Congratulations to RWA member Madeline Ash who has been nominated for the Romance Writers of America (RWA) 2017 RITA Awards for the second year in a  row. Madeline is a finalist in the Contemporary Romance: Short category for Breaking Good (Tule Publishing).

We’d also like to give a shout out to Kara Isaac, one of our New Zealand neighbours, who is a finalist in two categories for her debut Close to You (Howard Books): Best First Book and Romance with Religious or Spiritual Elements.

The winners will be announced on July 27 at the 2017 RWA Conference in Orlando, Florida. For the full list of finalists, including the Golden Heart nominees, visit the RWA website here. Have you read any?

Best First Book

• Alterations by Stephanie Scott, Bloomsbury, Spark (Meredith Rich, editor)
• Before Goodbye by Mimi Cross, Amazon, Skyscape (Miriam Juskowicz, editor)
• Close to You by Kara Isaac, Howard Books (Beth Adams, editor)
• The Distance from A to Z by Natalie Blitt, HarperTeen (Annie Berger, editor)
• Once and For All: An American Valor Novel by Cheryl Etchison, Avon, Impulse (Priyanka Krishnan and Rebecca Lucash, editors)
• Summer of Supernovas by Darcy Woods, Penguin Random House, Crown BFYR (Emily Easton, editor)

Contemporary Romance: Long

• Always a Bridesmaid by Lizzie Shane, Self-published (Kristan Andrews, editor)
• Hot in Hellcat Canyon by Julie Anne Long, Avon Books (May Chen, editor)
• Make Me Sin by J. T. Geissinger, Montlake Publishing (Maria Gomez, editor)
• Miracle on 5th Avenue by Sarah Morgan, Harlequin, HQN (Flo Nicoll, editor)
• Pansies by Alexis Hall, Riptide Publishing (Sarah Lyons, editor)
• Snowfall on Haven Point by RaeAnne Thayne, Harlequin, HQN (Gail Chasan, editor)
• Tender Is the Night by Barbara Freethy, Hyde Street Press

Contemporary Romance: Mid-Length

• Back in the Saddle by Karen Templeton, Harlequin, Special Edition (Gail Chasan, editor)
• Barefoot at Midnight by Roxanne St. Claire, Self-published (Kristi Yanta, editor)
• Carolina Dreaming by Virginia Kantra, Berkley Publishing Group (Cindy Hwang, editor)
• Fast Connection by Megan Erickson and Santino Hassell, Self-published
• Lone Heart Pass by Jodi Thomas, Harlequin, HQN (Brittany Lawery and Susan Swinwood, editors)
• Off the Hook by Laura Drewry, Penguin Random House, Loveswept (Junessa Viloria, editor)
• Once and For All: An American Valor Novel by Cheryl Etchison, Avon, Impulse (Priyanka Krishnan and Rebecca Lucash, editors)
• Tell Me How This Ends by Victoria De La O, St. Martin’s Press, Swerve (Eileen Rothschild, editor)
• The Turning Point by Marie Meyer, Grand Central Publishing, Forever Yours (Megha Parekh, editor)
• Wanderlust by Roni Loren, Penguin Random House, Berkley (Kate Seaver, editor)

Contemporary Romance: Short

• APB: Baby by Julie Miller, Harlequin, Intrigue (Allison Lyons, editor)
• Breaking Good by Madeline Ash, Tule Publishing, Holiday, (Sinclair Sawhney, editor)
• Christmas on Crimson Mountain by Michelle Major, Harlequin, Special Edition (Gail Chasan, editor)
• Falling for the Rancher by Tanya Michaels, Harlequin, American Romance (Johanna Raisanen, editor)
• Far from Home by Lorelie Brown, Riptide Publishing (Gwen Hayes and Sarah Lyons, editors)
• His Stolen Bride by Barbara Dunlop, Harlequin, Desire (Kathryn Lye, editor)
• A Malibu Kind of Romance by Synithia Williams, Harlequin, Kimani (Shannon Criss, editor)
• Overwhelming Force by Janie Crouch, Harlequin, Intrigue (Allison Lyons, editor)
• Searching for Disaster by Jennifer Probst, Pocket Books, Pocket Star (Lauren McKenna, editor)
• Two Doctors & a Baby by Brenda Harlen, Harlequin, Special Edition (Susan Litman)

Erotic Romance

• The Dirty Secret by Kira A. Gold, Carina Press (Libby Murphy, editor)
• The Master by Tara Sue Me, New American Library (Claire Zion, editor)
• Off the Clock by Roni Loren, Penguin Random House, Berkley ( Kate Seaver, editor)
• Ravenous by M. S. Force, HTJB, Inc. (Linda Ingmanson, editor)
• Three Sweet Nothings by Nikki Sloane, Self-published (Lori Whitwam, editor)

