Back to the celebrating

Thank you all for your supportive comments on the last couple of posts. I was frankly appalled by the venom of some of those posts. Just a couple of other comments - and that is that if a contest is open to 'aspiring' authors - well I have no trouble at all seeing other authors 'aspire' to being published in Presents/Modern Romance. And Harlequin have declared it to be their best selling line that's darn well something to aspire to.

If I entered a contest for a Single Title publication, I'd be 'aspiring' to that all right.

And as for coming up again previously published authors . .. er well what do you think is going to happen if you do get published? Then you're up against published, multi-published - stratospherically- published authors all the time. And that's up against them in the SALES ratings not just a contest.

I should know. My first book was up against luminaries like Catherine George, Betty Neels, Penny Jordan, Carole Mortimer, Elizabeth Oldfield.

And later books would be up against huge sellers like the late great Charlotte Lamb (Hi Jane -the Jane Holland who has commented is Charlotte Lamb's daughter.)

So if you want to be a professional published author you'd better accept that coming up against the 'Grand Dames' (still wondering if I count as one of those!) is parr for the course.