Luck in Love is a finalist...

...in the Arianna Cover Art Awards in the Romance genre. Brava, Carol Fiorillo!

Final Week to Enter the 2013 Golden Quill Contest...

***Permission to forward granted and encouraged***

Time has flown, and we're now down to the FINAL WEEK before the 2013 Golden Quill Contest deadline. That's right, there are only SEVEN DAYS left to submit your entries for this internationally recognized Published Authors' Contest hosted by Desert Rose RWA and get your work into the waiting hands of our judges, all of whom are romance readers and librarians - people whose praise drives sales. The Golden Quill seeks to honor some of the best romantic fiction of the year, and we would love to see your novel or novella (or both!) in the spotlight.

Fee: $30 per entry
Eligibility: Published Authors
Deadline for Submissions: January 11, 2013
Entry: Novel or novella copyrighted in 2012 (print and e-formats accepted)
Judges: Romance readers and Librarians
Categories: Best First Book; Mainstream Single Title (includes Novel with Strong Romantic Elements); GLBT; Historical; Paranormal/Sci Fi/Fantasy/Futuristic; Romantic Suspense; Regency Historical; Hot/Sexy/Erotic; Inspirational; Short Contemporary; Traditional Romance; Long Contemporary; Inspirational - Romantic Suspense; Novella (stories under 40,000 words)

FMI, rules, and entry form, visit http://desertroserwa.org/contests/Phoenix-Romance-Writers-Golden-Quill.php

It's begun...

Today, I finished the re-write for my inspirational historical novel that I may be publishing under my real name. I'm still waffling about that. I'm allowed. I also finished the synopsis. I've never written one of those before, so I have no idea what I'm doing. Actually, I had to write a one-page synopsis for this very story when I submitted it to Harlequin. Now that I know more, I understand why it was rejected. This synopsis is a lot longer. I put the synopsis, the first three chapters, and my application all in the proper format (I hope) and emailed it all off to the Mentor Program offered by Desert Rose, my local chapter of Romance Writers of America. A published author will be matched with me, and give me a critique on the material. I expect a lot of red marks on the synopsis. I've talked about it with published authors, but I'm really completely clueless. I understand the overall idea, but putting it into practice is presently an exercise of shooting in the dark. I am very happy with my re-write. The books is so much better. And yes, I expect red marks on that, too, only hopefully not as many. Thank you to the judges in the Phoenix Rattler Contest, offered by the Christian Writers of the West chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers. Their suggestions were invaluable.

Progress report...

I intend to finish THE PROJECT by the end of the month, at least the rough draft anyway. I'm well on my way to exactly that. I also worked on my completed manuscript and sent the first 300 words for a drawing to be critiqued. Whether or not it will be picked is anyone's guess, but the important thing is that I screwed my courage to the sticking place and sent it in. Interesting to realize that I think it's now much better because of the need to keep the entry so short. The manuscript needs a good overhaul, but THE PROJECT needs to be finished first.

I'm also reading books for the Golden Quill Contest, offered by Desert Rose, a chapter of Romance Writers of America. I've discovered some wonderful writers that I've added to my yes list, but it's tough with the stories I don't really like. I can't simply stop after the first chapter. I can only judge it fairly if I read the whole thing. I have several reward books lined up for finishing. :-)