Or, should I say, contest.
I have a lot of reading to do over the next few weeks, because I received my RITA books yesterday. This is the first year I’ve volunteered to judge the RITA contest. Last year and previous years, I judged the Golden Heart. Considering this is the second year I’ve entered the RITA myself (last year as Cindy and Penny, this year just as Penny), I decided the time had come to volunteer to judge. As much as I yearned to continue judging the Golden Heart, I confess I don’t have it in me to judge two contests at one time, so I had to choose.
I received 8 or 9 books—yikes! All but one are in one category, and then there’s a lone baby from a second category. It’s interesting, when you receive all but one book from one category, to note the publishers within that category. However, I can’t go into my observations here, so as not to ID authors and publishers. I’ll have to discuss it with Elle Muse. She’s very discreet.
Before I get to the RITA entries, I’m still reading a wonderful book by Bronwyn Parry, an Australian writer who won the Golden Heart in 2007. Bronwyn’s romantic suspense with a mainstream feel, AS DARKNESS FALLS, was published by Hachette Australia this year. I’d love to include a link to Amazon for everyone, but unfortunately the book isn’t distributed in North America. So if you search on Amazon, I think it’s listed as out of print or something. But it IS in print—just in Australia.
How did I finagle a copy, you ask? Hachette had a contest for five people to win copies of Bronwyn’s book, I happened to enter (because I really wanted to read it), and I happened to get chosen as one of the lucky winners. Yay for me.
Oh, and before I forget, today is the last day you can comment to enter to win a copy of SECRETS, VOLUME 26: BOUND BY PASSION, including the novella, Exes & Ahhs, by Kate St. James, who is the author of the week at Candy Ready’s Red Hots. Excerpts from Exes & Ahhs went up yesterday and today—so hop over and check ’em out. Yes, you have to comment (there, not here) to enter for a chance to win, but the winner is getting chosen tomorrow, so if you want this last chance to enter, take advantage of it now. NOW, I tell ya!!