MOVIES IN 2015

I know I’m not the only one, because I’ve talked to, written or e-mailed to my friends and relatives, and we all agree that movies are  not as good as they used to be. News reports confirms it too, reporting that movie ticket sales are down. Of course, they don’t mention the reason for that, but stupid, boring and cringe-worthy fare, in my humble opinion, is the reason.

One thing they got right was knowing who was actually watching what the movie studios have produced recently: teenagers.  So most films released in recent years have been aimed at them. On Friday evening, when school is out and homework can be put off until Sunday night, teens flock to the cineplex to see action and adventure movies, heavy with murder, mayhem and special effects. And because those same young people fill the seats, and sometimes watch the same film more than once, studios give them what they want and thereby drive certain films to record highs for attendance.

Sounds like I’ve contradicted myself, doesn’t it? What I’m saying is that, by producing films teenagers like, they’re killing the market for thoughtful, even beautiful, films that would appeal to a more mature audience. So we adults stay home, try to find something on television or watch Netflix movies, preferably those made two or three decades earlier.

Yes, WOMAN IN GOLD was a good film that anyone twenty-one years or older, could appreciate. But it was the only one worth watching in the last three months. Ever since he played Darcy in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, like most women, I’ve been a fan of Colin Firth. I even rent his movies on Netflix. However, except for THE KING’S SPEECH (for which he won the Academy Award), there are no good Colin Firth films. And that is really surprising when you learn, as I did recently, that, although the man is only 54 years old, he’s made 42 films. One could argue that  some percentage of the total are bound to be stinkers, but why so many? Is he just really bad at picking out scripts? Is he desperate for money and will accept acting roles in anything they shove at him?

Although I’m tempted to, at least to spare my readers, I’m not going to list the clunkers. I must also admit that many of the actors we could once count on to do a good job in A-list-type movies are too old to be todays’ heroes, or dead.  Paul Newman, James Garner, Gregory Peck, James Stewart, Cary Grant, Marlon Brando, Richard Burton, Steve McQueen, Burt Lancaster, William Holden, or Glenn Ford.

Of course, I’m showing my age here, but most of the movies starring those actors were worth watching. Today’s male stars should be taking their place, but I haven’t seen any of them in a major film this year. Which leads me to the obvious conclusion that Hollywood isn’t making those kinds of movies anymore. Why? Are screen writers not writing good stories? Darn. I didn’t want the reason to be the fault of writers because I’m a writer. However, I don’t write for films and don’t want to. From what I’ve read, writers in Hollywood are the least respected part of the industry. There’s even a joke that the “starlet was so stupid she was sleeping with the writer.”

There are always others who are ranked higher and are free to rewrite anything, leaving the original writer with a plot he doesn’t even recognize or with no final credit for his hours or weeks of work. On the other hand, I’m told they’re very well paid. I guess some find that a seven-figure salary is worth the aggravation. Oh, never mind.

2015 RWA RITA AWARDS

I didn’t bother with the Golden Heart Awards because they’re for unpublished writers. Besides, with 90 novels entered in the Ritas, there’s no room. Yes, 90 books. Contemporary Romance has 31, divided into three categories depending on book length. Plus, there are ten Romance Novellas (call them “extra short?). Historical Romance has eleven entries, divided into Long or Short. When I was a judge for the Ritas a few years ago, there weren’t as many. Even so, I was given seven books to read in a short length of time. More on that later.

1. BEST FIRST BOOK
Finalists:
Sonali Dev, A BOLLYWOOD AFFAIR, Kensington
Natalie Meg Evans, THE DRESS THIEF, Quercus Publishing
Beck Nicolas, FAKE, Harlequin Teen
Kate Breslin, FOR SUCH A TIME, Baker publishing - Bethany House
A. E. Jones, MIND SWEEPER, Self-published
Elia Winters, PURELY PROFESSIONAL, Harlequin-Carina
Alyssa Alexander, THE SMUGGLER WORE SILK, Penguin-Berkley
Patience Griffin, TO SCOTLAND WITH LOVE, Penguin-Signet

Winner: Clara Kensie, RUN TO YOU, Harlequin Teen

2. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE - LONG
Finalists:
Tracy Brogan, THE BEST MEDICINE, Montlake Romance
Heidi Cullinan, FEVER PITCH, Samhain Publishing
Jill Shalvis, IT’S IN HIS KISS, Grand Cental Pub.
Nancy Harkness, THE PLACE I BELONG, Montlake Romance
Nicole Burnham, SLOW TANGO WITH A PRINCE, Self-published
Beth Vogt, SOMEBODY LIKE YOU, Simon & Schuster - Howard
Liz Talley, THE SWEETEST SEPTEMBER, Harlequin Superromance
Patience Griffin, TO SCOTLAND WITH LOVE, Penguin - Signet
Katy Regnery, THE VIXEN AND THE VET, Self-published

