Amanda McCabe for the RITA

It gives me the GREATEST of pleasures to know that AMANDA McCABE has been nominated for the RITA for her novella "Charlotte and the Wicked Lord" in the anthology Diamonds of Welbourne Manor.

Here's what Amanda has to say about her nomination: "I'm especially pleased it's this story, since I got to work on this novella with my good friends Diane Gaston and Deb Marlowe. And also because I have two spin-offs from this story coming out! A novel about Nicholas and Lady Emily and another novella Mistletoe and Folly that'll be out this Christmas."

I adored Diamonds as I blogged here. Here's what librarian Super Wendy has to say about it: "The Diamonds Of Welbourne Manor is one of the strongest anthologies I've read in recent memory, and any (or all) of the stories could have been nominated and 'deserved' it. That being said, the Deb Marlowe story was my favorite."

I've known Amanda for a few years now. I started out with becoming a regular visitor to her group blog the Risky Regencies in the early days of her blogging foray. I then graduated to becoming a fan of her work. From there on, we forged a path towards friendship that has only strengthened over the years. She's a writer, whose work has largely been under the radar, which is rather unfortunate. Her talent, her prolific output all deserve the attention that I hope this RITA nomination will bring.

RITAs and GHs

[Edited 3/25/10:
Double RITA nominees: Susan Wiggs, Carolyn Jewel, Elizabeth Hoyt / Julia Harper, Christie Ridgway, Kelly Gay, Marjorie Liu, Kresley Cole, Kate Brady, Carla Capshaw, Elisabeth Naughton, Lauren Strasnick
Critique Partner pairs nominated for RITAs: Tessa Dare & Courtney Milan, Victoria Dahl & Jennifer Echols.
Same Book nominated twice: "The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor", "One Scream Away", "The Better Part of Darkness", "The Gladiator"
Noticeable Misses from list: Jennifer Ashley, Julie James, Jo Goodman, C.S. Harris, Meredith Duran]

GOOD LUCK
...to the authors who entered the RITAs
and
...to the aspiring writers for the Golden Hearts
organized by the
Romance Writers of America.

The list of nominees will be updated on RWA's site continuously throughout the day: RITA and GH.

Are You Entitled?

I've been avidly following the figure skating competitions of the 2010 Winter Olympics up in Vancouver, Canada. Thursday the 18th was the free skate contest for the men's figure skating title. American Evan Lysacek won the gold over Russian Yevgeny Plushenko by 1.31 points. Russia, including Putin, have made accusations of injustice and bias.

At the heart of the controversy is how and why Plushenko's undubitably more technically difficult program with minor flubs was trumped by Lysacek's expressive, faultless program with decidedly less wizardry.

To me, this speaks, first of all, to not understanding the changing market (audience) and changing rules (judges), both of which were spelled out well before the contest, but were received differently by the two contesntants and their coaches. You cannot keep hoeing the same row in the same fashion and expect a different harvest.

Also, there's no entitlement. Because you do X, there're no absolutes that you will be rewarded with Y. That may be your desire, but when other people and factors are at play, you may get Z.

Lysacek remarked on Plushenko's statements about the quad, "If it was all about one jump, they'd give us ten seconds to go out and do our jump, not four minutes forty seconds."

Big picture, contestants. Don't lose sight of overall goal while honing one particular sub-goal even though it's spectacular and unique.

The only thing under a contestant's control is focusing on self and product: What can you deliver? How can you improve your craft, your skill, your product? Without reference to who else did what, what did you do with your performance? What new tips have you learned from this experience?

All of this reminds me of grumblings from writers when they receive marks and/or comments from contests and submissions to which they send their work.

Judging, by its very nature, is a subjective exercise and no one is entitled to or owed anything by these strangers. All you can confidently do is your best and hope that the judges' biases don't work against you. If they do, well, there's always the next contest, the next sub.

Does this rip your gut out? Of course, yes! Does this mean, you should rip into the one who has found success? Of course, not!

