This morning I left my cave for a celebratory breakfast with my good friend, Harlequin Romance author Jennie Adams. Because Jen's a thoroughly fabulous person, she turned up with a gift, selected with the following in mind:
(a) how much coffee I drink here in my writing cave
(b) three kangaroos for three RITA nom's
(c) an outback theme to match those outback princes.
Perfect, don't you think?

Now I am slightly more lucid, I must add how honoured I feel to be included in a list with such awesome writers as Liz, Cindy, Heather, Allison, Jennifer and Jane. I have read 4 of the other 6 nominated books and WOWZER, I am in stunning company. One more thing: these are my first RITA finalists in 4 years of entering, and in previous years my books have scored all over the shop so my shocked, stunned, flabbergasted reaction is most sincere!

I am completely chuffed to see three fellow Australian authors on the list of finalists: Anne Gracie (Long Historical), Lilian Darcy (Long Contemporary) and Marion Lennox (TWICE!! in Traditional Romance.) Congratulations, ladies. I am going to have such a time cheering you on at Awards Night.

Now enough about me. Let's move on to the RITAS at large. Firstly, congratulations to all 90-odd finalists. I know that sounds like a lot, but they're selected from 1000 entries and spread between 13 categories and I'm sure there are scads more books which could have been finalists but for an odd mark or piece of a mark in judging.

Speaking of which... For those unfamiliar with Romance Writers of America and the RITAs, here's my understanding of the judging process:

How are books entered? Mostly by the authors, sometimes by their publisher. Entries close after 1000 entries are received.

How are finalists chosen? From the scores given by 5 readers who are published members of RWA. If you enter, you are also expected to judge books from other categories. For example, I couldn't judge short contemporary but I did judge some novellas and single title entries.

Why are there more finalists in some categories than others? I think the number of finalists is determined by the number of entries in that category. For example, there are 9 finalists in Short Contemporary and Long Contemporary because those categories had the most entries, and only 4 in Traditional and Regency which had the least entries. In other words, you need to be in the top percentage of scores to final any category!

What happens now? The finalists' books are read again, by another 5 readers, and scored and ranked to determine the winner in each category.

When are the winners announced? On July 29, the final night of RWA's National Conference in Atlanta, at a fabulous Awards night which features glam frocks, much champagne and many speeches. (I think I've mentioned before how much I love Awards nights!)

Any more questions???

Today the finalists in RWA's 2006 RITA Awards were announced and I'm thrilled, delighted and stunned by the news that all three of my PRINCES OF THE OUTBACK books are finalists in the Short Contemporary category. I appear to have a trip to Atlanta for national conference to plan.

2006 RITA for Best Short Contemporary Romance Finalists

The Marriage Miracle by Liz Fielding
Between Midnight and Morning by Cindy Gerard
Suspicious by Heather Graham
Hot To the Touch by Jennifer Greene
The Rich Stranger by Bronwyn Jameson
The Rugged Loner by Bronwyn Jameson
The Ruthless Groom by Bronwyn Jameson
Really Hot! by Jennifer La Brecque
One Night in Texas by Jane Sullivan

Maintaining the theme, I also took notes on production of the books. Not many notes, mind, and they're quite sketchy but they do provide an insight into what's involved and why the transition from completed manuscript to shelved book takes so long.

Let me start with some figures. In 2003 Harlequin's Book Production Services employed 52 fulltime staff and 60 freelancers readying 128 titles per month for printing and distribution. Taking into account that at any one time 3-4 months worth of titles are somewhere in the production system, that's an awful lot of books and pages to keep a handle on. That handle is kept via a unique "signature" attached to each sheet of pages--they're printed with 8 book pages per one sheet of paper--which also ensures the pages are bound in the right order in the finished book.

Have I confused you yet? *g* Perhaps you needed to be there, with samples of the 8-page layout. Anyhoo...why so long in production?

Here's an example of an approximate timeline. I'm using Feb 2007 as an example because I happen to have a Feb 07 book: Back In Fortune's Bed. (NB: I'm using the timeframe presented in 2003 which may have since changed.)

