2005 RITA Winners And A Little Bit Of Scepticism…

Congrats to all the nominees and the winners of the prestigious RITA’s this year.

As Monica, so very astutely points out, the winners seem to be a little more of the same. She dubbed them Stepford romance authors, and I’ve gotta say, I can’t really disagree with her assessment.

I thought that the assortment of publishers was also quite interesting.

The winners were from the following publishing houses:

Silhouette
Avon
Harlequin
Berkley
Warner
St Martin’s Press
Signet

Do ya see what I see? Yep, much of the same muchness. I wonder what the judging criteria is?

Anyway, never mind all that, I know that I’m probably not likely to read books by any of the authors below (with the exception of Crusie), just cuz they won. I generally tend to stay away from books and films that have won major awards, I put it down to the purist in me.

Anyway, drumroll please....this years winners are:

Best Traditional Romance
Christmas Eve Marriage, Jessica Hart Harlequin Books, Kimberley Young, editor

Best Short Contemporary Series
Miss Pruitt's Private Life, Barbara McCauley, Silhouette Books, Melissa Jeglinski, editor

Best Long Contemporary Series
John Riley's Girl, Inglath Cooper, Harlequin Books, Johanna Raisanen, editor

Best Inspirational Romance
Grounds To Believe, Shelley Bates, Steeple Hill Books, Krista Stroever , editor
(sorry Brenda, not this year doll…)

Best Romantic Novella
"Her Best Enemy" in Night's Edge, Maggie Shayne, Harlequin Books, Leslie Wainger, editor

Best First Book
Time Off for Good Behavior, Lani Diane Rich, Warner Books, Beth de Guzman , editor

Best Regency Romance
A Passionate Endeavor, Sophia Nash, Signet, Laura Cifelli , editor

Best Long Historical Romance
Shadowheart, Laura Kinsale, Berkley Publishing, Leslie Gelbman, editor

Best Romantic Suspense
I'm Watching You, Karen Rose, Warner Books Karen Kosztolnyik , editor

Best Contemporary Single Title
Bet Me, Jennifer Crusie, St. Martin's Press, Jennifer Enderlin, editor

Novel with Strong Romantic Elements (what does this mean anyway?)
A.K.A. Goddess, Evelyn Vaughn, Silhouette Books, Natashya Wilson & Stephanie Maurer, editors

I’ve been meaning to read Evelyn Vaughn’s A.K.A Goddess, but I’ still going through my historical phase, so until I get to a stage where I think I’m well-versed in all things historical, I’ll not be reading any other genres.

So, what do you think of the winners this year, and more to the point, apart from Kinsale and Crusie, have you read any of the winner’s books?