The Phone Call that Changed My Life!

March 27, 2017

On March 26th, a Board Member from Romance Writers of America notified me that Tall, Dark and Damaged was a 2017 RITA® finalist. This coveted writing award is our equivalent of an Oscar nomination! Of the 2,000 books entered in December, the top scorers (five or six novels in each genre) are selected. These first round judges are our contemporaries- other romance authors- and boy, are we judgey!

What comes next? Five more judges from the industry (editors, booksellers, etc.,) read these finalist’ novels and choose a winner. There’s a huge Awards Night where we dress in formal gowns and rarely worn jewelry. The ballroom has giant Jumbo Tron screens and a super-famous romance bestseller is the Emcee. This year the Awards Night is Thursday, June 27th, 7-9pm, during the Romance Writers of America annual conference in Orlando.

That I am a RITA finalist is beyond a dream come true. In my industry it’s vaulted me from newbie-obscurity to an international spotlight. Wish me luck!  🙂

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