I'm blogging on the eHarlequin 2007 RNA Romance Prize blog this month.  Here's what I posted today:

I was in the kitchen, foraging for some comfort food, when Norma Curtis rang, and the Romance Prize was the last thing on my mind. It took me a little time to register why she was calling, and when I did I wasted rather a lot of time explaining that there had obviously been some mistake, as I had been on the shortlist LAST year, not this one. Eventually Norma managed to convince me that no, she hadn't muddled up her notes, and yes, she had called the right person. I must say that I was very surprised indeed to make the final for a second year running, and even more so when I remembered to ask which book had been shortlisted. I think I expected it to have been Business Arrangement Bride, but when I trotted back upstairs to flick through a copy of Her Ready-Made Family, I have to say that it was better than I'd remembered!

I often find it takes a year or so before I can read any of my books with any sort of objectivity, and I tend to like them a lot more then than I did when I was writing them. The only trouble is that I then start to think 'but I'll never be able to do that again' and convince myself that my current book is dire in comparison ... I've been having a crisis of confidence on all fronts this year, not least the writing one, so Norma's call was very timely and very welcome. It's always wonderful when someone takes the trouble to tell you they've enjoyed a book, and to hear that one has been shortlisted in a competition like this is an undeniable boost - and just what I needed to get me back to work!