THE FAB FIVE CONTEST

It's contest time!

The Wisconsin Romance Writers of America's 2013 FabFive contest submission deadline is closing in on us. All submissions must be received by midnight Friday.

Some of our categories have low entry counts this year. That makes your odds of becoming a finalist and getting your work in front of an agent or editor better than ever in this highly-popular contest. 

  

FabFive is available to writers unpublished in book-length romance fiction during the past five years. 

Self-published authors may also apply. Your entry must be limited to the first 2,500 words of your manuscript and must be submitted electronically. For an entry form and complete details regarding rules and eligibility, click the Contests link on our website: http://www.wisrwa.org. 

Grab this opportunity for a critique of your work and the chance one of our final round judges may ask to see more of it.  In last years contest, agents and editors requested eight full manuscripts and eight partials from our finalists. 

Inspirational writers: We've established a new category just for you! 

Our fees continue to be among the lowest for contests of this type - just $18 for WisRWA members and $20 for all other entrants. 

Deadline for entries is 11:59 CST, March 1, 2013. Categories are limited to thirty-five submissions each, so enter early to beat the rush

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Here's our lineup of categories and final round judges for 2013: 

   Historical: Amanda Bergeron, Harper Collins

   Inspirational: Natasha Kern, Natasha Kern Literary Agency

   Paranormal/ Fantasy/ Futuristic/ Time Travel: Latoya Smith, Grand Central Publishing

   Romantic Suspense: Katherine Pelz, Berkley

   Series Contemporary(Long/Short): Dana Hopkins, Harlequin Enterprises

   Single Title: Nalini Akolekar, Spencerhill Associates

   Women's Fiction: Paige Wheeler, Folio Literary

   Young Adult: Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary Agency 

- Joe Fraser, FabFive Coordinator (jfraser6353@yahoo.com)

THE SHEILA CONTEST

Valley Forge Romance Writers is proud to announce The Sheila Contest opens for entries on March 1, 2013

Fee: $25 for VFRW members, $30 for non-members

Deadline: April 12, 2013

Eligibility: all RWA members, published and unpublished, who have not published a full-length novel (40K words or more) in the category entered at the time of the contest deadline and within the past five years.

Entry: Total of 35 pages, including synopsis (not to exceed 5 pages).

Categories: Single Title Romance, Historical, Fantasy/Futuristic/Paranormal, Women's Fiction with Romantic Elements, Romantic Suspense, Young Adult.

Judges: Entrants will receive a detailed score sheet from four qualified judges, including PRO and PAN members.

Categories and Final Judges: Romantic Suspense – Katherine Pelz, The Berkley Publishing Group; Historical – Elizabeth (Lizzie) Poteet, St. Matin's Press; Women's Fiction – Alex Logan, Grand Central Publishing; Single Title – Emilia Pisani, Gallery Books; Paranormal - Megha Parekh, Grand Central Publishing; YA – Wendy Loggia, Delacorte Press/RHCB.

Top Prize: Certificates. First- through fourth-place winners will have their names printed in RWR magazine.

FMI, http://www.vfrw.com/contest.

HAPPY IMBOLC!

For those interested in the Celtic traditions, to honor this first day of spring you can upload a free copy of my novella Deirdre (a retelling of Deirdre of the Sorrows) at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/237564

Roast Chicken with Oatmeal Stuffing-Happy Robert Burns Day!

Pat McDermott here, wishing everyone a Happy Robert Burns Day, and I can't think of a better recipe to help celebrate than this scrumptious roast chicken and its wonderfully Scottish stuffing and bread sauce.

Some years ago, while driving around New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee, I stopped in a Celtic store that probably no longer exists and purchased a book of Traditional Scottish Recipes by Rosalie Gow. Most of the recipes dealt with rabbit and other obscure game that will probably never enter my kitchen (but never say never, sez I). The haggis, Cloutie Dumplings, and Drambuie Soufflé sounded interesting, but the Roast Chicken with Oatmeal Stuffing caught my attention right off. The recipe simply stated: "If you have never tried chicken or turkey stuffed with oatmeal and served with bread sauce, I advise you to do so now."

Compelling words, and rightfully so. The bread sauce is to die for, simple and healthful. I found the oatmeal stuffing delicious, but better, in my opinion, when enhanced with a few fresh herbs. If you have never tried it, I advise you to do so now!

ROAST CHICKEN with OATMEAL STUFFING and BREAD SAUCE

 

For the Stuffing:

1 cup oatmeal or loose oats
Poultry herbs, such as fresh sage and/or thyme
¼ cup butter (½ stick)
1 small onion, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

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Preheat oven to 350°. Mix oatmeal, onion, herbs, and salt and pepper together in a bowl by rubbing into the butter. Stuff and truss a good-size roasting chicken. Smear chicken with butter and/or bacon fat and roast until done, basting occasionally. (Note: A pop-up timer is always helpful when roasting chicken.)

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For the Bread Sauce:
Remove crusts from 2 large slices of bread. Process into crumbs. Place crumbs in small saucepan with 1¼ cups milk, salt and pepper, and a small onion stuck with 4-5 cloves. Bring to a boil. Simmer to infuse flavors for 20-30 minutes. Remove onion, adjust seasonings, and serve with chicken. (Note, some cooks mince the onion and leave it in the sauce. A matter of taste, entirely.) Enjoy!