April/May 06: Art Fact Sheets to editor
June 06: Manuscript to editor
June-Sept 06: Processing of editorial and cover art
Sept 06: Covers to printer
Oct 06: Editorial to printer
Nov 06: Binding of Books
Nov 06: Books sent to Harlequin Distribution Center (which handles direct subscription, author copies, etc)
Dec 06: Books to wholesalers (who distribute to stores)
Feb 07: Books shelved for retail sale.

Hopefully I'm not the only one who finds this fascinating...but then I love knowing how stuff works. It's also a great help to know when everything is needed and why deadlines are crucial. I keep my handy-handy dateline close by so I know when I might be asked for my AFSs and when my final page proofs (or AAs) might arrive. Example: the AA's of my August 06 book arrived this week, due back April 4. Right on time for a book that should go to the printers in May. Don't you love it when things work as they should? *g*

Wow, where has this week gone? After posting those covers I decided to write an educational post about how covers come about. At the New York National Conference of Romance Writers of America in 2003, I attended a session put on by the Harlequin production department on what happens to our manuscripts between when we wave them goodbye after the final page-proof readthrough and when we see the printed books. I found it awesomely interesting but this was almost 3 years ago so I couldn't trust my memory. I needed to find my notes. While searching I decided my office really needed tidying (and I mean REALLY needed tidying.) Some five days later I still have piles of books and notes from one end of the house to the other. Does anyone else find that tidying mushrooms into reorganization and spreads from one room to another? But I digress.

The good news is: I found those conference notes. And I can now share with you all I know about cover art production at Harlequin--or, at least, how it was in 2003. Firstly, the author does submit ideas but with no promise or guarantee the scene suggestions will be used. The senior editor wants some variety within the line's "look" each month and so, for example, if every author asked for hero-only covers or couple-about-to-kiss covers or sunset-over-deserted-beach covers then someone (several someones, actually) would miss out. The same goes with titles, by the way, and storylines. One of the senior editor's jobs when scheduling a month's books is to look for that variety. Marketing also has a say in what will sell. And the art department knows what they can produce and what they believe looks good.

So, about nine months before publication, the author fills in Art Fact Sheets. We can now do these electronically although some authors prefer the printed sheets. These provide the art team with direction re character description, the tone and sensuality of the book, the setting and season, and some suggestions for scenes that might work for the cover. With Desire we've been asked to choose scenes which promote the line's tagline: powerful, passionate, provocative. These will start coming through in the summer, I think, so it will be interesting to see if there's a notable change.

The Art Fact Sheets also contain key information used to produce the back cover copy and a short synopsis which is used to sell the stories to foreign markets. In other words, the acquiring editor in, say, France will choose the storylines she feels will appeal to the French readership. Same in Germany and Australia and Japan and...you get the picture. One last thing about AFSs: sometimes we are filling these in before the book is finished which makes that scene suggestion part slightly more tricky!

So, we send in our AFSs and the Vision Team--which comprises someone from the editorial, marketing, and art departments--decides on a scene, which may or may not be one of the author's suggestions. In 2003 Harlequin's Art Department (in the Toronto office) was producing 100 new covers every month and had 100-120 freelance illustrators they called on to produce that artwork. The artist chosen sets up a photo shoot with models. Each shoot takes about an hour with a variety of poses. The artist then chooses the best pose, sketches it and sends it to the Creative Art Editor for approval. Once approved, the artist paints the scene in oil and the image is put onto a transparency for production/printing. I don't have this in my notes, but I gather there are further transparencies with the line's standard design and logo etc and the title/author and so on.

There you have it: all I know about cover production. And when I receive my next cover in a few months time, I might even be brave enough to follow up with what they used and didn't use from my AFS suggestions.

...but you will find me either:

(1) watching the Commonwealth Games, which is why I've been slack in my blogging endeavors lately (I confess, I love major sporting events as much as awards shows)

or (2) blogging at Access Romance

or (3) flicking through more magazines to compile my Back In Fortune's Bed collage (which I promise to blog about soon.)

I think I've said this before on here, but the what the heck. It bears repeating. I get a real kick out of seeing my books released all over the world. Today I received copies of my UK release (March) of Just A Taste, which is book 4 in the Dynasties: The Ashtons miniseries. It's a Duo, paired with Maureen Child's Society-Page Seduction. Recently I received the same pairing in its Australian format (a May release.) Interesting that the two markets have chosen to use different covers: in the UK they've chosen my American Cover. In Australia, they've gone with Maureen's.

