‘Accursed Son’ is Eric Avedissian suspense debut
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP — “Accursed Son” by former longtime Ocean City Sentinel reporter Eric Avedissian was named by the Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group as one of the best indie books of 2023.
The Egg Harbor Township resident worked as a reporter for the Ocean City Sentinel from 2006 until 2020. He started his journalism career in 1994 as a copy editor and reporter for Sentinel sister paper the Cape May Star and Wave, working for the Cape May County Gazette, Wildwood Leader and The Press of Atlantic City before landing at the Sentinel.
Avedissian’s book is a finalist in the Suspense category of the 2023 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, the world’s largest book awards program for independent publishers and self-published authors. The winners and finalists will be honored June 23 during a gala event at the Newberry Library in Chicago, coinciding with the American Library Association Annual Conference.
Avedissian is now an adjunct professor at Atlantic Cape Community College, where he teaches English composition. He graduated from Rowan University in 2020 with a master’s degree in writing.” Accursed Son” is his debut novel.
Shadow Spark Publishing, an independent publisher based in Hurst, Texas, released “Accursed Son” in December 2022. It is the first book in the “Martyr’s Vow” series.
“Accursed Son hits me in all the right places and was my favorite read of 2022,” Shadow Spark Publishing co-founder Mandy Russell said.
In “Accursed Son,” embalmer Armand Tarkanian begrudgingly works in his uncle’s funeral home when a car accident leaves him indebted to Berj, a mysterious stranger with rune-carved gold teeth and a penchant for worshipping old gods.
Blackmailed and desperate, Armand feels more trapped than he was under his uncle’s thumb. But Armand harbors his own dark secret, a bloodline curse that allows him to communicate with the dead.
When the spirits show him how they were murdered, Armand must choose between fealty to the sadistic and manipulative Berj or joining the Legion of the Lamb, a monster-hunting biker gang with its own agenda.
What began as a dangerous game between secret societies leads Armand on a frightening quest to save the only family he’s ever known and a chance to get closer to the rebellious misfits who saved him.
Awarded journalist
Throughout his career, Avedissian was recognized by the New Jersey Press Association 24 times for excellence in news reporting:
First-place awards included Coverage of Elections/Politics for a 2018 story about the Democratic congressional primary campaign among Tanzie Youngblood, Will Cunningham and Jeff Van Drew and Responsible Journalism/Enterprise for a 2017 series on the opioid epidemic in Cape May County.
Avedissian had won first place for a story in 2010 for Special Subject Writing — “Fighting Drugs on the Homefront.”
Avedissian was honored with first-place awards for coverage of storm with “Winter Storm’s Tides Far Worse than Snow” in 2016 and that year’s Special Issue – “Be Prepared.”
He took first place in the Community Home Run Award for “Not Your Father’s Villas, Anymore” in 2001 and the Lloyd P. Burns Memorial Award for Responsible Journalism for his coverage of the Susan Negersmith case in 1995.
“Eric was an outstanding reporter for our newspapers,” Sentinel Editor and Publisher David Nahan said. “He also had a talent for writing magazine-length stories, such as when he profiled many of the aging veterans about what they did in World War II and when he wrote about Prohibition. Those features were fascinating and filled with interesting details.”
“It is great to see his talent not only expanding into books, but being recognized well beyond the newspaper field,” Nahan said.
The Next Generation Indie Book Awards are judged by leaders of the indie book publishing industry, including many with long careers at major publishing houses. Their love of a great read and experience in the publishing arena identify books deserving a wider audience.
Independent book publishing companies are not part of the major conglomerates dominating the book publishing industry. Indies include small presses, larger independent publishers, university presses, e-book publishers and self-published authors.
“Like other independent artists, many indie book publishers face challenges that the industry giants don’t experience,” said Catherine Goulet, founder and co-chair of the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. “The indies have to work much harder to get their best books into readers’ hands.”
The aim of the Independent Book Publishing Professionals Group is to promote professional standards in independent book publishing (also known as “indie” book publishing) and provide support and recognition for the independent book publishing profession.
“Authors and publishers who compete in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards are serious about promoting their books,” Goulet said. “They aim to stand out from the crowd of millions of books in print.”
To help indie authors and publishers reach a wider audience, the top 80+ books in the 2023 Next Generation Indie Book Awards will be reviewed by New York literary agent Marilyn Allen of Allen Literary Agency (formerly the Allen O’Shea Literary Agency), or one of Allen’s co-agents, for possible representation in areas such as distribution, foreign rights, film rights and other rights.
A complete list of 2023 winners and finalists is available at indiebookawards.com.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
