C Is for Contest

Preparations for our next big contest are underway. If you know someone who writes adult romance or an adult genre with romantic elements, ask them if they’d like to join a small critique group, then send them our way. At the moment, Rumored Romantics has three members: Suzanne Johnson, Katrina Crew, and myself. We’re seeking one or two new members.

Why should you trust us to critique your work? Read our bios. They speak for themselves.

Suzanne Johnson: Suzanne Johnson is the author of a new urban fantasy series set in post-Katrina New Orleans beginning with ROYAL STREET and RIVER ROAD, both coming in 2012 from Tor Books. A longtime journalist, Suzanne also has won more than fifty national awards for editing and longform feature writing. She is an active member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, a PAN member of Romance Writers of America, and is a member of the Georgia and Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal chapters of RWA.  Check out her blog here.

Katrina Crew: Katrina Crew writes single-title contemporary romance. One of her manuscripts, All Things Easy (formerly Lone Dogwood), placed first in Greater Detroit RWA's Between the Sheets contest and also won the Ignite the Flame contest (single-title category). It's currently a finalist in the Toronto Gold and Reveal Your Inner Vixen contests.

Another manuscript, First Aid for a Broken Heart, placed second in Alaska RWA's Break-up contest and is a finalist in the Lone Star Writing Contest.

She writes reviews for The Season and loves books where the language is just as important as the characters and the story. She has also been a contest judge.

In her day job, Katrina is an editor for a charity in London. You can find out more about her on her blog, Reader, I created him, or by following her on Twitter.

Lynnette Labelle: Lynnette Labelle is a certified copyeditor and proofreader with over ten years of experience, and is currently the editor of LoveBytes, RWA Online’s newsletter. She spent many years teaching kindergarten to grade eight, but especially enjoyed instructing the junior high students how to write short stories and poems.

After studying writing for children and teens through The Institute of Children’s Literature, taking Advanced Creative Writing in university, participating in dozens of writing workshops, and reading far too many “how to write” books to count, Lynnette has a great understanding for the craft of writing. She knows the typical mistakes beginner writers and some published authors make that keep them from either getting published or moving further up the publishing ladder. Her background in writing, teaching, copyediting, and proofreading makes her an excellent choice as a mentor. Her assistance and services have helped writers on their journey to publication.

In her spare time, she continues to work on her most recent romantic suspense novel. She won third place in the romantic suspense category of the Ignite the Flame contest 2010.
Interested? Great! Keep watching. More details to come.

Also, I’m still looking for pieces to critique on my blog. See this post for more details.

My regular blog schedule will begin Monday. See you then.