My first novel, To Honor You Call Us, has been “nominated” for the Best Science Fiction Novel of 2014 on Goodreads. It is one of fifteen nominations for this award which is made based entirely on fan voting. Although there are some truly excellent books in the lineup, I would appreciate my readers at least considering voting for my book. You can do so here: https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-science-fiction-books-2014.
As far as I can tell, the “nominations” are based purely on the book’s metrics on Goodreads–what the average rating is, how many reviews, how many ratings, etc. The book’s average rating of 4.13 stars out of 5 places it fourth among the nominated books. I would be overjoyed to finish fourth in the voting–I think it would represent a huge boost in the book’s visibility and would also be a a nice selling point for the launch of the third book in a few months.
Anyway, I would be grateful for your consideration in this race. Please cast your vote in this first round of voting by November 8, 2014. I will make an announcement in this space telling you how the book did in this round.
[UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who voted. My book did not make it to the finals but, neither did it finish last or even second to last in the voting. Actually, I did about as well as I expected given the comparatively modest sales of the book to date in comparison to the sales of the books against which it was competing. Congratulations to Andy Weir, author of The Martian which won the award and which was, in fact, the book I predicted would win (it was, I believe, the most deserving).]
H. Paul Honsinger 
Dear Mister Honsinger,
I just finished your second book. I read the first one yesterday, and For Honor We Stand was even better than the first. I am an aspiring author as well, unpublished, but ripping through my newly finished novel with a good editor in the hopes of getting it ready soon.
Your writing is an inspiration to me, and your hard work has already been a significant influence.
Easily the most enjoyable science fiction I’ve read this year, and that’s out of many dozens of books in the last few months.
I love your dialogue, and attention to character detail. You bring us into their environment in a very compelling way, and make us part of the universe in which they live. It’s refreshing. Even without a military background myself, I never felt like an outsider with your puns and jokes. I fumed as Max was snubbed by his so-called “superior officer”, and cheered when I read the word “NEVER”.
It’s been an absolute pleasure to rip through your books. I laughed a lot, and I am not ashamed to say that I was misty-eyed a time or two as well.
I don’t want to gild the lily too much here, but your writing strikes a chord with me. You’re outstanding at it, and I wish you much personal and professional success.
I’ve never before written to another author to tell them what I thought of their work, despite having read many hundreds, if not thousands, of novels. I just wanted to offer you my sincere thanks for your work, and to offer my enthusiastic encouragement and endorsement to your continued efforts.
I can’t wait to read the next one!
Sincerely,
-Brian W. Mitchem
Thank you for your effusive praises. I will do my best to live up to them in my continued writing. Best of luck in your writing efforts, as well. The time spent editing is well worth it, by the way. And I don’t just mean copy editing, but trimming the fat, sharpening story, improving characterization, making things clearer, and all that other jazz. It all counts. Again, thank you and good luck