Look only unto yourself. One contest, one sub doesn't matter. Ultimate goal is being published. Don't lose sight of that.

Contest: It Happened One Season

Four stories, four authors, one theme: that was the idea behind the bestselling anthology from Avon IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT. Now, Stephanie Laurens, Mary Balogh, Jacquie D’Alessandro, and Candice Hern return to write four stories ultimately chosen by you, the readers, in IT HAPPENED ONE SEASON.

Visit www.ItHappenedOneSeason.com to suggest your story.

Rules...

It must take place during the Regency social season.

You must include three specific plot points or elements (such as these used for the anthology IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT: (1) a couple meets at an inn, 2) they had met before but not within the past ten years, 3) the whole story takes place within a 24 hour period). Your three ideas could create the theme of the four tales in the new anthology collection IT HAPPENED ONE SEASON.

The authors choose the four finalists.

The readers vote on the ultimate favorite and one lucky winner will see their dream come true.

The grand prize winner will be acknowledged on the dedication page of IT HAPPENED ONE SEASON and receive a $1,000 American Express gift card and a copy signed by all four authors.

Semi-finalists will receive $100 American Express gift cards and a set of personalized autographed books.

Dates...
February 1 - 14: contest entries accepted
February 15 - 24: authors judge entries and select four finalists
February 25: finalists announced and each of the four story ideas posted for voting
February 25 - March 13: general voting on the four finalist plots
March 14: Winners announced

Fine Print...
Contest is open to US residents only, age 18 or older.

Visit HERE and HERE for more details.

Excuses...Excuses...and the Royal Ascot

I have nothing but excuses why I can't get a simple blog up. First there was health. Then there was travel. Then there was prolonged health. Then there were visitors. Today, there was The Accident. We're safe and well; car's in the shop; no one's hurt; our pocket-book got lighter; car insurance got heftier; husband's rather worried, but he was brilliant at managing everything and everybody today. Blog post has been delayed yet again. (Now to figure how to get myself to the chapter meeting Tuesday evening.) And keeping in line with how my life's been the past few weeks, I didn't final at the Royal Ascot, my very first contest. More to go.

Royal Ascot Finalists have been announced. (w00t! to doglady!)

Hot and Wild (Paranormal, Erotic, etc.) Regency
Angels At Almack's (Paranormal) by Cathryn Leming
The Raven's Heart (Paranormal) by Pamela Bolton-Holifield
Bluebeard's Hunger (Paranormal) by Lori Phibin
Final Round Judge: Hilary Sares, Kensington Books

Regency Historical
Defensive Measures by Alyssa Fernandez
Defiant by Elizabeth Baldwin
The Changing Light of Dawn by Joanne Lockyer
Final Round Judge: Tessa Woodward, Avon HarperCollins Publishers

Sweet and Mild (Traditional, Inspirational, Young Adult, etc.) Regency
Rakes & Radishes (Traditional) by Susan Newman
To Love a Lady (Traditional) by Marjorie Allen
Merlin's Hideaway (Young Adult) by Lavinia Klein
Final Round Judge: Lindsey McGurk, Samhain Publishing

Winners will be announced at the Beau Monde Soiree in San Francisco on July 30, 2008.

RWA 2008 Award Finalists Announced

On March 25, the Romance Writers of America announced its list of finalists for the Golden Heart for unpublished writers and for the for published writers.

RITA: Congratulations to Anna Campbell, Lisa Kleypas, and Allison Brennan for double-nominations; Laura Lee Guhrke, Julianne MacLean, Rachael Gibson, Susan Anderson, Toni Blake, Diana Holquist, Elizabeth Hoyt, Ann Gracie, Nora Roberts, Karen Rose, JR Ward, Christina Dodd, Nicola Cornick, and Julia Quinn among others.

GH: Congratulations to Courtney Milan, Susan Seyfarth, Kimberley Howe, Pamela Bolton-Holifield, and Darcy Burke among others.