Okay, you had to be expecting this blog. I got the amazing news a week ago today that I am a finalist for the Rita award. Quick definition for those scratching their heads.

“RWA’s (Romance Writers of America) RITA is the most sought-after award in romance publishing today. The 1,000 romance novels entered in this year’s contest have been narrowed down to 94 finalists in 13 categories. These finalists advance to the “final round” of competition where they will be judged by very discriminating judges – their fellow published authors. The judges now have the difficult task of critiquing and ranking these finalists to determine the final 13 winners. The winners of the 13 RITA Awards will be revealed on July 29, 2006 at RWA’s 26th Annual National Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.”

The complete list of finalists can be found at the RWA website

Here’s what happened. About 8:10 a.m. the phone rings. I am brushing my teeth and don’t answer. A few moments later I go into my office to start work for the day. I check my emails and see there is discussion on several writing loops that I’m on. The question of the day is: Have you gotten The Call? Not the call that a publisher wants to buy your book, which is THE CALL, but The Call that you’re a finalist.

Suddenly, that missed phone call took on a whole new significance. Was it The Call or just a call? The caller didn’t leave a message. Should I call back? Should I wait until she calls back? What do I say when she answers? “Hi, did you call because of the Rita?”

More than likely, I convinced myself, it was just a credit card company trying to get me to purchase fraud protection.

How silly of me to be thinking I would get The Call. There are so many good books published each year. Surely, it would take a miracle for that call to be The Call.

So I got to work. Slowly. Looking over my shoulder at the phone every ten seconds. The darn thing didn’t ring. Not that I expected it to.

But who had called? Why hadn’t they left a message? Why didn’t they call back?

And then, thank God, the phone rang again. It was Gayle Wilson, president of RWA, and she asked if I knew why she was calling.

Oh, yes. I did.

So The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Men I’ve Dated, a book written under my real name, Shane Bolks, finaled in the Best First Book category. I was stunned and ecstatic.

This is the best thing that could have happened. That book never quite got the attention I’d hoped, and now it’s like getting a “do over.” And I couldn’t have picked a book more deserving. I had so much fun writing that book. It was easy, you know? It seemed to write itself.

So like they say at the Oscars (and this really is the Oscars of romance writing), it’s an honor to be nominated. I don’t care if I win. I don’t care if I ever final again (well, maybe I care a little about that one). But I am just so amazed and thrilled and fortunate to be on the list this time around.

I know we have discussed the very first romance we ever read here before, and it was interesting to discover how many of us started our “love affair” with the genre with the very same books and authors. So I thought it might be fun to take this chance to talk about some of our favorite romances. You know the ones I mean. The ones that truly touched us and that we remember even years later. The ones that made us laugh and cry, that have been re-read so many times that you can recite the story by heart. I have hundreds of books and several shelves of “keepers,” but I have only one shelf of books that I absolutely, positively could not live without.

Kathleen E. Woodiwiss’s The Wolf and the Dove and Ashes in the Wind are on that shelf, along with Rebecca Brandewyne’s Rose of Rapture and Outlaw Hearts and Jude Deveraux’s The Raider. You will find Johanna Lindsey’s Defy Not the Heart and Gentle Rogue here, as well as Connie Mason’s My Lady Vixen and Julie Garwood’s Guardian Angel and Honor’s Splendor. I fell head over heels for the heroes in Lisa Kleypas’s Dreaming of You, Kimberly Cates’s Briar Rose, and Gaelen Foley’s Lord of Fire, and cheered on the feisty heroines of Teresa Medeiros’s Breath of Magic and Nicole Jordan’s The Lover. Catherine Anderson’s Phantom Waltz and Annie’s Song and Sharon Sala’s Butterfly always squeeze my heart, while Susan Elizabeth Phillips’s It Had to Be You makes me smile.

And that’s not all! The suspense of Melanie George’s To Die For and Beverly Barton’s The Fifth Victim had me biting my nails. The same for Linda Howard’s White Lies and Dream Man and Nora Roberts’s Carolina Moon. USB discoveries Shelly Thacker, Penelope Williamson, and Miriam Minger also occupy this shelf with their books, A Stranger’s Kiss, Keeper of the Dream, and A Hint of Mischief. And I certainly can’t forget to mention the paranormal fun of Susan Carroll’s The Bride Finder, Christine Feehan’s Dark Fire, and Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Fantasy Lover.

I’m sure I could go on, but now it’s your turn. What are some of your favorites? Which books have made the biggest impression on you throughout the years and are truly what you would consider “keepers?” And what about them do you love?

