, 1999, Vol. 124 Issue 8, p. 100.
- ^ Jayne Clark, USA Today July 9, 1999 Life Section pg. 4-D
- ^ June Sawyers, Chicago Tribune July 11, 1999, Travel Section pg. 14 in "The Resourceful Traveler"
- ^ Charles Solomon, LA Times Sept. 23, 1999, Highway 1 Section pg. 9, "One for the Read"
- ^ RoadTrip America (Compiler), "Caution: Funny Signs Ahead", Ulysses Press, November 2008; ISBN 978-1-56975-687-4
- ^ Geoff Schumacher (Editor), "The Perpetual Engine of Hope", Stephens Press, November 2010; ISBN 978-1-935043-35-5
- ^ Nevada : 150 years in the silver state (First ed.). ISBN 9781935043775.
- ^ "Getting off on Frank Sinatra", Imbrifex Books, March 2017; ISBN 9780997236903
- ^ "Las Vegas author debuts mystery 'Getting Off on Frank Sinatra'". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2 April 2017.
- ^ "GETTING OFF ON FRANK SINATRA by Megan Edwards". Kirkus Reviews.
- ^ Columnist, Francine Brokaw Community. "Book review: 'Getting off on Frank Sinatra' by Megan Edwards". Daily Herald. Archived from the original on March 3, 2017.
- ^ "30th Annual IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards™ - Independent Book Publishers Association". www.ibpa-online.org.
- ^ "2017 Foreword INDIES Winners". www.forewordreviews.com.
- ^ Awards, Next Generation Indie Book. "Next Generation Indie Book Awards". indiebookawards.com.
- ^ "30th Annual IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards™ - Independent Book Publishers Association". www.ibpa-online.org.
- ^ ""Strings" is a 2017 Foreword INDIES Winner". www.forewordreviews.com.
- ^ ""Full Service Blonde" is a 2017 Foreword INDIES Winner". www.forewordreviews.com.
- ^ "30th Annual IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards™ - Independent Book Publishers Association". www.ibpa-online.org.
- ^ "36th Annual Nevada Writers Hall of Fame". University of Nevada, Reno. Retrieved October 19, 2023.