What the heck is DABWAHA?

If you hang around Facebook or Twitter, you probably heard me giggling in glee on Sunday, when I discovered Radiant Desire was listed as a DABWAHA finalist. Of course, the first thing you probably wondered was—what the heck is DABWAHA? And on a related note, why is Inara so absurdly excited about it?

Before I tell you about DABWAHA, let me preface by telling you a little about 2011. It wasn't my favorite year. The sequel to my Delcroix Academy book, The Watchers, was re-titled, re-branded, and pushed out for publication in 2012. After having quit my job in 2010, I decided (for financial and mental health reasons) that I needed to go back to work. But I didn't want to go back to what I'd been doing before, and really didn't want to practice law full time. So I found myself starting over, applying for jobs I knew nothing about, and, frankly, not getting them.

That really wasn't fun.

My single title adult romance, Radiant Desire, was released in October 2011 by Entangled Publishing, and while it got lovely reviews, it didn't exactly hit the NYT bestseller list.

But here's the thing: I'm a stubborn cuss. I wasn't going back to corporate law, and I was going to keep publishing, damn it. I do school visits and talk to students all the time about not giving up. I was living that mantra, just like I lived it when I started in publishing (chalking up over 100 rejections before I found an agent).

And then 2012 came along, and things started to turn around. I found a good, part-time job (actually, several of them) that allowed me to make some money, keep writing, and finally try out my dream job of teaching at a law school. I released another book with Entangled, Rules of Negotiation, and right now, it's #6 on Amazon's "Hot New Releases" bestseller list for romance series. A nice review for The Marked (formerly, The Watchers) came in from Kirkus, a notoriously snarky reviewer, from someone who is apparently a fan of both Dancia and Jack.

Which brings us to…DABWAHA. DABWAHA stands for Dear Author Bitchery Writing Award for Hella Authors. I think that means "a contest for really good writers, sponsored by the gals at Dear Author and Smart Bitches, Trashy Books."

The contest is set up like March Madness, that basketball thing I haven't the least bit of interest in following, despite the fact that I went to Duke and really ought to care. 64 books are chosen as finalists, eight in each of eight sub-genres. Books are pitted against each other and readers vote for their favorites. Just like with college basketball, before the games start, readers pick brackets and try to figure out who will move on to the next rounds. There are big prizes involved for winning authors and winning bracket-pickers. Ipads, tons of books, that sort of thing.

But the best part about DABWAHA is the trash talking. Authors troll for votes, beg and plead with their fans, and trash talk other authors (all in good fun, of course—nothing mean!). I watched one of my favorite authors, Julie James, engage in an all-out crazy vote blitz last year, and this year I desperately wanted into the fight. With luck on my side, and 2012 being the year of the phoenix, I figured, what the heck?! I'm going for it.

So, I sent out some emails. Okay, a lot of emails. To family, friends, and whoever I thought might nominate Radiant Desire. And here's the crazy thing—IT WORKED! Radiant Desire ended up as the "Reader Nominee" in the Paranormal/Urban Fantasy category of DABWAHA.

Needless to say, I'm thrilled. Thrilled beyond measure.

And grinning. A lot.

So, if you're a romance reader, or even if you just like books and want to get into the contest, you might want to go to the DABWAHA website and fill out a bracket. It's free. It's fun. You'll find some new, fabulous books to read. You might win a prize. You don't have to pick my book in your brackets. (Some might suggest that it's foolhardy to do so!) The bracket picks don't affect the outcome of the match-ups. Only the voting matters when determining who advances to the next round.

Once the brackets are picked, you will probably hear from me that I'm looking for votes. In fact, why don't we just get that out of the way right now—I'm really hoping you'll vote for Radiant Desire in the first round. I'm a dark horse. A Cinderella story. The underdog. All those fantastic things. And all you have to do is vote.

But you can't vote just yet. Voting begins on March 14th. You can find the schedule and more information, including how to select your brackets, at the DABWAHA website. But I'm getting my team in shape NOW.

Are you with me?

RAWR!!