SARA News - The Silly Season Edition 20/12/2011
 Once again, we've got a sleigh full of news coming your way. If you have your egg nog and mince pie in hand (bonus points if you're wearing a santa hat), read on! Amy T Matthews' End of the Night Girl received an excellent review in the Speakeasy Creative Reading blog. Here's a snippet: "Far from being bewildering or aimless, however, the novel itself is needle-sharp. Matthews guides us through Molly's nights and days, moment by moment, plunging into her past as the opportunities arise. The result, somehow, is a satisfying novel about dissatisfaction, a precisely structured story of structural breakdown." Read on at the link above. End of the Night Girl has also been voted one of the Australian Book Reviews Books of the year. Rebecca Sampson and Bronwyn Stuart continue to share wardrobe items--namely, the contest getup. Bec took out the winners position in the Contemporary Series Romance Section of the Toronto Romance Writer's Catherine Contest with A FUTURE FOR ABBY. She also came first runner up in that contest's Golden Ticket Final Round. Both Bronwyn and Bec were finalists in the Spacecoast Authors of Romance Launching A Star Contest. Bron's BEHIND THE COURTESAN came first in the Historical Section, and Bec's A FUTURE FOR ABBY came second in the Series Contemporary section, and also finalled in the YA section with LIFER. Great news for Eleni Konstantine! Her fantasy short story, STORMY DIVIDE will be released with Musa Publishing in June 2012, via their Urania Imprint. In recent bestsellers: September - Amazon US Anthologies Romance Top 100 To Sin with Scandal – Tamara Gill A Captain’s Order – A Duke’s Command – Tamara Gill November - Barnes & Noble (Borders US) Series Romance Top 100 Best Friend…Future Wife – Claire Baxter Pregnant: Father Wanted – Claire Baxter  Finally, wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May it be safe, fun and rewarding. Thank you for your support in 2011, and we look forward to seeing you all in 2012!  Add Comment  Lilliana Rose (writing as Lily Rose) is holding a book launch for her eBook, Christmas Wings. Zarna is a shadow fairy born without wings. She wants to fit in with the other shadow fairies and so steals wings from other creatures to make them her own. Zarna learns about Christmas at school and decides she must have some Christmas Wings. But what are Christmas wings and where can she find them? Will Zarna stop stealing wings? Details: Lily Rose's e-book Christmas Wings, a fantasy for 12 year olds and the young at heart, will be launched on Sunday 11th December at 2pm in the SA Writer's Centre Atrium by Robyn Opie Parnell. Drinks and nibbles provided. RSVP to rosedreaming@gmail.com Find more on Christmas Wings and Lily Rose at www.rosedreaming.com Bestselling SARAs for August. 06/11/2011
We know you've been waiting for it! Here are our bestselling SARAs for August: 
Borders US (Series Romance Top 100) HER-NOT-SO-SECRET DIARY By Anne Oliver Borders US (Series Romance Top 100) THE HEIR FROM NOWHERE By Trish Morey Amazon US (Romance Anthologies Top 100) A CAPTAIN'S ORDER - A DUKE'S COMMAND by Tamara Gill Amazon US (Romance Anthologies Top 100) TO SIN WITH SCANDAL by Tamara Gill Congratulations to our bestselling SARAs! More on Aussie bestsellers for August at the Romance Writers of Australia blog. SARA News - the HUGE edition! 05/11/2011
As the silly season approaches (I don't know about you, but I can feel myself getting sillier by the day!), we have loads of excellent SARA news to keep you up to date with. Without further ado... Amy Matthews has launched her brand new website at www.amymatthews.com. Click on through if you'd fancy following her on facebook or twitter. Speaking of launching great things--we have two new October releases for you! Lillian Grant's MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS is available now from Siren Bookstrand. I've got to say, I am loving that cover. *drool*  Accountant Emily Armitage is stuck in Sydney for the weekend, working on the numbers for a hotel sale while fighting off the unwanted attention of her boss. However, things begin to look up when she steps onto her balcony and meets the man of her dreams. When her new neighbor delivers room service, along with a shoulder massage, delicious foot rubs, and easy charm, she succumbs to the obvious attraction. Having spent a passionate weekend together, Monday morning brings an unwanted revelation. Randy’s been keeping secrets that could change her life. Suddenly uncertain, she is forced to make a choice between her career and a man who adds up to perfection. Should she stick with the hotel acquisition or take a chance on their passionate new merger? Lilliana Rose's CHRISTMAS WINGS, written under the name Lily Rose, is available now. Isn't it pretty?  From Lilliana's website: 'Christmas Wings by Lily Rose is a short e-story published with Rose Dreaming. Its a great little story, suitable for 12 year olds and those of us adults who love a little dark fantasy in our lives. Zarna is a shadow fairy born without wings. To fit in she steals wings from living creatures. This year she’s looking for her own set of Christmas Wings. But where will she find them?' In contest final news (because at SARA, there's much passing of the Contest Queen Get-up), Carla Caruso made it to the Top 21 of the Mills & Boon New Voices Competition with Monaco, Money and Mad Love. Congrats, Carla, a very brave thing and an awesome effort! Bronwyn Stuart and Rebecca Sampson (aka Becca J Heath) have both finalled (Bec, in her quiet achiever way, finalled in TWO categories) in the Spacecoast Authors of Romance Launching A Star Contest. Bron is in the top three in the Historical Section with Behind The Courtesan. Bec is in the top three in both the Series Contemporary Section with A Future for Abby, and the Young Adult Section with Lifer. Bronwyn has also finalled in the historical section of the Heart of Denver Romance Writers' Molly Contest with Behind the Courtesan. We also have received news that Bronwyn and Virginia Taylor have finalled second and third respectively in the Indiana RWA Golden Opportunity Contest. Stay tuned at their website for more details. Big congrats, ladies! Until next time, happy reading. Emmeline. Amy Matthews' End Of The Night Girl was a 'Pick of the Week' in The Age recently, right alongside Virginia Woolf. Amy also received this very nice review from ANZ LitLovers LitBlog, which begins, "End of the Night Girl is a remarkable book, I’ve never read anything quite like it." Catch Bronwyn Stuart at Beauty & Lace Online Magazine, sharing her wedding planning experience as it happens!  