February 14, 2008

OKRWA February 2008 Newsletter

February 2008 Program
Saturday, February 16th 1:00pm


Pitching Lessons


Get prepared to sell your manuscript!
Do one on one sessions make you nervous?
Come learn how to take a deep breath and set those nerves at bay. Get some expert pitching advice from:

Jill Monroe
Christine Rimmer
Terri Schaefer

There will also be a book signing prior to the meeting from 12:00 to 12:45pm at the Borders on NW Expressway.

Authors signing include:

Jill Monroe
Gena Showalter

From The Prez: Christy Gronlund

February is the month of love. Everyone runs out to buy valentines and flowers to commemorate their love for that special someone. As I prepared to write a sweet column of how we encompass this feeling in our books, an intervening event caught my attention. Opio Toure died. I had never met the man but he was well known in the political and legal field. For days articles were written about how he stood up for those who couldn’t speak for themselves, how he spoke up for what was right even when his opinion was unpopular and how his death had left a large hole in the lives of the people who knew him. As I read the tales of the impact this one man had on the lives of many, I realized that a real life hero had died and I began to wonder about the characteristics that made a person a hero.


We have studied the hero’s journey and the obstacles a hero has to endure to complete his quest but how much do we know about what makes someone a hero? No one starts out with the goal of being a hero. Heroes are born from the events of necessity. There is a big problem and someone needs to fix it. Most are not brave enough to dare but there is that one person who will go the distance to make everything right with the world. This person isn’t perfect. He is riddled with multiple flaws such as pride, greed, revenge, insensitivity or superiority. Watching him overcome these flaws is why we love him. Watching him speak up for what is right even when all oppose him is why we admire him.

A hero understands that there are things so important that he will enter great peril to set them right. Often in the quest for justice, sacrifices must be made. His life will be placed in danger. He stands to lose a loved one or his honor. He will risk all this in order to do the right thing. A man like this is the hero people open our books to discover. He is the man we fall in love with as we walk with him through the pages. So let’s raise glass to our heroes this month. The ones who dare to show us that doing what is right is never easy and often dangerous. But no matter the risk, they show our readers that doing what is right is always worth it and inspire our readers to be better people.


Christy

2007 Finally A Bride Contest Winners

Historical
1st Place: To Love a Viscount - Kathleen Cherry
2nd Place: The Patrician's Fortune - Joan Kayse
3rd Place: Earth’s Only Paradise – CJ Chase


Paranormal/Time Travel/Futuristic:
1st Place: Dyad Quest - Ann Hinnenkamp
2nd Place: Incredible Dreams - Sandra De Taranto
3rd Place: True To The Highlander - Barbara Longley

Romantic Suspense/Single Title:
1st Place: Twilight's Children - Shelley Corriell
2nd Place: The Cost of Love - Vannetta Chapman
3rd Place: Deadly Closure - Donna L Meier
Honorable Mention: Irish Dreams - Sherri Buerkle
Locked, Loaded and Lying - Sarah Andre

Series Contemporary:
1st Place: Intensive Care - Julie Rowe
2nd Place: The Cleopatra Secret - Greta MacEachern
3rd Place: Until September - Barbara Longley

New Releases




Give Me a Texan
Linda Broday

Roots that go deep...men who stand tall...and real women who have what it takes to love and be loved by them. Jodi Thomas, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, teams up with Linda Broday, Phyliss Miranda, and DeWanna Pace to bring you four of the best Texas romances ever...

Give Me A Texan

Hank Harris wasn't even looking for a woman when he ended up with a wife. Their hasty marriage is for appearances only: a capable, intelligent woman like Aggie is exactly who he needs as a business partner--if only she weren't so damn beautiful, spirited--and in his bed... Payton McCord thought he was one tough cowboy until Amanda Lemmons made him mind his manners. And a woman of her caliber is worth the trouble she causes... Newspaperman Quinten Corbett wasn't expecting his new apprentice to be female. Boston-born Kaira Renaulde is far too refined for a rough-and-tumble frontier town--and far too pretty for his peace of mind... Briar Duncan knows he needs someone to help him raise his headstrong little daughter. But Mina McCoy is more than he bargained for--much more! The woman has the face of an angel and a very definite mind of her own...

"Four ladies who know what it means to be a Texan create a quartet of memorable novels that bring the great state straight into your heart. The three-dimensional characters and unforgettable heroes, combined with splendid stories, are unmatched for fans of the Old West." --Romantic Times on GIVE ME A TEXAN, four-star review

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Riding Wild
Jaci Burton

He's a Harley-riding ex-thief...she's a gun-toting ex-socialite. Together they'll take the ride of a lifetime in this erotic romance from "an undoubted master."*

Mac Canfield was the last man Lily West expected to see again, never mind aim her gun at. But there he was, the bad boy who'd broken her heart years ago-still a thief, hijacking a priceless artifact-and it was all she could do to push aside the memories of how it felt to have his perfectly chiseled body next to hers.

