Speechless by Fiona Lowe

Have you ever been struck speechless? It happened to me 12 days ago at the Romance Writers of America's conference in Anaheim, California. Back in April, my single title, contemporary romance, Boomerang Bride had been nominated for the prestigious Rita award and that in itself was a wonderful shock and delightful surprise.

Over the next few months, I read and enjoyed all the great books that had been nominated in the same section and I was heard to say more than once to my husband, "Oh man, this book is so good, how can anyone possibly choose who wins."

 The thought of winning had never really crossed my radar. The night of the awards, Carina Press staff took me out to dinner to a wonderful Hawaiian Fusion restaurant where I sipped Mai Tai's.  I pretty much floated into the awards ceremony and sat back to enjoy  the night.

When the point of the evening reached the single title contemporary romance category, I had a couple of books in my head that I thought might win and I was keenly listening to romance diva and legend, Linda Howard as she said, "And the winner is..." I was never more stunned when I heard "Boomerang" and then this almighty roar went up and I didn't hear anything much else after that. I think my mouth fell open Then my good friend and date for the night, Alison Stuart was hugging me and Angela James, the executive editor of Carina Press was saying, "We won," and still I don't think I'd managed to say anything at all.

Time seemed to slow down to nothing and then I remembered, as per the instructions at rehearsal earlier in the day, that I had to go up onto the stage. Shock is a funny thing and as I made my way to the stairs, all I could think about was how on earth was I going to get a 12", six pound statue back to Australia!

 "They" say always have a speech ready just in case and a month prior, when my husband had said, "you should write a speech" I had put bullet points on the back of a business card and shoved it in my evening bag. By the time Linda Howard had given me the statue and I got to the lectern I was shaking. My fingers couldn't get the card out of the little pocket so money, lipstick and tissues spilled out onto the podium. I guess I was lucky there wasn't a tampon in there as well!

 I finally pulled the sucker of a card out of the bag and when I saw the bullet points I felt a bit calmer and although I wondered if it was a coherent speech. Apart from saying my eldest son's name first instead of my husband, I think I did okay. Given that I tend to call all the men in my family by the wrong name and have been known to call them by the cat's name,I think I might be forgiven
;-) Once the speech was over I got all wobbly again and was pleased to get back to my seat although I'm not sure I actually let go of the trophy!

 Those few minutes from the announcement until just after the speech are still blurry but I remember the rest of the night...the wonderful congratulations, the photos, the champagne... all of that is totally clear.

 I did manage to get "Rita" home although airport security x-rayed her twice and dusted her for explosives. She is now on pride of place on our mantle. It was and continues to be a wonderful time in my writing career.

I'd love to hear your stories about the moments of joy where you've been struck speechless and I'll give away an eBook copy of Boomerang Bride to one lucky winner.

Fiona Lowe is a Rita award-winning, multi-published author with Harlequin and Carina Press. Whether her books are set in outback Australia or in the mid-west of the USA, they feature small towns with big hearts, and warm, likeable characters that make you fall in love. When she's not writing stories, she's a weekend wife, mother of two 'ginger' teenage boys, guardian of 80 rose bushes and often found collapsed on the couch with wine. A RuBY nominee, you can find her at her website, facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

Boomerang Bride is available now from Carina Press, Amazon Kindle, Nook and all other online book stores, as well as being available in print in Australia under the MIRA imprint.

 Letting Go With Dr Rodriguez is available from Harlequin.com as well as being on shelf in Australia. Her books can be purchased from  The Book Depository , iBooks and other online shops.