Category: Contests

Cover Cafe Annual Cover Contest

Cover Cafe is hosting the 2009 Cover Contest (formerly hosted by All About Romance). If you want to weigh in on which covers should win their categories, hop on over and take a gander. Categories “covered” include Alternate Reality, the Two-Image Cover, Historical, Contemporary, Series, and Worst Cover.

As an author, I didn’t vote for Worst Cover. Authors have little to zero control over their cover art, and I don’t feel it’s good sportsmanship for writers to bash each others’ covers. Readers, however, that’s another story. A reader voting on a Worst Cover might give a heads-up to that particular publisher’s art department to, um, try another tact. Or is that tack? Hmm…

You need to provide your name and email address when you vote, and you need to vote in a minimum of three categories for your votes to be eligible. So if you don’t want to do any of those things…you can look and wonder at and mock to your heart’s contest, but you can’t vote.

Oh, if you wish, you can also provide the reason you love or hate the cover you choose to win a particular category. A little box pops up for this purpose. Plus, here’s a link to the Dear Publisher blog, where you can leave more general comments about the covers.

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Brava Contest – Writing with the Stars

As opposed to dancing.

The Kensington Brava line is holding a new writing contest in conjunction with RT BookReviews. Not sure when the contest opens. Details are in the June issue of RT. Alas, I don’t have an RT subscription. For now, you can find a bit of information on the Brava authors blog. Editor Alicia Condon, formerly of Dorchester Publishing (she replaced Kate Duffy at Kensington – R.I.P., Kate), introduces the contest. The comment thread poses some interesting questions about contest eligibility that, as of this typing, haven’t been answered. Keep checking the thread to see if they are. Or…rush out and buy the June RT as soon as you can.

Brava writing contests have launched several careers, including HelenKay Dimon’s. I entered Brava contests when I was eligible, but never fared well in them. As in I never made it to the finals. I could never get past the first round of judges. That didn’t stop Kate Duffy from calling me to discuss ideas, so I must have been doing something right for Brava. Just not right for the preliminary contest rounds.

You know…I still have a requested partial on Kate’s desk. Or whatever became of Kate’s desk. I wonder what will become of it? It was an electronic submission, so might have gone the way of the do-do bird with Kate’s passing. I really should look into that. I’ll put it on my For After I Finish Revising SPIAPT List.

RITA and Golden Heart Shout-Outs

My phone didn’t ring once this morning when RWA board members were making RITA and Golden Heart calls (Penny entered the RITA). Usually, I get at least one phone call so I can pretend I’m a finalist in those briefs moments before I pick up the phone. The year it actually happened, I was doing laundry. I’ll never forget the excitement.

Congratulations to all my fellow RWA members who finaled! I’m not going to list everyone here, but I do want to give shout-outs to a select few. Click the headings to read the full lists of finalists.

RITA

Best First Book – The Gladiator by Carla Capshaw – fellow GH 2007 finalist sister!

Best First Book – Stolen Fury by Elisabeth Naughton – another GH 2007 finalist sister!

Contemporary Series – A Not-So-Perfect Past by Beth Andrews, who won the Golden Heart in the Long Contemporary category the year I finaled. So…another GH 2007 sister!

Contemporary Series: Suspense/Adventure – The Christmas Stranger by Beth Cornelison– my Facebook Wordscraper buddy! (Who better let me win now).

Contemporary Series: Suspense/Adventure – Cold Case Affair by Loreth Anne White – fellow member of the Greater Vancouver Chapter of RWA.

Inspirational – Carla Capshaw again for The Gladiator – 2007 GH sister!

Romance Novella – “Annelise and the Scandalous Rake” in The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor by Deb Marlowe – 2007 GH finalist sister!

Romantic Suspense – Elisabeth Naughton again for Stolen Fury! 2007 GH sister.

Romantic Suspense – Dark Country by Bronwyn Parry – 2007 GH finalist sister!

Young Adult – The ABC’s of Kissing Boys by Tina Ferraro – fellow Brainstormer, Scrabble aficionado, and my friend. I’m especially super excited for Tina. Congrats, girl!!

Golden Heart

Contemporary Series: Suspense/Adventure – Breathless by Kimberley Howe – GH 2007 sister!

Contemporary Single Title – Sharing Spaces by Laura Graham Booth – GH 2007 sister! And a driving force behind our former group blog.

Historical – Between Heaven and Hell by Jacqui Nelson – fellow chapter member of RWA-Greater Vancovuer.

Novel with Strong Romantic Elements – Switching Sides by Maureen McGowan – GH 2007 sister!

Regency Historical – My Dearest Rogue by Elizabeth Stock – GH 2007 sister!

