ENCHANTING THE LADY & ENCHANTING THE BEAST are honored with...

My editor from Dorchester Publishing, Leah Hultenschmidt, kindly emailed me to let me know that Enchanting the Beast was nominated for Romantic Times BOOKreviews Reviewers' Choice Award in the Paranormal Historical category.

(I'm also thrilled to know that there is a Paranormal Historical romance category...what I write used to overlap several genres (historical, fantasy, paranormal, romance and sometimes you could even throw in a bit of mystery), and now it has one all to itself. Yay, RT! And, um, if that category existed before, blame me for living under my rock. And, maybe one day there will be a Historical Fantasy Romance category, which truly defines what I write.)

So with this announcement, I'd also like to congratulate my fellow authors in my Desert Rose chapter for their nominations as well: Linda Style, Pamela Tracy & Jennifer Ashley. With such stiff competition, I don't worry about actually winning...I'm just pleased to be listed among such fabulous talent!

And...

ENCHANTING THE LADY was also honored by placing first (a first for me!) in the 2009 VCRW Laurel Wreath contest in the paranormal category. Congratulations to all my fellow winners, and they are as follows:

2009 LAUREL WREATH WINNERS

SHORT CONTEMPORARY
1st place – Their Secret Child -Mary J. Forbes - Silhouette
2nd place – Finally a Bride - Lisa Childs - Silhouette
3rd place - Italian Doctor, Sleigh Bell Bride - Sarah Morgan - Harlequin

LONG CONTEMPORARY/ROMANTIC ELEMENTS
1st place – Windswept - Ann Macela - Medallion Press
2nd place – She’s On Top - Susan Lyons – Kensington Aphrodisia
3rd place – Blush – Opal Carew - St. Martin's Griffin

PARANORMAL/TT/FANTASY
1st place – Enchanting the Lady – Kathryne Kennedy - Love Spell
2nd place – The Accidental Demon Slayer - Angie Fox - Dorchester
3rd place - La Vida Vampire - Nancy Haddock - Berkley

ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
1st place – Out of Her League - Kaylea Cross - Wild Rose Press
2nd place – Pitch Black - Susan Crandall - Forever
3rd place – Conspiracy of Silence – Martha Powers - Oceanview

HISTORICAL
1st place –The Wagonmaster - Nita Wick – Freya’s Bower
2nd place –Unmasked - Nicola Cornick - Harlequin/HQN
3rd place - An Improper Aristocrat - Deb Marlowe - Harlequin

With Appreciation,
Kathryne

Fun links...

Mark your calendars! I'll be giving away an autographed copy of one of my books on the following days:

Enter this special contest all month: http://quinnessentials.blogspot.com/
Friday, May 29th: http://abookbloggersdiary.blogspot.com/
Friday, June 5th: http://www.theromancebookclub.com/guest-blogs/ (A letter from Sarah Pluckett, companion to the infamous ghost-hunter, Lady Philomena Radcliff, dated August 2, 1861.)
Monday, June 8th: http://siamckye.blogspot.com/ (Chat with me over coffee and get some practical advice for new writers.)

I've posted my adventures (in photos) of the Romantic Times Booklovers convention on my personal blog: http://kathrynekennedy.blogspot.com/

Best Wishes!
Kathryne

Romantic Times Convention...and Mr. Romance!

I'll be attending the Romantic Time's Book Lovers Convention in Orlando, Florida, from April 22-26, 2009. You can read more about this fabulous reader's event here: http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?i=D5EAF74A-2974-4576-90AD-F1E39D41E9F4

Here's my schedule of appearances that I've worked out so far:

On Thursday, April 23, from 8:00 pm to 12:00 am, I will be attending the Faery Ball as part of the Faery Court. I will be a Seelie (one of the good faeries ;}) and will be dressed as a Victorian Faery inspired by my Relics of Merlin series. You can meet all the fae, good & bad, here: http://www.thefaerycourt.com/faerycourtindex.html

On Saturday, April 25, I will be signing books at the Giant Book Fair from 11:00 to 2:00 pm. On that same day, from 5:00-7:00 pm I will be attending the Mr. Romance competition (more about that below!) Then from 8:00-9:00 pm I will be at the Dorchester Authors Mixer. And then from 9:00 pm to until-I-keel-over I'll be at Dorchester's Splashing by the Shore Dance Party.

Now, a bit about the Mr. Romance contest. Dorchester Publishing is again sponsoring this competition, where one lucky winner will have the opportunity to model for a Dorchester romance cover. The models will be portraying the heroes from several books...and my hero from Enchanting the Beast (book 3 in the Relics of Merlin series) has been chosen! This is my very first RT conference, and how wonderful it will be to see my hero brought to life. I can hardly wait!

Here's the mini character write up I did for the model:

Sir Nicodemus Wulfson

Basics: Goes by Nico. Wears Victorian clothing: Black frock coat, waistcoat, black trousers and boots, all a bit worn and frayed. His cravat is often undone and just slung around his neck with his white linen shirt half-buttoned. He rarely wears a hat. His hair is long and often shaggy, slung over his forehead and eyes, as if to hide his thoughts from others.

Nico info: Nico is a were-wolf, whose beast enjoys the thrill of the hunt and the taste of his kill, which often worries the man. He swims nude in moonlit glades and is more comfortable in the forest than his own castle. He goes after what he wants with single-minded ruthlessness. He cannot be tamed, but he can be gentled, and the right woman for him will have to meet his predatory gaze without fear.

;}

Enchanting the Beast will be released around the time of the RT convention, and hot off the presses from my publisher.I was already incredibly excited about attending my first RT, and now I'm just over the moon! If you live in Florida, or are attending the event yourself, I do hope I meet you there!

All My Magical Best,
Kathryne