Romy Sommer

I'll admit to feeling a tad disappointed when I saw The List on the New Voices contest site and not only did I not make it, but none of my CPs or online friends did either. (And by the way, you were all fantastic!) On the plus side, this contest has been an awesome experience for me, because it introduced me to a whole new bunch of aspiring South African authors. For more information on the South African entrants and other entries set in Africa or with South African characters, you can view the list here: http://saromancewriters.blogspot.com/2010/09/new-voices-entries.html Our country is a little backward when it comes to genre fiction, and until now most romance writers battle away quietly on their own while lots of fuss gets made about literary authors and poets. So we're not going to win any Booker or Nobel prizes (which have both incidentally been awarded this last week, in case you've missed the news) but we are steadily growing in numbers and in strength. Just w...

While over 800 aspirant writers anxiously await The List (for those who aren't as obssessed by the New Voices contest as I am, this is the list HMB have promised us of entries they want to see more of), I have a question to pose:  If HMB does not request your contest entry, do you plan to stick it in a bottom drawer or to sub this story elsewhere? Of course, I'm one of the 814 hoping this is not a situation I'll have to face, but even so I know exactly what I'd do: the bottom drawer. Why? Because when I do sell to HMB one day (and I'm determined to!) I want to have a whole bunch of manuscripts ready to be re-worked and re-submitted. I'm hoping that by then I'll be more experienced and know how to 'fix' them, so that instead of making just the one sale, I'll be able to sell a whole bunch more to my dream publisher! But I also realise that there are times when submitting to A.N. Other publisher might be a better option for a manuscript. If...

The winners have been announced over at: http://www.romanceisnotdead.com/News/23-The-Top-Ten-Announcement To the Top Ten: Massive congratulations to all of you. I can't wait to read your next chapters. To all those who didn't final: I share your disappointment, but don't let you get it down. Take note of the comments you received, learn from the chapters you most enjoyed, polish your partials and send them in via the traditional route. You haven't lost anything by entering. In fact, you may not know it yet, but you've gained so much. You deserve your medals of bravery. Incidentally, if you haven't yet picked up your badges: pop on over to Lacey Devlin's blog and collect one now!

Last night our family cat was killed by a hit-and-run driver. The coward must have been driving at quite a speed not to be able to stop for a cat who had large white patches and would have been easily visible in this well-lit residential street. Our road is short and leads nowhere, so whoever thought this quiet street would make a nice race track should be hung, drawn and quartered. Luke was born in our garden earlier this year to a wild cat who roams the neighbourhood. This was the second litter she'd birthed in the safety of our garden. After the events of last night I'm really glad we haven't managed to catch her yet to get her to the vet to be spayed. As a kitten, when he was just old enough to be weaned, we brought him inside. He slept on my pillow and in no time at all he'd become the perfect house cat. Though his mother and sisters remain wild, eating our food but refusing to be touched, Luke (or Lucy as he was known for most of his life - until he develope...

So it seems that we may be waiting a little longer than expected for the announcement of the Top 10 finalists in the New Voices contest . Hardly surprising since the editors and judges have 824 entries to read this weekend, and among them are a whole lot of fantastic chapters. So while we wait, please check out the SA Romance Writers blog for a list of South African entrants, and show your support for the burgeoning talent from this southern-most tip of Africa. I've been really thrilled to find so many entries featuring Africa or South Africans. Over at Minxes of Romance are links to the New Voices entries by me and my crit partners, and in the most recent post you can also find out what writing romance and trees have in common. And last, but not least, on my Rae Summers blog I'm starting a new series of posts: Cocktail Fridays. On the Friday closest to pay day each month (25th) I'll be bringing you a new cocktail recipe from the 1920s. Kicking off the series is...

This weekend my other half (literally!) is participating in Blogfest 2010 over at http://raesummers.wordpress.com . There are prizes galore for blog visitors, and Rae is also giving away a DVD to one lucky folllower. Congratulations to the 160 brave people who have already submitted their contest entries to New Voices . It's becoming very addictive reading! I'd also like to shout out "well done!" to Lorraine Wilson , the first Minx to enter so far. You can read Lorraine's fab entry, In Too Deep , here .

My alter ego, Rae Summers, is hosting author Caroline Clemmons today. She's talking about how writers can promote themselves. Please drop by and share your own tips on promotion. http://raesummers.wordpress.com