Historical Romance: Long

• Dukes Prefer Blondes by Loretta Chase, Avon Books (May Chen, editor)
• How I Married a Marquess by Anna Harrington, Grand Central Publishing, Forever (Michele Bidelspach, editor)
• No Mistress of Mine by Laura Lee Guhrke, Avon Books (Erika Tsang, editor)
• Susana and the Scot by Sabrina York, St. Martin’s Press (Monique Patterson, editor)

Historical Romance: Short

• Do You Want to Start a Scandal by Tessa Dare, Avon Books (Tessa Woodward, editor)
• Duke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt, Grand Central Publishing (Amy Pierpont, editor)
• A Duke to Remember by Kelly Bowen, Grand Central Publishing, Forever (Alex Logan, editor)
• Left at the Altar by Margaret Brownley, Sourcebooks, Casablanca (Mary Altman, editor)
• The Study of Seduction by Sabrina Jeffries, Pocket Books (Micki Nuding, editor)
• Taming the Highlander by May McGoldrick, St. Martin’s Press, Swerve (Elizabeth Poteet, editor)

Mainstream Fiction with a Central Romance

• The Color of a Promise by Julianne MacLean , Self-published (Pat Thomas, editor)
• The Depth of Beauty by A. B. Michaels, Red Trumpet Press (Rachel Daven Skinner, editor)
• The Moon in the Palace by Weina Dai Randel, Sourcebooks, Landmark (Shana Drehs and Anna Michels, editors)
• Now That It’s You by Tawna Fenske, Montlake Publishing (Krista Stroever and Christopher Werner, editors)

Paranormal Romance

• Bayou Shadow Hunter by Debbie Herbert, Harlequin, Nocturne (Ann Leslie Tuttle, editor)
• The Beast by J R Ward, New American Library (Kara Welsh, editor)
• The Champion of Barésh by Susan Grant, Self-published (Mary Moran, editor)
• Enchanted Warrior by Sharon Ashwood, Harlequin, Nocturne (Ann Leslie Tuttle, editor)
• Ghost Gifts by Laura Spinella, Montlake Publishing (Alison Dasho, editor)
• The Leopard King by Ann Aguirre, Self-published (Sasha Knight, editor)
• The Pages of the Mind by Jeffe Kennedy, Kensington Publishing Corp. (Peter Senftleben, editor)
• Where the Wild Things Bite by Molly Harper, Pocket Books (Abby Zidle, editor)

Romance Novella

• Her Every Wish by Courtney Milan, Self-published (Lindsey Faber, editor)
• “The Husband Maneuver” by Karen Witemeyer in With This Ring, Baker Publishing, Bethany House (Charlene Patterson, editor)
• Let It Snow by Jeanette Grey, Grand Central Publishing, Forever Yours (Megha Parekh and Lexi Smail, editors)
• “Let Us Dream” by Alyssa Cole in Daughters of a Nation, Self-published (Nina S. Gooden, editor)
• Searching for Mine by Jennifer Probst, Evil Eye Concepts (Liz Berry and M J Rose, editors)
• Tycoon by Joanna Shupe, Kensington Publishing Corp. (Peter Senftleben, editor)
• Wild in Rioby Lyssa Kay Adams, Self-published (Elaine Kulhanek, editor)

Romance with Religious or Spiritual Elements

• Close to You by Kara Isaac, Howard Books (Beth Adams, editor)
• Keeper of the Stars by Robin Lee Hatcher, Thomas Nelson, Inc. (Ami McConnell and Leslie Peterson, editors)
• My Hope Next Door by Tammy L. Gray, Amazon, Waterfall Press (Amy Hosford, editor)
• Trust My Heart by Carol J. Post, Amazon, Waterfall Press (Erin Calligan Mooney, editor)

Romantic Suspense

• All the Dead Girls by Rita Herron, Montlake Publishing (Alison Dasho, editor)
• Atone by Beth Yarnall, Penguin Random House, Loveswept (Sue Grimshaw, editor)
• Field of Graves by J. T. Ellison, Harlequin, MIRA Books (Nicole Brebner, editor)
• Killer Countdown by Amelia Autin, Harlequin, Romantic Suspense (Carly Silver, editor)
• and Mr. Smith by HelenKay Dimon, Penguin Random House, Loveswept (Shauna Summers, editor)
• One Minute to Midnight by Nico Rosso Carina Press (Rhonda Stapleton, editor)
• Repressed by Elisabeth Naughton, Montlake Publishing (Charlotte Herscher and Christopher Werner, editors)
• Tall, Dark and Damaged by Sarah Andre, Self-published (Anya Kagan, Touchstone Publishing, editor)

Young Adult Romance

• Affective Needs by Rebecca Taylor, Ophelia House (Maya Packard, editor)
• The Distance from A to Z by Natalie Blitt, HarperTeen (Annie Berger, editor)
• The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout, Harlequin, HQN Teen (Margo Lipschultz, editor)
• Summer of Supernovas by Darcy Woods, Penguin Random House, Crown BFYR (Emily Easton, editor)