image from www.beautyandlace.com.au Check out this excellent interview with Amy for the Australian Literature Reviews for their Authors Compare project. Now, in finalist news, Bronwyn Stuart and Virginia Taylor have both finalled in the Historical Section of the Indiana Golden Opportunity Contest. How fabulous that two SARAs have achieved a final gong in the same section of the same competiton. Stay tuned for the final results! My humblest apologies to Virginia, but I've missed a final for her from back in July. The Hearts Through History Romance Through The Ages Contest, where her story ELLA placed third in the Georgia/Regency/Victorian Section and second in the Man For All Reason Section. Congrats, Virginia! Lillian Grant's contemporary erotic romance, MALE ORDER (Reigning Men, Volume One) is available now from Liquid Silver Books. You've never seen the man with the big hat? What, never? *gasp* You are missing out. If you like your men buff, tanned, built and wearing nothing but a hat and a smile (he's not wearing that trench coat, strictly speaking...), you need to go and gaze upon the cover for this book. While you're at Lillian's site, read a steamy excerpt. Head on over to Lillian's website and comment to win a copy up until September 16th. Open to 18+ers. Phew. All this talk... I need to go get something cold to drink. No wonder Lillian Grant is smiling. :)   Lillian Grant's Speak To Me Of Abduction was recently awarded a Top-Pick at The Romance Reviews. Here are some snippets of Rho's review: 'Lillian Grant has another hit with SPEAK TO ME OF ABDUCTION. A gripping plot with excellent writing and dialogue as well as very memorable characters make this one impossible to put down.' 'This book was fantastic. The plot was suspenseful and kept me guessing. I was constantly trying to figure out the angle of why Jonathon disappeared. Even after knowing the "who", the "why" was elusive, and it kept me glued to my kindle.' 'So, a strong, suspenseful plot, characters I loved, and intense chemistry came together to make this a fantastic read. SPEAK TO ME OF ABDUCTION is the first in the Reel to Real series, and I can't wait to see what's going to happen next with the Devereaux family. This is my second read by Lillian Grant, and this is the second one I've had a blast reading. She's new on the scene but I think she's got an excellent future ahead of her. If her first two books are any indication, she's definitely an author to watch!' Follow this link for the full review. Congrats, Lillian! Author: Lillian Grant Publisher: Siren Publishing Release Date: June 2011 ISBN: 1610343549 Book 1 of Reel to Real Book Genre: Erotic Romance, Romantic Suspense/Mystery Where to start...where to start. So much NEWS! Shall we start with the beverage and the TimTam (always a first-rate place to start)? I'll wait... Mmm, Double coat. Excellent choice. :) Okey doke, hold onto your hat--here comes the news! *First up, big congrats to Bec Sampson (aka Becca J Heath) who currently has a new finals award in her clever fingers. She has taken out third place (Contemporary Series Romance) in the Toronto Romance Writer's Catherine Award for 2011, with A FUTURE FOR ABBY. Nice one, Bec! Check out Bec's blog, too. She's got a cool conference wrap-up there. While you're hitting the keys, take a look at the RWA blog on the Awards Night. *In other contest news, Virginia Taylor has been scooping the pool over in the west. Take a look at these excellent results for her books STARLING, ELLA & BREE: STARLING, historical finalist in the New Jersey Romance Writers Put Your Heart in a Book. STARLING, historical finalist in Heart of the West. ELLA, historical finalist in Heart of the West. BREE, mystery/suspense finalist in Heart of the West. Wow, awesome results Virginia! Best of luck, and we look forward to hearing the final outcomes on those. *The Bestseller Lists for July are out, here are the SARAs: Amazon US Romance Top 100 His Lady Mistress – Elizabeth Rolls Regency Romance Top 100 His Lady Mistress – Elizabeth Rolls Anthology Top 100 To Sin with Scandal – Tamara Gill A Captain’s Order – A Duke’s Command – Tamara Gill Congratulations to Elizabeth and Tamara. Nice job on those lists, too, Tam! :) *Speaking of Tamara Gill, her Amazon bestseller A Captain’s Order – A Duke’s Command tied in first place (Historical) in the RWA's 20 Years of Cover Contest. Congrats again, Tam! *In more conference news, the Clayton's Conference (obviously, the conference you're having when you're not having THE Conference) was marvellously co-hosted by our own Eleni Konstantine. Check out Eleni's Clayton's Conference Wrap-Up. *Fancy a look at the Conference Round up on the RWA blog? Here it is. Scroll down for selected amusing tweets... ...But wait, there's more! *At the recent Conference, there were more awards for SARAs! This time, it was for BEST DRESSED at the RWA Roaring Twenties Cocktail Party! Third prize went to Sharon (as a Ziegfeld Girl) Second Prize went to Lynn (as Amelia Earhart) aaaaaaand First Prize went to Maggie Mundy: Congrats, ladies. What a superb effort!   Back in June, SARA News was pleased to report that Bronwyn Stuart finalled twice in the historical section of Charter Oak's Golden Acorn Excellence in Writing Award. Now, we're especially delighted to announce that Bronwyn has, in fact, achieved first and second place! Big congrats, Bron! | SARA News
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