Gold Medal Winner
in Regional Fiction!
"The Sausage Maker’s Daughters” Garnered Multiple Awards in Its First Few Months
The Independent Publisher announced that ‘The Sausage Maker’s Daughters’ has won a gold medal first place in its international competition in the category of regional fiction. I was also honored by the 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Awards as a Finalist in Regional Fiction and earned a Honorable Mention for Popular Literature Fiction by the 2012 Global Ebook Awards.
In addition, five additional book festivals have honored ‘The Sausage Maker’s Daughters’ with honorable mentions—New York Book Festival, San Francisco Book Festival, Los Angeles Book Festival, Paris Book Festival, and the Beach Book Festival.
New Great Reviews for “The Sausage Maker’s Daughters” in The Press
Thank you to Tolucan Times and The Mystery Site for the wonderful review, discussion and write up about my book!
Reviews And Praise for My Book
“AGS Johnson’s first novel is a tale of suspense weaved seemlessly through the story of a broken family, whose demons are no longer able to be ignored. Johnson strategically uses humor to keep the story light, without detracting from the deeper themes running throughout: the need to be loved and the struggle we all have to find our place in life. Set in a small town in Wisconsin with the back drop of the Vietnam war and the rise of feminism, The Sausage Maker’s Daughters is much more than entertaining: it is thought-provoking. I highly recommend it!” — Amazon.com reader
“I loved this book. The dynamics among the sisters was well crafted, the characters grew on you though the various flashbacks to earlier events, and I was hooked right to the end. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a well crafted story around family relationships and conflicts, that also keeps you intrigued until the end!” — Barnes & Noble reader
“She couldn’t explain how she ended up standing over the body of her former lover, her sister’s husband, as he lay dead in her bed. But the events of that night, impossible for her to recall, would force Kip Czermanski to question everything she believes in and everything she thought she understood about herself and her family. And they would change her life forever, whether
she is found innocent of murder or not. A.G.S. Johnson’s novel, set in the turbulent and transformative Vietnam War era, blends the mystery of a whodunit with the intrigue of an epic family drama. As the plot unfolds, it… Read more … — ForeWord Reviews
“Here are the tangled roots of our troubles in a beautifully told, multi-generational saga. Bravo!” — Aram Saroyan, author of Door to the River
“A.G.S. Johnson’s novel is a fresh new voice on family dynamics and, ensconced in a male dominated society, what it meant to be a counterculture activist and budding feminist during the Vietnam War. But once Kip Czermanski is accused of murder in her conservative hometown, it stops mattering which side is right – just try to figure out who committed the murder.” — Nancy Ellen Dodd, author of The Writer’s Compass: From Story map to Finished Draft in 7 Stages
“A.G.S. Johnson’s talent as a storyteller draws us in and shines throughout The Sausage Maker’s Daughters. Page by page, chapter by chapter, Johnson transports us through time and ever deeper into the lives of her characters as we experience the pain of what is and the pain of what could have been, the mystery as it unfolds and the universal truths that touch us all. In the end, we experience The Sausage Maker’s Daughters viscerally and personally.” — James J. Owens, Founder and CEO, The World is Just a Book Away; Author of forthcoming anthology, The World is Just a Book Away; Assistant Professor of Communication, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California
“I finished your book last night. What a good read that was. I was happy it ended so well and surprisingly. I consider myself a feminist ( I remember anticipating the first issue of “Ms” magazine), so Kip’s views were great to see in print. You have written a terrific book, A.G.S., with interesting well defined personalities.” — Fan Kee
“A compelling page-turner of a novel that highlights the secrets that even good families keep from one another – with devastating, unexpected results. Johnson, a keen observer of peoples’ foibles, has brilliantly captured Midwestern values, small town gossips, and rebellious spirits in her remarkable first novel. Told from inside the mind of one accused of a crime of passion, you experience the torture of being charged with a crime you think you didn’t commit. Finding this author is like discovering a young John Grisham. This is spell-binding courtroom storytelling at its very best.” — Madelyn Cain, award-winning author of Laffit: Anatomy of a Winner, The Childless Revolution, and First Time Mothers, Last Chance Babies
More Press: Reviews & Interviews
USC Alumni News | July 2012
To mark the second anniversary of University of Southern California hosting the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, the USC Alumni group posed this question to several of the Trojan Family’s authors. “If you were stranded on a desert island, what are the five books you’d take to inspire, entertain or move you? “ My picks were July’s feature.
USC Alumni News Interview
Shelf Awareness | 02.28.2012
Shelf Awareness Interview
One Chapter Ahead | 02.12.2012
One Chapter Ahead review
“These are some of the best written characters that I have yet come across.”
Kritters Ramblings | 02.11.2012
Kritters Ramblings review
“The Sausage Maker’s Daughters could be one of “the top 5 (picks) of 2012 and we’re only in month 2!”
Big Blend Radio Interview | 02.08.2012
Big Blend Radio and Magazine 15-20 minute interview
One Ocean Dreamer | 02.08.2012
One Ocean Dreamer review
BookGateway | 02.07.2012
BookGateway review
Find Me in a Book | 02.02.2012
Find Me in a Book review
“The Sausage Maker’s Daughters’ characters were “some of the best written characters I’ve seen.”