Ah, the weekend of the Oscars, always a not-to-be-missed event. Oh the suspense, the celebrities, the FASHION!

I’ll leave the fashion to our Risky fashionista, Amanda.

Young Victoria’s costume designer won, speaking of fashion.

Much as I like Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, I yearned for Hugh Jackman…but then, don’t I always? At least I got a brief Gerard Butler fix. He was subdued and very handsome.

Cute moment when Gerard meets Gabourey Sidibe on the Red Carpet.

I could have done without the dance performance, not Gerard, the one during the Oscars….

I haven’t seen hardly any of the movies nominated, but that never prevents me from having my opinions and my favorites.

For example, I was disappointed Christopher Plummer did not win, and very happy Mo’Nique won. Her performance reminded me of people I once knew in my social worker days. And I suppose I’ve loved Christopher Plummer every since The Sound of Music, not to mention his performance as Wellington in Waterloo.

And, of course, I would have liked Colin Firth to win. I mean, he was DARCY…but the Best Actor category was filled with great actors. They all should have won.

Carey Mulligan! Kitty Bennett in the “other” Pride & Prejudice. I knew she wouldn’t win, but how great to see her there. It was nice for Sandra Bullock to win. She gave such a good speech.

Kathryn Bigelow! First time for a woman to win Best Director. What a remarkable film for a woman to direct. Nice to see Barbara Striesand, too. She looks good!

And BEST PICTURE!! The Hurt Locker. To win over Avatar was remarkable.

I think the distribution of wins over so many wonderful films was pretty well balanced. It really was a great year for movies, I think. I’m inspired to go to the cinema postehaste and to hone my Netflix membership.

I just finished judging my RITA books (The Romance Writers of America’s “Oscars”). Like the Oscars, I suspect there will be many wonderful finalists, all deserving to win. I also think there will be several books that don’t make the finals that are also wonderful, but not to everyone’s taste. (Friends of mine HATED Avatar, for example). You just can’t avoid subjective scoring. That is why I always say that not reaching the finals doesn’t mean you haven’t written a great book.

Now that I’ve finished my RITA books, I get to start on Venetia! Don’t forget. This Wednesday Carolyn kicks off our very first Risky Regency Read Along. We’re supposed to read Chapters 1 to 7 of Venetia by Wednesday, March 17 so we can DISCUSS. I am so very sure this will be lots of fun. Who doesn’t love talking about a book with other friends who’ve read the same book?

We’re even going to guest visit at Sue Grimshaw’s Borders True Romance Blog Saturday March 13 to talk about the Read Along. Sue Grimshaw, Borders Books Romance buyer, is such a constant and enthusiastic supporter of Romance. Visit her blog and see what she’s offering this week.

Sue has a day Janet will enjoy. Thurday is Male Romance Cover Review day!
This month my Gallant Officer, Forbidden Lady is available on MillsandBoon.co.uk or you can pre-order at a discount at Bookdepository.com. And A Reputable Rake is released in the UK in an anthology, Regency High Society Affairs, v 13, also at Book Depository. A Reputable Rake is my RITA winner!

What did you think of the Academy Awards? Were there any disappointments for you? Didn’t you think Gerard Butler looked handsome?