At long last a LiveJournal by Jeri Smith-Ready

Wicked Game made the finals for the 2009 PRISM award, given by the Fantasy, Futuristic, and Paranormal chapter (FF&P) of Romance Writers of America.

Wicked Game finaled in the Light Paranormal category. I am thrilled to be nominated with two very funny books, and because they are so good, I predict I shall bring home my third 3rd-place PRISM certificate (after Eyes of Crow and Voice of Crow in the Fantasy category).

And then...with three sets of 3, I shall achieve divinity. Or Nirvana. Or at least a free drink and some lovely hors d'oeuvres.

Here are all the 2009 PRISM finalists, in alphabetical order within each category. Giant happy congrats to everyone!:

( Begin official announcement: )

End official announcement. Commencing cartwheels.


*this gorgeous little pyramid, which yes, I totally covet

The winner of a signed copy of Adrian Phoenix's In the Blood is...macbeaner! Macbeaner, please e-mail me your mailing address (jeri AT jerismithready DOT com), so I can send your Amazon gift card and Adrian can send your book.

Justin Gustainis will be sending a signed copy of his latest release, Evil Ways, to...(I don't know why I bother with ellipses, it's not like it really adds tension. I mean how long does it take for your eyes to skim those three little dots. Now this, this is adding tension. I could do this forever, really, just blab on and on and on until eventually you have to scroll to find out who won. But I won't. I will, however, add another ellipsis)...Yolanda! Yolanda, do the thing I asked macbeaner to do in the previous paragraph so you can get your copy of this awesome book.

There's a sweet 'n' sexy excerpt of Wicked Game over at the Single Titles blog. This PG-13 snippet has been nominated for Smooch of the Year! You can vote at this post through January 15. But of course, only vote for WG's if you think it's the best.

Wicked Game has been nominated by Love Romances and More for Best Urban Fantasy of 2008. Members of the LR Cafe will be voting on the final winner, so if you want to have your say, join the Yahoo! group here. Note: this is a very busy list, so you definitely want to set your prefs to "Digest".

Now, back to the Steelers' game. If Shane were a real person, he'd be really nervous with the current score.

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Wicked Game won the New Jersey Romance Writers 2008 Golden Leaf Award for Best Paranormal! Snoopy Dance Ahoy!

The awards were given out at at last weekend's Put Your Heart in a Book conference, which I sadly could not attend. But now I get to watch my mail for an actual trophy.  I'll post a picture here once I receive it and the certificate for Voice of Crow's PRISM award.

Congrats to all the Golden Leaf winners.  I don't know who you are yet, but I'm sure the results will be posted soon.  And a big way-to-go to all the finalists, the list of which can be found on the Golden Leaf page.

Now I need to get back to making sure Wicked Game isn't completely embarrassed by its sequel.

Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, Voice of Crow (Luna Books, Oct 2007) just won Third Place in the Fantasy category of the PRISM Award!

The PRISM Award is given out by the Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal (FF&P) chapter of the Romance Writers of America.

Here's the list of the award-winners in all the categories. Congrats to everyone!

Light Paranormal
1. Dead Girls are Easy by Terri Garey
2. More Than Fiends by Maureen Child
3. Highland Guardian by Melissa Mayhue

Time Travel
1. Wired by Liz Maverick
2. Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband by Melissa Mayhue
3. Forgiveness by JL Wilson.

Erotica
1. Mona Lisa Blossoming by Sunny
2. Pleasures of the Night by Sylvia Day
3. Double Dating with the Dead by Karen Kelly

Futuristic
1. My Favorite Earthling by Susan Grant
2. How to Lose an Extraterrestrial in 10 days by Susan Grant
3. Insufficient Mating Material by Rowena Cherry

Novella
1. Over the Moon by Sunny
2. Street Corners and Halos by Catherine Spangler
3. Wild Hearts in Atlantis by Alyssa Day

Dark Paranormal
1. Immortals: The Awakening by Joy Nash
2. Betrayed: A House of Night Novel by PC Cast
3. Touched by Darkness by catherine Spangler

Fantasy
1. The Eternal Rose by Gail Dayton
2. Lucinda, Darkly by Sunny
3. Voice of Crow by Jeri Smith-Ready

Best of the Best
Wired by Liz Maverick

Best First Book
1. Grave Illusions by Lina Gardiner
2. She Wolf by Teresa D'Amario
3. Thirty Nights with a Highland Husband by Melissa Mayhue

A special congrats to my friend Gail Dayton, whose Rose book beat my Crow book for the second year running. But hey, her trilogy is over and mine isn't, so maybe The Reawakened will have a chance next year!


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In its first contest entered, the New Jersey Romance Writers Golden Leaf Awards, Wicked Game has made the finals in the Paranormal category! The finalists aren't listed on the website yet, but since the awards will be given out on October 24, I figured I better mention it now before I lose.

Once again, your daily voter registration nag. Below is the list of states where voter registration is still open. And at the bottom, a new video, this time a concert video of The Clash's "Know Your Rights."

I picked this video because of a story coming out of Philadelphia yesterday on voter suppression, where once again, inner city folks are being told, falsely, that voting will result in their arrest for outstanding parking tickets. (The headline, I confess, at first made me wonder why a hockey team would be involved. Maybe because of their mom running for vice president?)

Mississippi was voted off the voter registration island, since their last day to register is today, or tomorrow at noon if the clerk's office is open on Saturdays. Go to VotersUnite! to see the deadlines and rules for your state.

The blinky states close their registration roles tomorrow, so Washingtonians and Rhode Islandianianers, get your butts in gear! After you watch a nice video.

( Who'll be next? )

Help! I'm preparing to register Wicked Game for the Rita Award, which is the major annual award given by the Romance Writers of America (RWA). Eyes of Crow was nominated for two Ritas in 2006: Best First Novel and Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements.

The problem is, I'm having trouble deciding in which category to enter Wicked Game.

Below are the descriptions of two categories and their judging guidelines:

Novel with Strong Romantic Elements

A work of fiction in which a romance plays a significant part in the story, but other themes or elements take the plot beyond the traditional romance boundaries.

 

Judging guidelines: Novels of any tone or style, set in any place or time are eligible for this category. A romance must be an integral part of the plot or subplot, and the resolution of the romance is emotionally satisfying and optimistic.

Paranormal Romance

Romance novels in which the future, a fantasy world or paranormal happenings are an integral part of the plot.
Judging guidelines: In this category, a futuristic, fantasy, or paranormal element is blended with the love story, which is the main focus of the novel, and the end of the book is emotionally satisfying and optimistic.

I think it fits in both categories, but I can only enter one. Looking strictly at these descriptions, which one do you think fits Wicked Game better?

The Key Question: is the romance the main focus of the novel or is it a subplot?

Much thanks!


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