I’m over at Beyond the Veil today. Stop by to see how to enter my Flawed contest!

Hint – it’s easy. I wouldn’t make you work hard when it’s going to be 101 degrees outside today.

The first Annual SAMMIE Awards are coming!

That’s right, folks. Samhain Publishing is establishing our very own award for the Top Ten favorites for each year and the Top Ten covers too! For our first year, we’re going back to catch 2006-2008! WOOT!

And the categories are:
Bestselling books 2006
Bestselling books 2007
Bestselling books 2008
Reader’s choice book 2008
Reader’s choice cover art 2008
Reader’s choice book 2006-2008
Reader’s choice cover art 2006-2008

Please join us at the SP Café on Sunday, January 25th from 2-10 p.m. We’ll announce the top ten Best Selling from each year, as well as the Reader’s Choice top ten for both books and cover art.

Naturally, there will be excerpts, fun and lots of prizes. We hope to see you there. Don’t forget to mark your calendar!

Angel, Sandie, Joy and Theresa

SP Café Moderators

How happy am I that spring is here?
So happy, I’m giving away a book!
Come comment at Beyond The Veil before 9am est Monday for a chance to win. Or drop me an email at ember @ embercase . com to be entered.
I’m off to enjoy a spring morning on the golf course. Hope spring showed up to visit where ever you are are!

Congratulations, Heather! (aka Word Trix). You’re the winner of my January comment contest.

Check your email please. Hope you find a few fabulous books at My Bookstore And More to enjoy.

The Passionate Ink contest deadlines are coming in fast–if you write erotic work, this is totally the contest for you. And check out the judges!! Click here for info on how to enter.

Remember The Stroke of Midnight is a contest for unpublished erotic manuscripts. BOTH PUBLISHED AND UNPUBLISHED AUTHORS MAY ENTER. However, if published, this must be a new genre for the author (For example, if the author has published in paranormal erotic romance, she can enter in one of the other categories)

Five Sizzling Finalists in Five Categories:

Contemporary – novels with erotic elements that focus on the developing romantic relationship in a contemporary setting. Includes series and single-title length romances. Can also include elements of romantic suspense/intrigue.

Historical – novels with erotic elements that focus on the developing
romantic relationship in a historical setting.

Futuristic/Fantasy/Sci-fi – novels with erotic elements that focus on the developing romantic relationship in any setting in the future, an alternate world/reality, or another planet. Includes elements such as elves/faerie, sword and sorcery, aliens, etc.

Paranormal/Time Travel – novels with erotic elements that focus on the developing romantic relationship in any setting that includes elements of time travel, angels, vampires, werewolves or other paranormal themes.

Novellas – novellas of 25,000 words or less with erotic elements that focus on the developing romantic relationship in any setting.

1. All novels entered must be at least 25,000 words in length. Novellas are considered 10,000 to 25,000 words.
2. All categories are open to alternative lifestyle entries–and any entry that reflects an erotic romance between two or more people, straight, gay, bi, or any romantic combination.

Judging and Prizes:

Preliminary-round judging will be completed by three qualified judges – Passionate Ink and other RWA members experienced in critiquing and/or published authors familiar with our genre. All scores will be added and averaged to determine the entrant’s ranking. Every attempt will be made to provide entrants with detailed score sheets and judges’ comments from this preliminary round. Top five entries in each category will move to final round.

The top five finalists in each category will be ranked by the following industry professionals:

Contemporary: Kate Seaver, Berkley

Historical: Hilary Sares, Kensington Aphrodisia

Futuristic/Fantasy/Sci-fi: Angela James, Samhain Publishing

Paranormal/Time Travel: Roberta Brown, Brown Literary Agency

Novella: Raelene Gorlinsky, Ellora’s Cave

First place winners in each category will receive a free one year membership in Passionate Ink ($25 value), a certificate, and an award graphic for their website. (Writing teams will split the membership.) All other finalists will receive certificates and and a finalist graphic for their website. All entries will be returned after finalists are determined and statistical information is complete. Winners will be announced at the Passionate Ink gathering at the Romance Writers’ of America National Conference in Dallas. Results will be listed on the Passionate Ink website and in the chapter’s newsletter.

The decisions of judges are final.

I just got the email a few minutes ago – I’m still trying to pull myself together here.

Raelene Gorlinsky requested my full, based on the entry I sent to the FF&P On The Far Side Contest!!

The top three entries (final order not announced yet, but I’ll let you know when it is) were so close, she had a hard time ranking them.  But she wants to see the rest of the story!!

I’m walking on air here.  Going to be a busy three weeks, as I polish this to send it three places now – EC, Kensington, and GH!

I had the perfect pick-me-up in my email tonight.
“You’re a finalist in this year’s On the Far Side Contest!
Competition was fierce, and you should be very proud of your achievement. In the next few days, we’ll be mailing your packet back to you. Inside you’ll find your scoresheets and manuscript pages, a matrix of scores for your category, and a finalist’s certificate.
Tomorrow we’ll send out entries to the final round judges. We plan to notify the winners by email and post the final results on the FF&P website (www.romance-ffp.com) on Halloween.
We all wish you the very best of luck in the final round!”
I entered Tonight, Forever in this very last-minute – I’d just finished another round of edits based on the comments from an eariler contest, and decided what the hell. I joined the FF&P chapter at the same time I entered; the members are absolutely fantastic – I’ve even managed to make myself forget that we use a Yahell Group to chat. (It must be love!) I’ve already learned so much about paranormal just from joining the loop; I can’t be happier about joining.
And the final judge on this is going to be Raelene Gorlinsky of Ellora’s Cave – yay!
WIsh me luck!

Why do you love romance?  Write a 500 word essay explaining it, and you could win a trip to the 2007 Romantic Times in Texas.

Details at http://www.sandyblair.net/2007RTTrip.htm :shroom:

Trying to narrow down my writing goals for this year, and line them up with a few ‘big deal’ contests I want to enter. Spent a few hours thinking about it while working today (nothing like manual labor in the yard to inspire you to make enough money to pay someone else to do it) and here’s how I think it’s going to work :

I went back to work on Krissy’s story this week, with the intention of having a complete ms by RWA in July. I’m hoping to pitch it to Silhouette’s new Nocturne line, and want to have it ready to go if I get a request. Plan ahead!

Dorchester announced today that the entry deadline for the American Title III contest is July 1st. I need three chapters polished and ready to go by then if I’m going to enter this year. It’s a pretty big contest, and a good incentive to getting the first three chapters done.

Then there’s Ellora’s Cave and their Caveman anthology contest. Due date for that one is September 30th; 10-12,ooo words.

And finally the Golden Heart, which usually has a deadline in mid November. I really, really want to enter this year – just not sure if I want to use the same ms for it and American Title, or if I want to write something fresh. I’m leaning towards something fresh though – that would mean two complete novels this year, and two short/novella length. And those are some happy numbers for me.

More yard and pool work scheduled for tomorrow. Wonder what my brain will think of to distract me then?

Happy Easter to you!

I had my easter goodie waiting for me when I woke up this morning. An email, from the Stroke of Midnight contest, notifying me that I am a finalist in the paranormal / FSFF (that’s futuristic/sci-fi/fantasy ) division. Yay!! Winners to be announced in Atlanta this July.

This is the werewolf story that I had let gather dust since entering it. Lucky they only need a hard copy of the entry itself, not the entire ms, by Monday!

Hope your Easter contains lots of love, laughter, and at least one moment to remember with happiness the rest of your life.