Day One: GLIAS Preview of the 2014 RITA Finalists

Congratulations to RITA finalists in the Best First Book and Contemporary categories!  

As many of you know, it is quite an honor to be a Romance Writers of America RITA finalist. We encourage all GLIAS readers to peruse the list of nominated authors and titles. See anything below you would love to read? Leave the title and your comment, along with your email contact info for a chance to win the RITA finalist book of your choice!

2014 RITA^® Finalists

Best First Book

Five Days in Skye 

by Carla Laureano

David C. Cook

John Blase and Tonya Osterhouse, editors

Fix You

by Beck Anderson

Omnific Publishing

Jessica Royer Ocken and Cindy Robinson Campbell, editors

Private Practice

by Samanthe Beck

Entangled Publishing, Brazen

Heather Howland, editor

Promise to Return

by Elizabeth Byler Younts

Simon & Schuster, Howard Books

Beth Adams and Amanda Demastus, editors

The Sweet Spot

by Laura Drake

Grand Central Publishing, Forever

Latoya Smith, editor

Contemporary Romance

Along Came Trouble

by Ruthie Knox

Random House Group, Loveswept

Sue Grimshaw, editor

Beach House No. 9

by Christie Ridgway

Harlequin, HQN

Margo Lipschultz, editor

Country Roads

by Nancy Herkness

Amazon Publishing, Montlake

Kelli Martin and JoVon Sotak, editors

Crazy Thing Called Love

by Molly O’Keefe

Random House Group, Ballantine Bantam Dell

Shauna Summers, editor

Fix You

by Beck Anderson

Omnific Publishing

Jessica Royer Ocken and Cindy Robinson Campbell, editors

Half Moon Hill

by Toni Blake

HarperCollins Publishers, Avon Books

May Chen, editor

Home to Whiskey Creek

by Brenda Novak

Harlequin, MIRA

Paula Eykelhof, editor

Homecoming Ranch

by Julia London

Amazon Publishing, Montlake

Maria Gomez, editor

It Had to Be You

by Jill Shalvis

Grand Central Publishing

Alex Logan, editor

Letters to Nowhere

by Julie Cross

Self-published

Martha Trachtenberg, copyeditor

Rescued by a Stranger

by Lizbeth Selvig

HarperCollins Publishers, Avon Impulse

Tessa Woodward, editor

Rumor Has It

by Jill Shalvis

Berkley Publishing Group

Kate Seaver, editor

The Second Chance Café

by Alison Kent

Amazon Publishing, Montlake

Lindsay Guzzardo, editor

Sleigh Bells in the Snow

by Sarah Morgan

Harlequin, HQN

Flo Nicoll, editor

The Sweet Spot

by Laura Drake

Grand Central Publishing, Forever

Latoya Smith, editor

Talk of the Town

by Beth Andrews

Harlequin, Superromance

Wanda Ottewell, editor

The Way You Look Tonight

by Bella Andre

Self-published

Shelley Bates, copyeditor

Whiskey Beach

by Nora Roberts

Penguin Group USA, G. P. Putnam’s Sons

Leslie Gelbman, editor

 Commenters: Leave the title of the RITA finalist book you'd most like to read for a chance to win the the book of your choice. Be sure to leave your e-mail contact info! 


***Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America  addresses only. If an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) is available, the author may utilize that option for International participants. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants.

Brenda Novak

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Brenda Novak has written forty novels, three of which will be coming out this year—INSIDE, IN SECONDS & IN CLOSE. She also runs an annual on-line auction for diabetes research every May at www.brendanovak.com. To date, she’s raised over $1.4 million. Brenda considers herself lucky to be a mother of five and married to the love of her life.

Find Brenda at:

Website

Facebook

INSIDE

Virgil Skinner served fourteen years for a murder he didn't commit. He's finally been exonerated, but he can't escape the gang he joined in order to survive. They'll do anything to keep him from telling what he knows. And if they can't get to Virgil they'll go after his sister and her kids.

