Contests and Freebies!

Every now and then when I know about a few contests, I like to post them here so you can hop over and win something. I'm starting off with my contest, naturally. I'm having such fun with this one. The comments I'm getting about the free novella are wonderful. I have the most inventive readers on the planet! Plus when you tell me how you think the story should progress, you're entered in the March 31st drawing for a $100 gift card! You can enter once a month as soon as each new chapter goes up!

Michelle and Leslie's Book Blog is doing a give away that lets the winner pick their prize from a list of super titles. http://booksandmakeup.blogspot.com/ Pop over and give them a try!


Helen Scott Taylor is no stranger to my readers. I featured her Magic Knot a few months back. During January she's giving away signed copies of both The Magic Knot and The Phoenix Charm in her contest. Here's the link:

http://www.writerspace.com/contests/helenscotttaylor.html

Also worth a mention. Helen's holding a New Release Event at Bitten By Books on Monday Jan 11 and she'll be giving away a $100 Amazon voucher to one lucky winner. Mark your calendar!

Enjoy and let us know if you hear about any good contests!

Contest Cornucopia

Last week readers seemed to enjoy my Friday spotlight on contests, so here are a few more!

First up, from my friend Joy Nash:

Silver Silence, a Druids of Avalon novel, is in bookstores Oct 27!
To celebrate, Joy is running a special contest:

One lucky reader who comments on either last Wednesday's Chatelaine post (10/21) or next Wednesday's (10/28) by midnight ET on Sunday Nov 1 will win autographed copies of The Grail King, & Deep Magic, along with an autographed copy of the November RT BookReviews magazine featuring yours truly and the Druids of Avalon on the cover!

Please consider including your email with your post so Joy can contact you quickly if you win! And if you don’t…check out more chances to win at www.joynash.com.

Good luck to all!


Lots of my readers are also writers. JC Koi is running a contest to find the best book video! So if you're an author with a book out and there was a super cool video made to pimp it (either by you or someone else who has given the appropriate permissions), then send the link to jkcoi(AT)rogers(DOT)com .

Details: Only one entry per person, so pick your best! Contest entry deadline: October 30, 2009. Submitted videos will be posted on www.jkcoi.blogspot.com for voting on November 2, 2009. Voting will run until November 6, 2009 and the winning entry will be posted on the blog on November 9, 2009!

What do you win? Besides a basket filled with great books from some fabulous authors and a selection of other goodies. The winner shall receive a coupon from Blazing Trailers for 50% off a new trailer or a free trailer review.




Stephanie Worth, another one of my fellow Dorchester authors, has a new Christmas anthology out. To celebrate the release of her novella, HeavenSent.com, in HOLIDAY BRIDES, she's giving away books, gift cards, and beautiful keepsakes!

There are two ways to enter and yes, you can enter both ways.

Reader Thank You Prize Pack:
Sign up for her newsletter and you'll be entered to win a $10 Barnes & Noble gift card and a signed copy of Stephanie's backlist books, Where Souls Collide and The Holiday Inn. Three lucky readers will each win one of these prize packs.

Grand Prize Pack:
Stephanie's heroine, Brenna, has decided that the only way to make good on her mission to find a man is through online dating at HeavenSent.com. For a chance at the Grand Prize Pack, you need to sign up for Stephanie's newsletter AND write your own online dating profile! Five entries will be highlighted on her web site, blog, Facebook and MySpace pages. Two winners will receive a grand prize pack that includes a $20 Barnes & Noble gift card, signed copies of her backlist books and a gorgeous souvenir ceramic tile from Detroit's nationally renowned Pewabic Pottery studio.




And finally, a reminder about my little Merry CHRISTMAS BALL Contest! Someone is going to win a $100 B&N gift card on December 1st. Will it be you?

Several readers have sent me pics of their sightings of A CHRISTMAS BALL. It's been seen on a bestsellers table near the check out in a Honolulu Borders, on an endcap in a Phoenix Target, spotted in a Michigan Walmart . . . This little book is really getting around! Thanks so much to everyone who's picked up a copy! I appreciate YOU!

Oh! and today is Friday, my day to post at The Chatelaines. I'm hosting Lori Brighton, a debut author who's offering 3 chances to win her new book, Wild Heart!

Enjoy!

Friday Freebies!

As you know, I'm running a MERRY CHRISTMAS BALL CONTEST from now till Dec. 1st. (The prize is $100 B&N gift card and who couldn't use that just before Christmas?) Turns out, several of my writing buddies are running some great contests too! So I thought I'd share them with you.