Romantic Suspense – Deadly Recall by Donnell Ann Bell – GH 2007 sister!

Young Adult – Bloom by Shelley Coriell – GH 2007 sister!

Young Adult – Welcome Caller, This is Chloe also by Shelley Coriell – GH 2007 sister!

I’ll be cheering all of you on in Nashville. Congrats!

RITA Report

The deadline for getting in RITA® scores is March 9th. I’m happy to report that I’m done. Read all the books in my panel, submitted the scores on-line. Good for me.

RITA judges are instructed to “hold all judging and/or scoring data confidential” (from the Judging Guidelines), so I can’t talk about my panel of books in any way that might identify them. What I will say is that judging the RITA this year was a pleasure compared to last year. Last year was my first time judging, and I don’t know how or why it happened, but I wound up with 9 books to judge, 8 from the same category and one from a second category (judges select a minimum three categories that they’re willing to judge, and it can’t be a category in which you’re currently entered). This year I had 6 books, from three categories. I liked that much better! Judging 9 books within a short time frame last year was tough. Especially because most of the 8 books that were from the same category last year were also published under the same line/imprint, and, oddly enough, several were even set in the same city. It was an odd judging experience, to say the least. As a judge, I want some variety. I didn’t get that last year, and I had to keep reminding myself that the authors of the books in my panel had no idea that I’d wind up with several books all set in the same city and with fairly similar story lines. In other words, I had to work extra hard last year to ensure I was being fair to all the entrants.

I can’t remember which three categories I selected to judge last year, because I only received entries from two. This year, though, I dropped at least one of the categories from last year in favor of a different category. I might have done this with two categories, actually. And it paid off. I had a great time this year with my entries. I was introduced to authors I might not otherwise have bought, and I discovered a couple of authors I want to buy again (that’s what I love about the RITAs). I don’t know if I lucked out, but the vast majority of books in my panel were above par.

I don’t have a 2010 release as Penny, so next year I can ask to judge the category Penny usually enters (Romance Novella). I’m looking forward to that.

It’s odd, when I used to judge the Golden Heart, it didn’t bother me if I received entries from just one category. But you only have to judge three chapters and a synopsis in the Golden Heart. For the RITA, you have to read the entirety of each and every book in your panel. That’s a lot of words.

How is your RITA or Golden Heart reading going? Have you finished? Are you lagging behind? Are you judging another contest this year? I’m not. Maybe next year I’ll take on another contest or two. For now, though, I need to step back.

Nephele Tempest Submissions Festival

Agent Nephele Tempest of The Knight Agency is hosting the I’M IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE Submissions Festival on her blog until February 14th. Here are some deets:

In honor of Valentine’s Day, I am currently accepting pitches here on the blog for any novel that falls within one of the genres I am presently seeking (list below), as long as there is some sort of romantic relationship in the book. It does not have to be the focus of the book; this does not have to be a romance novel. But most novels have a little flirting or romance in them, even if it’s not the primary subject, so this is going to include plenty of projects.

Accepted genres: Literary fiction, contemporary/mainstream fiction, women’s fiction, historical fiction, romance (including contemporary, historical, paranormal, and romantic suspense), young adult fiction (no children’s or middle grade please), steampunk, and urban fantasy.

Your book needs to be completed and ready to be sent out. This means revised and edited and in a state that makes you proud.

Note, when Nephele says “here on this blog,” she means over THERE on HER blog—not on my blog! I’m just being cordial and passing along the information.

More information can be found on Nephele’s blog, including exactly what is required and how to pitch your project.

RITA Books!

I received my RITA books to judge today, and I’m a happy camper. Last year was my first year to judge, and I was sent 9 books. This year I was only sent 6 books. That’s much more manageable. Last year, even though I signed up to judge 3 categories, I received 8 books from one category. Not an ideal situation. This year, I have books from 3 categories, and some are different categories than I judged last year, so I’m greatly looking forward to it. 

I’ll dig in this weekend. I’ve ordered my new computer, but it won’t be here for two weeks. I also ordered a netbook as a belated birthday present from My Liege. He wanted to take me to an electronics store and help me pick one out, but I already knew what I wanted and it was just so easy to buy the netbook while ordering the new tower. I got a better deal by ordering both from the same supplier, too.

Now M.L. has to go out and buy me a little something extra, because it’s just not right that I should buy a birthday present for myself. Aren’t I clever?  

I’m back to editing the requested full manuscript. Today I’m on Youngest Son’s laptop. Yesterday, I was on M.L.’s. Y.S. has Word 2007, so I’m experiencing a learning curve, that’s for sure.