Mac was no less shocked to see the beautiful girl next-door again, threatening to shoot him. Little did she know she was blowing his cover. He had to get her out of harm's way without succumbing to his desire to take her on a hot trip down memory lane.

But Lily has no intention of going anywhere with Mac, which means he'll have to resort to kidnapping. Unless she agrees to let him take her for the kind of ride destined to drive them both unbelievably wild.

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Match Play
Merline Lovelace

Olympic athlete turned secret agent Dayna Duncan always plays to win. Her assignment to guard an international sports sensation would be no different. Then the one man who could throw Dayna off her game appears. Fighter pilot Luke Harper never did play fair….

Years ago, knowing that he could jeopardize her shot at the gold, Luke broke things off with Dayna. Now he's back...for keeps. Even as Dayna tries to resist the man she believes chose his career over her, reigniting passion adds fuel to an explosive conspiracy that could end this match, once and for all.

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Primal Insticts
Jill Monroe

Who are they to argue with biology?

Subject A, photojournalist Ian Cole, is sent to ghostwrite a book on sex in various cultures. Instead of finding a white-haired professor, he is greeted by Subject B, anthropologist Ava Simms, wearing only a teeny loincloth and body paint….

Observations…

Sexual energy between subjects increases exponentially. Note the male's quickened breathing and barely restrained urge to do lusty and inappropriate things.

The female, in turn, decides to demonstrate her extensive knowledge of seduction, play and ritual…claiming it's "research." The results? Neither Subject A nor B want the study to end….


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The Passion of Sam Broussard
Maggie Price

A hot tip on a cold case homicide teams feisty Oklahoma City PD sergeant Liz Scott with sexy Louisiana detective Sam Broussard … but when new clues reveal haunting similarities between the victim and Liz, Sam will have one chance to reach across time to stop a killer from striking again.

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Valentine’s Secret Child
Christine Rimmer

Ten years ago Kelly Bravo and Michael Vakulic went their separate ways—he to a new name and a new life, she to a family she never knew she had. And then Kelly comes across a tantalizingly familiar photo in the newspaper. Her long-lost Michael has reinvented himself—as Mitch Valentine, multimillionaire entrepreneur. As for Kelly, she’s got a new name, too—mother! And a little girl with Michael’s eyes…

How can she tell him the truth?

How can she not?

Bravo Family Ties

Stronger than ever…

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Catch A Mate
Gena Showalter

Jillian Greene is hired by suspicious women to try to pick up their slime-bucket husbands or boyfriends. In short, she's human bait. Because of her encounters with so many feckless, faithless males, Jillian has turned into a genuine, card-carrying man hater. Marcus Brody is human bait, too, the first male employee of Jillian's agency, Catch a Mate.

Unbeknownst to Jillian, he has also purchased Catch a Mate, so now she's his employee. Reluctantly, Jillian begins to fall for the picture-perfect Marcus.

Thinking that male monogamy is an oxymoron, she can't help but wonder if any man can be loyal. More important, can she trust Marcus? Each chapter in this wicked novel begins with a different pickup line ("Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?") as the versatile Showalter (Playing with Fire, 2006) once again shows that she can blend humor and poignancy while keeping readers entertained from start to finish.




Member News


Merline Lovelace has just signed a new 6-book contract to do A three-book series called Holidays Abroad for Silhouette Desire and three more Code Name: Danger books for Silhouette Romantic Suspense

Rachel Vincent is a finalist in the New Author category for 2007 Paranormal Excellence Awards for Romantic Literature (PEARL).

Heidi Vanlandingham’s manuscript Dimitri's Sacrifice placed 2nd in the paranormal category of the East Texas Romance Writer’s Southern Heat contest.

Jordan Dane has sold her 3-book debut series as a featured alternate for Doubleday Book Club, Mystery Guild, AND Rhapsody Book Club.

NYT bestselling author Gena Showalter’s RED HANDED, to Sony Pictures Television (Stargate SG-1), with Dan Wigutow Productions, by Sean Daily at Hotchkiss & Associates, on behalf of Deidre Knight at The Knight Agency.

Sherri Buerkle received an Honorable Mention for her manuscript Irish Dreams in the Romantic Suspense/Single Title category of our own Finally A Bride Contest.

Please join us in congratulating our members on these fantastic achievements.


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From the Editor
Please, send all member news, new releases, writing articles, etc. to Debbie Behrens at Debehrs@aol.com .


Posted by Debbie Behrens :: 9:42 PM :: ---------------oOo---------------