New England Reader's Choice Contest

Judging contests is a great way to discover new authors or enjoy familiar ones for free. This contest, though, is one I can’t judge, because I’m a Published Author.

But what about you? You can get information, and find a place to sign up, by following this link.

Here are specifics, verbatim, from the New England Romance Writers:

JUDGE THE 2023 NEW ENGLAND READERS' CHOICE CONTEST!

Sign up here to serve as a judge for the 2024 New England Readers’ Choice Awards, a contest recognizing and celebrating excellence in published romance fiction. Our contest is one of the few judged exclusively by romance fans.

All judges must be romance readers, librarians, booksellers, and/or unpaid bloggers who are at least 18 years old. Published romance authors and paid reviewers and bloggers are not permitted to judge the contest.

Each judge must commit to judging at least 3 books in e-book or in print format (the majority of entries are e-book format) between January 1, 2024 and March 31, 2024. Judges must be located in the continental United States in order to receive print books, but may be located anywhere in the world to receive e-books. Judges may request additional books to judge after they have submitted scores for all previously received books, up to a ten book limit.

The books you judge are yours to keep.

Any questions? Contact the Contest Coordinator at contest@nerw.org.



Not Quite a Lady $1.99 deal

As I’ve mentioned in various interviews, though I’ve always loved English literature, I had some issues with it. Why did strong-willed women so seldom triumph in those 19th century novels I loved so much? Why were smart, strong women objects of derision in books and plays? Why were they always punished for, say, having sex or having brains? Even women writers couldn’t seem to help punishing the most interesting women characters for being… interesting.

A few of my books have been reactions to this. Well, maybe all of my books, but some had specific inspiration in Great Literature. Daphne in Mr. Impossible. Cassandra in Ten Things I Hate About the Duke. And then there’s Lady Charlotte in Not Quite a Lady.

Lady Charlotte was my reaction to Lady Dedlock in Bleak House—which by the way happens to be one of my favorite Dickens novels. Favorite or not, it seemed to me that Dickens did not do right by her. Even before I began to write my own novels, I saw how easily her story could have come out differently, and still remained true to elements of the book. But maybe that wouldn’t have gone down well with Victorian audiences, or maybe the author had his own issues. (Oh, he certainly did.) Lots of reasons. In any case, Lady Dedlock was the starting point for Lady Charlotte.

While these two women characters do have one thing in common, their stories are not the same. Not Quite a Lady, the fourth book of the Carsington brothers trilogy (I know), is on sale for $1.99 for a limited time. I don’t know how limited, but if you’d like a copy, for yourself or as a gift, I pray you make haste, as my characters would say.