Thursday, November 22, 2007

Finis!

Finished the first draft of COWBOY ALIBI today, between the turkey and dressing and fried apple pie. It's an unholy mess, but it's a finished unholy mess, which is easier to edit than a blank page, as I'm often told.

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Friday, November 16, 2007

They Did It Again!

Mary sold Hot Shot!

And as I hinted in my last post about her first sale, Trish sold to Harlequin American!

I tell you what, the Golden Heart class of 2004 is rockin' the sales.

Things I'd Rather Be Doing Than Hacking Up a Lung

I'm home sick from my day job (but waiting for my boss to call me and tell me why she couldn't get on the phone with me earlier because she was "busy trying to fix my computer." Um...what???)

So, anyway, here are the things I'd rather be doing than hacking up a lung:

1. Keeping my boss, who knows even less about computers than I do, from messing with my computer.

2. Laundry. Not that I plan to do it.

3. Cleaning the litterbox. Not that I plan to do it.

4. Having a conversation with my ex-BIL about his financial woes. No, come to think of it, I'd rather be hacking up a lung. Scratch that.

Seriously, here's something I'd really rather be doing than hacking up a lung. Going to my Amazon.com page and finding out that FORBIDDEN TOUCH isn't languishing in the high millions in ranking. Come on, people! February's a comin', and category books are sometimes hard to find in book stores. Wouldn't you rather have it delivered to your doorstep the second week of February? You know you would.

And look! Sexy! Pretty!



Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence

***PLEASE FORWARD***

2008 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence

The Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, sponsored by RWA chapter Southern Magic, was conceived in honor of multi-RITA Winner Gayle Wilson to award excellence in published romance fiction. The contest is judged by avid readers of romance, booksellers, and librarians. The winners of each category are awarded a bookmark engraved with the author’s name and the book’s title. Winners will also be included in a full-page RWR advertisement.

Eligibility: Participation is open to all published authors of novel length romance fiction published by an RWA-recognized publisher. Books must have a copyright of 2007; entries must be received by January 15, 2008. Electronic books may be entered provided they are presented in print book format, published through an RWA-recognized publisher and complete with copyright page produced by the publisher with print on both sides of the page.

Entry fee: RWA Members — $20 for first book; $15 for subsequent books. Entry fee: Non-RWA Members — $30 for first book; $15 for subsequent books.

Author must provide three copies of the entered book, which will not be returned. Finalists will be notified approximately March 3, 2008. Winners will be announced on April 12, 2008, at the Silken Sands Writers Conference in Pensacola Beach, FL. All finalists receive a certificate. Winners receive an engraved bookmark and inclusion in full page RWR ad. Authors may enter more than one novel; however, the same novel may not be entered in multiple categories. If a category does not receive at least 5 entries, the category will be canceled, and the entrants’ books and entry fees will be returned.

Categories for entry:

Short Contemporary (Under 70,000 Words)
Long Contemporary (Over 70,000 Words)
Historical
Single Title
Romantic Suspense Series
Romantic Suspense
Paranormal/Fantasy/ Futuristic/Time Travel
Contemporary Single Title
Young Adult
Inspirational
Novella (20,000 – 40,000 Words)

Judging: All entries are judged by avid readers of romance, booksellers, and librarians. The top two scores are added to form the final score. The lowest score is dropped. Ties are broken using the dropped low score.

Books are given to the judges as a “thank you” for judging. They are not returned. Scores and finalist placement are not revealed. Score sheets are not returned. The decision of the judges is final.

Send entries (three copies of book, entry form + entry fee) to:

Jennifer Echols
Contest Coordinator
Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence
P.O. Box 190032
Birmingham, AL 35219

Make checks payable to Southern Magic.

Questions? E-mail: GWContest@southernmagic.org

Find details, past winners, and a downloadable entry form at http://www.southernmagic.org.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Blog Biz

Two bits of blog business...

Have you checked out the Intrigue Writers' blog? At the moment, two of Intrigue's best writers, Patricia Rosemooor and Rebecca York, are talking about wolves and werewolves. There's also a contest going on—check it out!

http://www.intrigueauthors.com/blog.asp

And starting next month, I'll be running a contest on my blog every month until my book launch. You could win books and gift certificates for romantic things like Godiva Chocolate, Bath and Body Works and more! So check back here starting in December.

Meanwhile, y'all have a nice Sunday!

Edited to add--don't forget you can click on the book covers over on the sidebar of the blog and go right to their ordering pages on Amazon.com. There are still copies of FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION available for order, and you can pre-order FORBIDDEN TOUCH. With the holidays coming, FORBIDDEN TEMPTATION would make a great stocking stuffer for the romance reader on your shopping list, wouldn't it? :)