Yesterday a friend and Playmate, Terri Garey, got the Rita call!! Her first book, Dead Girls Are Easy is a Rita finalist!! Congratulations, Terri!

For those of you who aren't familiar with the RITA here's the official description:

Romance Writers of America proudly sponsors the romance-publishing industry's highest award of distinction — the RITA Award. RITA awards are presented annually to the best published romance novels of the year. The award itself is a golden statuette named after RWA's first president, Rita Clay Estrada, and has become the symbol for the best in published romance fiction.

Every year at the annual RWA conference (it's in San Francisco this year), there's a huge formal award ceremony (similar to the Oscars) where the winners of the Rita (for published authors) and Golden Heart (for unpublished writers) are announced.

The year I finaled in the Golden Heart was HUGE for me. It was my first time attending a RWA conference. Actually, it was many firsts. First time on a plane - first time away from my family for more than a few hours - first time actually seeing in person many of the wonderful writers that had become my friends. For many of us, the yearly RWA conference is the only time we have to connect with the crazy people who our family refer to as just more of the voices in our heads. It's a wonderful time that I'm going to miss this year. But, I'll be cheering from behind my computer at home and keeping my fingers crossed that Terri brings home the Rita! Yay Terri!!

Interesting title?

I probably would have posted more on the old blog here if I didn't freeze up every time I saw that blank space where the title was supposed to go. How sad is it that if I can't think up a good title, then I just pass on the whole thing? Can you say troubled?

Well, the Harlequin Presents contest has announced, and I wasn't a winner. Bummer... maybe. I thought I'd be a little more broken up over it, but I guess, once you've had one rejection, you've had them all? ;-) There is still the possibility of a request. I'll be watching my mailbox for that for a few weeks. But, honestly, I wasn't sure if I was the glitz and glamor sort of gal anyway. A big part of writing is fantasy, but even my wildest fantasies don't normally include billionaires in exotic settings. Hmm... maybe I should broaden my fantasy life a bit? ;-) Nah.

I have been debating if I wanted to change my style. All of my writing so far has always been more about the girl next door sort of heroine. The one that falls for the bad boy from the other side of the tracks, the cowboy, the local sheriff or just the regular guy down the street. I've spent some time the last few weeks wondering if that's something I wanted to change, or something that is too much a part of the way I write to mess with. Spring is all about fresh starts and new beginnings after all. Or maybe this Spring should just be about breathing some fresh life into something that's been going through a bit of a dry spell lately?

I am going to make an attempt to get back into posting more often, even if I'm still mentally and creatively challenged as far as the actual writing a book stuff goes. Who knows, posting might spark something. Meanwhile, if I'm not here I'm most likely dealing with teenager drama or sharing a laugh with some wonderful people I've recently hooked up with in my online gaming adventures. Some of the more diabolical minds have even tracked me down to my blog, so I guess I may have to watch what I say about them. ;-)

Happy writing!

It was my day to post over at Writers at Play and believe it or not, I did it! Yay! I've spent a lot of time the last few weeks thinking about writing and not really writing much at all... and it feels good to be back on the wagon. :-) Give us a visit over there and tell me about your latest walk on the wild side.