Preparing for the holidays can leave you with little time for yourself. My friend Gerri Russell's contest will take care of that!


Just in time for the holidays... Win One, Give One As a Gift! One lucky winner will receive two Warrior’s Bride “Relax in the Bath” gift baskets. Each gift basket includes an autographed copy of Warrior’s Bride, a bath pillow, a bath sponge, and bubble bath, one for the winner and one to give to a friend. The contest runs until December 1st. Enter HERE!


This one is not exactly a contest, but it is a FREEBIE! My friend Bonnie Vanak has a free online read at eHarlequin starting Monday, Oct. 19! It's called Seducing the Vampire and it's about a half-vampire, half-werewolf who teams with his former love, a sexy vampress, to save a magick amulet from falling into the wrong hands. Each Monday for eight weeks will feature a new chapter.

What a great way to try out a new author! Be sure to check out Bonnie's latest release Immortal Wolf, which is out this month from Silhouette Nocturne. And say a little prayer for Bonnie herself. Her day job takes her into some rather dicey 3rd world countries. It's taking her to Haiti on Monday. I admire her so much for the way she helps others. You can read a bit more about that in her latest post at THE CHATELAINES.

You may remember Caroline Fyffe. She was here blogging about her debut release a few months ago and now she has a killer contest that gives you a chance to unleash your creativity. I know lots of my readers are also writers, so be sure to enter:


Caroline Fyffe's Under A Western Sky Contest
Don’t miss your chance to win a night’s stay at Slide Mountain Ranch in beautiful Tuolumne, CA. All you have to do is watch a 2 minute book trailer and write your version of the last line of the story. Here's your chance to write a happily-ever-after.....



If you haven't started the Tairen Soul series you have some serious catch up reading to do! From now until October 27, my friend C.L. Wilson is hosting a daily “countdown” blog on her website’s blog. Visitors who post a response to the Question of the Day are eligible to enter a weekly drawing for an autographed copy of QUEEN OF SONG AND SOULS (book 4 in the Tairen Soul quintet) and other great prizes. I love these books! So join the fun!

Hope you enjoy visiting my friends' websites and good luck in all the contests! This weekend my DH and I hope to attend an artshow. What are your plans?

PS. Today is my regular day to post at The Chatelaines. I'm talking about "saving the ta-ta's," starting with your own!

Hot Dish Friday!

In Northern Iowa, hot dish is what you have when you take all your left-overs, mix them in a caserole pan, pour a can of cream of mushroom soup over it and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. I'm sort of doing that with my blog today. Sorry.

Fridays are my usual day to post at The Chatelaines. If you haven't given this group blog a try I urge you to pop over. It features CL Wilson, Jennifer Ashley, Joy Nash, Gerri Russell, Bonnie Vanak, Cindy Holby and moi. Today I'm talking a little about my novella in A CHRISTMAS BALL. I've been so heads down working on STROKE OF GENIUS, this release has snuck up on me. As you can see, it's coming fast. (And as you can also see, you can click on the corner of this countdown widget and grab the code for it. If you decide post it on your blog, you will have my undying gratitude! Let me know you did and I'll build a link to your site!) You can pre-order your copy on Amazon!

Writing a novella was a different experience for me. 30K words seems so short when you're used to luxuriating in 90K. That meant things had to pop. It was a little like writing a romance haiku. Every syllable counts.

Now I'm writing at a 10 page a day pace. For A CHRISTMAS BALL, my recovery from cancer surgery slowed me to 2 pages a day. But this is a special story for me because while I was dealing with uncertainty and a good deal of pain, slipping into the world of A CHRISTMAS BALL was a respite. An affirmation that joy and beauty and love was stronger than what I was going through at the time.

And paradoxically enough, my editor says it's the funniest thing I've ever written.(No, it wasn't drugs! I was off pain meds by then.)

Last Monday, Tessa Dare came to visit and those of you who left a comment had a chance to win a copy of her book. I'm pleased to announce that Booklover1335 is her winner! Congratulations. Please contact me through my website with your mailing info and I'll see that Tessa gets it!

And while we're on the subject of contests, my CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST is still running. Please drop by and enter for your chance to win your choice of my backlist.

So that's all in the blog frig for now. The DH and I don't have plans to explore any more harbor islands this weekend (No need to make a "Spectacle" of ourselves again any time soon!) We're going (involuntary shudder) shopping. But we're shopping for him, so it's all good. (I know, I know, I need to overcome my shopping anxiety. I'm working on it!)

Have a lovely day and a weekend filled with everything that pleases you. (And if you care to share what things that might be, please feel free!)