The biggest award nominations for the Romance genre were announced yesterday.
"Romance Writers of America® (RWA) is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2010 RITA Awards®. The 2010 RITA honors romance fiction published in 2009. Over 1,000 novels and novellas were judged in 12 categories. Winners of the awards will be announced July 31st at the RITA and Golden Heart Awards Ceremony to be held at RWA’s 30th Annual National Conference in Nashville, Tennessee."
Keep in mind the author or the publisher must submit their book to be nominated. The ones I've read are highlighted in red.
Here are the nominations:
2010 RITA for Best First Book Finalists
One Scream Away by Kate Brady
Grand Central Publishing, Forever
Her Calls Her Doc by Mary Brady
Harlequin Enterprises, Harlequin Superromance
The Gladiator by Carla Capshaw
Harlequin Enterprises, Steeple Hill Love Inspired Historical
Angel Vindicated by Viola Estrella
Ellora’s Cave, Cerridwen Press- only ebook to be nominated in any category
The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay
Simon & Schuster, Pocket Books
Stolen Fury by Elisabeth Naughton
Dorchester Publishing, Love Spell
Nothing Like You by Lauren Strasnick
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
The Last Will of Moira Leahy by Therese Walsh
Random House Group, Shaye Areheart Books
2010 RITA for Contemporary Series Romance Finalists
A Not-So-Perfect Past by Beth Andrews
Harlequin Enterprises, Harlequin Superromance
From the Outside by Helen Brenna
Harlequin Enterprises, NASCAR
The Snow-Kissed Bride by Linda Goodnight
Harlequin Enterprises, Harlequin Romance
Single Mom Seeks... by Teresa Hill
Harlequin Enterprises, Silhouette Special Edition
Revealed: a Prince and a Pregnancy by Kelly Hunter
Harlequin Enterprises, Mills and Boon Modern Heat
The Christmas Love-Child by Jennie Lucas
Harlequin Enterprises, Harlequin Presents
One-Night Mistress...Convenient Wife by Anne McAllister
Harlequin Enterprises, Harlequin Presents
Duty, Desire, and the Desert King by Jane Porter
Harlequin Enterprises, Mills and Boon Modern
I Still Do by Christie Ridgway
Harlequin Enterprises, Silhouette Special Edition
2010 RITA for Contemporary Series Romance: Suspense/Adventure Finalists
Mountain Investigation by Jessica Andersen
Harlequin Enterprises, Harlequin Intrigue
The Christmas Stranger by Beth Cornelison
Harlequin Enterprises, Silhouette Romantic Suspense
The Soldier's Secret Daughter by Cindy Dees
Harlequin Enterprises, Silhouette Romantic Suspense
In Care of Sam Beaudry by Kathleen Eagle
Harlequin Enterprises, Silhouette Special Edition
Silent Watch by Elle Kennedy
Harlequin Enterprises, Silhouette Romantic Suspense
Cold Case Affair by Loreth Anne White
Harlequin Enterprises, Silhouette Romantic Suspense
The Christmas Present by Tracy Wolff
Harlequin Enterprises, Harlequin Superromance
2010 RITA for Contemporary Single Title Romance Finalists
Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl
Harlequin Enterprises, HQN
True Love and Other Disasters by Rachel Gibson
HarperCollins Publishers, Avon Books
For the Love of Pete by Julia Harper
Grand Central Publishing, Forever
Too Good to Be True by Kristan Higgins
Harlequin Enterprises, HQN
A Little Light Magic by Joy Nash
Dorchester Publishing, Leisure Fiction
Dirty Sexy Knitting by Christie Ridgway
Penguin Group USA, Berkley
Instant Attraction by Jill Shalvis
Kensington Publishing Corp., Brava
Fireside by Susan Wiggs
Harlequin Enterprises, MIRA Books
2010 RITA for Historical Romance Finalists
Wicked All Day by Liz Carlyle
Simon & Schuster, Pocket Books Romance
With Seduction in Mind by Laura Lee Guhrke
HarperCollins Publishers, Avon Books
To Beguile a Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt
Grand Central Publishing, Forever
Make Me Yours by Betina Krahn
Harlequin Enterprises, Blaze
Knight of Pleasure by Margaret Mallory
Grand Central Publishing, Forever
The Lone Texan by Jodi Thomas
Penguin Group USA, Berkley
Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas
Bantam Dell Publishing Group
Taming Her Irish Warrior by Michelle Willingham
Harlequin Enterprises, Harlequin Historical
2010 RITA for Inspirational Romance Finalists
The Inheritance by Tamera Alexander
Thomas Nelson, Inc., Women of Faith Fiction
A Lady Like Sarah by Margaret Brownley
Thomas Nelson, Inc.
The Gladiator by Carla Capshaw
Harlequin Enterprises, Steeple Hill Love Inspired Historical
Entertaining Angels by Judy Duarte
Kensington Publishing Corp.
