Get Shorty

Whose Twitter posts most inspire you?  Today’s the last day to cast your vote for the Shorty Awards, celebrating the best people and organizations on Twitter.  Official categories include Author–@TeresaMedeiros, anyone? How the heck is she not in the top list?–Actor, Actress, Politician, and a number of others.  There are also a bunch of community-based categories.  And Sourcebooks’ own @draccah is a serious contender in the Publishing category.

To cast your vote, Tweet the following:

I nominate @TwitterUser for a Shorty Award in #Category because…

Or fill out the form here.

 

Borders names Readers’ Crown finalists

Part of Borders’ new RomCon (Denver, July 9-11) is a reader-judged award called The Readers’ Crown.  The winners in each of 11 categories receive some pretty impressive in-store promotion.  

Congratulations to our finalists:

ANNE MARSH – THE HUNT, Best First Book

 

JENNIFER ASHLEY – THE MADNESS OF LORD IAN MACKENZIE, Best Long Historical

EMILY BRYAN – “My Lady Below Stairs” from A CHRISTMAS BALL, Best Novella

A full list of finalists can be found here.

 

Hello, Mr. Romance!

Congratulations to Jamie Ungaro, the newly crowned Mr. Romance from this weekend’s Romantic Times BookLovers Convention. 

And more congratulations go to Reviewers’ Choice Award winners Jennifer Ashley for THE MADNESS OF LORD IAN MACKENZIE and Nina Bangs for ETERNAL CRAVING.  

  

 

Rita finalists and chick lit at PLA

A huge congrats to Dorchester’s 2010 Rita finalists!  In no particular order:

    

 

For a limited time, you can get these titles 30% off. 

I was fortunate enough to be with Elisabeth Naughton in Portland, OR,  for the annual Public Libraries Assoc. conference when she got the announcement that STOLEN FURY had double finaled for Best First Book and Romantic Suspense.  We had a fantastic time celebrating.

I also had the pleasure of being on a panel about chick lit and women’s fiction with Susan Wiggs (another double Rita finalist!), Jane Porter (also a Rita finalist!), Beth Kendrick and super-librarian Joyce Saricks.  Teresa Bergen has a nice recap of the panel–include how chick lit has become a dirty word among some houses and how it’s evolved for others.  It might just not be as dead as you think.

 

RT Award finalists

Congratulations to the following finalists for a Reviewers’ Choice Award from RT BookReviews.  Winners will be announced at the annual convention this April.

Innovative Historical Romance

    

Shapeshifter Romance

 

 

Historical Biography

 

Paranormal Historical Romance

 

Shapeshifter Romance

 

Fantasy/Futuristic Romance

 

Paranormal Historical Romance

 

 

 

 

 

Author news in brief

Congratulations to Trish Albright, whose SIREN’S SONG just took first-place honors in the Write Touch Readers contest sponsored by WisRWA.

Love Vikings?  Check out Michelle Buonfiglio’s post over at Barnes & Noble today.  You might be surprised at some of the Viking stereotypes debunked by Emily Bryan.  If it’s a genre you can’t get enough of, there’s also plenty of recommended reading.

 

Prism Award finalists

Winners will be announced July 16 at the national RWA convention in Washington, D.C.  Congratulations to all the nominees!

Dark Paranormal:
IMMORTALS: THE REDEEMING by Jennifer Ashley
HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT by Cynthia Eden
MONA LISA CRAVING by Sunny

 

Fantasy:
THE DRAGON MASTER by Allyson James
DRAGONBOUND by Jade Lee
KING OF SWORD AND SKY by C.L. Wilson

  

Novella:

“The Spacetime Pool” by Catherine Asaro
“Dark Nest” by Leanna Renee Hieber
“Kung Fu Shoes!” in THESE BOOTS WERE MADE FOR STOMPING by Jade Lee

Time Travel:
TWIST by Colby Hodge
MADMAN’S DANCE by Jana G. Oliver
A SEXY TIME OF IT by Cara Summers

 

