2003 RITA® Winners & Finalists

Contemporary Single Title Romance - 7 No Place Like Home by Barbara Samuel PRH/Random House, Ballantine - Shauna Summers The Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe HarperCollins, Harlequin, MIRA - Martha Keenan The Boy Next Door by Meggin Cabot HarperCollins, Avon - Carrie Feron Chesapeake Blue by Nora Roberts PRH/Penguin, Berkley - Leslie Gelbman Love in Bloom's by Judith Arnold HarperCollins, Harlequin, MIRA - Beverley Sotolov Once Upon a Wedding by Kathleen Eagle HarperCollins, Avon - Lucia Macro Twice Burned by Jan Coffey HarperCollins, Harlequin, MIRA - Miranda Stecyk

First Book - 7 Shades of Honor by Wendy Lindstrom St. Martin's - Jennifer Weis The Baby Plan by Susan Gable HarperCollins, Harlequin, Super Romance - Zilla Soriano & Paula Eykelhof Danger's Promise by Marliss Moon PRH/Penguin, Berkley, Jove - Kelly Sinanis Falling Star by Diana Dempsey PRH/Penguin, Berkley, NAL Onyx - Audrey LaFehr A Perilous Attraction by Patricia Frances Rowell HarperCollins, Harlequin, Historical - Ann Leslie Tuttle Silver Dagger by T. L. Sinclare ImaJinn - Linda Kichline Wedding at White Sands by Catherine Mann Silhouette, Intimate Moments - Melissa Jeglinski

Inspirational Romance - 6 Never Say Goodbye by Irene Hannon HarperCollins, Harlequin Steeple Hill, Love Inspired - Melissa Endlich Firstborn by Robin Lee Hatcher Tyndale House - Becky Nesbitt & Traci DePree Gifts of Love by Crystal Stovall HarperCollins, Harlequin Steeple Hill, Love Inspired - Ann Leslie Tuttle Ruth by Lori Copeland Tyndale House - Diane Eble & Becky Nesbitt Summer Shadows by Gayle Roper PRH/Crown, Multnomah - Julee Schwarzburg Whirlpool by Lorena McCourtney Baker, Bethany House - Lonnie Hull Dupont

Long Contemporary Series Romance - 8 Taking Cover by Catherine Mann HarperCollins, Harlequin Silhouette, Intimate Moments - Melissa Jeglinski Babes in Arms by Kathleen O'Brien HarperCollins, Harlequin, Super Romance - Laura Shin Capturing Cleo by Linda Winstead Jones HarperCollins, Harlequin Silhouette, Intimate Moments - Mary-Theresa Hussey The Secret Son by Tara Taylor Quinn HarperCollins, Harlequin, Super Romance - Paula Eykelhof Seduced by the Enemy by Jamie Ann Denton HarperCollins, Harlequin, Blaze - Jennifer Green Wedding at White Sands by Catherine Mann HarperCollins, Harlequin Silhouette, Intimate Moments - Melissa Jeglinski What a Woman Wants by Tori Carrington HarperCollins, Harlequin Silhouette, Special Edition - Kim Nadelson What the Heart Wants by Jean Brashear HarperCollins, Harlequin, Super Romance - Beverley Sotolov

Long Historical Romance - 7 Stealing Heaven by Madeline Hunter PRH/Random House, Bantam - Wendy McCurdy Lost in Your Arms by Christina Dodd HarperCollins, Avon - Carrie Feron Magnolia Creek by Jill Marie Landis PRH/Random House, Ballantine - Shauna Summers Prairie Moon by Maggie Osborne PRH/Random House, Ballantine - Shauna Summers Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn HarperCollins, Avon - Lyssa Keusch A Summer to Remember by Mary Balogh PRH/Random House, Bantam - Wendy McCurdy Tempted by Your Touch by Jen Holling Simon & Schuster, Pocket - Lauren McKenna

Paranormal Romance - 4 Contact by Susan Grant Dorchester, Love Spell - Christopher Keeslar The Charm Stone by Donna Kauffman PRH/Random House, Bantam - Liz Scheier The Forest Lord by Susan Krinard PRH/Penguin, Berkley - Gail Fortune Twilight Hunger by Maggie Shayne HarperCollins, Harlequin, MIRA - Leslie Wainger

Regency Romance - 5 A Debt to Delia by Barbara Metzger PRH/Penguin, Berkley, NAL Signet Regency - Hilary Ross The Former Fiance by Teresa DesJardien PRH/Penguin, Berkley, NAL Signet Regency - Hilary Ross Kissing Cousins by Nadine Miller PRH/Penguin, Berkley, NAL Signet Regency - Hilary Ross The Storybook Hero by Andrea Pickens PRH/Penguin, Berkley, NAL Signet Regency - Hilary Ross The Errant Earl by Amanda McCabe PRH/Penguin, Berkley, NAL Signet Regency - Hilary Ross

