Once upon a time a young girl knelt on the floor beside her mother as the woman opened a deep wooden chest. Trembling with curiosity,  the girl leaned forward to see the treasures in the chest. A shimmer of gold beneath an old book caught her attention. “What is this, Mama?” 

Mama laughed and tugged the fringe from the bottom of the chest. “Bobby gave this to me a long, long time ago.” Mama flattened the fabric across her knees and smiled. Letting the silky fringe slip over her fingers, she said, “Bobby was my first boyfriend. Long before I knew your Daddy.” The fringe was attached to a colorful picture of a far away place–Texas. 

Mama read the poem on the pillow cover.

Sweetheart

I thought that you would like to know

That someone’s thoughts go where you go.

That life is richer sweeter far.

For such a sweetheart as you are. 

The young girl sighed with the romance of it. This boy had loved her mother enough that he thought of her while he was so far away–in Texas. The pillow cover with all it’s bright colors and sweet words and gold fringe seemed to be everything interesting and romantic and adventurous to the young girl. She determined that one day she would travel to far away places–like Texas, and even beyond–and she would collect beautiful things to remind her of love and adventure. 

Mama folded the cloth and put it back in the chest. She closed the lid, trapping the glimmering golden fringe and cedar aroma until the next time the treasure chest would be opened. The girl locked away in her memory the image of the pillow cover and planned her journeys from the swing set in the back yard.

To be continued…

The Texas Sweetheart Pillow

ser-en-dip-i-ty n The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident. 

Perfect travel would always be serendipitous, don’t you think? A happy journey of sweet and memorable events?  Alas, travel is hardly ever perfect. Even the best laid plans fall victim to traffic jams, mechanical failures, operator error.  In April we took our new motor-coach on a cross country journey–Florida to California and back in two weeks. Fourteen days of new scenery rolling beyond our windows. Fourteen days worth of serendipity. As many fortunate discoveries as our wee little minds could recognize.

Jonas gives T tips on handling Storm

4 year old Curtis teaches T how to rope

Jonas and I took a few turns around the ring as the sun was setting. He said he didn’t think anything was quite a pretty as a New Mexico sunset. I think I’d have to agree. When the sun slipped below the pink and purple mountains on the horizon, we reined in the horses and took them back to the trailer for their dinner.

Today we’ll think about some of the reasons you may want to want to wait another year before entering the Golden Heart Contest. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the Romance Writer’s of America’s Golden Heart Contest is one of the biggest contests for yet-to-be published authors. It’s also one of the most expensive contests to enter. Here are a few things you might want to think over before plunking down your $50.00. 

T’s Top 9 Reasons NOT TO Enter The Golden Heart

1. Do Not Enter the GH If You’re Still a Contest Virgin

RWA’s GH contest doesn’t offer any written feedback from the contest judges. You get a number. That’s all. Which is great if you happen to have all high numbers and become a finalist, but not much help with making your manuscript better. My advice is to enter some of the chapter sponsored contests which use detailed judging sheets. Most contests let you preview their judging sheets on-line. Use some of these contests and their excellent judging before jumping into the Golden Heart.

2. Do Not Enter the GH If You Want Feedback on Your Manuscript

See above.

3. Do Not Enter the GH If Your Manuscript is a Category Bender

Yesterday I mentioned the importance of knowing the rules RWA has established for contest categories. But sometimes we’ve written a great manuscript that pushes the envelope. If you’ve written a time-travel, spy thriller set on the romance planet Ulovus, you could sell the book and be on the lists before you’ll do well in the GH. You just need to find the right contest for your manuscript. 

4. Do Not Enter the GH If You Can’t Handle the Hard Numbers

Without written feedback, those low number HURT!

5. Do Not Enter the GH If You’re Certain This Is The Key to Publication

Unfortunately, a win or a final in this or any contest doesn’t guarantee publication. But doing well in this contest does provide many opportunities for your work. Just keep in mind that there are no guarantees and don’t let it get you down.

6. Don’t Enter Expecting the Final Judge to Fall in Love With Your Work

Sometime the editor who is the final judge will call RWA and request the manuscript. A few of my fellow finalists have sold their first manuscript this way. But by the same token, some of the winners haven’t sold yet. You never know, but chances are you won’t hear from your final judge.

7. Don’t Enter Expecting This Contest to Change Your Life

Final, win or sell, you are still you. A good thing to keep in mind no matter what is going on.

8. Don’t Expect the GH Window of Opportunity to Remain Open Forever

Take advantage of the NOW, and query, query, query while you’re hot!

