We Have a Winner!

Big News!

I WON!! Not only that, but I also took Second and Third!!

Maybe I need to back up.

Way back on October 14th, back when there was no snow on the ground, the trees were clinging to the last of their leaves, and I could send The Kid and The Dogs outside for the entire afternoon without being deemed a poor mother, I was notified Indian Princess had finaled in the Golden Rose, which I wrote about here. The next week, I got word that both Indian Princess and The Wannabe Cowboy had finaled in the Hot Prospect contest, which I'm sure you read all about here.

So, I just bet you were wondering how that turned out, huh?

I found out that Princess had gotten second in the Golden Rose a few weeks ago. No one-of-a-kind, handcrafted gold rose pendant; no gold-plated rose. Not even an editor request. I consoled myself with the fact that I had actually sold this book a week before the announcement. Oddly enough, this fact was quite consoling. I took my second place and called it a day.

I was going to blog about it, because I know that you, loyal reader(s), like to, as my mother says, "Wallow in the good news." (Or maybe that's just her?) I had every intent of blogging--but I was going to wait until I got the Hot Prospect results.

Sadly, this little thing called 'the holidays' happened, derailing contest announcements until everyone had gotten tipsy off of eggnog (seriously, who drinks that stuff?) and finished the panicked last-minute stuffing of Christmas Cards with the wrong year on them (not that I did that!) (Okay, maybe I did. I'm, uh, wishing you holiday greetings a year in advance!).

Finally, last week, word came down: Indian Princess had not only won its category, but it had been named the Grand Prize Winner! I get STUFF! A book trailer, active banner, and static banner from Firebird Web Designs! I'll be talking with Carol of Firebird some time today (assuming that The Kid having a snow day doesn't derail my every waking thought, because very little writing happens with The Kid spinning in my office chair).  Leanne Morgena of Wild Rose Press invited me to send in a partial, but again--I've already sold this book. I'll have to pass.

I don't want Wannabe Cowboy to feel bad--it did get third, and there's nothing wrong with that. Actually, I kind of like being able to say I got First, Second, and Third!

Next up is the Golden Heart, which is the national contest through the Romance Writers of America. I sent both Princess and Wannabe off, as well as my single-title book, Mystic Cowboy.

I'm even more excited about this at the moment because I just got my judging packet in the mail today, and the first entry was pretty good. In every contest I've judged, I've had a finalist entry--Elizabeth Essex and Heather Snow. Both sold soon after. I've become friends with both. It's exciting to think there might be another kindred spirit in my packet, just waiting to be read. Or that someone else has my stuff and is thinking the same thing.

Will I final in the Golden Heart? With which book? Will the dress I'm going to be wearing for my sister Leah's wedding work for the reception ceremony? Will I have a winner? Will any of my friends be finalists with me? (You know who you are, Laurel and Rebecca!)

Can I wait the three months to find out about finaling? And the six month to the awards ceremony???

What was that New Year's Resolution? Oh, yeah.

Patience.