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Ignoring the quality/clarity of the UK one, which cover do you prefer?

In the years I've been writing I have done no publicity locally. No interviews, no press releases or articles in the local papers, no book launches or signings. I'm happy letting anyone who asks know that I'm writing romance, and in recent times I've even become comfortable with directing them to my website for more info. on my books. I'm happy, they're happy, everyone's happy. *Waving to any happy locals who I've directed to my website lately.*

Earlier this week a local TV news reporter called. She wants to do a "human interest piece", interviewing and filming me at work in my office. I'm reluctant for a number of reasons: if I'm to be filmed, I will have to dress and possibly even wear makeup (something I happily never do at home.) I'll also have to clean up my office. And speak coherently and intelligently about something I'm happier doing than talking about doing. I could just say no, but I do have a book out in Australia at the moment. *Note to locals: I DO have a book out at the moment; check my website for details.* End of promotional interlude.

Plus I would, hopefully, promote a fundraiser.

That's how the TV station got my number, you see. I donated a "character naming" in one of my future yet-to-be-written books to a promise auction, raising funds for a cause I really wanted to help. The auction went very well and the reporter noticed my rather unique offering. She has promised to mention the fundraiser during the interview. So, I should do this. I should call her and make an appointment.

I know I should, but I really don't want to...

Hands up if you knew about International Women's Day last week? (No prizes, by the way, I'm flush out of them!) I DID notice and aimed to blog on that topic, but then I got busy with my trip to Sydney and things that needed doing before I went. You're all women. You know what it's like.

Soooo, it didn't get done and now the day is past and I've decided I could not write a better tribute to a special woman than my good friend Trish Morey has done on the Wet Noodle Posse's Superheroines page. This is one very special superheroine. Do check it out.

Yes, it's true. I did appear on Wheel of Fortune many moons ago and I did win a car. My boys were quite young at the time, so part of the fun was the child-free expenses-paid trip to Adelaide where the show was produced. They shot a week's shows in a half-day and as contestants we got the full hair and makeup treatment and wardrobe advice. And a glass of champagne to settle the nerves...although that might have been the second time around.

Heck, I don't even recall what day of the week I started or how long I lasted. I think it was only two shows. I won the car on the first and some other nice prizes: a week's holiday on a riverboat, a rocking horse, a mountain bike, a pressure cleaner. All I wanted was to get on the phone and call home and yee-haw celebrate.

I do remember the final clue for the car was a place: _ _ _ (space) _ _ (space) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ and I knew the answer before any letters were turned. Maybe I need to offer a prize (it might even be a car *vbg*) to the first person who solves the clue in the comments!

Anyway, a year or two later I received a call to say they were doing a Champion of Champions show and I'd limped onto the invitation list. Would I like to come back and reappear? You bet your sweet bippy I would! The format was a little different. From memory they shot three shows that were like heats and the winners played off for the big prize, which was a trip to America. I made the final. I was in front, I knew the final clue. My bags were packed, I was ready to hop on that plane...

And--you guessed it--I bankrupted. Sigh.

With my luck on a downward spiral, it came as no surprise to find my wallet had been stolen from my bag in the studio dressing room. That didn't diminish my enjoyment of appearing on a national TV game-show without making too much of a fool of myself. Lots of people said I was lucky. That they watched the show every day and solved the puzzles much quicker than any of the contestants. Yes, I was lucky but here's the thing--I helped that luck along by finding out how to audition and get on the show. Then I watched, I practiced, I learned.

It's the same with writing. A lot of people say: I've always wanted to write a book but talking about it doesn't win any prizes. The payoff comes when you take action, when you do something toward making your desire a reality. Then, hopefully, a little bit of luck will come your way to supplement all the hard work.

One thing I've learned since I started writing is that I like playing in the sandbox, as opposed to those writers who feel confined by the size and shape and rules and would rather be off and running through the wide open spaces beyond. That's why, firstly, I write genre fiction and, secondly, for a traditional category /series line, as opposed to single title/mainstream or one of the new non-traditional cross-genre series lines.

Not that that has anything to do with this sandbox and my fun interview with The Playground Monitor. The metaphor struck me as apt so I thought I'd mention it. And there's a fun giveaway for the first person who emails me with the answer to the following question:

What television game show did I appear on (twice, as it happens...but that's another story)?

