Monday, March 15, 2010

The RWA Rita Awards!

Congratulations, Anna Hoque on winning the autographed copy of Kate Perry’s Chosen by Desire! This is a wonderful series! I’ll send you an e-mail to get your snail mail.

I’m moving back to my historical collection and will be giving away Lorraine Heath’s Promise Me Forever. When I go to the Romance Writers of America national conference, I have the pleasure of sitting next to Lorraine at the literacy signing (Heath, Haynes, you get the picture), and Lorraine always has a Rita finalist flag on her table. So you can imagine just how good this book will be! As always, to be eligible for the drawing, leave a comment, and you must type in your email address. I’ll also add you to my newsletter for updates on all the fun stuff and releases, too. I’ll announce the winner on my next blog in two weeks!

So let’s talk about the Rita. This is the award given out by the Romance Writers of America for outstanding romance fiction. Think of it as the Oscar of romance. There’s even a cool gold statue for the winner of the category! I’ve been nominated once, for Somebody’s Lover. And of course I entered Fair Game and Yours for the Night this year, too, so I hope you’ll cross your fingers for me. The interesting thing about this contest is that you are judged by your peers. So to enter the Rita contest, you also have to judge the contest, though not in a category that you’ve entered. I have just finished reading my panel of Rita books and judging them. Of course, I can’t give you specifics until the finalists come out, but once that’s announced, I can make some recommendations for you based on what I read. I have read some books though that were not part of my Rita books, and I can make some recommendations from those. I just finished Hot as Sin by Bella Andre. I loved it! It was a great follow-up to Wild Heat, and I can’t wait for the next book in the series of hot firefighters, Never Too Hot coming in May. I also read Loving Luke by a new author, Jenny Andersen. Loving Luke was also wonderful, about a man coming home after a being imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit.

What have you been reading recently, something new, an old favorite?

And here’s my usual promo. Take Your Pleasure will be coming out from Loose-Id.com on April 13th! And as I promised, here’s the cover! Oh my God, isn’t it gorgeous, sexy and classy. It’s done by Croco Designs. I love it! Drop by the website to read an excerpt. I’m also blogging Wed, March 17, on MysteriesandMargaritas , so be sure to drop by!

15 comments:

Jennifer Skully/Jasmine Haynes said...

Happy Daylight Savings!

s7anna said...

Thanks so much for the awesome giveaway Jasmine!!!

Rosemary Gunn said...

Holy shi -- moley, JAS!! Now THAT was an excerpt!! [faint] Still trying to catch my breath! And the cover is gorgeous!

Unknown said...

Great giveaway! I have been hooked on historicals lately! I just started Elizabeth Lane's The Hoursemans Bride! I do love me some cowboys! Any thing historical has been my game lately!

lead[at]hotsheet[dot]com

Estella said...

Hot excerpt! Loved it!

kissinoak at verizon dot net

Jennifer Skully/Jasmine Haynes said...

You're welcome, Anna!

Oh Rosemary, thank you so much. I'm so glad you loved the excerpt TYP. You're wonderful to me!

Lorraine's historicals are always great, Virginia! And this one is no exception. but I love those cowboys, too, so I'll look for The Horseman's Bride. thanks for the recommedation.

and thank you, Estella, I'm so glad you love the excerpt for Take Your Pleasure, too! Oh! That sounds like another book title!

Linda Henderson said...

Thanks for the great giveaway. I just finished Fantasy In Death by J.D.Robb. As usualy it was a great read. I only wish she would write more of these a year. Promise Me Forever sounds like a great read. Thanks for the opportunity.

seriousreader at live dot com

Jennifer Skully/Jasmine Haynes said...

Yes,m I'm reading the JD Robb series, too, Linda. But I've only made it through #6. I'm listening to it on audio book. the nice thing about being so far behind in the series, is that I can read one a week and keep going for almost 6 months! Okay, slight exaggeration. Thanks for the recommendation!

Kirsten said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jennifer Skully/Jasmine Haynes said...

I love both Cathy Maxwell and Elizabeth Boyle, but I haven't read those two books yet! Thanks for the recommendation, Kirsten!

Terra said...

Ohhh!! I just saw the new cover for your Loose ID release. Ummm the excerpt .. Anyone have a fan? Can't wait to read it. Will have eReader ready for the 13th.

I love reading old favs but just read Gentlemen Prefer Succubi - Jill Myles ... Oh! My .. It was funny sexy hot!!! Really enjoyed.

Have an awesome day ... :-D

Unknown said...

Hey Jasmine grab you a copy of Pieces of Sky by new author Kaki Warner, also Elaine Levine books are wonderful! Rachel and the Hired Gun and Audrea and the Maveric, loved them. I think these two is what got me hooked on the westerns!

Jennifer Skully/Jasmine Haynes said...

Oh Terra, thank you so much. I'm so glad you loved the excerpt and the cover! And thanks for the recommendation. I haven't read Jill Myles yet, but I always love trying something new!

and thank you, Virginia, for those recommendations! I love westerns!

Fedora said...

What a beautiful cover, Jasmine! I'll have to look for this one!

Jennifer Skully/Jasmine Haynes said...

Thanks so much, Fedora. It'll be available from Loose-Id.com on april 13th!

 

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