A Brief, Shining Moment...

Yep. I had it all for about about 15 minutes. The bright lights shined on me and the fame - oh the fame!

Sorry, I'll get a grip on myself. :)

Truth is that I was alerted on twitter earlier this week that A Passion to Protect, my entry in the Harlequin Mills & Boon New Voices contest was the top rated entry out of over 600! I even took a screen capture to make sure this momentous achievement could be proved to the hubby.

I know it's hard to read, but that's my name and my story right there up top!

In all honesty, the whole ratings thing has been interesting and silly because it's obvious there are people rating good stories very low in order to keep them from having high ratings. I've read so many great ones that had really low scores that it made me stop caring about the rating (well, stop obsessing over it at least since I can't really say I don't care).

What does really matter to me are the comments since that was my main motivation to enter besides the idea that my little entry just might catch an editor's interest. If you haven't had a chance to read and comment on my chapter, you can find it here.

Thank you to those who've already read it and commented and to anyone willing to head over and give me advice!

Workshop Mania! Countdown to the RWA 2010 Conference

I'm beyond excited to be attending my very first RWA Nationals Conference and I've spent weeks reading over the workshop descriptions and reading comments online trying to figure out which will be the best ones for me to take.

Since I'm still so green, I've decided to focus on mostly craft workshops and because Harlequin is my target publisher I'll be hitting every Harlequin event I can. Obviously all of them except the big Harlequin party that is invitation only - although I've been advised I should try to crash it! I'd have to have a partner in crime because I'm too much of a rule follower to do it all on my own. :)

My little OCD self created a personal conference agenda with color-coded conference tracks and an hour by hour schedule. For the tracks, I've listed my 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice workshops available at that time along with any publisher spotlights. All color coded and listed in order of what I think will be my top choices.

Also on the agenda are any meetings I've set up - including a twitter/blogger meet-up at the Cabana Bar by the pool on Wed. from 7:30 til whenever...Stop by! It's open to everyone!

I'm also crazy excited to meet many of my fellow Romance Divas for a night of sure-to-be fun karaoke.

Most of all though, I can't wait to spend time with two awesome writers from The Romance Writer's Revenge who I want to smother in hugs and who have been gracious enough to let me crash in their room for a night or two. They may not fully understand why I love them so, but their support online has meant the world to me and really gave me the confidence to start this writing journey.

More than anything from Nationals, I'm hoping to meet some great writers and cultivate a few relationships into possible critique partners or writing cheerleaders! Wish me luck!
What about you? If you're going to Nationals what workshops are you most looking forward to or what is your driving goal for attending?Any tips for a newbie?