I'm blogging today at the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood about the fabulous sixty-four women AND ONE MAN who make up the 2010 Golden Heart Finalists.  Visit the Rubies, hear some wonderful stories, and find out why the 2010 group has come to be known as THE UNSINKABLES!

Come join me at author Elisabeth Naughton's blog for my second-ever interview in the blogosphere!!  I'm talking about the power of The Creative Urge. 

And if you're feeling more aggressive than creative, jump on over to the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood for Vivi Andrews' hilarious take on applying Sun Tzu's The Art of War to publishing her bubbly comedies. 

During the Brenda Novak auction, I was lucky enough to win a critique from Courtney Milan. 

This is doubly cool because: first, I admire her work a lot (her novella, This Wicked Gift from 2009's The Heart of Christmas anthology knocked my socks off; I loved her debut novel, Proof by Seduction; and she puts smart stuff up on her blog, including a verrrrry promising excerpt from her upcoming book, which looks like it will pull off the neat trick of turning gentle, muddled, depressive Ned from Proof by Seduction into a full-blooded romance hero), and second, because the money from the auction goes to research to fight Type 1 diabetes.  My much-beloved 14-year-old nephew was diagnosed with Type 1 a year ago, and I want that cure NOW.   

(If you made it through the syntax of that second sentence above without your eyes crossing, congrats. I'm single-momming it while my husband's out of town for a week, all my grades are due in two days, and both my kids and I have a high-fever flu.  I promise to be coherent by the weekend.  Maybe.  Either coherent, or out on the back deck with a pitcher of margaritas.)

Don't think I mentioned that one of the final Golden Heart judges requested the full of A MOST IMPROPER GENTLEMAN, my finalist in the Regency category.  A few quick revisions, and off it went.  (And, of course, I'm STILL tinkering even after that. I don't know how I'll ever let a manuscript go....)

Must stop with that one, though, and get back to work on finishing up THE DEVIL MAY CARE.   

 

Join me today at the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood for a whole lotta SQUEE-ing about Joanna Bourne's fabulous new installment in the Spymaster series: THE FORBIDDEN ROSE. 

Just got the news last night that I've DOUBLE finaled in the Beau Monde's Royal Ascot: THE DEVIL MAY CARE in the Hot Regency category, and A MOST IMPROPER GENTLEMAN (the one that's finaled twice in Golden Heart) in the Regency Historical category.  I'm incredibly thrilled.

Now I've got to figure out what to wear to the Beau Monde Soiree at Nationals!!