GH Nominations

I got a call this morning that my manuscript, SWITCHING SIDES, made the finals in RWA® 's Golden Heart® competition.

YAY.

My big lesson for this past year is to always give things a shot. It's relevant in this case because I almost pulled out of this contest. It's a contest for unpublished authors and I got my first book contract offer right around the time of the deadline to enter this competition. To be frank, I was hoping I'd be disqualified and get my money back. :)

But after talking to RWA® and telling them about my contract offer, they said I was still eligible to enter as long as the contract wasn't signed by November 1, 2009. (And in the end, it wasn't signed until Jan 2010.) Therefore, if I chose not to enter, I'd be forfeiting my already paid entry fee.

So, I decided to roll the dice and pay the shipping costs to get that puppy down to Houston. AND IT PAID OFF!!!

This marks the last time I can enter the Golden Heat®, and I'm a finalist again! (Last time was in 2007) Yippee!!! And with a book that I really love and believe in AND that's never been shopped!!!
(The last time I finalled in this contest, my book had already made the rounds in NYC, so while the contest final gave it a bit of a second chance, that ship had basically already sailed.... Although I am still hoping that particular ship can find some wind again in the future...)

And in even more exciting news, my critique partner and very good friend Molly O'Keefe is nominated for a RITA®!!!

A good day.