2003 RITA® Winners & Finalists
Contents
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 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
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