Showing posts with label contest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label contest. Show all posts

Friday, February 22, 2013

CHECK OUT A KINDLE SERIAL: ENTER TO WIN KINDLE FIRE HD


CHECK OUT A KINDLE SERIAL…
ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A KINDLE FIRE HD!!
From Valentine’s Day through the end of March, three romance authors are combining to not only bring readers an easy opportunity for a chance to win a 7” Kindle Fire HD, but also the chance to discover a new and exciting way to read books!

Have you heard of Kindle Serials? It’s a blast from the past, where books are released in episodes in the same vein as in Charles Dickens’ day. Only, instead of getting each episode in a magazine or newspaper, you’ll get them on your Kindle or Kindle app. It’s kind of like your favorite television shows. The ones that leave you hanging each week, anxious to get to the next episode and know more!

Cheryl Bolen, Kim Law, and Patrice Wilton each have a Kindle serial releasing, and are hoping you’ll give them a try! In return, they’re giving away a 7” Kindle Fire HD on April 1st, and will give away three $20 Amazon gift cards along the way. All you have to do to enter is go to one of their websites and answer a simple question about their serial. Want to enter three times? Go to each website and answer a question about each serial.

Additionally, after reading each episode, join the fun by chatting with other readers on the Kindle forums, and discussing how you think the next episode will play out! Links to the forums are found on each book’s Amazon page.

Falling for Frederick, by Cheryl Bolen – Laden with mystery and suspense, Falling for Frederick is a fast-paced romance that takes place in contemporary England. Aided by the lord of the manor, a lovely doctoral student seeks a priceless medieval artifact – just a step ahead of those who've already murdered to get it.








Ex on the Beach, by Kim Law – Andie Shayne is getting ready to host the wedding of the summer at her resort on Turtle Island. As the guests arrive she’s taken aback to learn that her ex--who left her at the altar--is the best man. What he did was unforgiveable, and now he’s back with an agenda for her affection.





A Hero Lies Within, by Patrice Wilton – Old secrets linger and two reunited lovers are faced with more deception and mistrust. Can their love survive a second time around? Jake Harrington left her once when her life was falling apart, and now he’s back, and so are all the emotions she fought hard to expel. Can she forget his bitter betrayal, and will he forgive hers when to save her career she must betray his trust?






$20 Amazon Gift Card giveaways:
February 28th – Winner pulled from all entries from Cheryl’s contest page.
March 14th – Winner pulled from all entries from Kim’s contest page.
March 28th – Winner pulled from all entries from Patrice’s contest page.


7” Kindle Fire HD giveaway:
April 1 – Kindle Fire HD winner will be drawn from all entries gathered from the contest pages of Cheryl, Kim and Patrice. Enter up to 3 times to win!






CONTEST FINE PRINT:
By submitting your entry you agree to share your information with and sign up for Cheryl, Kim and Patrice’s newsletters. They agree not to share your information with anyone else. You may unsubscribe at any time.
One entry per person per contest page. (Up to three entries possible, one at each contest page.)
You must be 18 years old to enter.
You must be a US resident to enter.
Giveaway ends at midnight EST, Sunday, March 31, 2013.
One winner will be chosen at random from all entrants for the 7” Kindle Fire HD.
One winner will be chosen at random for each of the Amazon gift cards.

.
Winner selections are at the sole discretion of Cheryl Bolen, Kim Law and Patrice Wilton. All decisions are final.
Winner will be notified via email.
Winner agrees for their name to be used in newsletters, on websites, twitter, and on the Facebook pages of Cheryl Bolen, Kim Law, and Patrice Wilton.
Giveaway is sponsored by Cheryl Bolen, Kim Law, and Patrice Wilton. No purchase necessary. Cheryl Bolen, Kim Law, and Patrice Wilton are not responsible for transmission failures, computer glitches or lost, late, damaged or returned mail.







Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Writing Life & Tidbits & Sneak Peek Interview: Latoya Smith, Editor, Grand Central Publishing

I've been working on a new story that's challenging me as a writer. I want to write it fast, but the characters and the emotional journeys they are on toward deserving each other are taking a long time to unravel. In addition to the characters's journeys being very crucial to the development of my WIP,  I've had to deal with making the core emotional development occur in a very short amount of time.

Time is compressed. That means I have to figure out how to compress time in more pages without being BORING. I want to engage the readers's senses and emotions and raise the stakes at the deeper level during the compressed time. It's not easy. But I'm having fun figuring it out. And that just brings a smile to my face even now.

Another thing that brings a smile to my face is the interview I had with Latoya Smith, editor at Grand Central Publishing. She's the final judge for the Linda Howard Award of Excellence's  Paranormal/Urban Fantasy. I'm very excited about what she had to say about her life as an editor. As part of her interview, I asked her the following question:

If you were to give an aspiring author one piece of advice, what would it be? 

Promote, promote, promote and remember to stay humble.
  
Remember to stay humble. No matter who you are or where you are in your writing journey, that is a most excellent thing to carry forth into your publishing career. To find out more about what Latoya Smith thinks about the "slush pile" and read the rest of her interview, go to www.romancemagicians.blogspot.com tomorrow, February 21st. Polish your entries now. The 2013 Linda Howard Award of Excellence is still open for your diamond waiting to be discovered. Check out www.southernmagic.org for details.

Happy Writing!

Monday, February 18, 2013

Writing Life & Tidbits & Sneak Interview Preview : Beth Miller, Agent, Writers House

I've been teasing you about my current WIP. And it's been fun. I think part of the reason I'm being coy is that my characters are behaving exactly the same way. This hero and heroine are driving me batty. He's a stoic, only child who buries his emotions. She's the youngest of five and was neglected so she's learned to be a spark of light.

They're perfect for each other, right? But they aren't making it easy for me. I'm working hard to figure out what's driving them together and pushing them apart. At heart they are more alike, than they are different. It is in the differences that the conflict occurs. The EMOTIONAL conflict. And that's why this story is a little different for me. Instead of external devices and turning points being used to drive the story forward, internal revelations and emotional responses are driving the story. THE CHARACTERS are in charge.

And whenever I try to put them somewhere to make the story move a bit more, they fight me. But then she's a rebel and he's an alpha male who wants to control everything. Trust me, there's a lot of hair washing going on at my house just to shake loose what they want to say.

Agent Beth Miller at Writers House took the time to speak with me about her writing background and how she ended up becoming an editor with a very unique skill set. You'll have to tune in tomorrow, February 19th at www.romancemagians.blogspot.com to learn them. But I do want to share who we both go fan-girl over in the Romance Writing world. Here's what she said when I asked her this question:


Have you ever become star-struck when meeting an author? If so, who?

Nora Roberts.  I may have drooled.  J


I still can't stop dropping my chin to the ground and gaping at Nora Roberts whenever I see her at the RWA National Conference. She's just amazing to me. And so is Linda Howard. She supports our writing chapters at the local and national level. How awesome is that? So polish your entries now. The 2013 Linda Howard Award of Excellence is still open for your diamond waiting to be discovered. Check out www.southernmagic.org for details.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

LINDA HOWARD AWARD OF EXCELLENCE: DEADLINES, EDITORS, INTERVIEWS OH MY


The 2013 LINDA HOWARD AWARD OF EXCELLENCE
OPEN for Contest Entries.

No Synopsis? No Problem! 
Enter first 25 manuscript pages in the Linda Howard Award of Excellence Contest
No Synopsis required in first round of judging. Finalists given a week to revise entries and add synopsis before sending to final judges.
First Round Judges are PRO, published, unpublished & trained.
SIGN UP TO JUDGE IN ANOTHER CATEGORY AND SAVE $5!!!!

