Nancy L. Williams of Chattanooga swept six of the top writing awards at the Southeastern Writers Association Conference this year at the June conference. Ms. Williams won the awards with a single entry called, "A Very Basic Christmas."
"It's hard to find a short inspirational story which appeals to young adults as well as the older generation. But that was my goal when I wrote 'A Very Basic Christmas,'" Ms. Williams said.
She captured the Sue Ellen Hudson Inspirational Award (third place); the Angel Award for Holiday Seasonal Writing (Honorable Mention); the M.L. Brown Award for Young Adult Literature (second place); the LeRoy Spruill Award for Short Fiction (first place); the Southeastern Writers Association Best Fiction (only one award given); and the Gift of Writing Award (one award given only).
Each award is given by one or more judges of each category, with no knowledge of who submitted the entry or how the other judges decided their winners.
Last year, Ms. Williams won second place in the best novel category for her novel, Agenda 21 Conspiracy, soon to be released by Springflower Publishing of Chattanooga. Agenda 21 Conspiracy is a sequel to her spy/sci-fi thriller, A Matter of Destiny, released in 2007.
Ms. Williams moved to East Ridge in October of last year, and produced a corporate history for Ten-Tec Corporation while settling into her new home. She is a member of the Chattanooga Writers Guild.
Ms. Williams' story's premise is circa 1960, and follows Naomi, a naïve girl of 18, who is excited with the prospect of joining the Air Force. She attends basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Tx., where she learns that ambition and the will to survive are essential, but successful physical and mental conditioning is strictly measured by teamwork and cooperation. It is only through the teamwork of her two roommates, Gail and Julie, that all three girls endure the training. Just before graduation, however, their success is most sorely tested when racial discrimination escalates into an incident in San Antonio and threatens to destroy Naomi's closest friend, Gail, who is black.
Naomi tries to console the humiliated Gail, who then tells Naomi of her family's desperate poverty and difficulties. Naomi, determined to help her friend, tells Gail's story to their training instructor, in spite of the fact that the instructor had already treated Gail badly. What happens then is heart-warming.
A Very Basic Christmas is more than a story of holiday gifts, unless the gifts are the intrinsic values of love, generosity, dignity, respect, and kindness.