We’ve all heard someone say it, usually in connection with the Oscars … And if you’re like me, you probably snicker.

“It’s an honor just to be nominated?” Yeah. R-i-i-ght.

Well, I’m here to tell you, in the case of the RWA Golden Heart® award, it really is true.

I’m not just saying that because I didn’t come home with the little golden necklace around my neck. (I didn’t. The GH in my category, contemporary series, went to Jo Anne Banker. Click here for a full list of Golden Heart and Rita winners.)

But I started saying it long before the awards ceremony. It hit me while I sat at the Golden Network retreat on Tuesday. The conference hadn’t officially started yet, but as a GH finalist, I had the chance to attend a day of panel discussions with agents and editors — a chance offered only to current and former finalists.

Win or lose, we were part of an elite group. Not everyone gets to put the words Golden Heart Finalist beside the title of one of their works. Heck, very few do. And I’m one of them.

As my conference roommate, Karla Doyle, pointed out while I was lamenting the fact that I didn’t hand out all of my business cards with the “2011 GH finalist” notation on the back, I can still use them next year.

She’s right. Come what may, I’ll always be a 2011 Golden Heart finalist.

Doors are beginning to open, golden necklace or not. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

P.S. Look for updates on what I learned from the conference (including a few photos), in the next several days. I’m still catching up on sleep and trying to digest it all.