2003 RITA® Winners & Finalists

Contemporary Single Title Romance

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

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

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

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 byTara 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

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

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

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

"To Kiss in the Shadows" in Tapestry by Lynn KurlandPRH/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

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

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

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

'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