From the moment I attended my first writing conference and sat through my first writing workshop, I knew that in addition to the writing, I wanted to teach. I love giving workshops. I’ve done them in person at RWA chapter meetings, larger conferences (like the RWA National) and even on-line. I’m actually teaching an on-line class right now and I think it’s going fairly well.

For me, it’s a combination of loving to talk about writing and loving to watch other writers get those light bulb moments. I still have them on occasion, but they are few and far between now. But there was a time in my writing journey when I studied everything I could about the craft of writing and those light bulb moments were cause for much celebration. I remember the first time I “got” point of view, it was as if I could hear the angels signing.

To be able to give back to a writing community that gave so much to me is a true honor. The enthusiasm from students is contagious and there is nothing better than having one of them comment on how things are really making sense. I’m told that I’m good at explaining difficult concepts in easy to understand terms, but I think it’s less about my skill and more about the fact that the concepts aren’t nearly as difficult as we fear. Take character arcs, on the surface this is a seemingly very difficult concept to master, but in reality it’s quite easy. The key to learning the craft of writing is finding an instructor who speaks the same language as you.

There are many workshop presenters at the RWA National conference that give workshops year after year. They’re brought back for reasons and they’re all good instructors, but it doesn’t mean that they’ll all make sense to you. I remember once workshop, in particular, that I listened to when I first started writing and as much as I tried I could not figure out what she was trying to teach. I decided that the information was too advanced for me and decided to come back to it after I had a few books under my belt. I did that and listened to it again and still it did not work for me. Likewise, I have another workshop tape that I’ve listened to over and over again – it was the first one I ever had a light bulb moment in and no matter how many times I hear it, I learn something new. That instructor speaks my language. It doesn’t mean that the first didn’t know what she was talking about; it only means that her process of explaining just didn’t mesh with the way I think about writing.

There are so many elements in craft of writing that need to be tackled and it can be quite overwhelming if you try to do them all at once. My suggestion, pick one thing at a time and focus on that. Before you know it, all of those things you once struggled with will become a natural process of your writing.

Anne’s book, The Viscount’s Wicked Ways, hits shelves today! Be on the look-out.

I’m working on an idea (actually, a very big idea) for three books and I started thinking about how I develop characters. I’m not as analytical as Robyn, but that’s ok because each of us has our own process. And my philosophy is Don’t Change What Works.

For anyone who’s read The Bride Hunt, the hero (Anvrai d’Arques) first appears in Saxon Lady, my April ’06 release from Harlequin Historicals. I wrote and submitted Saxon Lady to my editor back in July 2004 and The Bride Hunt might have been a Harlequin Historical if HH hadn’t changed their distribution policies. I withdrew that book from HH and my agent submitted it to Avon, who published it in January ’06. Technically, I can’t have a character from a Harlequin appearing in an Avon book, so I changed his name and gave him a different backstory, but in my mind, Anvrai is still the guy from Saxon Lady.

As I wrote Saxon Lady, there were several secondary characters who were compelling, but Anvrai was the one who appealed to me the most because of his disfigurement and his quiet strength. I just knew there was a heroine out there who could appreciate him. Another fun secondary character is the little brother of Lady Aelia (the heroine), and he’s quite a brat. The hero takes him in hand and begins to give him the discipline he needs. So I’m thinking the kid might have a book of his own somewhere down the line – say, twenty years after his sister’s story. That would make him about twenty-nine …

The Bride Hunt had a spin-off built into it. I hadn’t intended to write Isabel’s sister’s story when I started the book, but by the time it was finished, it was clear that Kathryn would have to have her own book. I’d made such a point of Isabel’s worry over what had happened to her sister that I’m sure most readers are wondering, too. (I’ve gotten a lot of email about this ). I wanted Kathryn’s story to be quite different from Isabel’s – Isabel and Anvrai had to do a lot of traveling to get to safety, so I wanted Kathryn to stay put. In The Perfect Seduction, Kathryn is rescuedby a Saxon lord – a man who is not too fond of the Norman conquerors. He takes her to his keep and the entire story takes place there.

Now I’m starting from scratch. The Victorian era is calling to me, and I just read a fascinating book on daily life in the later 1800s. The idea for a particular Victorian heroine hit me all at once as I read, and I started writing … but I think maybe her story needs to be the third in the series I have in mind. So now I’ve got to work on the other two stories and the threads that will tie all three together. It’s going to be complicated, but hey – when a story calls, you’ve got to answer!

In this business you can have what you believe is the perfect title for your book – it encompasses the story, it has kick, it’s new…and there’s a very good chance the publisher will still utter the words, grammatically correct or otherwise, “What else you got?”

