Dec 30, 2013

2013 in Review: What the Cats Did...

2013 was a big year for the LoveCats: two cats were nominated for Ruby Awards (Australia’s premier award for romantic fiction), two Cats were nominated for a total of six ARRA awards, one Cat had a book deal with The Bold & The Beautiful, and there were a whole slew of of other awards and nominations, including an Honorary Life Member of RWAustralia! Plus, collectively, the Cats published thirty-five new books in 2013.

So, let’s look at that in more detail:

Bronwyn Jameson was presented with the Honorary Life Member Award by Romance Writers of Australia. Congratulations, Bronywn!

Amy Andrews
was nominated for an RT best book, was a three-time finalist in the ARRA Awards, won a Cataromance reviewers choice award, had a couple of BJCA Awards, hit #13 on the Amazon top 100 series books (paid), and published 7 new books (3 Medicals, 3 KISS and a single title romance with Momentum). She also signed a deal to write a book set in the world of the T.V. show, The Bold & The Beautiful.

Annie West won a CataRomance Award for Defying Her Desert Duty, and was a finalist in the following Australian Romance Reader Awards: Favourite Short Category Romance – both ‘Undone By His Touch’ and ‘Defying Her Desert Duty’,  Best First Meeting Between a Couple in a Romance Published in 2012 - both ‘Undone By His Touch’ and ‘Defying Her Desert Duty’, Best Love Scene From a Romance Published in 2012 – ‘Defying Her Desert Duty’. She also  finally gave up the day job and became a full-time writer, and gave her first solo writing workshop (at the RWAus conference in Fremantle). She published three new books in 2013, Captive in the Spotlight, Imprisoned by a Vow and An Enticing Debt to Pay.

Michelle Douglas won the Book Sellers' Best Award in the Traditional Category for The Nanny Who Saved Christmas, was a double finalist for the Colorado Award of Excellence (The Nanny Who Saved Christmas and The Man Who Saw Her Beauty), and a finalist in the Golden Quill (The Man Who Saw Her Beauty). She had 3 Sweet Romances published this year: First Comes Baby..., The Cattleman's Ready-Made Family, The Redemption of Rico D'Angelo.

Louisa George was  nominated for RT Best Book in Harlequin KISS series, hit the #1 spot on Amazon for medicals with How To Resist A Heartbreaker, had a RT Nomination, Best Harlequin KISS 2013 for Backstage With Her Ex, and also hit #1 on the Amazon Bestseller Harlequin KISS series list. This year she published two medical Romances: The Last Doctor She Should Ever Date and How To Resist A Heartbreaker, and 1 Harlequin KISS/Modern Tempted, Backstage With Her Ex.

Helen Lacey was nominated for a Ruby Award for Marriage Under The Mistletoe, and published two books with Harlequin Special Edition, His-And-Hers Family, and Date With Destiny, as well as one indie book, The Cattleman’s Proposal.

Sue Mackay published three books with Medicals, Christmas With Doctor Delicious, The Gift of a Child, and The Infamous Maitland Brothers. Sue also hit the #1 spot on Amazon for Medicals.

Yvonne Lindsay was nominated for a Ruby Award for A Forbidden Affair, and published her 25th book! She had three new books out with Desire, One Secret Night, Something About The Boss…, and The High Price of Secrets.

Barb De Leo had two books published with Entangled, Dishing Up Desire and Last Chance Proposal. She also sighed for two more books with Entangled.

Rachel Bailey presented a workshop on sexual tension at the RWA national conference in Fremantle, and published two books with Desire, No Stranger To Scandal and Countering His Claim.

Jennifer St George had two new releases in 2013, The Love Deception and Seducing the Secret Heiress, as well as a print compilation of The Convenient Bride and Seducing the Secret Heiress, titled Sweet Seduction. She had a sell-out book launch at Mary Ryan's Byron Bay and has been approved to teach Introduction of Romance Writing at the Byron Community College next year.

Sharon Archer focused on non-writing activities in 2013, including a crossing of The Simpson Desert, which is the world's largest sand dune desert! We were all amazed by that achievement.

Emmie Dark
had one book out with Superromance, Just For Today, two books with Destiny, Spellbound and Charmed, and a self published book, Dance With Me. She also accepted a big job in the U.S., and so is leaving the LoveCats in the New Year. We’ll miss you, Emmie!



So, tell us, what did you achieve in 2013? It might be big or small, but we'd love to hear what your achievements were.


Happy New Year!

10 comments:

  1. Congrats Ladies :)

    I spent wonderful time with my grandchildren and family read lost of great books :)

    Have Fun
    Helen

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  2. Rachel, thanks for putting together this list. How fabulous and inspiring to see what people have been up to. I'm particularly impressed with the desert crossing. Sharon - a story or two in there I suspect!

    Helen, spending time with family and reading sounds like the best way to spend your time. I hope there's a lot more of it in 2014!

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  3. We were a busy and productive lot of kitties this year weren't we? May the good times and adventures continue in 2014. :-)

    Helen, spending times with loved ones and hunkering down with good books is what life's about, I think.Good for you! ;-)

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  4. Wow nice achievements ladies :)

    As for my achievements, I finally finished my Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science (aka Politics at some universities) and managed to secure my first "real" adult job with the only application that I sent out.

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  5. Happy New Years Cats, you're all so amazing! You all do such a fantastic job.

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  6. Happy New Year! Lovely list of accomplishments. May 2014 bring many more.

    I was going over my to do list for last year and realized that I never got to cross off too many things. However my husband and I offered a lot of support to my niece's family when her son was in the hospital and to my sister during her three hospital stays and when her husband passed away. I guess my role this year was supporting family.

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  7. A very Happy New Year to a warm and talented group of ladies.

    My alter ego (Alison Stuart)... had a great year with multiple award nominations and a couple of fleeting moments on Amazon best seller lists and as for me, myself and I, a bit of travel, settled into a two day a week day job and just enjoyed life :-). 2013 was kind to me, may 2014 be as kind to you and your readers.

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  8. Wow! Congratulations, my fellow LoveCats! You ladies ROCK bigtime!

    Helen, spending time with your family and your gorgeous grandchildren is awesome! And there's nothing like sitting down for some good page time!

    Lyn, HUGE congratulations on your degree and your job success!

    Tash, lovely to see you as always and thank you for your lovely pat on the back to us here at the Cats!

    Kaelee, supporting your family in tough times is a big accomplishment. Hugs to you!

    And Alison, congratulations on your writing successes and your adventures!

    Wishing you all good times and good books and bottomless creativity for 2014

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  9. Congratulations to you all! Not such a good year for me, achievement-wise, but I did get a lot of reading done!

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