RWA RITA and Golden Heart finalist phone calls are going out – who’s getting one? I hear word that a certain critique partner of a published YA author next door is a GH finalist. So – what’s the news? Share share!
ETA: A few sites are keeping track as word gets out. Take your pick and keep hitting refresh.
LOL, Sarah! Yes, my CP Catherine Chant’s awesome ms Wishing You Were Here finaled in the YA category of the Golden Heart. GO CATHY! And congrats to the very cool RC-M!
Here’s a link that was just emailed to me:
Avery Beck has made the GH finals, possibly twice, no word on title or category.
Damn it, what about Jenn’s other critique partner, huh? MY FUCKING PHONE IS BROKEN! Who thinks the phone guy will actually get here in his scheduled six-hour window? But at least I can reassure myself that the broken phone line is the reason I’m not getting the call. Totally.
Congrats, Catherine! And…. go Jennifer Echols!!! I’ve got my fingers crossed!
And congrats, Avery! I have a feeling there will be a LOT of smart bitches getting the call today. *g*
Thanks for posting my blog. I’m hoping the news gets around to all the finalists so we can have a comprehensive list.
My brain is so no-worky that I can’t even remember how many finalists there are in each category. 5? 10?
(basically, it’s a question of how long until I accept they’re not adding my name to the list!)
She’s at lunch right now, so I’m going to spill the beans! Kristan Higgins is a RITA finalist for “Catch of the Day”!
Let’s just say there was a lot of screaming and jumping up and down when I called to congratulate her a little after 8 a.m. Pacific.
I am SO excited for her!
-S
What category? I’ll add her to the list.
Update: Kristan Higgins is a RITA finalist for “Catch of the Day” in Single Title Contemporary.
I’m going crazy waiting for my phone to ring. It’s a wonder I’ve managed to get any work done today at all. Congrats to everyone who’s finaled so far!
Per Varkat’s LJ: “Vickie Taylor is a RITA finalist in the novella category for “Angel and the Hellraiser” in the DEMON’S DELIGHT anthology.”
Source
Also: per Allison Brennan’s blog: “SPEAK NO EVIL is a finalist for Best Romantic Suspense in the Romance Writers of America RITA awards. SEE NO EVIL finalled in Best Novel with strong romantic elements.”
Source
My brain is so no-worky that I can’t even remember how many finalists there are in each category. 5? 10?
Cat, it’s ten percent of the number of books entered in the category. So some categories, like paranormal, will have a lot of finalists, some, like Regency, not as many. Gives us that fun byproduct of having no way of knowing when all the finalists have been announced.
*joins the others twitching in the corner*
I have sympathy for the twitchers in the corner. No MSS or novels subbed for me this year. Next year, however, I’ll be a wreck….
I can’t take this!!! WHERE IS THE PHONE GUY? There have only been two First-Book finalists posted! *sob*
Okay, I have a plan. I’m going to leave. Go to the grocery store. It’s common knowledge that the repair guy won’t arrive until you have to leave, right? But I can trick the system, because the repairs are to the OUTSIDE line and I don’t have to be here. I just know this will work. And I do have to go to the grocery store because our fridge broke this weekend and we had to throw all our food away.
My God, my whole life is falling apart.
I can’t take this!!! WHERE IS THE PHONE GUY?
*virtual slap* GET AHOLT OF YERSELF WOMAN!
Oh, excellent.
Anyway, I don’t care. I’m going Lucy Diver on this one: if they don’t like me, then I don’t like them neither, and I don’t want to win no Rita.
New Novella News: “‘Mischief and the Marquess,’ Sylvia Day’s novella in the PERFECT KISSES anthology, has been named a finalist for the 2008 RITA.”
Source
Hope I haven’t reposted, but I didn’t see it so…
Ward has finaled for Lover Revealed. Not sure what category, but found out through her message board. Prob best paranormal, etc. something like that maybe?
Congrats to all the nominees!
Well, my plan worked. The phone was fixed when I got home from the store. Still… no call. Hmm. Strange. *snort*
I gotta ask something about groupings. They have a separate one for suspense category books but all other contemp categories are in the same grouping?
I ask because Bruhns’ title is a Nocturne and it feels weird to have that in general contemp cat.
Growly, it’s up to the author to choose which category they feel is the best fit for their book. Then it’s up to the individual judges to decide if the book does, indeed, fit into that category. On the judge’s scoresheet, we have the option to check off NR for Not a Romance or WC for Wrong Category.
Congratulations to everyone on the list!
My sympathies to the twitchers. May you see your name or know your fate soon.
No coffee but much chocolate for all y’all today.
🙂
No coffee but much chocolate for all y’all today.
hahahaha
This has been wonderfully exciting! But I’m throwing in the towel. I’m off to caucus. Nothing national, just some district BS. But it gives me the chance to say things like, “I love a good caucus!” Or “I’m a little nervous. This is my first caucus. Will it be hard?”
I’m a looser at reading. Read a minimum of 5 books a week, and yet I only recognized one name on the Golden Heart list, and less than dozen on the Rita list. I’ve read three of the paranormals (none I would consider the authors best work) & Wicked Lovely…I totally suck.
Congrats & good luck to everyone.
I don’t think I recognized any names on the Golden Heart list and only 3-4 names on the RITA list. I don’t think I read enough category romances. Also, I’ve tended to stick to the authors that I know.
At least there’s always a record of the RITA winners so I can go back and look them up later.
Full list at Nationals.
RITAs: http://www.rwanational.org/cs/2008_rita_finalists
Golden Hearts: http://www.rwanational.org/cs/2008_golden_heart_finalists
OMG! Is Jenn the best CP or what? I had no idea she was over here shouting it out as well. In all the frenzy yesterday I totally missed this blog (which, BTW, I do read regularly—whenever I need a pick-me-up after a rotten day, those bad book covers do it every time! LOL!)
Thank you all for the warm wishes and thank you, Jenn, for handling the PR. She’s so good at it!!!! 🙂
Cathy
Big congrats, Cathy!!! From what i’ve heard, you deserve it!!!