Winner: Jane Graves, BABY IT’S YOU, Grand Central - Forever

3. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE - MID-LENGTH
Finalists:
Virginia Kantra, CAROLINA MAN, Penguin - Berkley
Tanya Michaels, HER COWBOY HERO, Harlequin - American
Sarah Mayberry, HER KIND OF TROUBLE, Harlequin - Superromance
Jennifer Apodaca, HER TEMPORARY HERO, Entangled Publishing
Lori Wilde, LOVE WITH A PERFECT COWBOY, Harper-Collins - Avon
Tara Taylor Quinn, ONCE A FAMILY, Harlequin - Superromance
Inara Scott, REFORMING THE PLAYBOY, Entangled Publishing
Emilie Rose, STARTING WITH JUNE, Harlequin - Superromance
Caitie Quinn, WORTH THE FALL, Self-published

Winner: Jill Shalvis, ONE IN A MILLION, Grand Central Publishing

4. CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE - SHORT
Finalists:
Caro Carson, THE BACHELOR DOCTOR’S BRIDE, Harlequin - Special
Julie Miller, BAD GIRL, Harlequin Intrigue
Nancy Warren, BLUEPRINT FOR A KISS, Self-published
Emily McKay, BRIDE FOR THE BLACKSHEEP BROTHER, Harlequin Desire
Louisa George, ENEMIES WITH BENEFITS, Harlequin - Mills & Boon
Tiffany Reisz, THE HEADMASTER, Harlequin - e-Shivers
Merline Lovelace, HER UNFORGETTABLE ROYAL, Harlequin Desire
Farrah Rochon, YOURS FOREVER, Harlequin - Kimani

Winner: Caro Carson, A TEXAS RESCUE CHRISTMAS, Harlequin Special

5. EROTIC ROMANCE
Finalists:
Lynda Aicher, BONDS OF DENIAL, Harlequin - Carina
Talia Surova, CALL ME SAFFRON, Self-published
Elia Winters, PURELY PROFESSIONAL, Harlequin - Carina
J. Kenner, WANTED, Random House - Ballantine

Winner: Tiffany Reisz, THE SAINT, Harlequin - Mira

6. HISTORICAL ROMANCE - LONG
Finalists:
Grace Burrowes, DOUGLAS, LORD OF HEARTACHE, Sourcebooks
Jodi Thomas, A PLACE CALLED HARMONY, Penguin - Berkley
Kaki Warner, WHERE THE HORSES RUN, Penguin - Berkley
Grace Burrowes, WORTH, LORD OF RECKONING, Self-published

Winner: Meredith Duran, Simon & Schuster - Pocket Books

7. HISTORICAL ROMANCE - SHORT
Finalists:
Amy Lane, THE BELLS OF TIMES SQUARE, Riptide Publishing
Debra Cowan, THE COWBOY’S RELUCTANT BRIDE, Harlequin Historical
Elizabeth Hoyt, DARLING BEAST, Grand Central Publishing
Margaret McPhee, THE GENTLEMAN ROGUE, Harlequin - Mills & Boon
Samantha Grace, IN BED WITH A ROGUE, Sourcebooks

Winner: Tessa Dare, ROMANCING THE DUKE, Harper-Collins - Avon

8. INSPIRATIONAL ROMANCE
Finalists:
Kate Breslin, FOR SUCH A TIME, Baker Publishing - Revell
Stacy Henrie, HOPE AT DAWN, Grand Central - Forever
Jennifer Beckstrand, HUCKLEBERRY SUMMER, Kensington
Rose Ross Zediker, THE WIDOW’S SUITOR, Harlequin - Heartsong

Winner: Irene Hannon, DECEIVED, Baker Publishing - Revell

9. PARANORMAL ROMANCE
Finalists:
Jane Lynne Daniels, BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU KISS FOR, Boroughs
Jenn Bennett, BLITHE SPIRITS, Penguin - Berkley
Cynthia Eden, BURN FOR ME, Kensington
Gena Showalter, THE DARKEST TOUCH, Harlequin - HQN
Bec McMaster, FORGED BY DESIRE, Sourcebooks
A. E. Jones, MINESWEEPER, Self-published
Katharine Ashe, MY LADY, MY LORD, Self-published

