Kindle Contest day 5 = P.G. Forte

Please welcome P.G. Forte!

1. What is your favorite thing about the colder weather?

Well, first of all, part of the reason I moved to California was to avoid cold weather. So “nothing” was my initial answer. However, I do love the foggy mornings we get this time of year and the sunsets are just glorious. If I had a fireplace, curling up in front of it with a good book and a glass of mulled wine might be one of my favorite things but, as it is, I guess I’ll have to be satisfied with smelling the smoke from other people’s fires. Luckily, I can still have the books…and the wine.

2. What kind of books do you like to curl up with on a cold day?

I love re-visiting old favorites, especially books with holiday themes or even some stories I read as a child. Anything that will leave me with a warm, cozy feeling and make me glad I’m inside and out of the…um, fog.  

3. What is your favorite holiday food?

Oh, that’s hard. How can I just pick one? I suppose, my personal favorite is a holiday version of rice pudding that I’ve gotten in the habit of making with cardamom and crystallized ginger. But mince pie and plum pudding are nice as well. Oh, and Struffoli—it’s just not Christmas without that!

4. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Probably the music. I love finding new holiday songs and new versions of old songs. I confess to being a little odd in my listening habits. One year, I fixated on ‘O, Holy Night’. I can’t even tell you how many different renditions of that song I looped together and played over and over again. The year before last, it was all Irish/Celtic music. Last year, it was music from the fifties and sixties…okay, and the seventies. This year, it’s contemporary—Melissa Etheridge, Relient K, A Fine Frenzy, Sheryl Crow.

5. Be honest, how much do you decorate for the holidays?

Hardly at all in the last five years. We didn’t have a lot of room and anything beyond a few strings of lights, a tree and some candles was overkill. Which made the music even more important.  This year, we’re in a bigger space so…we’ll see.

Scavenger Hunt Question:

In P.G.’s story, In the Dark, what singer-songwriter prompted Suzanne (aka Desert Rose) to go to San Francisco?

Click here to submit your answer.

As a reminder, do not post your answer in the comments. Comment will be deleted and the commenter will be disqualified.

A couple of notes on the contest…

1. Remember that in order to qualify as an entry, you must leave a relevant comment on the blog and send in the correct answer. Only doing one or the other doesn’t count.

2. Entries received for an author after that author’s day have passed will not be accepted. Comments will be turned off the day after a post.

3. Only one entry per day, per household. Submitting three comments and three answers under three different names, not cool. And yes, I know it’s the same person when it’s all from the same address. =P

4. When you leave your comment, you need to make sure that you are leaving  it under a name I can very easily associate with your name and the name you are submitting your answers under. If I can’t look through the comments and easily see your comment, you won’t get credit for the comment and therefore your entry won’t count.

 

I had thought these things were a given, and I know everyone wants a Kindle, but we still have to be fair and honest. =)

 

Kindle Contest Day 4 = Avery Beck

Please welcome Avery Beck!

1. What is your favorite thing about the colder weather?

I wish I had colder weather! In my part of the country, it still reaches 80
degrees in November. Sigh. But when it does dip into the 50s or so, my
favorite things are the significantly reduced electricity bill and the cozy
sweats I get to wear at night. I also like that I don’t have to go running
at 6:30 in the morning, because it’s still nice and cool at 9 am.

2. What kind of books do you like to curl up with on a cold day?

The same books I always like to read–a hot romance or interesting
nonfiction that will teach me something new. The other day, I saw a
magazine dedicated to Christmas cookies…that might be good this time of
year!

3. What is your favorite holiday food?

How much time do we have? I love holiday food! Gingerbread lattes.
Festively shaped sugar cookies topped with icing and sprinkles. My dad’s
tuna dip (and I don’t even like tuna…).

4. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Gathering the whole family together in one room for the gift exchange and
getting lost in a cloud of opened gifts, unopened gifts, and ripped-up
paper (and trying to find my drink amidst the mess). I like to play Santa,
but I usually have to fight my teenage niece for the part.

5. Be honest, how much do you decorate for the holidays?

Right now, I just do the living room, but I do get crazy there–tree with
all the trimmings, lighted garland around the doorways, wreath, stockings,
you name it. Oh, and a few lights outside too. I plan to move soon, and if
the budget allows, I’d love to shop for more decor and put a little
Christmas in each room at the new place.

Scavenger Hunt Question

In what month did Avery’s debut novel, Sexy by Design, release?

