When people ask me why I write romance, I don’t always readily have an answer for them. Everyone who knows me in person knows I’m not the best with quick reactions and verbal quips. But here’s an article by the wonderful Eileen Dreyer that I think really hits the nail on the head. It’s why I love writing romance, too.
Eileen’s article at CNN Living: “I Write Romance Novels–So What?”

Are you looking for a literary agent or at least a little feedback from an established agent? Then this is the contest for you!

What you can win: A read of your fiction manuscript by Barbara Poelle of the Irene Goodman Literary Agency

How it works:
(1) Click “Leave a Comment” below and post the title, genre, and first five sentences of your fiction manuscript on the comments of this blog. Email entries will not be accepted; all entries must be made in the comments section of this blog.
(2) A group of semifinalists will be selected from the lines posted. The list of semifinalists for round one will be posted here on the blog on March 7. Round Two will begin on March 7 and semifinalists will be posted on March 14, and Round Three will begin on March 14 and semifinalists will be posted on March 21.
(3) The semifinalists will be invited to send their first chapter and/or synopsis to Jennifer.
(4) One overall winner will be selected on or before March 28. That winner will be invited to send his/her manuscript to Barbara Poelle, who will read it for possible representation.
(5) Questions? Feel free to go to the contact page and send them in. Jennifer will respond as quickly as possible.

Example Entry:

Title: A Touch of Scandal
Genre: Historical Romance (1823 England)
First 5 sentences:
A bothersome heat crept into Kate’s cheeks as she hurried through the narrow, dimly lit passageway. If only she could learn how to hide her thoughts.

Taking a deep breath, she forcefully slowed her step, squared her shoulders, and lowered her eyes. She was simply a servant, finished with her duties for the day, ready to take the three-mile walk home. Not a flustered woman rushing out to a secret secluded spot to watch a strange man—no, a god, more like—bathe in the nude.

The fine print:
You must be 18 years of age or older to enter this contest; no purchase necessary; void where prohibited. Judging is subjective, and judges’ names will not be revealed. If you enter this contest, you agree to be added to Jennifer Haymore’s newsletter list, which is sent out to subscribers quarterly. Personal information and email addresses are kept private and never shared. The semifinalists and winner’s names will be posted on the jenniferhaymore.com blog.

Since I just turned in my book, I’ve been in a movie-watching mood. I’m sort of distracted by catching up on episodes of True Blood right now, but after I finish those, I think I’m going on a historical movie binge. Last week, for my Fun Fridays contest, I asked you what your favorite historical movie was. I’ve seen a great majority of them, but some of them are brand-new to me, and I can’t wait to get started.

It was interesting–one movie got probably 10x the response of any of the others. Any guess what that one was? It was GONE WITH THE WIND! Ahh, yes, I can see why!

Here is the exhaustive list of all the movies that were listed by the entrants of the contest. If you entered, thanks so much for these! I’m keeping this list!

Gone With the Wind
Pride & Prejudice (Kiera Knightley Version)
Pride & Prejudice (Colin Firth Version)
The Three Musketeers (which version, I wonder?)
The Scarlet Pimpernel (I’ve never seen this one! Putting it on my Netflix!)
The Princess Bride
Ladyhawke (ooh, another one to add to my Netflix queue!)
Jane Eyre
Scarlett
Titanic
Dances With Wolves
Braveheart
The Last of the Mohicans
300
The Great Gatsby
Marie Antoinette
Pirates of the Caribbean
Poseidon
La Reine Margot (Queen Margot) (another one I haven’t seen, I’m intrigued!)
Wuthering Heights with Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (with Gary Oldman)
Troy
The Color Purple
North And South
Sense and Sensibility
Forever Amber (another one I need to look up)
A Room with a View
Unconquered
Little Women
Elizabeth
Lonesome Dove
Cold Mountain
Children of the Dust (another new-to-me!)
Lawrence of Arabia
Dr. Zhivago
Shogun
The Duchess
The Last Mistress
The Patriot
Gladiator
Pearl Harbor

Isn’t that a great list? What do you think? Some of these I love so much I want to watch them again, but I think I’m going to hit the new-to-me ones first! Thanks, everyone!