An Eye for an Eye by Irene Hannon
Baker Publishing Group, Revell Books
The Silent Governess by Julie Klassen
Bethany House Publishers
Breach of Trust by Diann Mills
Tyndale House Publishers
The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper by Kathleen Y'Barbo
Random House Publishing, WaterBrook Multnomah
2010 RITA for Novel with Strong Romantic Elements Finalists
The Better Part of Darkness by Kelly Gay
Simon & Schuster, Pocket Books
Scandal Sheet by Gemma Halliday
Dorchester Publishing
Red's Hot Honky Tonk Bar by Pamela Morsi
Harlequin Enterprises, MIRA Books
The Lost Recipe for Happiness by Barbara O'Neal
Bantam Dell Publishing Group, Discovery
Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn
Harlequin Enterprises, MIRA Books
The Accidental Bestseller by Wendy Wax
Penguin Group USA, Berkley
The Virgin's Daughters: In the Court of Elizabeth I by Jeane Westin
Penguin Group, USA, NAL Trade
Lakeshore Christmas by Susan Wiggs
Harlequin Enterprises, MIRA Books
2010 RITA for Paranormal Romance Finalists
What Would Jane Austen Do? by Laurie Brown
Sourcebooks, Inc., Casablanca
Untouchable in Deep Kiss of Winter by Kresley Cole
Simon & Schuster, Pocket Books
Kiss of a Demon King by Kresley Cole
Simon & Schuster, Pocket Books
My Forbidden Desire by Carolyn Jewel
Grand Central Publishing, Forever
The Fire King by Marjorie M. Liu
Dorchester Publishing, Leisure Books
For the Earl's Pleasure by Anne Mallory
HarperCollins Publishers, Avon Books
Darkness Unknown by Alexis Morgan
Simon & Schuster, Pocket Books, Pocket Star
Covet by J.R. Ward
Penguin Group USA, Signet
Mortal Sins by Eileen Wilks
Penguin Group USA, Berkley Sensation
2010 RITA for Regency Historical Romance Finalists
Surrender of a Siren by Tessa Dare
Ballantine/Bantam Dell
Scandal by Carolyn Jewel
Penguin Group USA, Berkley Sensation
Tempting Fate by Alissa Johnson
Dorchester Publishing, Leisure Books
A View to a Kiss by Caroline Linden
HarperCollins Publishers, Avon Books
Revealed by Kate Noble
Penguin Group USA, Berkley Sensation
What Happens in London by Julia Quinn
HarperCollins Publishers, Avon Books
Lord Braybrook's Penniless Bride by Elizabeth Rolls
Harlequin Enterprises, Harlequin Historical
2010 RITA for Romance Novella Finalists
"A Little Night Magic" by Allyson James in Hot for the Holidays
Penguin Group USA, Berkley, Jove
“The Robber Bride” by Marjorie M. Liu in Huntress
St. Martin’s Press
“Annalise and the Scandalous Rake” by Deb Marlowe in The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor
Harlequin Enterprises, Harlequin Historical
"Charlotte and the Wicked Lord" by Amanda McCabe in The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor
Harlequin Enterprises, Harlequin Historical
“This Wicked Gift” by Courtney Milan in The Heart of Christmas
Harlequin Enterprises, HQN
“On a Snowy Christmas” by Brenda Novak in The Night Before Christmas
Harlequin Enterprises
"The Christmas Eve Promise” by Molly O'Keefe in The Night Before Christmas
Harlequin Enterprises, Silhouette Special Releases
2010 RITA for Romantic Suspense Finalists
One Scream Away by Kate Brady
Grand Central Publishing, Forever
Waking the Dead by Kylie Brant
Penguin Group USA, Berkley Sensation
A Dark Love by Margaret Carroll
HarperCollins Publishers, Avon Books
Whisper of Warning by Laura Griffin
Simon & Schuster, Pocket Books, Pocket Star
Stolen Fury by Elisabeth Naughton
Dorchester Publishing, Love Spell
Dark Country by Bronwyn Parry
Hachette Livre, Hachette Australia
Promises in Death by J.D. Robb
Penguin Group USA, Putnam
Kill for Me by Karen Rose
Grand Central Publishing, Vision
2010 RITA for Young Adult Romance
Fairy Tale by Cyn Balog
Random House Group, Delacorte Press
Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter
Hyperion Books for Children
Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
Walker Books for Young Readers
Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols
Simon & Schuster, Pocket Books, MTV Books
The ABC's of Kissing Boys by Tina Ferraro
Random House Group, Delacorte Press
Nothing Like You by Lauren Strasnick
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
I was disappointed to see some of my favorites for 2009 were not nominated such as:
Demon Forged by Meljean Brook
Butterfly Tattoo by Deidre Knight
Bound by Your Touch and Written on Your Skin by Meredith Duran
Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James
Soulless by Gail Carriger
The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley
The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker by Leanna Renee Hieber
Angel's Blood by Nalini Singh
But again, I'm not certain if these book were submitted. I know Butterfly Tattoo and Practice Makes Perfect were submitted and I think it's a shame they are not in the Best Romance Contemporary category.
