Contest success

I found out earlier in the week, but couldn't say anything until it was officially announced:

My two entries in the RWAustralia Single (Title) and Loving It contest placed second and third. The manuscripts are Dark Legacy, the loosely-linked sequel to my Golden Heart finalling book; and Shadows and Light.

Both manuscripts have been challenging to write, for various reasons, and each has had a number of versions, so I'd entered them in the contest primarily for the feedback, to see if what I'd done with each of them worked. It seems so :-)

Big congrats to Melanie Scott, who won the contest. She's also a double Golden Heart finalist, and I'm really hoping I'll be giving her a huge cheer (or two!!) and pouring champagne for her at the awards night in Dallas. Mel was one of the first people I met at the first romance writers conference I attended, and she deserves every success.

Speaking of Dallas, in three weeks exactly I'll be heading to Sydney airport to get on the plane to San Francisco, and from there to Dallas.

From winter in rural Australia to a luxury hotel in a huge, bustling hot city - it will definitely be a contrast! I am becoming quite excited, although there's a huge list of things I need to finish before I leave. I don't usually pack ages before I go away, but because I'm taking summer clothes that I'm not currently wearing in freezing winter temps, I have started piling some things on the guest bed. I may even start making a list, soon :-)