Romance Novella - 7 "To Kiss in the Shadows" in Tapestry by Lynn Kurland PRH/Penguin, Berkley, Jove - Gail Fortune "The Bed Is Made" (aka Her Captive) in Once Upon a Pillow by Connie Brockway Simon & Schuster, Pocket - Maggie Crawford "The Bed Is Unmade" (aka Last Night) in Once Upon a Pillow by Christina Dodd Simon & Schuster, Pocket - Maggie Crawford "The Breeding Season" in A Mother's Way by Lisa Cach Dorchester, Love Spell - Christopher Keeslar "An Interrupted Tapestry" in Tapestry by Madeline Hunter PRH/Penguin, Berkley, Jove - Cindy Hwang "Kismet" in Sheiks of Summer by Fiona Brand HarperCollins, Harlequin Silhouette, Desire - Leslie Wainger "A Rancher in Her Stocking" in So This Is Christmas by Leanne Banks HarperCollins, Harlequin Silhouette, Desire - Joan Marlow Golon

Romantic Suspense - 6 Three Fates by Nora Roberts PRH/Penguin, Berkley, Jove - Leslie Gelbman Hush by Anne Frasier PRH/Penguin, Berkley, NAL Onyx - Ellen Edwards Purity in Death by J. D. Robb PRH/Penguin, Berkley - Leslie Gelbman Reunion in Death by J. D. Robb PRH/Penguin, Berkley - Leslie Gelbman Someone Knows by Karen Young Kensington, Zebra - John Scognamiglio Wild at Heart by Jane Graves PRH/Random House, Ballantine - Shauna Summers

Short Contemporary Romance - 9 Taming the Outlaw by Cindy Gerard HarperCollins, Harlequin Silhouette, Desire - Kim Nadelson The Doctor's Mistress by Lilian Darcy HarperCollins, Harlequin Mills & Boon, Medical - Bryony Green Good Time Girl by Candace Schuler Harper Collins, Harlequin, Blaze - Susan Sheppard Lazaro's Revenge by Jane Porter HarperCollins, Harlequin, Presents - Tessa Shapcott Private Investigations by Tori Carrington HarperCollins, Harlequin, Temptation - Brenda Chin Take Me by Cherry Adair HarperCollins, Harlequin, Blaze - Birgit Davis-Todd Taming Blackhawk by Barbara McCauley HarperCollins, Harlequin Silhouette, Desire - Melissa Jeglinski Two Catch a Fox by Isabel Sharpe HarperCollins, Harlequin, Duets - Susan Sheppard Two to Tangle by Leslie Kelly HarperCollins, Harlequin, Temptation - Brenda Chin

Short Historical Romance - 8 The Bride Fair by Cheryl Reavis HarperCollins, Harlequin, Historical - Tracy Farrell The Colonel's Daughter by Merline Lovelace HarperCollins, Harlequin, MIRA - Martha Keenan Diamond in the Rough by Patricia Waddell Kensington, Zebra - Kate Duffy Embrace the Sun by Linda Lea Castle Kensington, Zebra, Ballad - Amy Garvey Shades of Honor by Wendy Lindstrom Macmillan, St. Martin's - Jennifer Weis Tess and the Highlander by May McGoldrick HarperCollins, Harper, HarperTeen - Abby McAden The Texan's Wager by Jodi Thomas PRH/Penguin, Berkley - Gail Fortune The Willing Wife by Claudia Dain Dorchester, Leisure - Alicia Condon

Traditional Romance - 7 The Christmas Basket by Debbie Macomber HarperCollins, Harlequin, MIRA - Paula Eykelhof City Girl in Training by Liz Fielding HarperCollins, Harlequin, Romance - Bryony Green Finding Her Prince by Lilian Darcy HarperCollins, Harlequin Silhouette, Romance - Ann Leslie Tuttle A Millionaire for Molly by Marion Lennox HarperCollins, Harlequin, Romance - Ceri Tomlins A Royal Proposition by Marion Lennox HarperCollins, Harlequin, Romance - Suzy Harding True Love, Inc. by Jackie Braun HarperCollins, Harlequin Silhouette, Romance - Jennifer Walsh & Julie Barrett The Tycoon's Takeover by Liz Fielding HarperCollins, Harlequin, Romance - Bryony Green