ANOTHER AWARD FINAL!

THE WEDDING GARDEN, book 2 of the "Redemption River" series, has finaled for the Booksellers' Best Award. I'm so proud of that little book, like a mama when the teacher says her child is smart!

Thank you, everyone, who loves Sloan's story, too.

RITA Nomination!

THE SNOW-KISSED BRIDE is nominated for a RITA Award!

I WON THE RITA!!!

Here I am with presenter and fabulous author, Judy Baer and my incredibly supportive editor, Allison Lyons, who also received an award for editing my book! (Photo credit: Dave Bush Photography)

Susan Mae Warren, me with the big smile and my baby girl, RITA, and Love Inspired editor, Melissa Endlich

Yes, I'm still running around the house with a big grin, a heart of gratitude, and a little disbelief that a book I wrote, A TOUCH OF GRACE, was awarded the romance industry's top award as the best inspirational romance of the year. It's crazy wonderful, let me tell you.

I'm sure I'm going to live on this moment for a long time to come, but my fellow finalists in the catagory decided to do one final interview. It appears below, along with a couple of photos. More of those to come as I gather them in, since I didn't have a camera with me that night.

Winning the Rita Interview
Linda Goodnight

Question 1: How did you feel waiting for the winner's name to be announced.

I had spent so much time praying not to covet the award that I was perfectly at peace and ready to shout my head off for the winner. So I was just sitting there thinking that my dress was too tight and had unbuttoned my jacket. When they began to read off the Inspy finalists, I thought, “Hmm, maybe I should button my jacket just in case.” Instantly, butterflies started dancing in my stomach. (They’d probably been there all along, but now they were crushed and fighting for their lives. )

At the moment the title of my book was announced as the winner, I went blank. I never heard my name called. Even though I don’t believe in out-of-body experiences, that’s the only way I can describe those few seconds. I remember looking at my editor and saying, “What? What did she say?” I still get chills just thinking about that amazing, exhilarating rush of disbelief and realization.

Question 2: How did 'you' really feel up there on stage?

Really, really embarrassed not to have written a speech. My mind was both numb and whirling at the same time, but no coherent thoughts would come. I didn’t want to talk. I just wanted to jump up and down and laugh! The lights were extremely bright so all I could see were shadows in the audience. My brain was yelling, “You only have two minutes! Stop blubbering.”

Even though I tried to remember to thank all the right people, I forgot so many. I wanted to honor the other finalists, whom I have come to admire, and like as women as well as wonderful, worthy writers. Believe me, to win in a category with those other authors means something very, very special.

Question 3: What happens after you step off the stage, both at RWA and then later on at home?

Wow! I couldn’t stop giggling during the rest of the ceremony –and shaking. I hadn’t been shaky before but I sure was then! My editor kept whispering, “I told you. I told you.” And then I’d squeeze Miss RITA and start giggling all over again.

After the ceremony, there was this rush of people-friends, other finalists, editors-toward me, and that continued for the next hour or so. Frankly, I loved it!!! I’ve said this over and over again, but it’s so true. Awards mean nothing if you have no one to share them with. The absolute best part of winning the RITA is that first hour after the program.

I have two very sweet memories that I will treasure in my heart forever. The other finalists, Pamela Tracy, Susan Mae Warren, and Irene Hannon were the first people to greet me. Looking so beautiful in their fancy duds, they hugged and smiled and congratulated me, though I know they had to be disappointed. That meant so very much and always will. See why I admire these women? They’re the real deal.

The second treasured moment was seeing my friend, Libby Banks. Libby and I have been friends and critique partners since before I sold that first book. Libby is a strong woman, an attorney who keeps her emotions in check. But there she was, coming at me through the crush, moving people out of the way like they were bowling pins, tears streaming down her face. We fell into each others arms, laughing and crying. Sweet, very, very sweet.

The next day, after two hours sleep, (Who needs sleep when you have adrenaline?) my family greeted me at the airport and took me out to dinner. Then, when I turned down the road toward home, I was met with a big congratulations sign erected by my neighbors.

