The finalists in the 2012 Orange Rose Contest have been announced.

I’m thrilled and grateful that two of my manuscripts, THE PARACHUTIST and TEMPTING BELLA, are among the top eleven overall finalists.  

The Orange Rose differs a bit from other contests in that it doesn’t split entries up according to category. All genres of romance (historical, paranormal, contemporary, etc) are judged together.

The finalist entries are judged by three editors and agents. The winners will be announced on Saturday, Oct. 13.

Here’s a complete list of the finalists. Congratulations and best of luck to everyone!

Publishers Weekly is out with its Top 10 Romance List for Fall 2012.

There are familiar names on the list, but some of those authors are trying something a little new.

Mary Wine, my mentor from Kensington/Brava’s Writing With the Stars contest, is out with her first steam punk novel, A Lady Can Never Be Too Curious.

Lydia Dare’s Wolfishly Yours is set in Regency England, but her protagonists are werewolves who have to be tamed to meet society’s strictures.

Another of my favorite authors, Miranda Neville, visits the Georgian era with The Importance of Being Wicked,  a new series featuring reckless art collectors and how far they’ll go for the prizes they want. 

Here’s the complete list:

The Importance of Being Wicked by Miranda Neville

Wolfishly Yours by Lydia Dare

A Lady Can Never Be Too Curious by Mary Wine
 
Summerset Abbey by T. J. Brown

Tallie’s Hero by Sara Luck

Running Wild by Linda Howard and Linda Jones

Close Enough to Touch by Victoria Dahl

The Inn at Rose Harbor by Debbie Macomber

When Lightning Strikes by Brenda Novak

Touch Me Now by Donna Hill