Ritas/GH Ceremony
The ending to my conference was wonderful. After a great appointment with the Mills & Boon editor, I have the go-ahead to send my next book and to write the third book in the Irish medieval series. Since we only had ten minutes to talk, she was gracious enough to invite me out for coffee afterwards. She gave me a feel for the revisions I’ll be doing on His Chosen Bride, and I’m looking forward to getting the comments. It still amazes me to realize that a senior editor and an editorial director have comments for my book. You go through your life hoping that this dream will come true, and when things start to happen, you want to pinch yourself. Is this really happening? Then there’s the slight fear in the back of my mind—what will I have to rewrite? Will it be something easy to fix or is it significant enough that I’ll have to re-envision the entire opening of the book? Can’t wait to find out.
Last night we all dressed up for the Rita/GH ceremony. Nora Roberts was the emcee, and she was gracious and funny as always. Interspersed between the awards were film clips about writing. We enjoyed the classic “Romancing the Stone” moments, as well as clips from “As Good as It Gets” (love Jack Nickelson) and “Misery.” I watched my chapter mate Alesia Holliday win a Rita award (think Academy Awards for romance novels) for best novella and we cheered on several others. One of the things I love about the Ritas is that I come away with a list of must-have romances, books that are guaranteed to be wonderful. To be nominated is one of the greatest honors. The author receives a golden statue and the publisher receives a plaque.
Here are some pictures of friends at the Ritas. First, here’s me, Amy Knupp, and Jan Kenny of the Writeminded Blog.
Next we have Kacey Pickens, Amy Knupp, and Jan Kenny. 
Then we have Tanya Starratt, me, Lori, Trish, and Julie Cohen
And the last group shot is Kacey, Jan, me, and Amy 
I love dressing up, but I learned that I need approximately 115 bobby pins to keep my hair in an updo. I imagined bobby pins shooting out of my head to attack innocent bystanders, as the arrangement kept coming down. But then Jan Kenny 
came to my rescue and redid the hairdo, bless her. She pointed out that I didn’t have enough pins. In the end, I had to give up and take it down. Oh well, worth a shot.
I will be heading off to Ireland tomorrow and I have my blog programmed to post all my workshop notes from the Harlequin spotlight, as well as other workshops. Hope you enjoy the information! If I get a chance, I’ll check in from Ireland.
Michelle posted in Writing @ 9:05 am | Viewed 3486 times
Kathy Holmes Says:
Have a great trip and looking forward to your conference notes. I am so jealous but inspired to attend Nationals either next year or the year after that in my old hometown of San Francisco.
Gina Black Says:
Wow. I’m so impressed that you have :mallet:the energy to go to Ireland after all this!!Bon voyage, have a *wonderful* trip and I’m still so thrilled to hear about the agent and the revision request.
It was wonderful to meet you in Atlanta!
Gina Black Says:
Wow. I have no idea how those smileys that are beating each other up insinuated themselves into my last post!! How strange. At any rate just ignore them!
Susie Says:
When you have a chance, can you post the names of some of the books that are “guaranteed” to be good?
Enjoy Ireland. My husband is heading over there in a couple weeks to his cousin’s wedding. I would go to, but we have 3 kids under 5. I will go next time!
Bonnie Ferguson Says:
Have a great time in Ireland, Michelle
Jenna Says:
:coffee2: You can program a blog?:confused:
Sue aka MsCreativity Says:
Gorgeous photos, thanks for sharing. Have a safe and enjoyable trip to Ireland. How *do* you program your blog??
Rene Says:
I tip my hat that you are willing to get on another plane! LOL, guess you won’t say no to the wine this time.
So did you all decide to wear black before you left for Atlanta?
Glad you had a good time and have a pint for me while in the Emerald Isle.
Christine Keach Says:
Have a great time in Ireland! And use it as a celebration for all your successes lately. And thanks in advance for the Harlequin spotlight notes.
mary beth Says:
Have a blast in Ireland!!!
Kelly Says:
Sounds like a great time. Sorry I missed it! And congrats on the mtg with the editor.
Tori Lennox Says:
You all look so elegant!
Melissa Marsh Says:
Have a WONDERFUL time in Ireland, Michelle!!!
Michelle Says:
Susie–if you go to http://www.rwanational.org there will be a hotlink to the Rita winners. I’m planning to use that as a “shopping” list, myself!
Jenna and Sue–Wordpress allows you to do a timestamp on your blog posts. So I typed up my notes as separate blog posts and changed the time stamps to set when they’ll “air” if that makes sense.
Thanks to all! I’ll be raising a glass to each of you and wishing you all the best.
Larissa Says:
OMG–Michelle!!! Congrats on the agent and the revisions…fingers crossed that they are very minor!
I’m so sorry I didn’t get to meet you at National, but hey, we’re only about 10 miles away, so we’ll get together soon.
Have fun in Ireland, and have a beer for me!
Congrats again, girl!!!!
Karen Says:
So she goes from Nationals to Ireland? I’m so jealous!!!!
Thanks for sharing the pics and the info this week!
daisy Says:
Hi Michelle! Glad to hear you’re having a good time, have a safe journey over here and looking forward to seeing you on the 12th in Dublin!
Daisy
Cindy Says:
Hope your Ireland trip is awesome. I’m jealous. I’d love to go to Ireland. You’ll be posting pictures, yes??