ADDED MARCH 13: Congratulations to KimW, who was first to answer the spot giveaway question and wins the mystery prize.

Last night I took my mum to an Il Divo concert in Sydney, where I (and my credit card) are currently recovering from a day's shopping. But I digress... My mother has had a thing for this operatic boy band for a while now. I figured it was the combination of good-looking, well-dressed guys and beautiful voices but I didn't REALLY understand until the boys appeared on stage last night. I was a convert before they finished belting out their first number (in Italian, no less) and at concert's end I joined the crowd in a rowdy standing ovation. I did not, however, throw underwear or join the throng of women that swarmed the stage.



What did I learn from the Il Divo concert?

1. No matter what their age, women can be groupies.
2. When it comes to sex appeal, sometimes less is more. (And a bare chest isn't always necessary.)
3. I now understand the term "hooded gaze."
4. The impact of a beautiful baritone. (Be still, my hormones.)
5. You haven't heard Unchained Melody until you've heard it sung in Italian.
6. The effect of a hint of accent. (I swear, if my name were Isabelle and I heard it uttered in exactly that accent...swoon.)
7. I now understand the appeal of the Latin lover.
8. Never mock one's mother for taking binoculars--one may want to borrow them.
9. The power of a song written for, and sung expressly to, every Mama in the audience.
10. Tall, dark and sexy comes in many guises. Viva la difference!

I'm a sucker for an awards show. Grammies, Tonys, Emmies, Logies (our Aussie Emmies), Golden Globes--you name it, I'm there. I'm one of the few who sits riveted throughout the RITAs/Golden Hearts. When others around me are moaning about the neverending show, I'm lapping it up, cheering the winners and not really feeling too bad for the non-winners because I really do believe that being one of the select final handful is the prize.

I don't want to dig too deeply into why I get such a kick out of these shows. I'm afraid it may reveal something telling about love of competition and/or need for peer approval. On the other hand, it could just be that I love the frocks and the jewels and all those pretty people. *wg*

So, last night was the Oscars. Not the most stellar year in terms of entertainment, I admit, but I made it through to the surprise twist at the end. Crash wins Best Picture! I did not see that coming.

I really liked Jon Stewart as compere. Favorite line: toss-up between why Bjork wasn't at the Oscars (she tried on her dress and Dick Cheney shot her, boom boom) and how Clooney's movie Good Night, and Good Luck was also the line Clooney offered at the end of his dates. Favorite presenters: Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin's introduction to Robert Altmann, which was funny and clever and full of personality. In contrast many of the other actors/presenters were wooden, boring, some even appeared nervous. Hello--they're actors delivering prepared lines and they have stage fright???

Can't comment on any of the major Oscar movies because I haven't seen them yet. So, instead, I'm going to comment on the in-flight movies on our recent trip. The flight to New Zealand is about the perfect length, IMHO. Time for a meal, two of those dinky little bottles of wine, and a movie. Going over was An Unfinished Life, a movie I'd never heard of (unusual for me) and a pleasant surprise. In a nutshell: to escape her abusive boyfriend, Jennifer Lopez and her daughter run away to Montana where she has to deal with her grumpy ex-father-in-law (Robert Redford) and the circumstances of his son's death.

It's really about relationships and as much about Bob getting to know the grand-daughter he didn't know existed as anything. There's also Morgan Freeman, a bear, and a new romance for J Lo. Worth hiring on video/DVD. The return trip featured Elizabethtown, a quirky romance starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. Because of the quirky part, I'm not sure this'll appeal to everyone--especially if you're not a fan of the two stars. Susan Sarandon plays Orlando's mum. I rated it okay. If I weren't so tired (5 am start to catch the 7am flight) I'd have read a book instead.

So. Anyone seen any good movies (or award shows) lately?

Driving between Christchurch and Queenstown (a 5 hour drive, no stops) we passed a lot of bikes. And by bikes, I don't mean the kind you wear leather to ride. I mean the kind you wear lycra to ride. And by a lot, I mean A LOT, most of then toting saddle-bags to carry their dinky little tents and change of lycra and so forth. Now, you've seen my photos. You may have noticed the mention of mountains once or twice. And before you get to the actual mountains, there are quite a few hills. Some of these are big hills. So, here's my question: ARE THESE PEOPLE INSANE?!?!?!?

