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All About Boots
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Connect with Rita
Rita's Fun Facts
Ruby Nickname:Ruby Boots Age: yes GH Year(s) 2009 Completed Manuscript(s) 2 Genre(s): Romantic Suspense, Women’s Fiction Started Writing: I’ve been a story teller since I could talk. As a child I put on ‘productions’ for the entertainment of my large extended family. Writing began in high school. Wrote a play for the history class to perform for the school. Wrote some other things that no one saw-wish I had them now. Then nothing until about three years ago. Day Job: I write full time For Fun: Rassel gators |
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The Ruby Slippered Sisterhood
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Blog Posts from Rita
A GOLDEN HEART CHECKLISTPosted by Rita Henuber Aug 1 2011, 12:02 am
Even though we just celebrated the 2011 Golden Heart awards, it’s time to start thinking about the 2012 Golden Heart Contest. Yeaphers, the 2012 contest opens to entries September 21, 2011. This is time to decide if you want to enter and it’s the time to begin polishing your entry. First check out the contest rules at http://www.rwa.org/cs/contests_and_awards/golden_heart_awards/contest_rules CAREFULLY. RWA does not make exceptions. When they say entry forms and fees must be received by the RWA Office by November 15, 2011 and entered works must be received in the RWA Office December 2, 2011 THEY MEAN IT. If you have questions or concerns about eligibility or rules direct them to the RWA office at contests@rwa.org.
How does one decide if they should enter the premier RWA contest for aspiring romance authors? If you’ve submitted pages to chapter contests, finaled and won, received excellent feedback from knowledgeable critique partners, had request from agents, editors, and have a finished (40,000 pages or more) manuscript it may be time to enter the Golden Heart. First, consider the cost. $50.00 to enter, add in printing and shipping costs and you are looking at $75.00 easy. Please don’t go down the road about why all the other contests are electronic and this one isn’t. You want to enter, you print 6 copies of your 50 page double-spaced partial, 1-5 page synopsis and mail them in. The Golden Heart is not the contest to enter for feedback. There is none. You get the judges score and that’s it. Scores are 1 to 9 and I can tell say with no hesitation you need 8’s and 9’s to final. 1200 people enter every year and the competition is incredible. Okay, you ready to enter? Are you shaking your head like a bobble head doll in a bubba truck going down a bumpy dirt road? Here are some crafty details you might want to review. The first 50 pages should show the protagonist’s Goal, Motivation, and Conflict. I’ll use mine as an example. Goal: destroy a drug cartel. Motivation: It’s her job. She has something to prove and.. the cartel is responsible for her brother’s death. Conflict: She goes outside the confines of her job to accomplish her goal, risks losing a real relationship and there are bad men with big guns. Yes, it is all in the first 50 pages. It is not all spelled out in detail, as this is suspense (in case you didn’t guess) but the reader knows the basics. Do you want to read 100 pages before you know what the story is about? These days, people want to be immersed in the story and characters right away. Next is hooks. Hooks are a way to connect the reader to the story and character immediately and keep them turning pages. There are opening hooks, page-ending hooks, chapter ending hooks and character hooks. You do not need to start your story with a meteor on a collision course with the planet to gain attention. Eloisa James starts one of her books with, “I didn’t mean to marry both of them.” Brilliant. I mean it hooks you into reading to find out what’s going to happen. Think of the questions it raises about this woman. And it pretty much tells you the book is going to be about her getting out of the predicament. Check out your backstory. If the reader doesn’t need to know it to carry the story along- take it out. If it is necessary, cut it down to as few words as possible. Do you really need ten pages of backstory on how the heroine hates blue Thunderbirds ever since her dog Buster was run over by one? Wouldn’t one sentence suffice? Even if it is her total motivation for taking a baseball bat to every blue Thunderbird she sees. Nothing slows or kills a story faster than backstory. Be ruthless. Cut unnecessary words. Streamline. What about your pacing? Pacing is about the reader moving through the story turning those pages, reading every one of the precious words you’ve written. Good pacing requires a balance of dialogue and narrative. Essential, witty, thoughtful dialogue and narrative. If I see pages and pages of narrative, or dialogue, they better be riveting. On the other hand I don’t want to be in the middle of a fight scene and the hero starts to think about how hot his lady is going to look in the teddy he bought her. That may be good in another scene, but not this one. Have you checked all of this in your current work? No? Yes? Maybe? No, but I’m going to right now? If you haven’t, good news is, you have time. Even better news is we are here to help. If you have a question any time, no matter what the blog subject is, ask us. Honestly we will do our best to answer. The Ruby Sisters are at all levels of this thing we call the writing business. Published, pre-published, represented, not represented. We write in all genres with different heat levels. We have one thing in common. We are Golden Heart finalists. Some have finaled more than once. Some are winners and some have taken that Golden Heart necklace home more than once. We have experience and insight into what it takes to final. I know I’ve only touched briefly on each of these subjects. In the comments I’m sure my Sisters will have more to say. My Goal was to get you thinking. My Motivation is to have you join the GH family. My Conflict? You tell me. What’s keeping you from joining the family?
101 Research SitesPosted by Rita Henuber Jul 27 2011, 9:54 am 101 Research Sites People frequently ask where to look on the net for information. They say they’ve spent hours looking and still can’t find what they want. I’m not guaranteeing you’ll find what you want every time with these links but it a good start. Also, sometimes a web page disappears. [...] WHAT NOW?Posted by Rita Henuber Jul 12 2011, 8:40 am You went to conference, came home, had a hectic 4th weekend, went on vacation with the family and now you are faced with a mound of laundry and a burr of emotional aftershocks from being around or reading about thousands of stoked authors. You watched people get awards, sign with agents, and sell. Being in [...] Writing Industry Acronyms and DefinitionsPosted by Rita Henuber Feb 17 2011, 12:01 am Sometimes we use industry terms and forget not everyone knows what they mean, so I thought I would put a few together. Feel free to add, correct, or ask about those not included. Category or Series Romance- Books issued under a common imprint/series name that are usually numbered sequentially and released at regular intervals, usually [...] Ruby Release Spotlight: Liz Talley and The Way to TexasPosted by Rita Henuber Dec 7 2010, 12:01 am in Ruby Release I was to interview Ruby Sister Liz Talley on the release of her second Harlequin Super Romance. But, our Super Liz is in the middle of a household move and a minor emergency popped up. She called and begged off. Sort of. She suggested Big Bubba Malone take her place. ”He’s in every book and knows everyone [...]
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books from Rita
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Rita writes sexy romantic suspense novels and women's fiction that center around strong heroines. She has lived in several states and traveled extensively outside the US. She resides on a barrier island on the east coast of Florida.