FIND OUT WHAT THE FINAL JUDGES ARE LOOKING FOR IN ROMANCE MAGICIANS BLOG STARTING THIS WEEK:

Tuesday, February 12: Alethea Spiridon Hopson, Editor, ENTANGLED for Contemporary Series.

Thursday, February 14: Chelsey Emmelhainz, Editor, HarperCollins/AVON IMPULSE for Historical Romance.

Tuesday, February 19: Beth Miller, Agent, Writers House for THE WRITE MAGIC/Southern Magic Category

Thursday, February 21: Latoya Smith, Editor, Grand Central Publishing for Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Category.

Teasers on this blog from the interviews on February 11/13/18/20 along with a special link to an interview with Christine Glover, 2012 Linda Howard Award of Excellence Triple Finalist and Winner in Contemporary Series category. 


DEADLINE FOR ENTRY: February 22, 2013 
Finalists Announced: Friday, May 3, 2013
Deadline for entry and synopsis to be returned to coordinators: Friday, May 10, 2013

FINALISTS Announced at a restaurant TBD on July 16, 2013 a day before the RWA National Conference. Pitch with confidence all who make it to the finalist's circles.

Categories:

HISTORICAL
Final Judge: Chelsey Emmelhainz, Editor, Harper Collins/AVON IMPULSE

PARANORMAL/URBAN FANTASY
Final Judge: Latoya Smith, Editor, Grand Central Publishing

CONTEMPORARY SERIES ROMANCE
Final Judge: Alethea Spiridon Hopson, Editor, ENTANGLED Publishing

SINGLE TITLE
Final Judge: Eleni Caminis, Editor, MONTLAKE Publishing

And for Southern Magic Members who Final and/or receive an average score of 90 out of 100 in their respective categories:

THE WRITE MAGIC
Final Judge: Beth Miller, Agent, WRITERS HOUSE

DON'T DELAY. THERE WILL BE NO EXTENSION OF DEADLINES. ENTER TODAY!!!!

For score sheet, registration information, and more information visit the Southern Magic Website at http://www.southernmagic.org/














Monday, December 3, 2012

LINDA HOWARD AWARD OF EXCELLENCE: Spread the Word!!

****LINDA HOWARD AWARD OF EXCELLENCE CONTEST****
Permission to Forward Granted & Appreciated

The 2013 LINDA HOWARD AWARD OF EXCELLENCE is OPEN for Contest Entries.
No Synopsis? No Problem! 
Enter first 25 manuscript pages in the Linda Howard Award of Excellence Contest
No Synopsis required in first round of judging. Finalists given a week to revise entries and add synopsis before sending to final judges.
First Round Judges are PRO, published, unpublished & trained.


DEADLINE FOR ENTRY: February 22, 2013 
Finalists Announced: Friday, May 3, 2013
Deadline for entry and synopsis to be returned to coordinators: Friday, May 10, 2013

FINALISTS Announced at a restaurant TBD on July 16, 2013 a day before the RWA National Conference. Pitch with confidence all who make it to the finalist's circles.

Categories:

HISTORICAL
Final Judge: Chelsey Emmelhainze, Editor, Harper Collins

PARANORMAL/URBAN FANTASY
Final Judge: Latoya Smith, Editor, Grand Central Publishing

CONTEMPORARY SERIES ROMANCE
Final Judge: Alethea Spiridon Hopson, Editor, Entangled Publishing

SINGLE TITLE
Final Judge: Eleni Caminis, Editor, Montlake Publishing

And for Southern Magic Members who Final and/or receive an average score of 90 out of 100 in their respective categories:

THE WRITE MAGIC
Final Judge: Beth Miller, Agent, Writers House

For score sheet, registration information, and more information visit the Southern Magic Website at http://www.southernmagic.org/
















Christine Glover
Linda Howard Award of Excellence Coordinator
2012 Linda Howard Award of Excellence Winner and Triple Finalist