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Copyright 2009 Jamie Michele |
The Night I Won a Golden Heart |
(Click HERE for video of my acceptance speech.) The Golden Heart and Rita awards ceremony began at 8:00 PM on Saturday, July 18, 2009 -- the final night of the Romance Writers of America's annual conference in Washingon, DC. Mark and I arrived around 7:15. |
We walked into the chilly ballroom and attempted to find seating. The section reserved for finalists was already full, so we sat in the first row of the next section. We liked it. More room to move; easier for me to get out when it came time to win. Here's the view from our seats: |
And here's what we saw when we turned around: |
And here's what I looked like sitting, waiting. I do wish I'd worn more formal shoes, but those ones were very comfortable. It was very cold in the ballroom, hence the wrap. |
It was soon time to begin. I won't bother summarizing the ceremony; it's being done elsewhere. Suffice to say it was more enjoyable than we'd expected it to be. Renowned author Anne Stuart did a lovely job as mistress of ceremonies. Here she appears as the Statue of Liberty: |
My category was being announced second. Here's a picture of the program interior. That's me at the bottom. |
See? I told you. |
Before I knew it, the deep-voiced announcer called best-selling author Stella Cameron to the stage to reveal the results of my category. The elegant Ms. Cameron nearly opened up the envelope before she'd read the names and manusript titles, but she recovered. Mostly. After failing to properly pronounce my manuscript's title, she said, "Oh, this is lovely," with great sarcasm, before trying again and hitting the mark. I was nonetheless overjoyed to hear lots of screaming after she announced my name. My rowdy Maryland Romance Writer chaptermates were in the back but let themselves be heard! After a drumroll, Ms. Cameron opened this envelope: |
And pulled out out this announcement: |
I won! I grinned, tossed my wrap on my seat, and walked up to the stage to accept my Golden Heart Necklace: |
The divine Ms. Cameron handed me my necklace and I spoke for a minute or so, thanking my good friend and beta reader, Margaret Rose Innes, and my husband, Mark. I neglected to thank my chapter, the RWA Board of Directors, the RWA staff, the contest coordinators, or the contest judges, but hey, it was my first time watching an RWA awards ceremony, let alone speaking at one. I had no idea what I was doing! Angela James, executive editor extraordinaire for Samhain Publishing, was kind enough to take and post a photograph of me on stage (and to compliment my dress) through her Twitter account. Thank you, Ms. James. During the announcement and my acceptance speech, Mark was busy shooting a fairly low-quality video through our digital camera. I hope to embed it on this page soon, but until then, you can find it on YouTube here. My words are a bit rapid and garbled, but you'll get the gist. After the ceremony ended, Mark and I proceeded outside, did a circuit around the incredibly busy reception area, and made for the hotel bar, where we found my Maryland Romance Writer chaptermates celebrating. Our webmistress, Sabrina Lemieux, took several photos and quickly posted them on our site. Hours later, we headed back to our bed and breakfast, where it took me forever to fall asleep. On Monday, I volunteered in the Animal Embassy at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. I came home to find a beautiful flower arrangement from my parents. Thank you, Mom and Dad! And thanks to all who've supported me on this road so far. |
Award-winning author of contemporary romantic adventures |