Young Adult:
Cave of Terror by Amber Dawn Bell
CHOSEN: A House of Night Novel by P.C. Cast
Sleepless by Terri Clark

Futuristic:
Fallen by Claire Delacroix
Moonstruck by Susan Grant
Shades of Dark by Linnea Sinclair

Light Paranormal:
La Vida Vampire by Nancy Haddock
The Trouble with Moonlight by Donna MacMeans
Wicked Game by Jeri Smith-Ready

Erotica:
A Mermaid’s Kiss by Joey W. Hill
Carnal Desires by Crystal Jordan
Siren Singing by Isabo Kelly

 

Award news & link roundups

Congratulations to the following finalists for the Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence:

     

Emily Bryan has posted more RT photos on her site, including shots from the Mr. Romance competition.

Speaking of RT, Teri Thackston wrote a great recap of the Dorchester Spotlight.  The only thing you’re missing is the chocolate we gave out.

Jennifer Ashley is over on The Chatelaines today–part of her huge blog tour–talking about the dream life of an author.

And catch a glimpse of the darker side of Dorchester with Executive Editor Don D’Auria’s interview at Famous Monsters.

 

Author awards photos

Anna DeStefano accepts a Reviewers Choice Award for Best Harlequin SuperRomance

 

PHANTOM author Lindsay Randall and me with her Reviewers' Choice Award for Best Historical Paranormal

 

AT V winner Marie-Claude Borque (center) with previous winners Helen Scott Taylor and Gerri Russell

Sadly, Dawn Thompson passed away before she learned that THE RAVENING was awarded a Reviewers’ Choice for Best Historical Shapeshifter Romance.  But her sister, Diane Mae Thompson, gave us a poignant and heartfelt acceptance to read for her, which I’ve included below.

My sister, Dawn Thompson, worked so hard to be a published author. Few knew the condition of her confinement to a wheelchair the last eleven years of her life, or knew how she could only type with her index fingers and thumbs. Even those were twisted and riddled with arthritis. Some saw Dawn as an overnight sensation, but she had worked for decades to make it. She once said she wanted to acheive three goals–make the NY Times Bestseller list, win a RITA Award, and to win a Romantic Times Award.  Alas, life didn’t favor my sister with the first two.  She was taken from us too soon. But she now has her Romantic Times Award. I know Dawn would be honored and truly touched with this award. I think you on her behalf for making part of her dream come true.

Dawn’s COUNTERFEIT LADY, written under the name Dawn MacTavish, will be a November release.

 

And the award goes to…

Award season is upon us.  This week accolades have rolled out across numerous genres.  Congratulations to everyone!

RITA Award finalists:

    

TRIPLE EXPOSURE by Colleen Thompson – Romantic Suspense

NO GOOD GIRLS by Jean Marie Pierson – Contemporary Single Title

NO GOOD GIRLS by Jean Marie Pierson – Best First Book

The RITA Award winners will be announced on July 18 at RWA’s national conference in Washington, D.C.  A full list of nominees can be found here.

Spur Award Winner:

 

TROUBLE AT THE REDSTONE by John D. Nesbitt – Best Original Mass-Market Paperback

The Spur Award winners were announced by WWA at the National Festival of the West on March 22.  Winners and finalists will be honored at the national WWA convention June 16-20 in Oklahoma City.

Spur Award Finalists:

 

         

THE TRESPASSERS by Andrew J. Fenady – Best Mass-Market Original Paperback

“Morning War” by Cotton Smith in THE WAY OF THE WEST – Best Western Short Fiction Story

KILLSTRAIGHT by Johnny D. Boggs (coming in Jan. 2010) – Best Western Short Novel

Bram Stoker Award Finalists:

 

    

COFFIN COUNTY by Gary A. Braunbeck – Superior Achievement in a Novel

THE REACH by Nate Kenyon – Superior Achievement in a Novel

Stoker Award winners will be announced at HWA’s Stoker Award Weekend in Los Angeles June 12-14.  A full listing of the final ballot of nominees can be found here.