AN ‘OVER-the-moon’ author from Rugby is celebrating after being shortlisted for a national award.
Bella Osborne has been nominated for the Jane Wenham-Jones Award for Romantic Comedy at the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s (RNA) annual awards, for her novel A Wedding at Sandy Cove.
The author, who lives in Rugby with her husband, daughter and ‘a cat who thinks she’s a dog’, writes stories about friendship, love and ‘coping with what life throws at you’.
Bella, who jointly won the same award last year for her book The Promise of Summer, said: “I’m over the moon as it’s such an honour to be shortlisted. It means the world to know that readers have enjoyed my story.
She says she likes to find humour in the darker moments of life, and weaves them into her stories.
She added: “Since becoming a mum, I had stopped writing as a hobby – but a chance encounter with a life coach led to me finishing a full novel and eventually being published.
“There’s nothing better than knowing you’ve made someone laugh – and in current times, we need happy endings more than ever.”
A Wedding at Sandy Cove follows the story of seamstress Ella who, with her best friend’s wedding imminent, finally accepts her friends’ offers to set her up on a blind date.
RNA Chair Jean Fullerton said: “Once again, our lovely reader-judges have had the almost impossible task of creating award shortlists from what is an unbelievable number of cracking, page-turning novels. Thankfully they have, and I can only say this year’s shortlist books are the crème de la crème of romantic fiction.”
RNA Awards Coordinator Sharon Ibbotson added: “Our genre continues to go from strength to strength, providing escapism, delight and delicious romance with the turn of every page. Our shortlisted books, voted for by real, everyday readers, are a testament to wordsmanship and the dedication of their authors, who we congratulate.”
The awards, which have been held since their inception in 1960, are highly respected in the UK publishing industry. Previous winners include Santa Montefiore, Joe Heap, Julie Cohen and Milly Johnson.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony at London’s Leonardo Royal Hotel on March 6.
Visit www.bellaosborne.com for more information on Bella Osborne and her novels.