The Viscount’s Wicked Ways (coming out tomorrow!) started out as book #3. It then got the less than ideal working title of Gothic Charm. Hey, it was a working title that encompassed the theme I was going for, leave me alone Robyn. But I knew that title was going no place at the publisher level so I came up with Pride and Patience. My heroine’s name is Patience, after all, so I thought I was being witty. Little did I know that titles are directly keyed into publishing synchronicity – the same ideas pop up everywhere at once. My editor at the time depressed the buzzer (*dzztt! wrong!*) saying it wasn’t the right title for the book and I went back to the drawing board. By that time Shana had her February title too — Pride and Petticoats — excellent book — so it was really a no go!

So, back to playing with titles, which at times can be great fun and at its worst will give you trichotillomania. Titles such as Vomiting on the Viscount, Viva la Viscount and The Vigorous Viscount didn’t make the cut. And I didn’t want to go with an “-ing the lord” title because these characters are totally separate from my first two books – so something like Vexing the Viscount might make readers think it was part of the series.

Out of the list of dozens, I liked The Secrets of Blackfield Castle and The Thomas Ashe Affair the best. Both were descriptive and hinted to different parts of the story (Is the viscount, Thomas, creating a monster? Is Patience a spy? Best seduce her to discover the answer!). But I got the word back that neither were catchy or “popped” enough. So it was back to the drawing board again. My editor suggested Beneath a Wicked Sky and I snatched it up like a dying woman tossed a lifeline. I had a title!

The title went up on Amazon and everything was going swimmingly for a few weeks. Then came The Call. No, not the good one. This is the one where your editor says hi and then pauses. A bad sign for sure. She said, “Anne, we don’t think that title is strong enough either. And we’d like to work in the word Viscount somehow.” I said ok and asked if I should start working up another list. She paused again. “What about The Virgin and the Viscount?” I may have said something in response like, “I’m sorry, I thought for a second there you said The Virgin.”

Yes, I think that title would sell well, and I think my editor was right to suggest it. It has an older throwback, mellow feel. Was it the title for my book? I tried to imagine for a second my Grandmother or Dad telling people my new title and hit the brakes. Call me a chicken, I can take it. If Avon had pushed, that would be the title of the book that is coming out tomorrow. But they didn’t, and suffice to say we compromised on The Viscount’s Wicked Ways – one of the titles from the original list.

What all of this basically boils down to is — never get too attached to a title, have plenty of alternatives on hand, and work in something catchy. I had two dozen Earl titles ready for my fourth book in November. I didn’t get my first choice for that one either, but I got one of my other favorites – The Earl of Her Dreams. My first was The Curse of the Black Earl, and even though I was laughing when I put it on the list, I may have actually gotten it if The Earl of Her Dreams hadn’t been there. Shirley might get a kick out of that. Since my Earl’s last name was Black, and he is slightly cursed, it fit – but I had figured they would just laugh at me.

Onto the next book, the working title of which I think has a 30% chance of staying, if I sell it.

Are there any titles lately, or in the past, that have really resonated with you? They can be both good ones or bad!

Friday, I did something I’ve only done three other times in my life — completed the first draft of a novel.

Two weeks ago, my critique partners gathered for an emergency plotting party, as I had written myself into a corner and couldn’t find the solution. (Not the first time I’ve done that, but hopefully it was the last, knock wood.) Even though we figured out how to resolve the external plot and internal conflict, the end — the actual last half page — played out in a way that surprised me when I wrote it. I like it. It’s nice when the characters take over like that.

Now I have one week to go through the manuscript, beginning to end, and make it a cohesive, integrated storyline where all the elements flow together. I also need to take away the schizophrenic qualities some of the characters took on. Just like living, breathing people, the more time you spend in the company of your characters, the better you get to know them. Aspects of their personality that I planned from the beginning played out differently once they showed up on the page, and changed as the story progressed.

There’s one theory of writing that says the ideal number of drafts is four. In the first draft, you get it all down, just tell the story, beginning to end. In the second, you add in all the things you should have put in the first time. In the third, you take out all the stuff that really doesn’t belong or is repetitive. And the fourth is to smooth it out, make it read like that’s the way you wrote it the first time.

I write such a polished first draft **cough** that I can do drafts #2 through #4 in one week. At least, that’s the way it’s going to be, since my contract says I must send the manuscript to my editor at the end of this week. (We all know that creative endeavors are never finished, they are merely abandoned — or sent in because the deadline has arrived.)

