The finalists in the 2012 Orange Rose Contest have been announced.

I’m thrilled and grateful that two of my manuscripts, THE PARACHUTIST and TEMPTING BELLA, are among the top eleven overall finalists.  

The Orange Rose differs a bit from other contests in that it doesn’t split entries up according to category. All genres of romance (historical, paranormal, contemporary, etc) are judged together.

The finalist entries are judged by three editors and agents. The winners will be announced on Saturday, Oct. 13.

Here’s a complete list of the finalists. Congratulations and best of luck to everyone!

Publishers Weekly is out with its Top 10 Romance List for Fall 2012.

There are familiar names on the list, but some of those authors are trying something a little new.

Mary Wine, my mentor from Kensington/Brava’s Writing With the Stars contest, is out with her first steam punk novel, A Lady Can Never Be Too Curious.

Lydia Dare’s Wolfishly Yours is set in Regency England, but her protagonists are werewolves who have to be tamed to meet society’s strictures.

Another of my favorite authors, Miranda Neville, visits the Georgian era with The Importance of Being Wicked,  a new series featuring reckless art collectors and how far they’ll go for the prizes they want. 

Here’s the complete list:

The Importance of Being Wicked by Miranda Neville

Wolfishly Yours by Lydia Dare

A Lady Can Never Be Too Curious by Mary Wine
 
Summerset Abbey by T. J. Brown

Tallie’s Hero by Sara Luck

Running Wild by Linda Howard and Linda Jones

Close Enough to Touch by Victoria Dahl

The Inn at Rose Harbor by Debbie Macomber

When Lightning Strikes by Brenda Novak

Touch Me Now by Donna Hill

Publishers Weekly is reporting Amazon will bid to acquire the assets of Dorchester, a publishing house which has been in financial trouble for more than two years.

According to PW, if the deal goes through, Amazon will pay all outstanding royalties owed to Dorchester authors. Amazon would acquire 1,900 active titles in many of the genres it already publishes in, including romance and westerns.

PW quotes Amazon as saying its authors will have a choice as to how they want their books published going forward. The final auction is on August 28.

According to PW,  the auction process was triggered by the owner of Dorchester’s parent company, who is owed $3.4 million. The publisher has struggled in the aftermath of the drop in demand for mass market paperbacks.

Dorchester’s troubles have been frustrating for authors and their agents, who’ve struggled to get owed royalties since their titles have continued to sell. Many authors have unsuccessfully attempted to get their rights reverted back to them.