Borders Busts, Books Party with a Give-Away

 . . . Well . . . not exactly. But Edges and my readers will be having a party because I have books to give away - yes, you heard me GIVE AWAY. Shipping will also be at my expense.

I went into my local Borders and bought up the last three copies of Edges. They had been kind enough to buy a truck load of my books as I had been hosting Open Mic events, and "helping serve the community". (They're very community minded, these Mt. Kisco Borders folks. We will sorely miss them.)

What can I do to win a book? I bet you are asking. I like free stuff. Who doesn't? Well. There are many ways to increase your odds, folks, as your name can be entered into the lottery multiple times.

1. Follow this blog
2. "Like" Edges on Facebook
3. Follow me on Twitter
4. Retweet this post

Extra Credit:

5. Answer this question: what is your favorite way to unwind?

What? My name can be entered up to five times? You read that right.

So what are you waiting for?????? Use the comment section to tell me how many times you should be entered, and don't forget your email! I will pick the winners on the day that Borders closes it's doors for good: Friday, September 23rd

And the Winners Are . . .

Image by susie.c via Flickr

Yes, I'm going to announce the WINNERS of my little "contest". But first: I've taken a few minutes to meditate of the concept of "winning" and all I can come up with is an image of  Charlie Sheen spouting his hard-earned philosophy: "I'm bi-winning. I win here, I win there."


And the whole question of "winning" sounds ludicrous to me. If you win, do I lose? If I'm a winner, are you a loser?  It's ridonkulous.

"Art is art, and everything else is everything else." (Ad Reinhardt)

But thank you all for playing: "you gotta be in it, to win it." (Vince Lombardi?)

(And I'm just happy to be in the game at all.)



Charlie, Charlie, Charlie. You didn't win this time. Of course, you never entered the contest, but that's beside the point.


I'm a bit loopy after a busy (but good!) day, weekend, month (life?) of constant movement and I need to pick the winners for my little "contest".


Audio Books go to: WC Cannon and Ash.

Hard signed copy goes to: Cheryl Dale

Now I must hunt y'all down!

Night, night. Sweet dreams

The Flying Squirrel, and Other Birthday Lessons

I'm not going to do it. I am on a field trip with the fifth grade, and the experience is for them after all. Oh look, there's my son, Cooper, (pictured here) bravely being the first kid to try his hand at the Flying Squirrel. He is in a tight harness, attached to a rope, while his entire fifth grade class holds onto the other end of the rope. The instructions? He runs forward, while his class runs backward.

He is up in the air, flying whooping.

"You should try it mom," he says under his breath once he's regained his cool.

I don't know, I think to myself. I weigh twice as much as these kids.

I cheer on the kids who are scared, and watch their faces flush with triumph when they're on land. Obviously, there is some trust involved, and some willingness to relinquish control. Need that, much?

I had done the trapeze "experience" before, and I felt like I didn't need to do it again. It had been scratched off my bucket list.

But it is my birthday, and I am a writer after all - every experience has it's usefulness in the creative process. I'll regret not doing it. Even if I throw up.

And then the elementary school's principal, Mr. Gold, is flying through the air like Peter Pan and I finally get the gumption to shimmy myself into a harness and put my money where my freakin' mouth is: to be honest, open and willing.

I am the last but not least in the air after a running jump, and trusting these amazing almost-middle-schoolers with my life, and I feel like Spiderman, not at all embarrassed when I land on my tuchus and NOT on my feet like everybody else. (Well, maybe just a little!)

"You looked funny," a fifth grade girl says to me, engaging me with her smile. I have no doubt about that! AND Cooper wants me to sit with him on the log at lunchtime.

This is the BEST!

I am 43 years old today, and life is too serious to be taken seriously.

PS Don't forget to enter my contest to win one of two audio books of Edges or a signed hard copy by yours truly  - sign up by Monday, June 27th at 6PM!

Contest: Two Audio Books and A Signed Hard Copy For Grabs

We hit the six month mark on Edges last week and I didn't even realize it. Something must have been niggling at my brain because in my blog yesterday I announced a contest to win one of two audio books or a signed hard copy to my loyal readers. I was also riddled with insecurity.

But dang. We need to celebrate and for that I need to expand the contest! Six months peeps. No longer am I a debut author. I am a little more seasoned and rough around the edges (ha)!

Sure that means some insecurity sometimes, but I promised you authenticity, didn't I?

