It’s very rainy in my part of the world. No big surprise, because yesterday was our May long weekend (Victoria Day). It seems it always rains on the two big camping weekends of the summer, the other being the July 1st (Canada Day) long weekend (if it falls on a weekend). What’s Memorial Day like in the States? Is it the start of camping season like it is for those of us up north foolish enough to enjoy camping (I can take it or leave it…usually leave it, but I know people who adore camping). Do you have plans for the upcoming Memorial Day long weekend?
Because it was Eldest Son’s birthday on Friday and then a long weekend, my writing ground to a halt. However, a lot of overdue cleaning was accomplished. So, my only bit of writing-related news this week is that I received my first ever scores back from the RITA contest. I’m pleased to report that BORROWING ALEX received one 9 (the top score possible for those not in the know) and also an 8. However, it also received one upper-middling score and two “lower-middling enough that there’s no way this entry will make it into the finals” scores. However, that the book received such differing scores didn’t bother me. This was the first year that an author with a book published by a micro-press (I picked up that description from Natalie Damschroder) like Amber Quill could even enter the RITA, and, frankly, there wasn’t really an appropriate category for my entry. I did the best I could with my choices, which were to either enter a short book in Single Title, where it would have competed against books twice its length, or to enter it in Series Contemporary, which is really for category romance novels published in a series (Harlequin/Silhouette). However, the definition for this category is loose enough (employing words like “usually” quite frequently) that I felt it was the best place for my story. So, in actuality, I was very pleased that BORROWING ALEX snagged that 9!
Lastly, the managing editor of the Casablanca line for Sourcebooks, Deb Werksman, is taking questions today on the new Casablanca Authors blog. I’ve spoken to Deb on the phone, and she is very enthusiastic. This is an excellent opportunity to pick her brain, so don’t miss it. And, yep, I asked a question myself.