Golden Heart Finalist

We haven't been updating regularly, but this news is too exciting to forget to share. THE SOLDIER, my paranormal Viking warrior romance, is a 2011 Golden Heart [tm] finalist in the paranormal category. I've had a wild ride buying makeup (I truly had nothing but a couple lipsticks and ten-year old mascara in the drawer), getting a PR photo, and working on my first website. So, introducing the made-up, airbrushed, dressed-up me:

You can read an excerpt from THE SOLDIER at the first version of my website, annarichland.com. Pretty soon it will have a cool customized background showing a bunch of my heroine Theresa's desk junk. I'm also active on Facebook as Anna Richland - please join me there for more frequent updates and lots of pictures.

Winners of the Golden Heart will be announced Friday night, July 1, 2011 at Romance Writers of America's national conference in New York City. I'm looking forward to sharing the excitement with Mr. Richland. I don't think he can imagine what a ballroom filled with almost 3,000 romance writers is like. Even Stars on Ice had more men in the audience. Win or not, being a finalist has certainly bumped me up to the next level of career excitement (not to mention forced me to revise the middle of my manuscript!).

Slow, But Not Stopped

We haven't been posting regularly.

I'm sure you've noticed.

Why the change in speed? Well, the four of us are each at different points in our respective writing careers. Some of us need more time to promote specific projects. Some of us need more time to finish our projects. All of us are wondering how this blog fits with our overall career plans.

We aren't ready to give up on Damned Scribbling Women yet. We are not, however, sure how we wish to move forward. We're taking the first part of 2011 to reflect on the future of this blog. How can we find a healthy balance between writing and publicity? How can we generate more traffic on this blog? Or should we disband and pursue individual promotional projects?

When we know more, dear readers, so will you.

In the mean time, you can expect to see the occasional random post. And if you have any thoughts to share, please do so.

Happy New Year, and take care!

A List for Last Year

Farewell 2010 - a very fine year, even though I passed through another decade. Here's a short list, no particular order, of some favorites from last year:

Favorite "Vintage" Romance I Read for the First Time: Harvard's Education by Suzanne Brockmann (originally 1998 but reissued in a two-novel collection this year).

Memorable Spam Offer: Encourage Your Winky.

Fave Romantic Suspense: Body Heat by Brenda Novak.

2010 Winter Olympic Event I loved more than expected: Curling!

Fave Cake from Mr. Richland: the Lego Articulated Bus.

Don't-Miss-Regencies of 2010: Soldier's Lady by Susanna Fraser (Carina Press) and In For a Penny by Rose Lerner.

Best concert with children: Great Big Sea at Woodland Park Zoo. Try a little Canadian Celtic rock with Excursion Around the Bay. You'll want to hoist a fizzing drink and jump around, remembering sticky floors you stomped sometime in the '80s (me) or '90s (Kate). Concert without children: Pink Martini at Chateau St. Michelle. Try Dosvedanya Mio Bombino from Hey Eugene! or the two-song piece from Splendor in the Grass. Her version of the breakup is And Then You're Gone. He sings But Now I'm Back. There's a romance novel in six and a half minutes. And I have no idea how to add song links to Blogger so find them yourself.

Most extreme contrast between my real life and my writing life: the "Dirty Laundry" miniseries at Carina Press. Plenty of that in my basement except ... well, you don't have to be over 18 to tackle my pile of socks and towels.

Share your favorites from 2010 or comment on mine. Here's hoping more great books, music and cake come our ways in 2011. (Um, and an agent and book deal too, please).