Winner: Kristen Callihan, Grand Central - Forever

10. ROMANCE NOVELLA
Finalists:
Heidi Rice, 10 RULES TO SEX UP A BLIND DATE, Harlequin - Cosmo
Megan Crane, A GAME OF BRIDES, Tule Publishing Group
Cara McKenna, HER BEST LAID PLANS, Harlequin - Cosmo
Grace Burrowes, KISS AND TELL, Self-published
Lorraine Heath, THE LAST WICKED SCOUNDREL, Harper-Collins - Avon
Robin Lee Hatcher, A LOVE LETTER TO THE EDITOR, Thomas Nelson
Kimberly Kincaid, PUSHING THE LINE, Self-published
Caroline Linden, WILL YOU BE MY WI-FI, Self-published
Kate Hewitt, A YORKSHIRE CHRISTMAS, Tule Publishing Group

Winner: Anna Richland, Harlequin - Carina

11. ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
Finalists:
Trish McCallan, FORGED IN ASH, Montlake Romance
Katy Lee, GRAVE DANGER, Harlequin - Love Inspired
Tonya Burrows, HONOR RECLAIMED, Entangled Publishing
Carolyn Crane, INTO THE SHADOWS, Self-published
Kimberley Troutte, LOCK AND LOAD, Self-published
Elle Kennedy, MIDNIGHT ACTION, Penguin - Signet
Mary Burton, YOU’RE NOT SAFE, Kensington

Winner: J. D. Robb, CONCEALED IN DEATH, Penguin - Putnam

12. YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE
Finalists:
Elizbeth Fama, PLUS ONE, MacMillan - Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Clara Kensie, RUN TO YOU, Harlequin - Teen
Patty Blount, SOME BOYS, Sourcebooks

Winner: Juliana Stone, BOYS LIKE YOU, Sourcebooks

Having just listed finalists and winners of the Daphne Awards last week, I noticed some familiar names. Apparently some authors submitted to both contests. I‘d have done the same thing, and it paid off for Irene Hannon, whose DECEIVED finaled in the Daphne, but won first place in the Rita. If RWA wanted - or needed - to cut down on the number of books entered, I’d suggest not allowing authors to submit books in more than one category, because there were a lot of those.

I’m not familiar with the rules, so I suppose it was legal for the six authors who did so to submit the same book in both “Best First Book” as well as in another category. RWA could also have disallowed authors to submit more than one book in the same category, which was done by three authors, or submit a book in each of several different categories. Personally, I think it’s great that our authors write so many books every year, but, having been a judge, I’m thinking of those poor souls swamped with so many to read. Maybe I’m pessimistic, but could some judges NOT READ some of the books and just vote for the one from a big publishing house, “assuming” it must be better than those from small publishers or self-published? After all, I’m told some people still think self-published books are a “tsunami of crap.”

But I’m not one of them and I’m thrilled that 13 self-published books finaled. Add to that the 21 books from small presses, and it seems those titles make up more than a third of the grand total. Very impressive. What surprised me most, however, was the large number of books from Harlequin. Yes, they used to be the “premiere” romance publisher, but they’re in a class action lawsuit filed by authors who accused them of massive cheating on royalties. Not my cup of tea.

The Daphne du Maurier Awards

Every year the Mystery/Suspense chapter of the Romance Writers of America (affectionately called the “Kiss of Death” chapter) holds two contests for romantic-suspense novels. One is for unpublished writers (and that means unpublished in any genre, not just mystery) who may enter manuscripts, and the other for published writers who may enter their novel published in the preceding year.

Awards are handed out at a party (called “Death by Chocolate) at the RWA Conference (this year on July 22-25 in New York City) In each of six categories, there were four finalists and one winner, and this year they were (drumroll please):

1. Category (Series) Romantic Mystery/Suspense
Finalists:
Natalie Charles, WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING, Harlequin
Delores Fossen, RUSTLING UP TROUBLE, Harlequin
Karen McCollough, THE DETECTIVE’S DILEMMA, Kensington Lyrical
Bobbye Terry, THE WIDOW JAMES, Black Opal

Winner: Lena Diaz, TENNESSEE TAKEDOWN, Harlequin

2. Historical Romance Mystery/Suspense
Finalists:
Anthea Lawson, MISTRESS OF MELODY, Fiddlehead Press
Jeannie Lin, THE JADE TEMPTRESS, HQN
Brenda Novak, A MATTER OF GRAVE CONCERN, Montlake Romance
Lauren Willig, THE MARK OF THE MIDNIGHT MANZANILLA, NAL-Penguin

Winner: Amanda DeWees, WITH THIS CURSE, Self-published.