So. Contest rules. There are no rules! If you follow my blog and my Facebook page, I will enter your name 3x.  If you don't, no worries, play anyway - your name will be entered! I've hosted contests before where I've asked people to tell me about themselves, or answer a prompt, but I won't do that this time. It will be EASY-PEASY.

Just tell me in the comments where you will be vacationing this summer. That's it!

(Me? It will be a STAY-Cation with my family, but I AM going to Orlando next month for Leaky Con 2011!)

The contest ends on the first day of summer vacation for us out in the Northeast and the first day of camp: Monday, June 27th at 6PM.

And to bloggers out there - if you want to host a give-away on your site, let me know, and I'll see what I can do.

Peace out!

Waiting, Clapping, and a Contest

Image by Kaptain Kobold via Flickr

I'm sitting at my desk, waiting for emails.

At least I'm not waiting for inspiration to strike. My new-ish WIP has been put aside for the past couple of weeks as I pull together a schedule for Writopia Lab's summer program in Westchester. I am very excited: there is some buzz, and I want to be able to keep up the momentum by emailing responses back right away, answering inquiries, walking parents' through the registration process.

I also might as well come out and admit it: I'm waiting for my agent and/or editor to get back to me about The Land of the Lost and Found, although that will likely be a phone call, and not an email.

It's been at least a month since my agent hit SEND on the document.

It will probably be another month or two, before I hear anything. I'm sure "they" (the publishers) want to see how Edges is doing. (Which is another thing I get asked all of the time.) And the answer is: I don't know. Well, to be honest, my fear and my suspicion is that it has DIED.

So peeps, if you haven't yet already, please become a fan on Facebook, and if you are able, pretty please give Edges a boost on Goodreads and Amazon with some good ole' stars. 

Clap if you believe. It worked for Tinkerbell, didn't it?

In fact, I'm going to have another contest. I have two audio-books to give away. Rate Edges on Goodreads and on Amazon. I will enter your name twice if you take the time to do both! (Let me know in the comments section by Friday, June 24th). I have also announced a contest for a signed book on the Edges' Facebook page as well.


And look, in the time it took to write this, I got another email from Vistaprint, asking if I need more business cards. (First 100 free!)

See y'all on the flip side.

Vacation Contest!!!!!!

Vacation: a period of suspension of work, study, or other activity, usually used for rest, recreation, or travel; recess or holiday.

In honor of family time and the kid's winter vacation from school, I am going to take a break not only from my WIP, but from Facebook, blogging, and Twitter.

In my absence, I will be hosting another contest - this time I have two audio versions of EDGES to give away, featuring the fabulous Ryan Gesell and Cynthia Holloway and produced by Listening Library (Random House).

How to enter?

Follow this blog if you don't already, and in the comments section, tell me either what your ideal vacation is, or what you need a vacation from. (And while you're at it, couldn't hurt to "like" my EDGES page on Facebook too! Just because I'm taking a break, doesn't mean you need to!)) *

I need to live my life and fill myself up this week with family, friends and fun. What are we doing? I will keep that private until the contest is over, which is Monday morning, February 28th at 10AM. I will pick two winners lottery style, and then regale you all with a post about lessons learned on "vacation" from my internet/ laptop self. (I'll still be writing in my journal. I can't NOT write!)

Happy dreaming, living, and/or writing!

* If my question doesn't float your boat, just tell me what you are reading to enter the contest! I will be reading The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown (I guest blogged on her blog last December) and The Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett.

Related articles

• 'Weird Sisters' bond goes beyond Bard (boston.com)

Win a Copy of Edges!

Hello friends,

I am feeling a bit blue because I've had to reschedule my trip to the wonderful independent bookstore, RJ Julia in Madison, CT tonight. I just can't seem to shake this cold . . .

So in lieu of that,  I will use this opportunity to host Léna's Lit Life's first contest. Now, I am completely making this up as I go along - I know that bloggers do giveaways all of the time, but how, how do they choose? I am feeling too wonky to research, which means that I get to make up the rules. (More fun, right?)

Okay . . . rules . . . in the comment section, fill in this prompt:  

The door finally gave way and instead of opening,  fell forward . . .

It can be short, it can be long, first person, third person - this is meant to be fun. (Also include your email address!)

I will pick a winner at random on Saturday evening, and you will receive . . . a personalized autographed copy of Edges, and an extra small surprise - I don't know what that is yet, but I'll think of something . . .

Happy Writing!

PS If the prompt doesn't float your boat, then tell me about a time when you made (figurative) lemonade out of lemons!