This is why I still enter romance writing contests…

and it’s not for the reason you think!

So this happened today:

See that big black dot? It’s next to my name as a finalist in the 2025 New Jersey Romance Writers Golden Leaf contest! The finalist book is A CHEF’S KISS CHRISTMAS, my very last Dickens Holiday romance book.

To say I’m honored it too small a statement. I’m thrilled to be a finalist in this prestigious contest.

Even after 11 years of writing full-time, and over 70 books in print, entering writing contests is still a way for me to offset the horrible imposter syndrome that cripples me on certain days. And it’s a real thing. There are some mornings I worry that the words I put down that day are going to be trite, cliches, and worst of all – boring.

But then something like this happens and serves to validate that I can still tell a good story – so good, it’s a finalist in a writing contest.

So…yeah, I’m gonna keep entering contests, keep writing my books, and keep hoping someone, somewhere, is moved by my words.

Happy day, kids. A happy day.