3. Inspirational Romantic Mystery/Suspense
Finalists:
Elizabeth Camden, WITH EVERY BREATH, Bethany House
Irene Hannon, DECEIVED, Revell
Katy Lee, GRAVE DANGER, Harlequin-Love Inspired
Dani Pettrey, SILENCED, Bethany House

Winner: Debby Giusti, THE AGENT’S SECRET PAST, Harlequin




4. Paranormal (Fantasy, Time Travel, etc) Romantic Mystery/Suspense
Finalists:
Margo Bond Collins, LEGALLY UNDEAD, World Weaver Press
Angie Fox, BEVERLY HILLS DEMON SLAYER, Self-published
J. T. Geissinger, DARKNESS BOUND, Montlake Romance
Rebecca Zanetti, MARKED, e-Kensington

Winner: Liah Penn, PURE DEATH, Etopia

5. Single title Romantic Mystery/Suspense
Finalists:
Melinda Leigh, HOUR OF NEED, Montlake Romance
Tamsen Schultz, WHAT ECHOES RENDER, BookTrope
Michele Sharp, DREAM HUNTRESS, Self-published
Leslie Tentler, FALLEN, Left Field Press

Winner: Kendra Elliot, VANISHED, Montlake Romance

6. Mainstream Mystery-Suspense
Finalists:
Traci Andreghetti, LIMONCELLO YELLOW, Gemma Halliday Publishing
Carey Baldwin, JUDGMENT, Harper Collins-Witness Impulse
Kylie Brant, 11, Cedar River Press.
Libby Fischer Hellmann, NOBODY’S CHILD, Red Herring Press

Winner: Sandra Parshall, POISONED GROUND, Poisoned Pen Press

OVERALL DAPHNE WINNER: Kendra Elliot, VANISHED, Montlake Romance

As I’ve done in the past, I’ll point out which books were published by the BPH (Big Publishing Houses). This list includes Harlequin, since it’s still the best-known romance publisher, (only six titles, when in previous years it often won almost all). And I was being generous. Besides the well-known names (Penguin, Harper-Collins, and Poisoned Pen Press) I also included Kensington and the two inspirational presses, Bethany and Revell, giving them a total of 14. Therefore, it was only fair to put Montlake Romance (Amazon imprint) with small presses and self-publishers, which gives them a total of 16.

Not only did small presses and self-publishers fare better than the BPH, a self-published book, WITH THIS CURSE, was voted best Historical, and Montlake’s VANISHED was voted the Overall Winner. It will be interesting to see how the Ritas fared. Tune in next week.

INTROVERTS - TWO

Last week I read an article about Introverts which reminded me I’m an Introvert and had blogged about the topic a few years ago. Assuming there might be some visitors who hadn’t seen the earlier post, I’m repeating much of it today.

I wrote the original post on February 9, 2012, because of a TIME magazine article on introverts by Bryan Walsh. Among the interesting things he said about introverts was:

(1) They make up about 30 percent of the population.

(2) Introverts are not always “shy, although there’s some overlap.”

(3) Introverts don’t shun people. They just prefer them in smaller groups and less often. For example, I love intimate dinners of four to six people. Big cocktail parties not so much.

Walsh says this is especially difficult to do in America, which he calls “the land of the loud and the home of the talkative.”

Because we introverts are outnumbered and the culture expects people to be outgoing and sociable, we can be uncomfortable in situations that extroverts enjoy. To make matters worse, those who don’t understand our personality can be unintentionally cruel. They may chide or even insult us, or treat us as if we have some silly problem we just need to “get over.”

Make no mistake. We’re born this way. Scientific studies have shown that small babies exhibit behavior that marks them as future introverts. If the parents of such a child are extroverts, they may try to influence his behavior, thinking it’s not normal, causing, at an early age, the tension that goes with feeling different. At the very least, parents may feel that their child will not have friends or be successful in life.

Not to worry, Introverts learn to adapt early and there are plenty of occupations which require what introverts are good at, such as thinking things through.

Yes, it turns out that we introverts are actually smarter than extroverts. We make fewer wrong decisions, are less likely to get into danger, and take better care of our health. And why not, when we spend most of our time reading or thinking, while extroverts are bungee-jumping or talking?

