Hi, Everyone

This is the weekend the Romance Writers of America announces the finalists in the RITA and Golden Heart contests for 2006. For those who may not have heard about them, the RITAs are the “Oscars” of the romance writing industry, and the Golden Heart is the premier contest for unpublished writers with romance manuscripts.

My good friend Jane Graves got the nod in the Short Contemporary category of the RITA this year. She’ll be my roommate in Atlanta and is one of the funniest women on the planet!

The excitement of this finalist weekend took me back to my first final in the Golden Heart contest in 1999. That was when I met Jane Graves (she also finaled in the GH that year), and it was hands-down one of the most exciting moments of my life—a close second to the birth of my children and my wedding.

I went on to win the Golden Heart in 1999, to final twice and win in 2000, and to final in the RITAs in 2003. Still, nothing quite beat the thrill of 1999. I changed from being one of many thousand aspiring authors to being one of only 63 who would have their pictures displayed at the RWA annual conference in Chicago, their name and title announced at the awards ceremony and, best of all, be read by acquiring editors from the major publishing houses.

I also sold my first novel at the 2000 RWA conference as a result of that contest–while visiting the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum–but that’s a whole other story.

Back to the 1999 Golden Heart. Of course, I immediately called my family and all my writing friends. And a few people stopped by after work. One friend brought champagne, and we all sat around laughing and celebrating.

It was nearly eight o’clock by the time the company left and I got a chance to start dinner for the family. While I was standing over the stove, my eleven year old daughter snuggled up beside me. She put her head on my shoulder, sighed sweetly and said, “Mom. I don’t think I want you to become a romance writer… If it means dinner is going to be late.”

Happily, she got over late dinners. In fact, when the family discovered there were actual advances and royalties involved in this hobby, they were completely on board for any and all sacrifices

The complete list of the RITA and Golden Heart finalists for 2006 can be found on the RWA web site. Congratulations to all of this year’s finalists!

Barbara
www.barbaradunlop.com