Here quick are two links to articles I’ve written about contests for the unpublished author. I forgot to include them yesterday but some of you might find them of interest.

Navigating the Contest Waters: Sail Your Career into Authorized Territory (Romantic Times, Nov 2004)

The Contest Empress Speaks (Washington Romance Writers Update, Dec, 2003)

Cheers, Diane

I started entering Romance Writers of America contests with my very first manuscript. Several of RWA’s chapters sponsor romance writing contests. I came in second in the very first contest I entered, Virginia Romance Writers Fool for Love contest, so I was hooked early. By the time 2002 came along, I was finaling in contests left and right, so often that my friend Kathy Caskie (How to Seduce a Duke, Sept 2006) dubbed me “The Contest Empress” and she gave me the sceptre to prove it.

That year my historicals came in 1st and 3rd in the Marlene Contest (my own Washington Romance Writers chapter) – the first place entry became my eHarlequin Daily Read (Jan 2006) The Diamond, and the 3rd place entry became The Improper Wife.

Above you see me with my Marlene Medallion, the prize for coming in first.

In 2003, I won RWA’s Golden Heart contest with the manuscript that became The Mysterious Miss M. There I am accepting the Golden Heart at the RWA conference in New York.

And as Amanda mentioned, this summer my A Reputable Rake won the 2006 RITA, RWA’s most prestigious award, for Best Regency Romance. Here I am accepting the RITA statue in Atlanta.

I made the decision to enter A Reputable Rake in the Regency category of the contest, first, because it fit the category. It was heavily grounded in the Regency time period, and had the right word count. I had always thought of this category as being meant for the TRADITIONAL Regency lines, but knowing those lines were ending, I thought I’d enter A Reputable Rake in that category, rather than short historical.

My decision turned out to be a very good one!

This year there will still be a Regency category for the RITA contest and I think any author whose book fits the guidelines ought to enter the book in the Regency category instead of Short Historical. I don’t have a Regency this year, so I can’t enter.

These are the guidelines for Best Regency Romance: Romantic historical novels with primary settings during the Regency period, typically 1795-1840. The word count for these novels is 40,000-85,000 words.
Judging guidelines: The category includes comedy of manners as well as darker stories, and the books may contain a variety of story elements, such as sexual content, paranormal elements, mystery, suspense, adventure, and non-traditional settings.

Consider this.
1.The Regency category usually has fewer numbers. Fewer numbers equals less
competition. ( but we have to get at least 25 entries!)
2. The competition for all our non-Regency historicals is decreased, because the Short Historical category is not filled with Regencies.
3. Regencies will be judged against other Regencies, which honors the special quality of our time period.
4. RWA will learn that the Regency set historical is still going strong with wonderful, talented authors writing great books.
5. Who knows whether there will be this category again after the contest is revamped. This may be the best chance to reach the finals!
6. I’ll get to stand up there and present some lucky author a RITA!! I already have a dress to wear.(I bought two for this year’s Award ceremony, just in case.)

So, what do you think? Do you think the Regency period deserves a contest category all its own?

Cheers!
The Contest Empress

No, this post isn’t about Nicole Kidman, or designer gowns, or the Oscars (though I kinda wish it was! I can always talk fashion…) But it is about awards. Contests. Shiny trophies. Pretty medals. We here at Risky Regencies are on a mission to Save the Regency RITA category! With the loss of Signet and Zebra’s traditional lines, we may have to dig a little further, think outside the box, to find enough titles for the category to help it qualify. But we’re confident we can do it! The Regency is a more popular setting than ever before–the vast majority of historical romances feature the period, and readers love it. I know that the genre has a vital (if re-defined) future, and a great way to show that is to maintain the vitality of the Regency category.

Last year, our own Risky Diane won the Regency RITA with The Reputable Rake, a book that could easily have been slotted into the Short Historical category, yet fit well within the Regency niche thanks to its vivid, well-drawn setting (Diane will talk more about this on Monday!). I know that I’ve read several titles this year that would be great in the Regency category, and have also heard that some smaller publishers are starting their own Regency lines. So, if you have a 2006 Regency-set book of your own, or know someone who has, then please encourage them to enter. The deadline is November 30, and you can find all the info at RWA National.

One good point to make about a possible benefit to entering this category is that there may not be quite as much competition in a smaller category, therefore upping chances of being a finalist. There are so many great books out there, and we want them to be noticed! And, let me tell you, being a finalist is just plain fun. 🙂 I’ve been a Regency RITA finalist twice, and both times floated through conference pretending to be Gwyneth Paltrow on the red carpet! It gets your books a little extra attention, gives a small ego boost, and looks great on a resume or author bio. Of course, the day inevitably comes when conference is over, the ego deflates, and the next book has to be written, but that’s another post…

So, tell us about your contest experiences! Good, bad, ugly, we want to know. Any books or new authors you’ve discovered through contests? Let us know!

And join us to Save the Regency Category!

This week, I sent a proposal for a Regency-set historical to my agent. This book is about an opium-addicted Marquess who meets the illegitimate daughter of a vicar. They get married in a Marriage of Convenience, and spend a bunch of time traveling from the Scottish border to London.

So I titled it

Road To Passion* (although its high-concept log-line is Leaving Las Vegas meets Jane Eyre).

So now what? Keep writing, yes, but wait for feedback from my agent, too. Tom Petty had it right in this song “The Waiting” when he said “The waiting/Is the hardest part.” I have to wait to hear what she thinks, then revise, then send back, then hear what she thinks again, and then, and only then, hear what editors think.

It’s a lot of waiting.

So meanwhile, I’ll start writing another proposal, this one a contemporary about a Brooklyn mom who goes on the road with a revival of an ’80s new wave group (I know. Musicians in romances are forbidden. What can I say?).

And then another proposal. And another. Because, after all, what else am I going to do? Go get a real job or something?!?

Thanks for waiting with me! What do you do to pass the time?

Megan
www.meganframpton.com
*The cool drawing is an ancient Chinese picture titled “Road Of Passion.” Love Google!

Do you have a muse?
What is s/he like?

And what is a Muse, anyway?
For the family history and definition of who represents what (and to be honest I’m not sure who represents fiction, although poets have a choice of several), go here. The Muses are a group of Greek goddesses, the offspring of Zeus and Mnemosyne (“memory,” who may or may not have been another goddess, although Zeus had a tendency to get it on with anyone, or anything). They are the divinities who guide artists and scientists.

My personal Muse is a lady of a certain age. Wait, I’m a lady (or at least a woman) of a certain age. She’s even older than me. She favors cameo brooches, sensible shoes, and tweed skirts and is a cross between Miss Costello, the headmistress of the English all-girls school I attended (she never seemed to wash her hair; like boytoys who maintain a three-day stubble, she always had the same grease factor), and Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marples. She is, however, much less agreeable than Miss Marples, given to sarcasm and the delicate raising of a single eyebrow for emphasis. She is very prim, proper, and upper-class.

“My dear. Surely you do not really wish to scrub beneath the kitchen sink rather than write?”

“Another look at the email? So soon? I think not.”

And, this is the killer, comments made in reference to other writers:

“As the dear Count said to me the other day…oh yes, that Count; he didn’t finish War and Peace by frolicking online during valuable writing time, you know. Dear Nikolai, dead but still writing…”

Well, you get the picture. That’s my Muse. Tell us about yours.

Meanwhile, over at the Wet Noodle Posse I’m blogging today on what I like doing in bed.

Janet

Enter my contest all this month at roadtoromance.ca
DEDICATION~Winner, 2006 Golden Leaf Contest (Regency)