Walsh mentions well-known introverts, such as Mahatma Ghandi, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Mother Teresa. He names no famous authors, but I suspect most writers are introverts. Why else are we so happy alone, or at our computers, inventing stuff?

What about you? Are you an introvert? How do you cope in our mostly-extrovert world?

WRITING WITH A PARTNER

Several years ago, when I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, I took a writing class from a woman teacher and met Carole, who became my writing partner for three novels. Since two of them have been sold to publishers and the third is currently being read at a publisher, I consider this a successful collaboration and hope our method will inspire other authors.

Not that I’m encouraging writers to seek out a partner. When our collaboration began it wasn’t because we planned it. The teacher conducted a “workshop” style of class and encouraged writers to read their work aloud and let the other members critique it. This resulted in my learning that Carole, an intelligent well-educated young woman, was a fine writer and had a good command of language. I, on the other hand, excelled in action scenes and lots of dialogue. At about the same time, we both realized our styles complemented each other and might, therefore, be an asset in writing romance novels, which had become popular at the time.

That teacher also introduced us to a larger critique group of about 30 women who met in an unused room at a local Sears department store. All were writing romance novels and some were selling them to Harlequin and other publishers and making money. With my son’s tuition bills a considerable expense, I wanted to do that too. Carole had read some romance novels and I borrowed three of them from her, resulting in my saying, “I can do that.”

I’ve told how I managed to become a romance author elsewhere, so won’t repeat it here. This post is about co-authoring and, inasmuch as Carole and I were rather successful at it, I can suggest some tips to others about how we worked together.

1. Choose someone as much like yourself as possible. Although Carole still had a day job (schoolteacher), we lived in the same town and could get together on weekends or the summer break, so we became friends as well. We both had middle-class backgrounds, were close to the same age, and even each grew up with a sister. Neither of us had sold any of our writing at that time, so we were both “newbies” and open to learning all we could.

2. Respect your partner's talent and style. I soon learned that Carole was a “word” person and I was a “story” person. These were my own descriptions, and I later wrote an article explaining that, which was published in a writers’ magazine. I also used it as the basis of talks I gave to several RWA chapters in California. Carole’s original method was sitting in front of the typewriter, trying to find the perfect word, for the perfect sentence, to put in the perfect paragraph. This could take hours, whereas I could dash off an entire 3000-word story in one day. I called my method “down and dirty.” Sure, it needed rewriting and improving, but that’s where our collaboration came in.

3. The process.  Having decided to write a romance novel, we first “brainstormed” the plot, and sometimes those synopses ran to 15 pages. Then I wrote the first chapter, getting the action going and using plenty of dialogue. Next I handed the pages to Carole and she’d improve the language, add descriptions, and use similes and metaphors that elevated the writing.

4. Work together. This meant discussing what each of us brought to the project and making sure we both agreed with the outcome. Sometimes I thought Carole inserted too many adjectives, and sometimes Carole thought we needed to add more backstory about our characters.

The only serious disagreement we had during one of those sessions was about the attitude of the hero. I had written the scene with him feeling one way, and Carole thought it was unrealistic. We slept on it and then I asked my husband what he would do if he were the hero and he said I was right. At that time, Carole had not yet met the man she married, but she finally agreed with me.

5. Details. As I said earlier, we wrote three books together this way, but then my husband retired and we moved out of the Bay Area. We still kept in touch and - since I had more time to devote to it - I was the person who submitted our books to publishers, and, from time to time, Carole would send me a check to reimburse me for paper, envelopes and postage.

6. Other Rewards. Each of us continued to write our own novels. Carole wrote a historical romance she later had published and I wrote eleven books in the next thirteen years. In addition, when one of our three co-written books was returned, I sometimes rewrote it somewhat, taking advantage of comments by editors or things I was learning through reading writers’ magazines and books, or through classes and critique groups I joined.

I sold seven of my self-written books, and then, as I mentioned in an earlier blog post here, I finally sold the first book Carole and I had written together, SOUTHERN STAR. Avalon Books took it, sent us generous advance checks and then went out of business. However, they sold the company to Amazon and we became Montlake Romance authors.

In addition, thanks to e-mail and compatible computer software, we rewrote our other two novels together to bring them up to date and to satisfy publishers’ requirements. That, as before, was another fulfilling experience.

