Woo hoo! My novel Sunset Surrender took home third in the prestigious Valeria Parv Award at the Romance Writers of Australia Annual Conference. Stella Quinn was a worthy winner for her Island Fling and second place went to talented AJ Blythe for Bite the Bullet. Highly commended went to Paquita Fadden for Captured by Aliens, Jillian Jones for #futurewife and Ree Andersson for Caverns. Congratulations to all the finalists.
Placing third was definitely a career highlight so far, and I got to meet the esteemed author herself. Valerie has sold more than 30 million books in multiple genres and believes passionately in giving back to the romance industry by mentoring the winner of the award for a year.
Her words at the conference Legends panel that ”your ideas don’t come to you, they come from you” now sit on my noticeboard to inspire me to ask deeper questions about my story ideas. I believe stories come to life best when they touch us profoundly.
Sunset Surrender was a finalist in three RWA contests, also including Ripping Start and the First Kiss. (My short story A Name To Live Up To was also selected for the Little Gems Jade sweet romance anthology.) I’m not going to lie, I wanted to see my name and photo on the big screen at conference. And yes, it felt just as thrilling as I’d imagined. You get to walk across the room and onto the stage to accept your certificate. Didn’t know that before hand, very glad I did not trip.
Sunset Surrender is now on a deadline. It’s going out in the world by the end of September. Maybe it will get picked up and published. I had an accidental pitch with a publisher whose books I love after a hallway chat. “Send it to me,” she said. Magic moments do happen at Conference.
Watching your fellow writers’ group friends have their moments is also magic. Years of toil go into those flashes of glory that empower and encourage. Three of our Writers Not Waiters (because if you’re waiting for inspiration you’re a waiter, not a writer) group entered contests this year. Jo Edgar-Baker won Spicy Bites for her short story on this year’s Chains theme. She was also a finalist in the First Kiss. Ree Andersson was a finalist in the Ripping Start and Highly Commended finalist in the Valerie Parv Award. Sharing the journey and sharing the thrills is a rush, which balances out the days you share disappointments.
Sending Sunset Surrender out is my next step. But it’s not the only one. I’ve got more stories to tell and I’m itching to write them and share them.
This was my year to enter contests, next year I’ll be helping manage one. It’s never too soon to give back and I got so much out of the judges’ feedback from the First Kiss, the Ripping Start, the VPA and the Little Gems Jade short story contest, that I want to do my bit so others to have the same opportunities. It’s a wonderful way for aspiring writers to learn and get recognition. I encourage any romance writer thinking of trying their hand to enter, you always learn something valuable. And someone has to win, it might be you heading onto the stage. To learn more about RWA and their contest, click here.
If you want to see more of what I got up to at Conference, check out my facebook or instagram page (click on the icon links below). Don’t forget to say hi. That’s it from me for now I’m chasing a deadline. Wish me luck! And thanks for dropping by.