What a wonderful day!  I woke to the news that I’m a 2013 Emma Awards finalist for Debut Author of the Year.  What a tremendous honor. There are so many wonderful authors listed as finalists this year that I’m humbled to see my name listed among them.

For those who don’t know, the Emma Awards is THE premier awards event for readers and authors of Black romance and it’s held annually during the Romance Slam Jam Conference.

A serendipitous thing happened before any of this, which caused me to contacted my elderly mother and seek reassurance about the next steps in my writing career.  She listened as only she could and offered her special brand of motherly southern wisdom. She said everything I needed to hear to continue to work diligently on my writing.  It was a full circle moment for us.

She was the one that sat quietly with me every night as I fought for my life and now she cheers the loudest as the names of the Emma Award finalists were announced. What a happy day!

I sent heartfelt congratulations to all of the 2013 Emma Awards Finalists listed below:

Suspense of the Year
A Lover’s Sin Ramsey Tesano III by AlTonya Washington
Inferno by Maureen Smith
Teach Me by Iris Bolling
Temptation Rising by A.C. Arthur

Sequel of the Year
Just One Taste by Celeste O. Norfleet
Seduction’s Shift by A.C. Arthur
Sultry Nights by Donna Hill
Surrender to a Donovan by A.C. Arthur

Steamy Romance of the Year
Any Way You Want It by Maureen Smith
Inferno by Maureen Smith
Pleasuring the Queen by Yvette Hines
Teach Me by Iris Bolling

Hero of the Year
Brent Thatcher (If I Had You by Michele Monkou)
Mike Hughes (Stolen Heart by Deatri King-Bey)
Sean Donovan (Surrender to a Donovan by A.C. Arthur)
Zachary Davenport (Teach Me by Iris Bolling)

Heroine of the Year
Diamond Lassiter (Teach Me by Iris Bolling)
Kalina Harper (Temptation Rising by A.C. Arthur)
Nikita Coles (Just One Taste by Celeste O. Norfleet)
Taylor Paige (Stolen Heart by Deatri King-Bey)

Cover of the Year
Just One Taste by Celest O. Norfleet
Pleasure Rush by Farrah Rochon
Stolen Heart by Deatri King-Bey
When Morning Comes by Francis Ray

Debut Author of the Year
Angeline M. Bishop
Daphne Douglas
Harmony Evans
Heather Rodney-Diaz
Judy Lynn Hubbard

Book of the Year
If I Had You by Michele Monkou
Just One Taste by Celeste O. Norfleet
Pleasuring The Queen by Yvette Hines
Stolen Heart by Deatri King-Bey
Teach Me by Iris Bolling

Author of the Year
A. C. Arthur
Iris Bolling
Maureen Smith
Yvette Hines

***Permission to Forward***

The First Annual Abalone Awards

The Cultural, Interracial, and Multicultural Special Interest Chapter of Romance Writers of America is hosting the first annual Abalone Awards.

The Abalone Awards for Published and Unpublished Writers

The purpose of The Abalone Awards contest is to professionally uplift and support writers and recognize outstanding unpublished and published works of writers of Ethno-Cultural Romance.


Entry Fee(s):
CIMRWA members – $15.00,
non-CIMRWA members/RWA members – $20.00,
non-CIMRWA members/non-RWA members – $25.00.

 ***ENTRY DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED to February 17, 2013 at midnight PST.***

Eligibility

• The Abalone Awards contest is open to all CIMRWA members, RWA members, and the general public.
• Entrants must be 18 years of age by the date of entry.
• Entries are limited to those works with ethno-cultural romance elements as defined below.
• An individual may enter more than one manuscript in the same category, may enter in more than one category, but the same entry may not be entered in more than one category.
• An individual, which includes other pseudonym may NOT enter more than one division. One division (either Published or Unpublished) must be chosen.
• Authors that would meet our definition of published may enter in the unpublished contest
  but only in a category they have NOT published in.
• Our definition of published: Those who have not accepted a publishing offer for, or Self-Published, a work of original fictional narrative prose of 20,000 words or more by January 13, 2013.

For more details about the contest (such as full contest rules, score sheets, submission format, entry form etc.) please go to our website at:http://www.cimrwa.org/abalone-awards.html.

Definitions:

Ethno-Cultural Romance: stories that focus primarily on the romantic relationship and revolves around Cultural, Interracial, or Multicultural aspects of the character(s), location(s) or theme(s).

Cultural: of a particular social, ethnic, religious group; character(s), location or theme(s) of a SINGLE CULTURAL

group (such as Native American, African American, Israeli, Hispanic, Iraqi, Irish… and other cultural groups)

Interracial: conducted, involving, or existing between different races. (MORE THAN ONE racial group.)  Which includes interracial (character(s)) of multiple ethnic, cultural or religions heritage/ancestry

Multicultural: of MORE THAN ONE culture relating to, consisting of, or participating in the cultures of different countries, ethnic groups, or religions.

Thank you,

a.c. Mason
President
CIM Special Interest Chapter of RWA
Weaving tales of love that dissolve barriers

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