Released on: May 24, 2008, 6:09 pm

Press Release Author: Mary Claire Mahaney

Industry: Entertainment

Press Release Summary: Independent Publisher has announced that \"Osaka Heat\" by Mary
Claire Mahaney has been selected as the Silver Medal Winner in the Multicultural
Fiction Adult category for its 12th annual IPPY awards. There were 3,175 books
competing in a variety of categories for the best independently published books of
the past year.

Press Release Body: Independent Publisher has announced that \"Osaka Heat\" by Mary
Claire Mahaney has been selected as the Silver Medal Winner in the Multicultural
Fiction Adult category for its 12th annual IPPY awards. There were 3,175 books
competing in a variety of categories for the best independently published books of
the past year.

\"Osaka Heat\" (AuthorHouse 2007) follows the story of an American widow who travels
to Japan and becomes involved in a forbidden romance with a Japanese man. The
multicultural aspects of \"Osaka Heat\" are brought out in the literature, music, and
Japanese cuisine woven throughout the book, along with the personal, religious, and
cultural challenges faced by the protagonist during her travels in Japan. Ms.
Mahaney was inspired to write \"Osaka Heat\" when she traveled to Japan as the
chaperone for her son's high school student exchange. She saw the cultural setting
of a Japanese school as the perfect setting for a novel. Six years later she has an
award-winning book.

\"I'm honored that \"Osaka Heat\" has won a Silver Medal in this prestigious
competition and am pleased that the book has been enjoyed by so many readers,\" said
Ms. Mahaney. \"One of the best things about having written \"Osaka Heat\" is the
opportunity it has given me to meet people who love to read and who enjoy hearing
about the writing process.\" Following Ms. Mahaney's recent presentation to the
McLean, Virginia, branch of the American Association of University Women, the
organizer of the event commented in the organization's News: \"Her talk focused on
the process of writing-with her own idiosyncratic techniques clearly described to a
spellbound audience.\"

A reviewer for Japan Visitor recently wrote, \"What ensues is a journey of
self-discovery, or rather of rediscovering who she [the protagonist] is..The book
won me over. Mahaney does not speak Japanese, she is not an expert on things
Japanese, but she narrated well the inner life of a woman whose moment of truth
happens to take place in a Japanese setting. And that is more than enough.\"

About Mary Claire Mahaney
Ms. Mahaney, a retired lawyer, lives in Fairfax County, Virginia, where she has
served on numerous education and community boards. In 1997, she was awarded the
McLean Youth, Inc., Citizen of the Year Award for her community work. She has made
appearances at conferences, libraries, and bookstores, and has spoken to many groups
about the inspiration for her book, the twists and turns the story took as she wrote
it and revised it, and her experiences publishing the book. For more information
about Ms. Mahaney and \"Osaka Heat\", visit www.maryclairemahaney.com.

\"Osaka Heat\" (ISBN: 978-1425990824) is available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble
and from the publisher at www.authorhouse.com/bookstore. The link for the 2008 IPPY
Awards:
http://www.independentpublisher.com/article.php?page=1231&urltitle=Announcing%202008%20Independent%20Publisher%20Book%20Awards%20Results

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Web Site: http://maryclairemahaney.com

Contact Details: Mary Claire Mahaney
703-893-7063
703-851-4450 Mobile
marycmahaney@msn.com
www.maryclairemahaney.com