We all know the story of how Dorothy got picked up by a wild Kansas twister, whisked through the air, and plunked down in the fabulous Land of Oz, where a Good Witch with a magic wand handed her an enchanted pair of Ruby Slippers.

Finaling in the Golden Heart is a remarkably similar experience—you get that amazing phone call from RWA, and suddenly you’re sailing through the air, head whirling, and nothing in life will ever quite be normal again.

Remember, though: for Dorothy, getting those Ruby Slippers was just the start of the journey. She had a whole Yellow Brick Road to find her way along. The same thing’s true for the 2009 Golden Heart Finalists: that marvelous phone call from RWA was just the start of a complex, scary, exhilarating journey.

This blog is our attempt to share that journey with you. Some of us have found the Emerald City already, others are still dodging flying monkeys and wondering if we’ll ever see poor little Toto again. Hopefully, other writers out there can benefit from our experience, or at least laugh and cry with us along the way.

Since we’re launching this blog on the opening registration day for the 2010 Golden Heart, we’ll spend the first month sharing the inside scoop on what finaling in the Golden Heart is really like—and, Holy Munchkins, do we have stories! We’ll offer insights, advice, and encouragement to help others out there get their feet firmly planted on the Yellow Brick Road.

Plus, we’ve got some fabulous giveaways! During our launch month, there will be daily drawings.  One lucky commenter will be randomly selected each day.  You could win the fabulous Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood Mug (pictured to the left) or a critique of your first fifteen pages by a Ruby Sister.  And finally, all commenters are entered in the drawing at the end of our launch month, when three Grand Prize Winners will take home a Ruby-Slippered Sister’s critique of their Golden Heart Entry (see the RWA National site for entry length and format requirements).  Winners will be announced daily on the blog.  Comment early!  Comment often!

Like Dorothy with the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion, we welcome all the company we can get. So link arms with us, and let’s start skipping down those yellow bricks—with a keen eye out for lions, tigers, and bears, but singing at the top of our lungs.

Much love,

The Ruby-Slippered Sisters

Today we will be giving away one of our fabulous mugs AND a chance to win one of the grand prize critiques. Introduce yourself and tell us, do you plan to enter the Golden Heart this year? Have you entered it in the past? What about other contests? If you’re a reader and not a writer, tell us about a contest, award or other honor you’ve received that made you feel like you were on top of the world (with or without the aid of a tornado).