Just two days after I received from Loren Coleman and the International Cryptozoology Museum the prestigious Golden Yeti Award as Cryptozoologist of the Year 2016– a massive honour recognised internationally as the veritable Oscar of Cryptozoology – I was delighted and awed to discover on my birthday yesterday that in his always much-anticipated annual listing of the year's best cryptozoology books Loren has chosen my newest book, Still In Search Of Prehistoric Survivors: The Creatures That Time Forgot?, as THE Best Cryptozoology Book of 2016!!
Not only that, but also included in his Top Ten Cryptozoology Books of 2016 listing (click hereto view it on Loren's CryptoZooNews website) is my earlier 2016 book, Here's Nessie! A Monstrous Compendium From LochNess. Thank you so much, Loren, for bestowing such praise and honour upon my books - I am truly grateful, and very greatly honoured. Moreover, I'd like to take this opportunity to offer my thanks too to all of the numerous correspondents, artists (in particular Bill Rebsamen), and crypto-colleagues globally whose much-valued contributions to these books of mine have helped them achieve such success; to Michael Newton and to Henry Bauer for their respective splendid forewords; and most especially to Chad Arment and Coachwhip Publications re Still In Search Of Prehistoric Survivors and to Jon Downes and CFZ Press re Here's Nessie! for producing in each respective instance such a beautifully-presented volume from my original manuscript and submitted illustrations.
How I wish that my dear mother Mary Shuker, who initiated my life-long passion for cryptozoology (click herefor details), could have seen all of this – she would have been so proud of her lad, as she always fondly called me and whom she loved so much. God bless you Mom, and thank you again most sincerely Loren. This is what has always encouraged me in the researching and writing of my books and articles, and made it all so worthwhile for me – namely, to learn via such recognition as this that my work is valued so much by, and gives so much pleasure to, readers and fellow researchers/writers alike. What more can any author ask for?
