Tag: Book Pregnant
A “Wrap Up” of Places you Can Win Books (Including Mine) This Season
Nine days until Christmas, have you finished shopping? Well, never mind that. Have you entered all these SUPER holiday book giveaways? There is no time to waste, many of these giveaways are ending shortly.
1) The Historical Holiday Blog Hop at Passages to the Past – This is the jackpot! FOUR fantastic prize packages each an overstuffed holiday stocking of super historical fiction titles (and I mean win a prize and take home more than a dozen historical novels). Check it out! The Sister Queens is part of oh-so-impressive “Prize Package #4.”
2) Over at Let Them Read Books you could win ANY historical title of your choice (valued $15 or less) shipped to you wherever you live (yes, this one is international folks). Jenny has some recommendations based on her favorite reads of the year if you are looking for suggestions. 
3) At Tanzinites Castle Full of Books three lucky winners will chose two, gently-read titles each in another historical fiction giveaway.
4) Giveaway number four, at Peeking Between the Pages, has four fantastic historical titles on offer including books by Michelle Moran and yours truly.
5) And finally, if you are looking to step outside of the historical fiction box I have a pair of giveaways for you.
First, the authors of Book Pregnant are celebrating the “book baby” births of 2012 by hosting a giveaway of 2012 debuts. There are fourteen titles to choose from including literary fiction, women’s fiction, YA, historical fiction and more. At the moment there are more books on offer than entries—you have to like those odds.
Second, there is a very nice Books for Christmas giveaway at the blog of author Genevieve Graham featuring ten titles (including mine) across various genres and each with it’s own rafflecopter entry form. When you click the link you will be at the top of a string of posts, make sure to scroll down to see and enter all the contests.
I’ve just given you six excellent reasons to take a break from your baking and wrapping. GET TO IT!
Lucky Thirteen – Thirteen Things I am Grateful for on the Thirteen-Week Anniversary of The Sister Queen’s Release
For the superstitious, thirteen is hardly an auspicious number. And, as those of you who’ve read my blog post at Book Pregnant know, a novel more than three months past its release can start to get lost in the shuffle, leaving its author with a case of the not-so-new-anymore blues. Call me a cockeyed optimist but I choose to face the thirteen-week anniversary of the release of The Sister Queens with a list of thirteen reasons (in no particular order) that I am grateful to be JUST WHERE AND WHEN I AM.
1. My day started with this touching shout out from fellow writer Joey Francisco. Joey reminds us that reading can transport people—even people oppressed by pain and illness—and she challenges authors to “pay it forward” by donating a copy of their work to the book cart at their local hospital. What a timely reminder of the magic of fiction, and what a fantastic service idea!
2. Reviewers have been generous. To date The Sister Queens has received more than three-dozen very positive reviews. Most recently, The School Library Journal declared:
Word on the street (rather, consensus among historical fiction bloggers) is that this is an author to watch whose book is a page-turner, fast-paced, emotional, passionate, well-written and carefully researched.”
3. The Fans are FANTASTIC. I am constantly hearing from new people who love my book and support my writing. Readers, your notes, direct messages, and tweets mean so very much. Thank you. Thirteen weeks on, I am still receiving photos from Queen Spotters around the country. Got another picture of The Sister Queens lounging on a bed inMaine just this past weekend.
4. I’ve been invited to be a Presenting Author at the 2012 Baltimore Book Festival. What better way to spend the last weekend in September? I will be participating in a number of panels including a discussion of “Trends in Historical Fiction” and (oh JOY) a reconstitution of the “Sex and the Historical Novelist” panel that Kate Quinn, Stephanie Dray and I created for our triple-author appearance in April
5. I hit my all-time high Amazon ranking for The Sister Queens in trade paperback on my twelve-week anniversary! Looks like buzz is building sales even if The Sister Queens is not a “new release” anymore.
6. High fives, hand-holding and the occasional shoulder as needed from fellow writers make a solitary profession less so. I’ve never been in a more supportive profession. From the marvelous writers whose blurbs grace The Sister Queen’s cover, to the twenty-nine fellow members of my debut author group, Book Pregnant, the past thirteen weeks have been full of fellow writers willing to lend an ear or a hand as I navigated my debut. Talk about renewed faith in mankind.
7. Team Sophie rocked the postcards. Team Sophie is made up of readers who signed on to share their enthusiasm about The Sister Queens. Their first mission was mailing a few custom postcards to recommend the novel to friends. Team S, you all made a serious dent in my pile of postcards 🙂 and I don’t doubt for a moment that the buzz you generated caused an uptick in sales.
8. Book clubs made me feel welcome. I am now a book-club veteran with both live and skype appearances under my belt (here’s a picture of the Georgia club that provided my first skype date). A chance to discuss the themes and characters in my novel—that’s like chocolate, red wine and good sex all rolled into one. Bless you book clubs. Bless you.
9. My wip (work in progress) feeds my need. Sometimes I love it. Other times . . . it makes me feel like I am trapped under something heavy. But the truth is I can’t live without the magical time-traveling rush I get from writing. So I am happy for my current manuscript which keeps me cocooned in the 16th century.
10. My family reminds me there are more important things in life than how many words I write each day. When the muse doesn’t cooperate and I descend from my office grumpy and fershimmeled the faces of my husband and children remind me the day is still a success in other, more important, ways. And when the muse does cooperate and I forget about making dinner, I am grateful that my family rolls with it (generally) without complaint.
11. The twenty-five readers who reviewed The Sister Queens on Amazon, and the many more who reviewed it on Goodreads took the time to make a difference. You have powerful voices and help others make reading and purchasing decisions. Particularly at Amazon your numbers move algorithms, influencing how often and where my book is recommended to other visitors. Thanks!
12. Nearly 300 people have “liked” either my book page or my author page at Facebook 🙂
13. My agent and my editor had faith in me (and in The Sister Queens). That faith permitted me to step on the roller-coaster that is publication. It’s been a wild ride so far, but I haven’t thrown up yet! That’s something isn’t it?
Here’s to the next thirteen weeks with all their triumphs and trials!
The Shit Hits The Fan – What a Way to Start a Blog Tour
Two weeks until The Sister Queens’ publication date!!!
Today I officially dip my toe into the blogosphere in support of the launch of my debut. Over the next weeks it will be hard to avoid me in the virtual world, as many gracious bloggers open up their personal space to me.
First up, a visit with my dear friend and fellow book-preggo Mindy McGinnis at her blog Writer, Writer, Pants on Fire. And right out of the starting gate (as anyone who knows Mindy would expect) the SHIT has hit the fan. To wit, Mindy subjects me to one of her “SHIT (Submission Hell – It’s True)” interviews. Please drop by and find out about my personal journey on the way to securing my book deal. My advice for those going out submission – never say yes (to an agent or a publisher) just to say yes, and keep lots of chocolate handy.