9. Don’t Enter the GH if You’re Camera Shy

This is a minor detail, but still…. If you final, you’ll be required to send in a photo for use in the “Romance Writers Report” and during the conference. Make the most of this and get the best photographs you can. These will be useful on your website and for future publicity opportunities. You don’t need to break the bank, but do go with a classic, professional look. 

Well, that’s all the advice I have on this one!  Good luck!

You know it’s almost fall when the kids head off to school and yet-to-be published writers begin to think about whether to enter Romance Writer’s of America’s Golden Heart Contest. This is the premier contest for us. If you final in this prestigious contest, your work has risen to top of about 2,200 entries. After being judged by your peers, your partial manuscript then goes to the final judge–an editor who can buy your work if he/she likes it. The Golden Heart Contest is a great opportunity.

But you need to make a few personal decisions before you send in your registration fee, and to help you make those decisions, I’ve come up with two T’s Top 10 Lists. Today I’ll give the reasons to enter. Check them out and see what you think.

Come back tomorrow and find out why you might want to wait. 

By the way, I’ll be entering again this year with a new manuscript I’m in love with! I’m hoping for final number 4 and a sale this year!

T’s Top 10 Reasons TO ENTER the GH

ENTER BECAUSE YOU ARE READY

1. You’ve gotten feedback from other contests, made revisions

The Golden Heart judges give you a number score only. I suggest entering contests that give you an in-depth critique and concrete suggestions for improvement. Enter several contests to compare and contrast comments–if something comes up several times, FIX IT.

2.Your manuscript is complete and error free

One of the rules of the GH contest is to submit a completed manuscript, so finish it! And of course, you always want to present your best work. Always!

3.You know which contest category to enter

Very important! Study the RWA definitions available on the website (www.rwanational.org) or in the Romance Writers Report magazine. These are the standards you’ll be judged by. Don’t blow your chance by entering the wrong category.

ENTER FOR THE NEWTORK

4. Your GH class is an important network of support and publicity

The Wet Noodle Posse, the group of finalists in 2003, changed forever the value of the GH class by establishing one of the first group blogs. Besides a communication loop, this on-line presence is great publicity for published and yet-to-be published writers. Check out the Posse at www.wetnoodleposse.com. Coming soon from MY class of 2007 is www.nobodywritesitbetter.com, where I’ll be a regular contributor. My 2006 class’s group blog is www.romancebandits.blogspot.com. You can bet the Banditas are always rockin’.

5. The Golden Network offers unique support and education

JOIN the special interest RWA chapter for GH finalists as soon as you get your invitation.It’s always a great party at the conference and The Golden Network retreat is an outstanding opportunity for education and networking with industry professionals. This year’s retreat was Speed Dating–three minutes to pitch your story to editors and agents. What a great opportunity!

ENTER FOR THE APPOINTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

7.Wear your Golden Heart and your ribbon on your badge and be ready to talk 

Plan to enter the RWA National conference if you are finalist. When you wear that pink ribbon as a finalist, everyone will be congratulating you, including editors and agents. If they happen to ask about your manuscript have your 30 second TV Guide pitch ready. Check you TV Guide description for your favorite show. Copy that style.

8.Take advantage of early registration for editor and agent appointment

You’re GOLD! You get to register first and usually have a one-on-one appointment. Be prepared, be confident, hit the important points. Don’t just pitch, ask questions and listen.

ENTER FOR THE VALIDATION

10. Enjoy and treasure the validation of your peers. Soak it all in and have fun! 

Good luck!

For the last few years Sunday morning means pancakes or waffles and a chance for the family to sit down for a leisurely breakfast. The tradition has been especially fun since my son, Jonathan of Jonathan’s Thoughts, and my grand-daughter Alex began spending weekends with us. Alex joins me in the kitchen and we whip up an old scratch recipe from Homemade Bread by the Food Editors of Farm Journal that just can’t be beat for taste and texture. This is an old book, first published in 1969, and given to me by my Aunt Elsie. It’s a treasured addition to my antique cookbook collection. I’ve seen copies available on eBay if you’re into making bread and looking for a variety of traditional recipes.

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Crash landing…not really, but when you end up in the hospital two days after a wonderful trip, it is definitely a hard landing. The five hour flight from San Francisco to Orlando caught up with me, and a blood clot made a little trip of its own to my left lung. I recognized the symptoms early because I had pulmonary emboli (clots in the lungs) in 2002. When the stabbing pain in my left rib cage and a slight shortness of breath didn’t ease up after a few hours, I took myself to the doc and let them figure it out. I’ll be home in a few days with some blood thinning meds and won’t be taking any flights for a while. Read the rest of this entry »