And it's time for the RITA and GH

Two of my favorite days of the year as a writer are the days the RITA and Golden Heart nominees are announced and the night of the ceremony. Tonight is the ceremony from the 2009 Romance Writers of America conference in Washington, DC.

So, without further ado -

2009 Golden Heart Winner for Best Contemporary Romance Series Manuscript
Second Chance for a Family by Kim Law

2009 Golden Heart Winner for Best Contemporary Romance Series: Suspense/Adventure
Romance or Retribution by Jamie Michele

2009 Golden Heart Winner for Best Young Adult Manuscript
Stage Fright by Shoshana Dawn Brown

2009 Golden Heart Winner for Best Historical Romance Manuscript
Butterfly Swords by Jeannie Lin

2009 Golden Heart Winner for Best Regency Historical Romance Manuscript
An Inconvenient Marriage by Sara Ramsey

2009 Golden Heart Winner for Best Inspirational Manuscript
Kitty's Fire by Kelly Ann Riley

2009 Golden Heart Winner for Best Paranormal Romance Manuscript
First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones

2009 Golden Heart Winner for Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements Manuscript
Death, Taxes, and a French Manicure by Diane O'Brien Kelly

2009 Golden Heart Winner for Best Romantic Suspense Manuscript
Only Fear by Anne Marie Becker

2009 Golden Heart Winner for Best ContemporarySingle Title Manuscript
Easy Money by Vivi Andrews


2009 RITA Winner for Best Contemporary Series Romance
A Mother's Wish by Karen Templeton

2009 RITA Winner for Best Contemporary Series Romance: Suspense/Adventure
Danger Signals by Kathleen Creighton

2009 RITA Winner for Best Young Adult Romance
Hell Week by Rosemary Clement-Moore

2009 RITA Winner for Best Historical Romance
The Edge of Impropriety by Pam Rosenthal

2009 RITA Winner for Best Regency Historical Romance
My Lord and Spymaster by Joanna Bourne

2009 RITA Winner for Best Inspirational Romance
Finding Stefanie by Susan May Warren

2009 RITA Winner for Best Romance Novella
"The Fall of Rogue Gerard" by Stephanie Laurens in It Happened One Night

2009 RITA Winner for Best Paranormal Romance
Seducing Mr. Darcy by Gwyn Cready

2009 RITA Winner for Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements
Tribute by Nora Roberts

2009 RITA Winner for Best Romantic Suspense
Take No Prisoners by Cindy Gerard

2009 RITA Winner for Best First Book
Oh. My. Gods. by Tera Lynn Childs

2009 RITA Winner for Best Contemporary Single Title Romance
Not Another Bad Date by Rachel Gibson


Congratulations to all the winners but congratulations also to all the nominees. The competition was fierce.

RWA National Conference

The RWA National Conference is always inspiring, but this year I'm finding it even more inspiring because I'm not there.

A few years back - when I really wasn't writing much - I made a vow to myself that I wouldn't go back to National until I had something sold (preferable) or at least ready to sell (realistic).

That vow was nice on my wallet but it didn't do much for getting me back to writing. So, here I am, too many years later, still not attending.

But this week I signed up for Twitter and a funny thing happened. With all the tweets and blogs from DC, I feel like I know more about what's going on at this conference than I ever did at the ones I went to. Via twitter, I can be in lots of places at once! I've gone to lunch with all sorts or people I don't know - everything from Lebanese food to pizza to sandwiches. I've vicariously attended the huge literacy booksigning. I didn't buy any books there, but I did make a stop at Barnes and Noble today for Toni Blake's book because I read about it on someone's blog today. I've seen the Hot Sheet rehashed, heard about the Golden Network retreat's editor panel, and seen lots of pictures.
I also learned that following everyone else on their RWA journey is exhausting!

But there's one more thing - the best of all!

I've been writing. Turns out that all this vicarious conferencing is very inspirational! I got more words done today than I have in the past few months combined. And it's only the first day of conference!

Bring on Day 2!