If you enter one writing contest this year, this is the one you want!

I sold my first manuscript as a direct result of a Romance Writers of America chapter contest. (I believe the North Texas chapter's Great Expectations.) The final judge of my category was Catherine Carpenter of Meteor Publishing. She bought the book six days after I sent the full at her request. (She was ill during the editing process, and I worked on that book, PLAYING LOVE'S ODDS with Kate Duffy instead.)

The West Houston chapter's Emily Contest is now open for entries. The deadline for...