Even with the drama surrounding Harlequin, they have a strong presence as the published to beat.
And don't get me started on the lack of a GLBT Romance category.
What do you think of the nominations? What books were you surprised aren't listed?
11 comments:
I was surprised, and yet not surprised, that Butterfly Tattoo wasn't on the list.
Out of all the authors nominated I've only read 7. Mind you I don't read every genre listed, but I'm still not impressed with the list..
I definitely think Leanna Renee Hieber should have earned a nomination.
I'm really surprised Angel's Blood isn't on the list. I would have thought that one would be a no-brainer.
Wow, I've only read a few of the ones nominated and at least one of them was a dnf for me. I'm sooooo not impressed. And what's up with a lack of e-books? Srsly? WTF?
No Angel's Blood? No Nalini Singh that I saw at all? Or a bunch of others I can think of that should have been there? And what's up with all the categories from HQ? *sigh*
The brouhaha at HQ occurred after the RITA nominations were in progress. Actually, they may have already closed by then. I'm not sure. So regardless of the "delisting" of HQ, the books prior to the HarHo event would have been eligible.
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I believe erotic romance doesn't get a fair shake in the RITAs. I'm not sure an erotic category would be any real help. If there were one erotic category, then you'd have paranormal, contemp, historical, romsus, etc all competing against each other. I don't think that would be fair. If you set up a mirror category for each erotic sub-genre, I'm not sure there'd be enough judges.
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Also, what's erotic? It's very subjective. To one person, anything inside the bedroom could be erotic. To another, you'd really have to ramp up the heat and at least throw in some handcuffs! LOL
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I really believe an opt out for judges unwilling to read the hotter stuff is needed but then again, who decides what's hot and what's not? And what happens if not enough judges are willing to read the hot? Or vice versa? *cackle*
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The RITAs are already a logistical nightmare. 1200 books, five copies of each, divided up to possible 1200 judges. The math alone makes my head hurt. If you have an opt out, then that adds one more permutation to the calculations. I'm amazed the small RWA staff doesn't all call in sick during the RITA/GH!
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Whatever the solution, it evades me.
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Oh, and the lack of e-books is because the rules require the book be bound by the publisher. Some e-pubs will do it, some won't. But you can't enter an e-book electronically. It must be in print.
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Congratulations to the finalists.
I'm personally devastated I'm not in there... sigh... :OP Nah, not really, yes, I'd entered a book, and damn, I wanted to final, but oh, well, I'll try again next year.
One thing we have to keep in mind is like Shayla said-erotic romance is VERY subjective. Personally, I adore Joey Hill, but I have to be in the right frame of mind to read her, or I can't, and if I tried to make myself read her outside the frame of mind...say for a contest? There is no way I could give her a fair shake.
Other erotic romance books, they just don't appeal to me... I'm sorry, I'm kind of past the M+M+F+M+M or the M+F+M or whatever other multiples you can come up with, and those books, again, I'd have a harder time giving them a fair shake, because I have a hard time setting aside 'my' vision of reality-(which is this... I know how hard it is to make a committed relationship between TWO people work...you throw in a third, a fourth... that throws that dynamic off even more)
This doesn't mean there aren't well written ones out there-I know there are and I've read quite a few, they just don't appeal to me and I don't want to read books that don't appeal to me. With contests, though, when you're judging, you need to read-if you're opting out, then others are picking up the bulk.
Again, like Shayla said, it would be a logistical nightmare.
Considering how widely varied erotic romances can get, it's perfectly understandable, (IMO) that very often the subject matter isn't going to work as well for some readers. We've all got different tastes, things that work for us, but don't work others-just as the covers posted here the other day probably didn't appeal to a number of us...there are a ton of people who don't really care.
Erotic romance writers can enter their books in the RITA, they just have to enter in the category most suiting-like historical, romantic suspense-etc.
Shayla: now my head is spinning! LOL
But I will say I am thrilled to see Tessa Dare, Victoria Dahl, Courtney Milan and a few others who do deserve to be up there.
Shiloh: I can make you an awesome gold statue and you can give your acceptance speech here for best author of everything sexy.
LOL Shiloh! I know the feeling. I entered one too. Didn't expect it to final because it was erotic romance but I couldn't help but hope!
Katiebabs, the idea of administrating the RITA/GH process would give me nightmares and make my head spin right off my neck!
Hello m'dear, thank you so much for mentioning Miss Percy, she was indeed submitted, and thanks Anna for agreeing!
Congrats to all the finalists!
Katiebabs... deal. I will give smashing acceptance speech for the award of best author of everything sexy. ;o)
Shayla... we shall commiserate together at Nationals. ;o)
Everyone who wasn't nominated is welcome to write a speech :)
*sniff* I won't be at this year's nationals. But watch out NYC 2011!
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