CELTIC ROSE WRITERS AND FRIENDS

Once again this weekend my blog will be open to Celtic and historical writers, to post promotion or chat in the Comments section of this post.  By all means, introduce yourselves and leave us some blurbs, excerpts and links.  If someone is looking for a read, feel free to browse.   No pressure.  If you want a closer look at a book, just copy and paste the buy link in your browser.  Authors,  show us your stuff!  :)  Readers, feel free to comment and let us know what you're looking for.  

Running Over Rainbows

Of unicorns and Welsh mountain ponies . . .

 Can a young girl and a sixty-something woman have something in common--say, a white unicorn in the form of a wild mountain pony?

Bil and Bon Franks are thunderstruck at our good fortune of having a four-book saga be accepted by MuseItUp Publishing.

Thanks,  Miriam Newman, for  letting us introduce our first book here on your beautiful site; and for overlooking the niggling little fact that the setting is not “celtic.” Later, yes . . . everyone ends up in St. Patrick’s Ireland.

The centuries old Roman fort of Deva Victrix 

The time is roughly 429 AD. The place, Britannia on the eve of Roman retreat. A 15-year old girl is sent  by her mother to stay for six months with her great-aunt Marrie. She has traveled from the area around the Roman fort Deva Victrix (modern Liverpool) west to the province of Lindum (present day Lincoln).

The crumblng remains of Roman Lincoln (Lindum)

The girl is a hellion, plain and simple. She’s been a tomboy all her life, especially since  the death of her father five years before. Her mother has allowed her to run virtually wild on their ancestral estate. Now, however, she has drawn in the reins in an ancient call to tradition: her daughter Caylith must learn how to become a woman. A landed woman, a woman of influence and means, a woman who will know how to choose a proper mate when the time is right.

So great-aunt Marrie, the aunt of her dead Roman father, is to take the teen into her Roman manor and teach her, among other subjects, money, manners, and proper marriage.

But Caylith has other goals in mind. While her elderly aunt is outdoors where the spirited teen longs to be, she is festering to be free of the linen-storage room where Marrie keeps her busy counting supper towels.

The mischievous redhead cannot be held captive for too long and soon discovers two of her aunt’s long-held secrets.

The book is as much about the elderly Marrie as it is about Caylith. She, too, is a redhead; and she, too, has a certain streak--but she keeps it carefully hidden from everyone. When Caylith begins to discover her secrets, the novel explores the convergence of old and young, reality and magic.

On Christmas Eve, Aunt Marrie schedules a formal dinner for Caylith to show off her newly taught life skills, but Caylith is nowhere to be found. Has she run off to chase a unicorn  . . . or will she manage to save the day, despite still being untamed by her well-meaning aunt?

Our book will debut January 18. Meanwhile, MuseItUp Publishing has given us an early-order buy link with a promise of 20% discount, at this link: http://bit.ly/Z93TBf

Next time we're invited back, we'll publish a short excerpt from the book. We promise, it will appeal to readers from the 'tweens to the twilight years!

The sagas of THE TWILIGHT OF MAGIC

HOGMANAY by Nancy Lee Badger

Hogamanay celebration in Edinburgh, Scotland

While researching my Highland Games Through Time series, I filled binders with oodles of neat facts. I thought I would share a few things I learned about Hogmanay.  

My books take place in both modern day New England as well as sixteenth century Scotland. Hogmanay (also spelled Hogamany or Hogamanay) is the Scots term for the last day of the year, the day we all now celebrate as New Year’ Eve.  Like many of us lucky enough to have the following day ‘off’, Hogmanay also includes celebrating all the way through the next day and, sometimes, through January 2^nd.

 

When I looked deeper into the origin of Hogmanay, I found that many scholars believe that the holiday has its roots in ancient times when the Nordic tribes acknowledged the Winter Solstice, the Vikings enjoyed the Yule, and Scots celebrated Samhain.   

One of the first things I ever read was a folk tale that mentioned the first guest who walked across your home’s threshold after midnight on the last day of the year. Some call this first-footing. Since hubby and I usually head to bed once the ball drops in New York City (watched from our North Carolina home, where the split screen also shows the NC Acorn drop) we rarely think about whom the first person is that enters our home in the New Year. This year I will take note!  

I am still confused about what this first-footing person does for us. Further research says that the Scots exchange certain gifts, and what I read made me laugh. These gifts include salt, coal, shortbread (yum), and fruit cake (yuck). 

Then I came across an interesting tidbit that mentioned another gift the Scots share with their neighbors on Hogmanay…whisky! Now, that is a Scottish tradition worth continuing! 

Happy Hogmanay!

Nancy Lee Badger

More About the Author

Nancy Lee Badger loves chocolate-chip shortbread, wool plaids wrapped around the trim waist of a Scottish Highlander, the clang of dirks and broadswords, and the sound of bagpipes in the air. After growing up in Huntington, New York, and raising two handsome sons in New Hampshire, Nancy moved to North Carolina where she writes full-time. Nancy is a member of Romance Writers of America, Heart of Carolina Romance Writers, Fantasy-Futuristic & Paranormal Romance Writers, and the Celtic Heart Romance Writers. Nancy and her family volunteer each fall at the New Hampshire Highland Games and she is a proud Army Mom.

Find out more at: 

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Latest Release:  My Banished Highlander

Series: Book #2 of the Highland Games Through Time

Genre: Scottish Time Travel Romance

Length: 82,000 word Novel

 

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Also available in PRINT!