Carole, too, has written more books on her own. I can’t speak specifically for her about her new methods, but as for me, what I learned while we collaborated obviously made me a better writer. I learned how to write interesting descriptions (I used to hate descriptions) and I found myself enjoying thinking up similes and metaphors to add to my otherwise “plain vanilla” writing. So, in addition to selling the books we wrote together, we established a lasting friendship and continue to write and publish novels.

If you’re thinking about co-authoring, or have it thrust upon you in some way, take our advice and go for it. It might be one of the best moves you ever make.

P.S. If you’ve already done it, tell me about your experience, good or bad, in the comments.

MORE CONTESTS

As I said last time, I don’t remember the names and results of all the contests I entered. Although a “Finalist,” not the winner, my favorite contest was the St. Martin’s Press Malice Domestic Mystery Contest from MacMillan. Considering the prestige of the publisher, even “finalist” elevated my accomplishment in my own eyes.

The “malice domestic” part meant that the suspects to the crime had to be members of the family in which a murder, or other crime, took place. I enjoyed writing about characters who seemed loyal aunts, uncles, cousins or siblings of the victim, and invented nasty things that the amateur sleuth in the story might think they were up to.

I actually submitted my book twice, several years apart, and both results made me a finalist. Some friends suggested I enter it again (the contest is held every year), saying, “Third time’s the charm,” but I haven’t done so.

Instead, the book will become the second in the cozy mystery series for which I’ve signed a contract and hope to see in bookstores in 2016.

Although not technically a contest, I entered both cozy mysteries in Amazon’s Scout program last year. That’s where readers vote for the books they like and believe should be published by Kindle Press. For a time, each of my books was close to being chosen (sort of a “finalist?) but ultimately didn’t make it. I’m planning to submit a different mystery to Scout soon and perhaps that one will.

That’s the thing about contests. You have to enter in order to have a chance of winning. In the case of Kindle Scout, winning a publishing contract means a $1500 advance, royalties of 50% on e-books, return of your rights after five years (not your life plus 70 years) if you’re not satisfied and a mere 45 days from submission to answer. What’s not to like?

WRITING CONTESTS

The weekly Anne R. Allen Blog is the background for my own blog this week. Anne writes about the Library Journal “Self-E” contest which is what it sounds like: a contest for self-published digital e-books.

There’s no entry fee, but there are prizes for the winners in each of the four categories: Romance, Mystery, Science Fiction and Fantasy. Aside from the generous prizes, the reason for entering is to make libraries aware of your book so patrons may borrow it and then “discover” you as an author whose other books they might want to read. Google “Library Journal” for details.

During my many years of writing and submitting fiction, I’ve entered many contests, but won (or finaled in) very few. Which, therefore, makes them easy for me to remember.

GOLDEN FIRE. My first published book was the result of a writing contest. Contest submissions were to be the first three chapters or the entire novel, and, since I had only written three chapters, that’s what I submitted. Imagine my surprise when I received a letter stating I was one of the finalists and asking for the rest of the book.

I was ready and willing to finish it, but decided if I didn’t win, it would be a lot of work for nothing. So I asked how many finalists there were and was told, “five.” That didn’t seem like too much competition, and I never started a book - even in those days - without knowing the ending, so I promised to send the entire manuscript. However, I pleaded needing time for “final polish,” and this was the early days of computers, and I was given thirty days. I met the deadline, won first place and publication. The bad news? The prize was a Windjammer cruise which I couldn’t take, and, although the book was published, the company went out of business before paying me royalties. Much later, I rewrote the book, gave it a different title and published it again as a mass-market paperback which, alas, soon disappeared from bookstores.

Years passed and I sold other romance novels. Fortunately, I have forgotten all the other contests I entered without winning, but I felt - still do - that it was a good idea to enter them.

NORTH BY NORTHEAST. Then my husband and I took a trip on a train called The American Orient Express. We started in New Orleans, traveled East to Florida and then up the east coast to Savannah, Charleston and Richmond, ending in Washington D.C. in time for the Cherry Blossom Festival. It was such a fine trip, and I met a fellow writer on board who urged me to write about it, so I did. On a two-week vacation to Hawaii later that year, I took my laptop and every morning I wrote ten pages before we hit the beach. I was living in San Diego county at the time and knew there was a contest there, so I asked my husband to self-publish it for me (a new method at the time) and entered it. It won first prize and I got to put stickers, “Winner of San Diego Book Award” on my print copies. And I can now put “Award Winning Author” on all my books.
* * *
I’ll continue my list next time, but meanwhile would like to hear stories about your foray into the contest world. So, fellow writers, have you entered contests? Won a prize or two? Tell me.