Since getting back home, my email box has been full of congratulations. My chapter sent flowers. My phone has rung off the hook. My editors have emailed. Even some agents that I’ve never met have emailed! It’s truly been an exciting, amazing, and fulfilling ride.

Thank you for letting me re-live the excitement. Now, back to work. I have a book due!

Susan Mae Warren Rita Interview!

1. Describe your RITA phone call.

The truth is, well, I had FORGOTTEN about the RITA. I’ve never finalled. Never even remotely thought I would final. So, there I am, reading my email, sipping coffee, sitting in my pajamas, and in comes a call. I see it’s RWA and think, uh oh, I forgot to pay my membership or something. Because WHY would they be calling me?


You could have pushed me over with a puff as the voice on the phone told me that Taming Rafe finalled in the RITA. In fact, I think I uttered an incredulous, “HUH? What?” Thankfully she repeated her news, slowly and clearly.

And then dancing started.

2. Tell us about the RITA book and why you think it stood out it the crowd.

Taming Rafe is about a bull-rider who finds himself at the bottom of his game, even his life. He’s lost everything and has made some pretty bad decisions. Into this mess walks Kat Breckenridge, a philanthropist who is trying to fill her deceased mother’s big, fashionable shoes. She’s got some mystery to her past that draws her to cowboys, but most of all, Rafe had decimated her latest charity event, and owes her big. As they sort out blame, and eventually come together with a game plan, they discover each one offers the other healing in ways they could never imagine. It’s a mulit-layered story, with a subplot romance, and a story within a story that illuminates the emotional plot of all the characters (and has it’s own plot). It was my most ambitious story to date, a challenge to write, and I loved it. I’m so thrilled that the RITA judges liked it!


3. How many books have you written?

Twenty-two, including novellas.

4. Do you have a favorite?

Oh boy – I love my first story, Happily Ever After – I wrote it from such a pure place, it’s still the story of my heart. And then there’s Everything’s Coming up Josey, my chick lit story – finally got to tell the truth about being a missionary. And then Rafe…well, who doesn’t like a cute Bull Rider?

5. Describe your writing process.

I’m a detailed plotter, plotting out the story, the subplots and even the epiphany. My character is pretty fleshed out when I start the first page. However, after that it gets really messy. I slap down the first draft without grammar or spell checking, just a download from my brain every day for a month or six weeks. At the end of the day, I simply save and crawl out of my mess of research books lying open around my writing chair. The next day, I crawl back in. I don’t cook. I don’t clean. I do shower. But my entire brain is on Book. My family calls it (kindly) being under my “Thought Blanket.” THEN, after the book is roughed out, I go back, chapter by chapter, adding in all the elements I’ve forgotten, as well as texture, and richer description. And then I go through again, smoothing it out and polishing it. THEN I print it, and read it, adding in final proofing or edits. By the time I turn it in, I’ve read it four times, at least.

6. When did you decide to become a writer and why Christian fiction?

I LOVE to write. I would rather write than eat (my children occasionally bring me food). And, I was a missionary for years, and I truly believe that the best stories engage the spiritual element in us. I love to stir up issues of the soul, and let the reader ponder them with the character, hopefully long after they put the book down. My hope is that my readers, regardless of their spiritual background, would see God at work in their lives, loving them, giving them grace, just as He works in the character’s life on the page.


7. Tell us about your next or upcoming projects.

I just finished a book called, “Here Comes Trouble.” It’s a novel about a girl who returns home after ten years to discover the mess she left behind. But she’s a different person now. Can a girl change her stripes in her own hometown? Or will she always be labeled Trouble? Funny, and romantic, with elements of mystery and suspense, it’s the first in the PJ Sugar series.

Do you have any advice for unpublished writers?

Yes – Read books in your genre, take notes, analyze, write, then continue the cycle….forever. *g*




Susan May Warren
award-winning author of...soul-stirring fiction
http://www.susanmaywarren.comsus/