The California Department of Corrections needs someone to infiltrate another gang, one that's taking control of the state's most notorious supermax. Virgil agrees to do it under an alias—in exchange for his sister's protection.

Chief Deputy Warden Peyton Adams is opposed to having Virgil in her prison. How will she protect him if things go bad? Besides, she's far too attracted to him; she might even be falling in love with him. That makes her all the more desperate to keep him safe—and it gives him someone else to lose.

I'm very excited to have Brenda Novak join us today. As a huge fan for years, I was delighted to interview her for Get Lost In A Story. I hope you enjoy getting to know Brenda as much as I did.

CAT: How often to you get lost in a story?

BRENDA: I’m always lost in a story—usually several at once. There’s the one I’m writing, the one I’m critiquing for my mentoree, the one I’m reading out of genre and the genre reads. That’s before I get to any books I might be reading for an endorsement or contest I might be judging. I LOVE BOOKS!

CAT: What’s your favorite kind of story to get lost in?

BRENDA: Ooooo, have to be honest here. My favorites are period pieces.

CAT: What turns you off like nothing else?

BRENDA: Shallow stories. I want something with some layers and complexity, something that dares to be different.

CAT: What was the first story you remember writing?

BRENDA: My first story was the historical I started when I first decided to write. I rewrote it several times, but I was lucky enough to sell it to HarperCollins. It came out in November 1999 and I just got my rights back. I’m going to be offering it as a free e-book to anyone who buys INSIDE, my new release, before July 5^th.

CAT: What’s your favorite movie of all time?

BRENDA: LAST OF THE MOHICANS. My kids groan every time I suggest we watch it (because I can watch it over and over again). One time fellow author Sharon Sala and I were sitting in a writing workshop together. The instructor asked what movie we watch when we run into a brick wall with our writing, what inspires us to punch through that wall. We both looked at each other and said the same thing. LOL

CAT: Is writing or story-telling easier for you?

BRENDA: Being a rather shy person (although no one ever believes that when I say it) I would much rather hide behind my typewriter and have the chance to perfect my words before sending them out so…I’m a much better writer.

CAT: What’s something you’d like to tell your fans?

BRENDA: Buy my new book. Does that count? LOL

CAT: Do you write while listening to music? If so what kind?

BRENDA: I can have a dozen kids tramping through my house and talking to me while I’m writing but I can’t have music on. Weird, I know.

CAT: What’s the first thing you do when you finish writing a book?

BRENDA: Start the next one.

CAT: If you could interview one person (and it doesn’t have to be a writer) who would it be?

BRENDA: Margaret Mitchell.

CAT: If you were given a chance to travel to the past where would you go and specifically why?

BRENDA: Medieval England. I’m fascinated by that location and time period.

CAT: What do you do to unwind and relax?

BRENDA: Unwind? Relax? What are those things? LOL

CAT: Which of your characters would you most/least to invite to dinner, and why?

BRENDA: Virgil Skinner. He’s the hero of INSIDE, which will be out June 28^th, and he was incarcerated for a murder he didn’t commit for fourteen years. He’s a very interesting fellow—and has a lot of stories to tell.

CAT: What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?

BRENDA: I’ve always dreamed of hitting The Times. The day I got that call from my agent was one I’ll never forget.

CAT'S GOTTA ASK -- BRENDA'S GOTTA ANSWER:

If you were a t-shirt, what color would you be and why?

Black. I love black. I think people look very classy in black. LOL

GOT A QUESTION YOU’D LIKE TO ASK YOUR FANS?

Why do you think wounded heroes are so much more appealing than less complex men?

Brenda would like to give away an autographed copy of INSIDE and a limited edition Brenda Novak silk scarf designed by Hayden-Harnett ($128 value).**

**Note: Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North American addresses only. If an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) is available, the author may utilize that option for International participants. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants.