And the winners were . . . .

Winner of the 2011 Romantic Novel of the Year – recognising the best of the year’s novels exploring the deep mysteries of the human heart – is Jojo Moyes for her book The Last Letter from your Lover.
Also honoured  at the Pure Passion Awards were two of the world’s best-selling and much-loved authors - Josephine Cox and Penny Jordan. Both authors were presented with Outstanding Achievement Awards for their contributions to the ever popular genre.


Author of 43 novels in the last 23 years, selling 24 million copies in the UK alone, Josephine Cox has had six number one, and sixteen top five, Sunday Times bestsellers since 2004. Josephine Cox said: “I am thrilled and delighted to be receiving such a prestigious award. It’s something I never expected and I would like to thank all those concerned for thinking I am deserving of it.”


Penny Jordan was first published by Mills & Boon thirty years ago in 1981, after entering a writing competition run by the RNA. Since then her books have been translated into 26 languages and have sold 85 million copies worldwide. “To receive this award from the RNA – the organisation that helped me toward my first publication via its New Writers’ programme – reinforces for me everything that the RNA is and does for the writing community,” Penny Jordan said. “I am thrilled and honoured to be recognised with this award”


The RNA Pure Passion Awards celebrate the very best in romantic fiction, encompassing the breadth of the genre. Three further and equally coveted awards were presented – the Historical Novel Prize, Romantic Comedy Prize, and Love Story of the Year.
Winner of the Historical Novel Prize was Elizabeth Chadwick with To Defy a King, published by Sphere. The judges all agreed that “the history is deeply felt and conveyed, and is essential and integral to the plot.”
The Romantic Comedy Prize went to Jill Mansell with her book Take a Chance on Me, published by Headline. The judges said the book has “beautifully understated humour” and is “an utter delight.”
Winner of the Love Story of the Year for a shorter romance with a strong emphasis on the developing central relationship was Louise Allen with The Piratical Miss Ravenhurst published by Mills & Boon.


Katie Fforde, Chair of the RNA said: “Once again, in our 51st year, the Romantic Novel of the Year Award has produced a sensational winner. Of Jojo Moyes’ The Last Letter from your Lover the judges unanimously agreed that ‘this novel combines exquisite writing, a truly romantic yet original theme and a blissfully satisfying ending. A worthy winner in a very strong list.’”


Of the outstanding achievement awards, Katie Fforde said: “Penny Jordan has written over 180 novels for Mills & Boon, selling 85 million copies worldwide. Her wonderfully crafted novels bring happiness and romance to millions of women every year and she is truly worthy of this award. Josephine Cox, another recipient of our special Outstanding Achievement award, is a legend. From humble beginnings she fought her way to become a writer of 43 books which not only sell in millions but are among the top of the ‘most borrowed’ list in libraries. It’s likely that she’s the favourite author of more people than any other writer.”

You can see a selection of photographs of the event here.

Covers Contests and Kudos

I posted about covers over on Tote Bags 'N' Blogs yesterday, showing the UK  and the USA cover of The Proud Wife, and Nas very kindly connected me to the Australian cover which is   a much fuller version of the USA  Presents Extra cover and  actually the one that best represents a scene in the book - the board room setting, the passion between the hero and heroine. The purple dress is all wrong - that's just not the impression that my heroine Marina was trying to give - but  you can't have everything!

Anyway, I thought I'd share it with you all here.

Kudos - well, I'd completely forgotten - I've been  so busy that the fact that it's March 7th hadn't registered. So today is the day that the RNA's Pure Passion Awards are handed out. And right about now in London the ceremony is  under way. I have no idea yet who has won anything but as soon as I do know, I'll pass the information on to you - and I'll raise a glass in a toast to all the winners - and all the entrants - later tonight.

If you missed the lists of the books nominated for each of the Pure Passion Awards  then you'll find it here.

And finally - contests -

One of the things I've noticed is how many of you are trying to collect up past books of mine, from my backlist.  The Advent Calendar giveaway created a lot of interest and people were trying to win copies of the older books that they'd missed or didn't have  copies of. So  to celebrate the publication of The Proud Wife - and to mark that 3 weeks at the #1 slot - I've got together with Lee Hyat of  My Tote Bag.

In the run up to the USA publication of The Proud Wife ( April 12th I think!)  we're running a series of contests where the prizes are collectable backlist books of mine. Each  contest, there will be a chance to win different title.   This time the books you can win are: 

A copy of Cordero's Forced Bride & The Sicilian's Red-Hot Revenge.
You will find the details and the question you need to answer here.  Please respond to Leena and not to me!

And look out for more such contests coming up - I'll let you know too.

RNA Pure Passion Awards - and those darn extracts!

The RNA Pure Passion Awards celebrate the very best in romantic fiction. Over 200 titles were submitted for this year’s four categories, from the long-standing and hotly-contested Romantic Novel of the Year, to more recent additions which recognise the breadth of romantic fiction – the Historical Novel Prize, Romantic Comedy Award, and Love Story of the Year.

‘This year's short list represents the whole gamut of romantic fiction,’ said Katie Fforde, RNA Chair. ‘We have royalty, love letters, history and humour, from both newcomers and established authors. A truly impressive list.’

The shortlists

Over 200 books were submitted for the greatly-prized Romantic Novel of the Year. The shortlist of six titles have been selected by a panel of 85 readers from the general public. The winner will be selected by three independent judges – Amanda Craig, author and book reviewer, Foyle’s War actor and contributor to the blog Vulpes Libris, Jay Benedict, and fiction buyer for Waterstone’s, Janine Cook. The shortlist, in alphabetical order by author name, is:

To Defy a King Elizabeth Chadwick Sphere

The Golden Prince Rebecca Dean HarperCollins

Kissing Mr Wrong Sarah Duncan Headline Review

The Jewel of St. Petersburg Kate Furnivall Sphere

Amazir Tom Gamble Beautiful Books

The Last Letter From Your Lover JoJo Moyes Hodder & Stoughton



The Romantic Comedy Prize is organised and administered in the same way as the Romantic Novel of the Year. To reach the shortlist, the books must be laugh-out-loud funny. The winner is chosen by a panel of judges - Jane Wenham-Jones, author and columnist in magazine Booktime, Glenda Wood, Head of Libraries, Culture and Learning for Hertfordshire County Council, and Sara Craven, author of over 80 books for Mills & Boon. The shortlist is:


The Way to a Woman’s Heart Christina Jones Piatkus

I Heart Paris Lindsey Kelk HarperCollins

Mini Shopaholic Sophie Kinsella Bantam Press

Take a Chance on Me Jill Mansell Headline Review

Katy Carter Wants A Hero Ruth Saberton Orion

A Date in your Diary Jules Stanbridge Little Black Dress


Fiction submitted which is set pre-1960 is eligible for the Historical Novel Prize. As with Romantic Novel of the Year and Romantic Comedy Prize, a shortlist of six is selected by a panel of readers, and the winner selected by three judges – Richard Lee, founder of the Historical Novel Association, Elizabeth Hawksley, author and creative writing teacher, and Diane Pearson, president of the RNA since 1987. The shortlist is:
To Defy a King Elizabeth Chadwick Sphere

Trade Winds Christina Courtenay Choc Lit

The Golden Prince Rebecca Dean HarperCollins

The Wayward Governess Joanna Fulford Mills & Boon Historical

The Jewel of St. Petersburg Kate Furnivall Sphere

Heart of Stone Jane Jackson Severn House


The Love Story of the Year is for a shorter romance where there is a strong emphasis on the developing central relationship. A shortlist of six is again chosen by the reading public, with the winner selected by three judges. The shortlist is:

The Piratical Miss Ravenhurst Louise Allen Mills & Boon Historical

Mother of the Bride Caroline Anderson Mills & Boon Romance

Bride in a Gilded Cage Abby Green Mills & Boon Modern

Moving On Valerie Holmes Linford Romance

Fortunate Wager Jan Jones Robert Hale

The Captain’s Mysterious Lady Mary Nichols Mills & Boon Historical


Two Lifetime Achievement Awards will be presented to two people who have made outstanding contributions to romantic fiction and the Romantic Novelists' Association.
The winners for each award will be named at the Pure Passion Awards 2011, Monday, 7th March 2011 at a champagne reception at One Whitehall Place, Westminster.

Many Congratulations to all the nominees.

And the good news is - that thanks to the lovely Heather those extracts from my books are finally up on my web site!

So if you're still looking for the answer to my question on the Here Come The Grooms Contest - you should find it there!  Thank you Heather.  I'm still trying - and failing - to get the link into the sidebar so it's great to know  the extract from  The Proud Wife - is now available along  extracts from The Good Greek Wife, Kept for Her Baby, The Konstantos Marriage Demand  and - because of the  reprints in the new collections   - The Greek Tycoon's Unwilling Wife (from Mediterranean Tycoons) and Spanish Billionaire, Innocent Wife from One Night in Madrid)

Pure Passion, Polls and Pink Hearts

I'm a bit late with this - but the voting is still open so I'm mentioning while there is still time to register your choice.

Pure Passion is a promotion of Romantic Fiction co-ordinated by the North West Libraries’ Reader Development partnership Time To Read in partnership with the Romantic Novelists Association and sponsored by Bertrams Books. Now they want you to vote for your favourite title from our list. There's a whole range of romances to choose from including books from authors you'll have 'met' on this blog. Just click HERE to see the list and vote

If you live in the UK, on voting, if you leave your name and contact details you will be entered into a prize draw and may receive an invitation to a grand finale event in February 2008, at which we hope you will have a chance to meet the winning writer.

And if you're in voting mood, then All About Romance has a poll throughout the month of October to find your top 100 romances. This is what they say:

This is the fourth time since the inception of AAR that we have conducted this poll. We invite all romance readers to participate in this poll - to do so, simply provide us with a list of your top 100 romances, in ranked order. It is not necessary for your list to include 100 titles, but you may include up to that amount. In order for the results of this poll to be as valid and representative as possible, we need as many romance readers to vote as possible - so send your friends this url and ask them to vote! - and for the spirit of true competition to be the basis for this poll. In other words, your list must include titles by more than one author (and all her aka's).
To participate in this poll, you must submit your ballot of up to 100 romances, in ranked order, no later than midnight, October 31st. You must include your name and email address for your ballot to be accepted, although we will never use either.

Choosing 100 romances wouldn't be a problem - it's ranking them in order 1 - 100 that would be impossible! But if you want to have a go then you'll find this poll HERE

Oh, and I'm blogging over at the Pink Heart Society today - they asked me to write about mentoring new writers so that's what I've done!

And now I'm going back to the Black Angel . . .