Linnea & Kristin toast the RITA
STATUS: Still on the Moon from the weekend in Atlanta!
What song is playing on the iPod right now? I KEEP FORGETTIN’ by Michael McDonald (But seriously, as much as I love Michael McDonald, I can’t help but think of the movie The 40 Year Old Virgin and the whole sales floor episode.)
HUGE, HUGE NEWS!
The dark horse comes out of nowhere to win the RITA for Best Paranormal Romance.
(For those of you not tuned in to the world of Romance writers and readers, the RITA is the top award in the field—like a Hugo or Nebula for SF & F—it’s on par with that. It’s a big deal.)
Linnea and I are still surprised, stunned, and ecstatically happy!
In fact, Linnea was so convinced that she wasn’t going to win, she didn’t even prepare an acceptance speech. She had to go up on stage and tell it from the heart extemporaneously.
After all, we were finalists with some major heavies in the genre such as Catherine Asaro, Heather Graham, and Teresa Medeiros.
Not to mention Jen Holling, Pamela Labud, and Marjorie Liu.
Then add up-and-comers like J.R. Ward—well, we honestly were just pleased to have finaled in such great company. That in itself was an honor.
Then to win with nary a witch, vampire, werewolf, or a ghost in the traditional sense in sight was truly unexpected. (If you read Linnea’s novel, you’ll discover the real meaning of Gabriel’s Ghost—which isn’t a spirit by any means).
And don’t get me wrong, I love all the above paranormal elements but I figured our entry was so different (and not what’s currently the hot trend), that we were the young upstart.
Besides, who wins on their first RITA nomination?
Linnea Sinclair does and if you love paranormal romance and you haven’t given GG a try, I really encourage you to do so. You won’t be disappointed.
More RWA pictures and fun tips to come this week so stay tuned.
Oh wonderful! Congratulations Linnea and Kristin!
Congrats congrats congrats! And I *won* this book at the RWAOnline party (where Linnea is a chaptermate) and I’m so excited to read it!!
Congratulations Linnea and Kristin! Well done – now I’ll have to get my hands on GG and read it! Great job ladies!
ALLI
Congratulations to you both! I loved Finders Keepers but haven’t picked up Gabriel’s Ghost yet. I’m even more in a hurry to read it now.
Yay, Linnea! E-mailed her a few minutes ago but it bears repeating. Never been prouder of her; she’s a great writer and a great crit partner.
Hi Kristin,
As a reader and a librarian, I thanked you at RWA a couple of years ago for seeing Linnea’s potential and making it possible for her to compete with the Big Names in SFR. She always had the talent, she just needed you to open that door to Bantam, and the RITA.
Heartfelt congratulations to you as her agent, and best wishes for your continued success in the business!
Lynne
whose favorite title by Linnea has always been GABRIEL’S GHOST and who is thrilled to see it gain the recognition it deserves
Linnea wins the RITA!! I’m so excited for her. She has a fabulous voice and is a very wonderful lady in person, too!
What a thrill it was to see Linnea win my first time at a Rita Awards Ceremony! And I’d just met her the day before!
Linnea gave a great acceptance speech, despite the lack of prepared notes. 🙂
You go girl!
Very exciting. Can’t wait to read GG
Yeah, kudos! Just goes to show you got the ear, and your clients got the voice.
Wow! Congrats to you and Linnea!
Fabulous congratulations, Linnea and Kristin! 🙂
Congratulations Linnea and Kristin! Wonderful news.
Congratulations Linnea and Kristin! Excellent news!
This announcement gave me chills. Congratulations Linnea and Kristin!
Congratulations Linnea and Kristin!
Congratulatioins, Linnea and Kristin! Way to go!
Congratulations! What a coincidence, I just picked up Finders Keepers and Gabriel’s Ghost this weekend. One, because they sounded like fun reads, and two as further research into your tastes as an agent. So happy for you both. Great job!
Congratulations to you both. What a thrill…hope the high doesn’t wear off for months!
I absolutely Loved this book, and think it deserved its win –
Bravo Linnea!!!
I’m so proud for Linnea! Congrats to both of you!
Wow, thanks everyone for your kind comments! I was totally in shock. Sandwiched between Kristin on my right and my husband, Rob, on my left, it was suddenly a hug and giggle fest (Rob hugged, Kristin hugged, giggled, howled and basically made a lot of noise). Even after I accepted the award and went back to my seat (very fortunately not falling on my patootie), Kristin was still all-aflutter. I honestly think she was more excited than I was. (Of course, as I said, I was in shock…). I have a photo of the RITA statute and my cat, Daq, on the blog I share with a bunch of other SFR authors: http://aliendjinnromances.blogspot.com/
Go peek. 😉 Hugs all, ~Linnea
It came to me last night… clearly RITA stands for Rolling in the Aspic, which is a high-falutin’ way of saying “Jello-wrestling” so no wonder Linnea won! If I’d known that before, I would’ve laid money on her…
Congrats Linnea! I’m so pleased and proud of you.
You probably don’t remember me, but we met at RT many moons ago (me under a different pen name). You were lovely and gracious then… Couldn’t happen to a nicer person! 🙂
I still slog in relative obscurity as an e-pubbed author, but it’s super to know some of us do make it to the “big game” eventually and show the world what we’re made of. 🙂
Must add my congrats to Linnea! She let me hold her RITA while we waited in line for drinks just after the ceremony. What a thrill!!!
Just wanted to add my congratulations to Linnea. Meeting you at National and then watching you win the RITA was one of the highlights of the Atlanta experience. This will be the first of many.