Hawaiian Author Wins Four National Book Awards

Dunellen, NJ, May 22, 2015 (Newswire.com) - Author Toby Neal, a resident of Makawao, won 2015 Independent Publisher Book (“IPPY”), eLit Book, and  National Indie Excellence® awards for books in her bestselling Lei Crime Series. Twisted Vine took home a silver medal in the Best Mystery / Thriller eBook category in the IPPY Awards and Torch Ginger was recognized as Best Multicultural Novel in the National Indie Excellence® and eLit Book awards. Unsound, a Lei Crime companion novel, also won Gold for Mystery/ Suspense / Thriller in the eLit Book Award.

Neal is the author of thirteen novels in the mystery and young adult genres. Recently, Amazon launched a Lei Crime Kindle World, which allows authors to build upon Neal’s works. The Lei Crime Series™ debuted with Blood Orchids in 2011 and have become genuine online bestsellers, with eBooks downloads of over 500,000. The series centers on Leilani (‘Lei”) Matsumoto Texeira, a detective that solves a range of complicated mysteries in the Hawaiian Islands. In Torch Ginger Detective Lei Texeira is transferred to the island of Kaua’i where she uncovers a series of disappearances and in Twisted Vine, she is promoted to Special Agent and heads to the island of Oahu to investigate a string of mysterious suicides. Dr. Caprice Wilson, police psychologist, is the central character in the psychological thriller, Unsound.

Author Toby Neal grew up on the island of Kaua`i in Hawaii. After a few “stretches of exile” to pursue education, the islands have been home for the last sixteen years. Toby is a clinical social worker, a career that informs the depth and complexity of the characters in her books.

The "IPPY" Awards, launched in 1996, are designed to bring increased recognition to the deserving but often unsung titles published by independent authors and publishers. Established as the first awards program open exclusively to independents, over 3,000 "IPPYs" have been awarded to authors and publishers around the world. The eLit Awards are an industry-wide, unaffiliated awards program open to all members of the electronic publishing industry. The contest is presented by Jenkins Group Inc., a Michigan-based book publishing and marketing services company that has operated the popular Independent Publisher Book Awards contest since 1996.The National Indie Excellence Awards exists to help establish independent publishing as a strong and proud facet of the publishing industry. Recognizing authors that put their heart and soul into their work, the NIEA is proud to be a champion of self-publishers and small and independent presses that go the extra mile to produce books of excellence in every aspect. Awarded since 2007, the NIEA competition is judged by independent experts from all aspects of the indie book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, book cover designers, and professional copywriters.

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