The very generous and enterprising TJ Bennett is giving away totes and baskets full of RITA -nominated books and audios. You can enter by posting a comment on her blog here. My contribution is below.  Also note the question at the bottom of this post. Need your input!
[Ed. note (from TJ): We continue our RITA® giveaway with our final tote bag. Be sure to leave your comments on the posts for a chance to win. One tote per winner will be awarded, but you can comment on any post throughout the contest period, which ends July 18, 2009. Remember this week, there are four totes up for grabs: #7, 8, 9, and 10.]
Susan Wiggs, Snowfall at Willow Lake
[NOTE: Book in tote is audio (MP3-CD) version]
2009 RITA® Finalist for Contemporary Single Title Romance 
“Every writer I know started out as a reader. She was like me–voracious, insatiable, reading anything and everything she could get her hands on. Eventually she fell in love with genre fiction, and found a special affinity with romance novels. Like me, she probably cut her teeth on the big, juicy historicals of Kathleen Woodiwiss, Laurie McBain, Jennifer Wilde, Laura London. She stayed up late with A Woman of Substance, fantasized along with Princess Daisy and wept over The Thornbirds. She dreamed of Turtle Moon, Honey Moon and Carolina Moon. She developed a taste for Like Water for Chocolate and maybe even started her own knitting and reading club. All this reading made her a better writer, and an incredibly savvy reader. Along the way, she joined RWA® and volunteered to judge the RITA®.
That’s why being a finalist is such an incredible honor. The judges are the pickiest readers in the world, and this year, they picked Snowfall at Willow Lake. This was extra-special for me because of the content of the book. Sophie Bellamy, the main character, was one of the most reviled and misunderstood protagonists I’ve ever created–chilly, competitive, deeply self-absorbed, a woman who had the audacity to be unhappy in her marriage–and to finally do something about it. Her journey from the international courts of The Hague to the storybook shores of Willow Lake was more than a plot, it was a quest for redemption. Landing in the finals was an affirmation that her journey was a success.
The competition is incredibly tough; I know, I’m always reading and I read a ton of terrific novels last year. So I’m deeply grateful and honored to be a finalist this year. I’m also thrilled to be slogging it out with some of my favorite writers for the final prize, the Queen of All Knickknacks. Because as soon as the list of finalists came out, I read all the others and was wildly entertained for days! There’s a reason the RITA® is the gold standard of prizes in our genre. I’m proud to be in the game. To read more about Snowfall at Willow Lake, and to find out more than even my husband knows about me, please check out my web site at s22529.p716.sites.pressdns.com and blog at www.susanwiggs.wordpress.com.”
About Snowfall at Willow Lake:
Can a single moment change your entire life?
International lawyer Sophie Bellamy has dedicated her life to helping people in war-torn countries. But when she survives a hostage situation, she remembers what matters most—the children she loves back home. Haunted by regrets, she returns to the idyllic Catskills village of Avalon on the shores of Willow Lake, determined to repair the bonds with her family.
There Sophie discovers the surprising rewards of small-town life—including an unexpected passion for Noah Shepherd, the local veterinarian. Noah has a healing touch for anything with four legs, but he’s never had any luck with women—until Sophie.
Snowfall at Willow Lake speaks from the heart about all the loves that fill a woman’s life, and all the ways that love is tested and made to grow. It’s the story of what comes after a woman survives an unspeakable horror and finds her way home, to healing and redemption and a new chance at happiness.
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I need your advice! Last year I “won” a pair of Camper Twins when I didn’t bag the RITA. Should I fail to bring home the Queen of All Knicknacks this year, what should my consolation prize be? (I have an idea or two…)
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0 Responses
Looks to me like you would really like to win a boat! Hopefully a really really big one. I am guessing you would rather have the RITA though??? I wish you luck! I would vote for you!
Looks to me like you would really like to win a boat! Hopefully a really really big one. I am guessing you would rather have the RITA though??? I wish you luck! I would vote for you!
Consolation Prize: A weekend in Vegasw/one of those totally hot male cover models to “console” you. What happens in Vegas…..:) GOOD LUCK!
Consolation Prize: A weekend in Vegasw/one of those totally hot male cover models to “console” you. What happens in Vegas…..:) GOOD LUCK!
The person above mentiioned a boat.. How about a place on the lake to put the boat.. or the lake..
The person above mentiioned a boat.. How about a place on the lake to put the boat.. or the lake..
The entire process must be exciting with the anticipation of the call, the congratulations, the shopping for the event and being with all your fellow authors. Enjoy!
The entire process must be exciting with the anticipation of the call, the congratulations, the shopping for the event and being with all your fellow authors. Enjoy!
I think it should be a weekend away anywhere that you want to go in the continental US with all expenses paid.
I think it should be a weekend away anywhere that you want to go in the continental US with all expenses paid.
If you have the shoes, now you need the…other shoes! I thought about saying “dress” but after a week at the conference (if you’re there) you probably don’t want to think about dressing up for awhile!
If you have the shoes, now you need the…other shoes! I thought about saying “dress” but after a week at the conference (if you’re there) you probably don’t want to think about dressing up for awhile!
Another idea: Maid service for a year! that would sure console me!
Another idea: Maid service for a year! that would sure console me!
I think a long weekend at a Spa would be just the right consolation prize. Good luck and you always have my vote…
I think a long weekend at a Spa would be just the right consolation prize. Good luck and you always have my vote…
How about a long weekend away to British Columbia. Relax, and see the beautiful sights. Good luck, I think you will win;)
How about a long weekend away to British Columbia. Relax, and see the beautiful sights. Good luck, I think you will win;)
I think a long weekend at a bed and breakfast would be great. Writing is hard work, (I know that because I am a writer, too) and you do work hard to write those great books! You need some time off to rest and relax.
I think a long weekend at a bed and breakfast would be great. Writing is hard work, (I know that because I am a writer, too) and you do work hard to write those great books! You need some time off to rest and relax.
I think you should win a million dollars (or two or 10) so you can buy whatever you want!!
I think you should win a million dollars (or two or 10) so you can buy whatever you want!!
How about a voice-activated computer to write down your thoughts as you speak them? surely this could be most helpful to a prolific writer as yourself??
Diane
How about a voice-activated computer to write down your thoughts as you speak them? surely this could be most helpful to a prolific writer as yourself??
Diane
Susan, yes….I do believe your idea is the correct one! I also think that if you do win, you should be rewarded for that win with the boat! Either way, you win the boat!!! Good Luck!!!
Susan, yes….I do believe your idea is the correct one! I also think that if you do win, you should be rewarded for that win with the boat! Either way, you win the boat!!! Good Luck!!!
In my opinion, you should win the RITA award:) You are a literary genius. Also, Your prize should be something spectacular like a 40 ft Sail boat and a 20 ft. motor boat. One for lazing in the sunshine and the other for speeding around the sound (Just watch for no wake zones, LOL)
Keeping my fingers crossed for you!
In my opinion, you should win the RITA award:) You are a literary genius. Also, Your prize should be something spectacular like a 40 ft Sail boat and a 20 ft. motor boat. One for lazing in the sunshine and the other for speeding around the sound (Just watch for no wake zones, LOL)
Keeping my fingers crossed for you!
A years supply of piping hot croissants from Le Panier! Good luck, Susan! Snowfall is my favorite Lakeshore book so far! You deserve the Big Win!
A years supply of piping hot croissants from Le Panier! Good luck, Susan! Snowfall is my favorite Lakeshore book so far! You deserve the Big Win!