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And the winner is…
The 2014 Harlequin So You Think You Can Write competition came to a dramatic close yesterday when Harlequin Presents Editor Carly Byrne made THE CALL to our winner…Amanda Cinelli for her fantastic entry, Resisting the Sicilian Playboy. Amanda has won the ‘Ultimate Publishing Prize’ which includes:
- A two book contract
- An accelerated publication schedule, with a special digital edition release early in 2015 followed by publication in print series
- Social media training
- Dedicated publicist
- A Valentine’s Day champagne dinner for two to celebrate her digital book launch
We are beyond thrilled that for the third year in a row the SYTYCW winner is for a UK-acquired series (following Tanya Wright in 2013 and Jennifer Hayward in 2012) and that we’re welcoming this fantastic author to the Mills & Boon Modern/Harlequin Presents family!
“Amanda’s entry initially stood out because of her memorable opening scene; her heroine, Dara, is straddling the second floor balcony of an exclusive Milan nightclub in six inch designer heels! This immediately has the reader wondering how she got there – and how she’s going to get out of there – so I was compelled to read on. The rest of the manuscript lives up to the promise of the opening; Dara is a sparky and likeable heroine and her hero Leo is true Harlequin Presents hero – alpha, commanding and gorgeous! The characters have interesting emotional issues to overcome, such as infertility, and the historic Castello, where much of the story takes place, is very atmospheric. Amanda has a fresh and exciting voice that is well suited to the Harlequin Presents series.”
– Carly Byrne, Editor
“When my phone rang I was in a busy play centre surrounded by screaming children. After escaping to a quiet hallway and hearing Carly and Sharon announce that I had won, I was just overwhelmed with shock and awe. I almost didn’t enter the contest this year, so to get ‘the call’ was just surreal. I had to stop myself from asking ‘Are you sure?’. I’ve always dreamed of seeing my name on a book jacket, and I’m getting giddy just thinking about it. This is such a major turning point in my life, a new career doing something I absolutely love. It’s a dream come true and I’m so thankful.”
– Amanda Cinelli, SYTYCW 2014 Winner
Amanda Cinelli was raised in a wonderfully large Irish/ Italian family in the suburbs of Dublin. Her love of romance was inspired after “borrowing” one of her mother’s beloved Harlequin Mills & Boon novels at the age of twelve. A penchant for writing soon developed as a necessary outlet for her wildly overactive imagination. Now married with a daughter of her own, she splits her time between changing nappies, writing love stories and studying psychology.
Watch this space for more details on next year’s competition and find all of the contest rules at:
In the meantime, why not follow Amanda on Twitter and congratulate her: @AmandaSofia89