Anyway, I drove to town one day last week to do my grocery shopping. I discovered that, during my absence, our supermarket had shifted location. Wondered why I'd found a park right out front! Driving around to the new site, I noticed a lot of bikes (and yes, folks in lycra.) For a moment I wondered if they'd followed me home, but then I saw the tent city which covered two football fields and the support vans and the police escort and the signs that said Big Bike Ride. 1000 ordinary (and probably fit) folk pedaling their bikes for 9 days through country NSW (some hills, but not as big as New Zealand's), raising money for the Heart Foundation and having fun along the way. Now that's a biking holiday I might actually enjoy!

Here are some pic's of all the tents--I swear, I have never seen so many of the little domes and they were all in neat rows and it looked much cooler and cuter than the photos indicate.

I COULD share more holiday snap-shots but I think I've made you all envious enough. So I will leave you with this last view of the South Island as we flew across the mountains on our way home. And one last piece of trivia about the mountain range that looms over Queenstown and featured in the LotR movies. The Remarkables. Is that a great name for a mountain range or what? Anyway, one remarkable fact about the Remarkables is that the range runs dead north-south. Apparently there is only one over mountain range in the world with that same N-S alignment, and it's somewhere in the Rockies. (I'm quoting our horse-riding guide. His nickname is Popstar, so I'm not sure how reliable his information is, but it sounds good, doesn't it?)

I couldn't resist the chance to go horse riding while in Queenstown, especially on an expedition that traversed the delta flats of the Dart and Rees Rivers. The scenery around Glenorchy proved as spectacular as promised in the brochure. Throw in a personable and loquacious guide--named Rick Martin, I kid you not!--and an equally personable (but somewhat quieter) horse named Winston, and a group of horse-riding tourists that would have done a UN assembly proud...could I have asked for more? Those are Winny's ears in the photo, BTW. He was a real camera hog.

Our guide had a ready patter of Lord of the Rings trivia--those are the Misty Mountains, over there is where they situated Eisengard (by CGI because the shifting ground wouldn't let them build a real tower), these two horses were in the big battle scene (whose name I've forgotten) and one of them was dyed black to be part of the Dark Riders. Etc, etc, etc. And even though I'm not a LoTR fan, I've seen all the movies and it was amazing to witness the spectacular settings and hear the work done in creating some of those sequences.

Driving to Glenorchy, we passed what Popstar (the Ricky Martin character's nickname) referred to, tongue-in-cheek, as Glenorchy International Airport. It's really just a heli-pad built alongside this private luxury lakeside resort which is frequented by movie stars and the like. Why? No paparrazzi within bulls' roar. I could have handled a night there for research. The proposal I have just sold, you see, features such a resort. Too bad I couldn't afford the $2000 per night tariff! *g*

Queenstown is the action-adventure capital of New Zealand...and arguably the known universe. Honestly, the place is teeming with folks from all over the world who are eager to jump off or out of something. Planes, bridges, cliffs, highwires strung between cliffs, mountain ridges--you name it, you could jump off of it somewhere near Queenstown. Myself, I'm not so keen about entrusting my life to a piece of elastic rope tied around my ankles or a parachute or a hangglider or anything of that ilk.

But we were in Queenstown so we couldn't JUST sit around on the balcony sipping the very fine local sauvignon blanc. I suggested white-water rafting but the rivers were very low and the verdict was out on how good that experience would be. So, we ended up doing the Shotover jetboat--an awesome choice. (Aside: the West Indies cricket team were booked on this jetboat for the following day, so I figured we couldn't be far wrong.)

I took this photo from the bridge over the Shotover River, right after we'd had our ride. The driver's sole aim is to get as close as possible to those rock cliffs and go like the clappers. Ever five minutes or so, they throw a complete 360 and revel in the screams and squeals. Our driver's name was Olly and he claimed to hold the record of grounding the most boats. As I mentioned, the river is very low so we did scrape the bottom more than once. He also said to look out for whitewater rafters floating by. He tries not to run them down but offers no guarantess. He was a real joker, that Olly!

So...what's the most adventurous thing you've tried? Do we have any skydivers, bungy-jumpers or paragliders in the audience? (And if so, WHY??????)