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Congratulations…!

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Congratulations to the Regency RITA finalists for best Regency of 2005!

Drumroll…..

 

 

  • A Reputable Rake by Diane Gaston–Harlequin Mills & Boon Limited – Linda Fildew, editor
  • Miss Whitlow’s Turn by Jenna Mindel–NAL – Rose Hilliard, editor
  • Just Say Yes by Myretta Robens– Kensington Books – Hilary Sares, editor
  • The House Party by Jeanne Savery–Kensington Books – John Scognamiglio, editor

I particularly want to congratulate my friend Jenna Mindel, a critique partner before she moved away from central New York to the boonies of Michegan (smile!). Jenna, I know how much this means to you, and I know how hard you’ve worked for this. A nicer person couldn’t be made happy!

And for those who did not final–keep doing what you do. We are all winners, doing what we love, writing romances for the best readers in the world.

Viva the Regency!

Laurie
Lord Ryburn’s Apprentice
Signet, January 2006

RITA-Mania!

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Today is the day the Romance Writers of America announce the list of finalists for the Golden Heart and RITA awards. RWA says, “The purpose of the RWA contests–RITA and Golden Heart–is to promote excellence in the romance genre by recognizing outstanding romance books and manuscripts.” These two contests are the big fish in the little pond of romance writing.

Or, as I explain to my non-romance friends, it’s like the Oscars, but for romance books. Finaling in either contest is a huge honor, at least among romance authors. I wonder, however, how important that “Golden Heart Winner!” or “RITA Award Winner!” emblazoned across the top of the book is important to readers (and no, I am not just saying that because I am doubtful of finaling myself). Reviewing the list of past RITA winners is impressive; reviewing the list of past Golden Heart winners is just as fun, especially since some of those authors have since been published.

But does it mean anything? I don’t know, but I am still hoping against hope I get a phone call today from the RWA office in Texas. Barring that, I hope one or more of my fellow Riskies get the call.

So–have you ever been more interested in a book because it’s won an award? If you’re a published author, do you enter these kinds of contests? What do you get out of them? If you’re unpublished, have you found contests to be helpful in forwarding your career?

And–before you answer any of that–wish us luck!

Megan
www.meganframpton.com

(Late) happy birthday, Bach!

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Bach’s birthday was actually on March 21, so I’m taking the liberty of celebrating a couple of days late. Also earlier this month, on March 11, we celebrated–or didn’t, unless you’re a very unusual person, the anniversary of Mendelssohn’s revival of the St. Matthew Passion in 1829.

Yes, Bach was out of fashion bigtime in the Regency. Professional musicians appreciated his music–Beethoven, in a ponderously Teutonic joke (sorry, I just don’t see Ludwig sporting a squirting flower and a whoopie cushion), reputedly said “he should not be called Brook, but Ocean.” (Bach is German for brook. Get it? Whew.)

However, the revered Johann Reichardt–funnily enough, no longer a household name, or at least not in my household–in 1782 sniffed: Had Bach possessed the high integrity and the deep expressive feeling that inspired Handel, he would have been much greater even than Handel; but as it is he was only more painstaking and technically skillful. Ouch.

But back to Mendelssohn, boy genius. He was twenty when he rediscovered, rehearsed and conducted the St. Matthew Passion in Berlin, in collaboration with his friend the actor Eduard Devrient. The sold-out concert was attended by the King of Prussia, and such notables as Heine, Hegel and Paganini, and hundreds of people were turned away. Mendelssohn reputedly made the comment that it took and actor and a Jew to restore the greatest of Christian works to the world.

So…I guess I should have posted a picture of Jeremy Northam to spur on the conversation…any deep thoughts you’d like to share? Embarrassing public/musical experiences? I went to hear the St. Matthew Passion at the Proms once, and sat on the floor–a mistake since my leg went to sleep and at the end I stood up to applaud and fell flat on my face…

Janet

Moving into the body

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In The Artist’s Way, Julia Cameron writes:

“Most blocked creatives are cerebral beings. We think of all the things we want to do but can’t. Early in recovery, we next think of all the things we want to do but don’t. In order to effect a real recovery, we need to move out of the head and into a body of work. To do this, we must first of all move into the body.”

I follow the exercise routine from the Body for Life, with some adaptations. I work out six days a week, alternating weight training with swimming. Although I’ve found it harder to keep to the eating program (I just love food too much) and it hasn’t given me a Victoria’s Secret supermodel figure (ditto on loving food too much!) I’ve found it’s been helping my writing in ways I didn’t expect:

    • It reminds me to feel the satisfaction of small accomplishments, the laps swum in the morning, the pages written later in the day.
    • Since lifting weights, I’m less prone to back strain from sitting at the computer.
    • Endorphins that fight the mild to moderate depression I feel from time to time.
    • Better sleep equates to better writing in the morning.
    • Rhythmic exercise soothes worries, frees up creative paths in the mind.

 

Another excerpt from THE ARTIST’S WAY could easily describe me.

“Every day, as she swims the aquamarine oblong of her neighborhood pool, her mind dives deep into itself, past the weeds and clutter of its everyday concerns—what editor is late with a check, why the typist persists in making so many errors—and down to a quiet green pool of inspiration. That rhythmic, repetitive action transfers the locus of the brain’s energies from the logic to the artist hemisphere. It is there that inspiration bubbles up untrammeled by the constraints of logic.”

At the risk of sounding preachy, please go out and find some exercise to do if you aren’t already. Swim, walk, run, bike, whatever works for you. It really does help!

Elena
LADY DEARING’S MASQUERADE
www.elenagreene.com

Pet Peeves

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I’m always interested in hearing what verbal pet peeves people have. (I’m alliterative today, I see! Please pardon my prankish prose.)

Some people don’t approve of a sentence like “Hopefully it will rain today” — they think that “hopefully” should stop being naughty and start behaving like a regular adverb. I think it’s fine and dandy, and this construction is extremely useful.

Some people don’t like splitting infinitives. I think such reservations are ridiculous, and were introduced into English at a very late date anyway, so don’t even have the weight of tradition behind them.

But just when I start to think I’m a language “liberal”, believing (as I do, for the most part) that language change is normal and healthy, and there is no “right” way to talk (or write), I come face to face with my, er, tastes. Tastes? Perhaps I should be honest and call them prejudices. There are just some words, spellings, phrases, and grammatical errors that drive me bonkers. So I will share some of my pet peeves here, and please share yours too! And if you want, do go ahead and tell me my pet peeves are ridiculous.

WORDS, SPELLINGS, AND PHRASES I UTTERLY LOATHE:

alot
alright
bobbed wire (or bobwire)
congradulations
could care less (for couldn’t care less, unless used sarcastically)
decimate (for exterminate — decimate means killing ten percent)
infer (when imply is meant)
lay (used for lie)
literally (when used as merely an intensifier; e.g. “Paris Hilton is literally American royalty”)
more unique, most unique

WORDS, USAGES, AND PHRASES THAT I KNOW ARE ACCEPTABLE NOW, BUT WHICH I HATE ANYWAY, AND AM WILLING TO JOIN THE ARMY OF RESISTANCE AGAINST:

comprise (in the modern American sense)
livid (meaning either red or angry)

Well, that’s all I can think of at the moment. What are your pet peeves? Do any of my pet peeves strike you as small-minded? Please share!

Cara
Cara King, www.caraking.com
MY LADY GAMESTER — out now from Signet!!!!