Saturday, February 3, 2007

RNA Category Romance Prize

The RNA Category Romance Prize short list was announced last week and although I am slightly disappointed that there are no Medical Romance or Modern Romance Extra short listed, I'm pleased on the whole that many of my favourites are nominated.

The nominees are:
Anne Herries - An Improper Companion
Nicola Cornick - Lord Greville's Captive
Michelle Styles - The Gladiator's Honour
Catherine George - The Millionaire's Runaway Bride
Jessica Hart - Her Ready Made Family
Natasha Oakley - Accepting the Boss's Proposal
Nell Dixon - Marrying Max

I'm pleased to see three historical romances shortlisted by three talented writers. Set in three different eras, these books perfectly demonstrate the storytelling prowess these writers have as well as the wide range of stories and the variety of settings to be found within the line. Anne's Gothic romance was absolutely splending, Michelle Styles' debut Gladiator tale was just fantastic and the always excellent Nicola Cornick wrote one of her best titles when she wrote Lord Greville's Captive.

Catherine George is one of my favourite Modern Romance writers. Her books, often set in rural England, are fantastic page-turner with gorgeous Alpha heroes and fiesty heroines. As a big fan of rural settings, I like how she brings to life these small communities particularly the village of Pennington.

Warmth, wit and charm are three qualities which I associate with previous winner Jessica Hart and I am delighted that she's shortlisted again with Her Ready Made Family.

Natasha Oakley made her M&B debut a few years back and I just fell in love with her books. Whether she's writing a hilarious tale or a heart-tuggingly emotional story, you can rest assured that you'll enjoy everything that has got her name on the front cover.

I've not read the Nell Dixon novel shortlisted, but I was lucky enough to win a pdf of her ebook Things to Do and I really enjoyed her book and loved her writing voice so I'm pleased that she got shortlisted. It's great the the People's Friend Story Collection titles are getting some recognition too. I love the My Weekly and People's Friend Story Collections as they are wonderul sweet romances, both historical and contemporary, which always delight.

All these writers are winners in my book and I am keeping my fingers crossed for all of them. Category romance is just wonderful and I'm pleased that it's getting all this lovely recogniton.

2 comments:

Jan Jones said...

Hi Julie,

Just found you via your comment on the Transita Authors blog and wanted to congratulate you on a couple of very constructive posts re the RNA awards. Both lists are particularly strong this year. It will be fun finding out who wins!

juliemt said...

Thanks for dropping by, Jan! I've enjoyed reading the posts on the transita blog and I think that your publisher is doing a fantastic job!

Keep up the good work,
Julie