Join HeRA for a special program presented by the Blue Springs SWAT Team.
Candice Green has been contracted to write the lore for Mufu Games' newest fantasy board game.
Published Author Alicia Dean releases her newest romantic suspense, Death Offerings.
Published Author Denise Grover Swank will present a program on Self-Publishing at Mid-America Romance Authors.
Published Author Denise Grover Swank announced she signed with literary agent, Amanda Luedeke.
Contest
HeRA's Annual Contest is open to published and unpublished authors alike. It is held in the fall of every year, just in time for entrants to receive scores and polish entries for the Golden Heart. All submissions are electronic only.
Each entry is judged by three first-round judges. Our first round judges are trained within the chapter based on previously-published RWA documentation, and are experienced authors. Our published authors and our free-lance editors also contribute to the first-round judging.
Final round judges are always professionals within the industry, ie: literary agents and / or acquiring editors.
2012 Contest Information | 2011 Contest Results | Previous Contest Results | Comments from Entrants
The 2012 Show Me the Spark! contest has been completed, with the following standings.
Finalists must have achieved a minimum point accumulation of 85% to continue on to 2nd Round juding for final placement determination.
Congratulations to all our winners!
| Contemporary: | |||||
| 1st Place: | KISS THE COOK | Marcy Bassett-Kennedy | |||
| 2nd Place: | HOMECOMING | Jo Anne Banker | |||
| 3rd Place: | THE SWEETEST SOUND | Jamie Disterhaupt | |||
| Erotic Romance : | |||||
| 1st Place: | HARD SURRENDER | Sarranna DeWylde | |||
| Historical: | |||||
| No finalists advanced | |||||
| Inspirational: | |||||
| 1st Place: | YOURS FOR ETERNITY | Christina Rich | |||
| 2nd Place: | BETTY'S HOUSE OF BEAUTY | June Bowen | |||
| 3rd Place: | LOVE AT TWENTY PACES | Christina Rich | |||
| 4th Place: | HEARTSONGS | Carole James | |||
| Paranormal / Fantasy / Sci-Fi : (Tied First-Round Entries) | |||||
| 1st Place: | GUARDIAN | Tara Sheets | |||
| 2nd Place: | PROBIE | Regan Lloyd | |||
| 3rd Place: | THE BLOOD AND THE VOW | Saranna DeWylde | |||
| 4th Place: | DEMON HEART | Kathleen Curtis | |||
| 5th Place: | DARK BRINGER | Mia Celest | |||
| 6th Place: | MOON BORNE | Heather Boey | |||
| Romantic Suspense : | |||||
| 1st Place: | KISS OF THE WHITE TIGER | Sarah Castille | |||
| Young Adult : | |||||
| Young Adult Final Placements are delayed due to Hurricane Sandy. | |||||
| RUNNING FROM SHADOWS | Karen Y. Bynum | ||||
| MIRACLE OF CURSED WISHES | Koreen Gonzales | ||||
| Thank you to our Final Round Judges: | |||||
| Contemporary: | Wanda Ottewell, Senior Editor, Harlequin | ||||
| Erotic Romance: | Leis Pederson, Editor, Berkley | ||||
| Historical: | Laura Bradford, Agent, Bradford Literary Agency | ||||
| Inspirational: | Raela Schoenherr, Editor, Bethany House | ||||
| Paranormal / Fantasy / Sci-Fi: | Whitney Ross, Editor, Tor Romance | ||||
| Romantic Suspense: | Erin Molta, Editor, Entangled Publishing | ||||
| Young Adult: | Kate Kaynak, Editor, Spencer Hill Press | ||||
Benefits of Membership
Critique Constructive Critique is one of the most valuable assets an author can have and HeRA facilitates these efforts.
Writer's Bootcamp As a member of HeRA all our Writer's Bootcamp classes are free of charge.
Annual Retreat Our Annual Fall Retreat allows members time to concentrate on writing, be that in workshop settings or simply time away to write.
Workshops Members enhance their Bootcamp Basics and further their craft with our monthly programs, guest speakers, and workshops.