Yesterday, I took a break from four weeks of 14-hour workdays to celebrate the completion of the first draft, and watched Mr. and Mrs. Smith and then Pride and Prejudice on DVD, as well as make a third trip to the theater to see The Libertine. Forget playing six degrees of Kevin Bacon — it’s six degrees of Johnny Depp. For three actors who appeared in Libertine, their next project was Pride and Prejudice. Early in their careers, Brad Pitt and Vince Vaughn each appeared on an episode of 21 Jump Street. (We’re not going to discuss the other way Brad and Vince are connected. Nope.)

Break’s over. Back to revisions…

Okay, I know that most resolutions are made in January. But for some reason, when the weather starts to warm, I find myself wanting to become more disciplined. Here’s my spring resolutions:

1) read a fiction book a week
2) exercise three times a week
3) read one non-fiction book a month
4) give a sincere compliment once a day

How ’bout you? Any spring resolutions you’d like to make?

So I’m back, and I’m officially married. That is so weird. The whole idea of being Mrs. Ultimate Sportsfan is so weird to me.

Not so to USF. As soon as we arrived at the reception, he was introducing me as “my wife, Shane.” Then all through the honeymoon, he did it, too. Every time I would be just as shocked as the first. I am someone’s wife? How did this happen?

Poor USF. I don’t think I’ve referred to him as my husband yet. Baby steps, okay? Teeny, tiny baby steps.

Besides the weirdness of getting married, the wedding was fabulous. I was a wreck before the ceremony. As my bridesmaids were walking down the aisle, I was standing in the dressing area telling my dad that I was about to throw up. I was shaking so badly. But as we walked down the aisle, my dad never faltered. He kept saying, “Breathe, breathe. Walk. Not that fast! Breathe.” He was awesome.

I didn’t cry during the ceremony. There was a moment when I first saw USF that I thought I might lose it, but I didn’t. Thank goodness. We had to speak a lot (who knew there were so many vows?). It would have been hard to say all that between sobs.

The reception was a blast. Everyone seemed to have a really good time. I know I did. I think this happens to everyone, but for the first 2 hours, I had no idea where the music the DJ was playing came from. I submitted detailed lists, and he was playing all this weird stuff. Like Michael Jackson’s “Billy Jean” and some weird heavy metal song. I think it was by Whitesnake. Huh?

But, even the DJ had fun. He danced more than anyone and even got me drinks. I think it was sort of a case of one for you, one for me. Like I said, everyone had a good time.

I just got back from Costa Rica a few days ago. It was simply gorgeous. Whenever I figure out how to post pictures (thank you, Anne, for posting the one today), I’ll post a couple from the honeymoon. You have to see the crocodile.

I wish I could do the honeymoon all over again (but wear more sunscreen and bug repellent next time). Costa Rica was the best. Where’d you go on your honeymoon or your most memorable vacation? Any good (or bad) wedding stories?

There seems to be an epidemic on television right now. A creeping, insidious epidemic that has caused almost all of my favorite couples on all of my favorite shows to be on the outs. At the same time. Sigh. It’s enough to make a girl weep.

On Related, the once solid marriage of Bob and Ginny has been wobbly since Ginny miscarried several episodes ago. I’ve hated seeing these two so strained with each other. To me, the writers have shown that the strength of this couple’s relationship lies in honest communication. Neither of them is perfect, and they have their arguments and disagreements, but they have always been able to talk it out. Unfortunately, that’s not so this time. On Guiding Light, Tammy has broken up with Jonathan. (Something that I knew was coming, but happened a lot sooner than I had expected.) Jonathan has often said he has nothing without Tammy, and watching him declare his love and beg her to come back to him has been heartbreaking. It’s even harder knowing that Tammy still loves him, but has pushed him away because of guilt. (It’s a loooong story…) Good grief, even Jin and Sun on Lost were looking a bit shaky for a while there last night! (And I’m still wondering if we know the whole truth about Sun’s pregnancy. Stay tuned…)

I have always tended to invest way too much of myself in television couples. This is part of the reason I got away from watching soaps for so long. I hated the constant getting together and breaking up of couples I loved, only to watch them move on to other people, then get back together, then break up again. I always ended up feeling like I’d been put through an emotional wringer. I used to enjoy Grey’s Anatomy, but once McDreamy’s wife came to town I could see the writing on the wall and couldn’t stand to watch anymore. Obviously being a romantic has it draw-backs.

Oh, well. At least one good thing has come from all this angst. It has reminded me exactly why I love romance novels so much. That HEA sure can come in handy when you need a pick-me-up!