The answer can be found at Avery’s website.

Click here to submit your answer.

As a reminder, do not post your answer in the comments! The comment/answer will be deleted and the commenter will be disqualified.

Kindle Contest Day 3 = Denise Belinda McDonald

Please welcome Denise Belinda McDonald!

1. What is your favorite thing about the colder weather?

Aside from the cool crisp mornings—since I live in Texas—I love being able to wear all my sweaters, and I have MANY!

2. What kind of books do you like to curl up with on a cold day?

I like a good mystery. Something to keep me guessing what will happen next.

3. What is your favorite holiday food?

Pumpkin bread—I love bread any time, but around the holidays I love pumpkin bread.

4. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Decorating the Christmas tree, because it is something the hubby and I do with all our kids.

5. Be honest, how much do you decorate for the holidays?

I have boxes and boxes of trinkets that I pull out for the holidays. Ribbons on all the curtains and knickknacks on every flat surface. Every room, but the kids’ rooms (we’d never see it again) gets decorated.

Scavenger Hunt Question:

Which book does Denise have a “back story” for?

The answer can be found at Denise’s blog.

Click here to submit your answer.

As a reminder, do not post your answer in the comments! Comment will be deleted and the commenter will be disqualified.

Kindle Contest day 2 = Nicole Austin

Please welcome Nicole Austin!

1. What is your favorite thing about the colder weather?

Colder weather…in Florida. Eh, not so much. We do get a little break from the nearly constant heat but it doesn’t last long enough. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. I’d rather pay astronomical air conditioning bills and have a green Christmas than shovel snow and drive on ice!

2. What kind of books do you like to curl up with on a cold day?

Wow, this is a really difficult question because I enjoy all genres of fiction but my favorites would have to be edge-of-your-seat Suspense/Thrillers. My favorite thriller authors are the Special Ks (King and Koontz). No matter how many times I’ve read the stories the anticipation still has me hanging on every word.

3. What is your favorite holiday food?

Bourbon sweet potato casserole. Sweet potatoes, brown sugar, pecans and marshmallows with a little bourbon to give it some kick. Mmm…it’s so good. There are never leftovers but I’ve got it covered. I always make one to share during get-togethers and put away a second casserole for after our company’s gone home.

4. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Going to see Christmas lights is something my family looks forward to all year long. Our local newspaper runs a list of creative lighting displays to help us plan our route. We pile in the car, put our Christmas CDs on shuffle and have a great time. Depending on the weather we stop for either ice cream or hot chocolate. It’s a fun family evening we all enjoy.

5. Be honest, how much do you decorate for the holidays?

When my kids were younger, I went all out. Now I keep things a bit simpler. I put a fresh balsam wreath on the front door, deck out a real tree in the living room, put out my great-grandmother’s nativity set and string some white lights on the shrubs and trees out front.

Scavenger Hunt Question

Where does Nicole Austin find inspiration?

The answer can be found on Nicole’s website or blog.

Click here to submit your answer.

As a reminder, do not post your answer in your comment! Posts will be deleted and the commenter will be disqualified.

Kindle Contest Day 1 = Leslie Dicken

Please welcome Leslie Dicken!

1. What is your favorite thing about the colder weather?

Watching the snow fall. (While inside!)

2. What kind of books do you like to curl up with on a cold day?

Good ones! Anything that can help me to escape to another place and/or time!

3. What is your favorite holiday food?

Pecan Pie…but I love just about all holiday food!

4. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Since I was a kid, I loved driving around looking at all of the houses lit up with decorations and lights.  I still take my kids out every year to see our neighbor’s decorations.

5. Be honest, how much do you decorate for the holidays?

Since I’m Jewish, we don’t have too much decorations.  I tend to focus more on snowflakes, which I’ll hang in the windows.

Scavenger Hunt Question:

In Leslie’s futuristic novel, The Price of Discovery, what job does heroine Erin Price have?

The answer can be found on Leslie’s website.

Please e-mail your answer to terakleinfelter@gmail.com, with the subject KINDLE CONTEST DAY ONE – LESLIE DICKEN. In the body of your e-mail, please list your answer and your name and address. Please note that by participating, you will be signed up for that author’s newsletter.

As a reminder, do not post your answer in your comment! Posts will be deleted and the commenter will be disqualified.

P.S. I was hoping to have a form done to start this off, but my form person got REALLY sick, so we’re going to have to do it the e-mail way for now.

