The Emerald Pro is one of the premier awards for Romance Writers of Australia. It is awarded for an unpublished work by a published author writing in a new sub-genre. So each of the entrants has tried out a new style. Perhaps an author usually writes fantasy and they’ve tried something different like historical, or contemporary or paranormal, or the other way around. You get my drift.

The winner will be announced at a Gala Dinner held in conjunction with the annual conference in Melbourne in August. Whatever the outcome, I’m chuffed to be on this list.

It takes a lot of effort organising competitions such as this and RWAus does it magnificently, relying on volunteers like Tracey Rosen who was the curator for this comp in 2019; volunteer judges who offer insightful feedback over two rounds, and the final judge who is an industry professional.  Huge thanks to everyone involved. It’s an awesome program, especially for those of us new to the discipline of writing romantic fiction.