Friday, June 12, 2009

The RITAs® are coming, the RITAs® are coming (to IMHO, that is)!



Okay, so I've been giving veiled hints about this announcement for a couple of weeks now, and of course, if you are signed up for my newsletter, you already know about it. I've been nailing down particulars and hammering out details and building an extravaganza for your amusement (okay, enough with the architectual allusions). So here's the skinny for the rest of youse:

For the month of July (in less than three weeks! Can you believe it?), IMHO is changing things up a bit. As many of you who are lovers of romance novels know, the Romance Writers of America® hosts their annual conference in July, and the culmination is the Golden Heart/RITA® awards ceremony on the final night of the conference. The RITAs® are the romance industry’s version of the Oscars and represent the best of published romantic fiction (the Golden Heart represents the best of unpublished romantic fiction). This year’s conference takes place in Washington, D.C. from July 14 – 18. However, since I am unable to attend this year, I’m bringing the RITAs® to IMHO!

Beginning July 1 and culminating on July 17, 2009, I will be giving away ten tote bags filled with autographed 2009 RITA®-nominated books to readers of this blog. And, in addition, I’ll even throw in a complimentary copy of one of my own autographed historical romances with each tote, either THE LEGACY (my debut novel) or THE PROMISE! The lineup is scheduled to include 50 RITA® books from 47 nominated authors! Yep! Over half the books nominated as the best in published romantic fiction will be up for grabs. Details of how to win will be on my contest page in July, but the bottom line is, I’ll put up the covers, tell you a little about each of the books, and each author will have a few words about what their nomination this year means to them. Then I'll give away the totes throughout the contest period to commentors on my blog. And you never know who might pop in to say hello.

Each winner should receive four to five 2009 RITA®-nominated books, autographed by the author and donated for this event for your towering TBR pile, plus a nice little tote bag in which to carry them to the beach. Be sure to show your support for the RITA®-nominated authors in July and comment for a chance to win your own tote containing a sampling of the best o' the best. It will be an exciting month, and with ten chances to win, your odds are looking pretty good.

Now, was that worth stopping in to check out IMHO today? You bet it was. Uh-huh, uh-huh.

(Note: This contest is neither endorsed, affiliated with, nor sponsored by Romance Writers of America®)

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

TJB

7 comments:

Margay Leah Justice said...

Wow, sounds like it's going to be a fantastic time!
Margay

Gwynlyn said...

Cool, TJ. I'll be in DC hoping to take home a GH, but the competition is fierce. And the RITA finalists are all outstanding. I'll be rooting for my favorites.

Judy said...

This is the next best thing to being in D.C. for the RWA. I hope to attend one of the conventions someday when it is closer to my home. Thank you so much for the opportunity to hear from so many authors.

TJ Bennett said...

Thanks, ladies. I try to go to the conference when I can, but it isn't always possible. I knew several RITA-nominated authors and thought they might get a kick out of this. Little did I know how many would wind up saying yes! I think it will be a blast.

And Gwynlyn, congratulations on your GH nomination and good luck! I was a GH nominee in 2005, and I felt like a princess for the months between the annoucement and the awards ceremony. Take advantage of this time to hunt for an agent if you don't have one and to send out those queries to publishers! The GH nomination opens a lot of doors.

TJB

Unknown said...

Oh wow this sounds fantastic TJ, its going to be great!

Carol L. said...

This sounds great. Thanks TJ.
and wishing everyone good luck.
Carol L.
Lucky4750@aol.com

Susan said...

I'm new to reading historical romances but of course I'm addicted to them now!