Kindle Contest Starts Monday!

Yup, that’s right. =) You didn’t forget, did you? The schedule is a little bit different than “normal” due to the holidays.

I wanted to make it convenient for people and make it easier for people to participate, soooo…. we will not be doing the contest on Saturdays and Sundays, and we will not being doing the contest on Thanksgiving (US), or Black Friday (the day after US Thanksgiving). Monday through Fridays only. =) I think not doing it on the weekends is a given this time of year…we all have a lot of holiday things going on, like parties and shopping. Woo hoo!

Now, remember, in order to participate, you’ll have to post a relevant comment (No, “Hi! That’s great.”, etc.), and you’ll have to answer the scavenger hunt question. Do not post your answer in the comments! There will be a link to a form to answer the scavenger hunt question and to give me your name and address. After, I’ll need to know where to ship the preloaded Kindle, right? =) Posting you answer in the comments will cause the comment to be deleted and the commenter to be disqualified. Not just from that day, but from the entire contest. So, yeah, you don’t want to do that. =)

So without further ado, here is the schedule:

Day 1, November 16 = Leslie Dicken

Day 2, November 17 = Nicole Austin

Day 3, November 18 = Denise Belinda McDonald

Day 4, November  19 = Avery Beck

Day 5, November 20 = P.G. Forte

Day 6, November 23 = Kelly Jamieson

Day 7, November 24 = Angelle Trieste

Day 8, November 25 = Dawn Brown

Day 9, November 30 = J.K. Coi

Day 10, December 1 = Cheryel Hutton

Day 11, December 2 = Rita Oberlies

Day 12, December 3 = Kate Johnson

Day 13, December 4 = Leah Braemel

Day 14, December 7 = Deidre Knight

Day 15, December 8 = Cooper Davis

Day 16, December 9 = Kimberly Nee

Day 17, December 10 = Joely Sue Burkhart

Day 18, December 11 = T.A. Chase

Day 19, December 14 =Samantha Sommersby

Note on the Kindle Contest

In case you didn’t see my responses to the blog comments regarding this, the contest is open to those outside the US as well. =)

NaNoWriMo Time!

Now, I know you’re all busy bees this month, working on getting those 50,000 words out, right? =) And I know you’re all going to be submitting those stories in hopes your NaNoWriMo baby will be published, right? Here’s something to think about when you’re done…

After you’ve written it, gotten your story and all those words out, I know you’re going to be anxious to share it with the world. One word: DON’T!

That’s right, I said don’t. Don’t share it, don’t send it to a publisher. Let it sit for a little bit and then go over it again with a fresh eye. You should do this with everything you write, but especially with your NaNo story, since those are written so fast and you don’t have the time to plot and characterize. And then, once you’ve gone over it with a fresh eye, send it to your critique partner or beta reader.

Just like with anything else, it’s important that you put your best foot forward when you submit to a publisher and attempt to share your story with the world. You always want to send it the most polished, perfect manuscript you can. We editors like to see that. There’s nothing that will get you rejected faster than sending in a sloppy manuscript. You can have the best story in the world, but presentation is always very important. Always. Remember, you’re not the only one out there with a great story to share. =)

Beat the cold and curl up with a Kindle!

Well, it’s pretty much time to officially say good bye to warmer weather and hello to the cold, wind and snow. Yuck! I’d much rather say hello to my pajamas, a fire, my comfy fleece blanket, a cup of hot chocolate and a good book to read. Kind of like hibernation, only for bookworms. Well, we’re giving you the opportunity to do just that! Some of my authors and I have gotten together to coordinate a Kindle giveaway for you guys. That’s right, we’re giving away a Kindle, preloaded with a book from each participating author. How awesome is that!
 
Each day, starting November 16, I’ll be posting Holiday themed interviews with the authors, where you’ll get to learn interesting little tidbits about some of your favorites. And if you have any questions you’d like answered, feel free to post them in the comments for this post! I’ll be collecting your comments and questions until October 30, when I’ll then write up my questions for the authors.

In order to enter, all you’ll have to do is post a comment regarding that day’s author, and answer a scavenger hunt question for that author. All answers must be sent to tera@samhainpublishing.com and all post comments must be relevant. Which means, no comments of “Hi, So-and-so. Great post!” will be accepted. You must put forth the effort. =)

Stay tuned for a list of authors and the dates they’ll be on here!