Ninja Giveaway!

Here's a fun and easy blogfest/giveaway. Alex J. Cavanaugh is celebrating reaching 1500 Followers! Can you believe it? I'm sure everyone knows him - he's all over the blogosphere. He's a perfect example of leading and following at the same time. He gives us loads of resources and awesome bloggers to check out. He replies and comments to all of his Ninja Followers. He does all this and writes books, too. I don't know how he does it all, but I guess that's why he's a Super Ninja!

He's giving away copies of his books, CassaStar and CassaFire to donate to the winner's choice of public or high school library, along with a selection of booksmarks. The winner gets bookmarks, too. I love this idea!

Here's what you do:

• Be a Follower
• Comment on his posts (once per day/post) 4/24 - 4/27 (worth one point)
• Be the first commenter of the day (worth ten points)
• Blog about the contest and leave the link on his site (ten more points)

The winner will be announced on Monday, April 30th, on the A-Z Challenges last day, which of course is the "Z" post.

Just Join! You know You Want To!

JUST A QUICK REMINDER! The Judge and Jury Blogfest has been extended until Friday, 9/30/11. Come on and join! You know you want to! It's going to be loads of fun! And did I mention the Prizes? Yep, loads of prizes. All you have to do is click down below, then scroll down and enter your name on the Mister Linky.  To enter, write a 300 word (or less) defense scene. The Jury (the first 12 to sign up) is already in place, and there are still 3 prizes to win - first, second and third place - if you defend yourself well, that is! And I use the term "defense" loosely. It can be as traumatic or as light as you choose to make it. Defend a stolen kiss or a brutal murder. It's up to you.

 Are you up to the challenge? If so, click here!



Just Join! You Know You Want To!

JUST JOIN ALREADY!
THERE ARE LOTS OF BRIBES PRIZES!

There have been a couple of changes. The entry  date has been extended to 9/30. Obviously the trial dates have changed, too, so please check them out below. Also, since I'm not really on trial here, I revised my entry for those who care to re-read it. I'm practising revising and I think the revision is loads better!

EXTENDED TO ALLOW MORE ENTRIES!
NOW UNTIL 9/30!

SIGN UP NOW

FOR THE JUDGE AND JURY BLOGFEST!
SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY 9/5 - 9/10 30
USING THE MR. LINKY AT THE END OF THIS PAGE.

Finally the Judge and Jury Blogfest is here. It started out as a celebration of my first blogoversary, but now I have a few more milestones to celebrate as well!

1. My First Blogoversary
2. Completion of the First Draft of my First Novel
3. My First 100 Followers!

As you'll see below, there is a New Follower booby prize. And someone has already won it. Who better than my 100th Follower, the awesome Hywela Lyn! Congratulations - you have won a $10 gift card from Amazon.com. A special thanks to Rach Harrie, whose platform-building campaign really gave me a big boost to meeting other bloggers. I had 35 followers at the start of her campaign, and now, as of this writing, I have 111 147!

NOW LET'S HAVE SOME FUN!

All Rise! The Judge (me) enters the courtroom. My Jury consists of the first twelve (12) bloggers to sign up for this Blogfest. Now – Round Up the Usual Suspects and we’ll have a trial!

Everyone who enters the Blogfest is a Suspect (including the Jury – they’re not getting off with a slap on the wrist. But not me – cuz I’m Da Judge). The Jury will vote on the Suspect guilty of writing the best defense scene. Any tie votes will be decided by the Judge.

HOW DO I PLAY?

Every Suspect (remember, this includes the Jury) must write a short defense scene in 300 words or less (a short intro to the scene is acceptable). It can be about anything legal or illegal, minor or major. A stolen kiss, cheating, robbery – even murder! It does not have to involve the law or court. Feel like sharing a scene from your manuscript? Cool! Or maybe a scene from a short story you’ve written? Awesome! It only has to be a scene where someone defends themselves against something.

WHAT ARE THE RULES?

• The blogfest will run from Monday, September 5 – Saturday Friday, September 10 30.
• At 12:01am Monday, September 5, a linky tool will go live on Run Gwen, Run!
• Post your entry on your blog and then add a direct link to your post to the linky tool on my blog before 11:59 p.m. September 10th 30th.
• Come back on Wednesday, September 14 October 5 to see the six finalists (chosen by the Jury), and then again on Saturday, September 17 Monday, October 10 to see the winners!
• All genres and forms are welcome.

WHAT ELSE SHOULD I DO?

• Copy the Judge and Jury badge and post it as a link in the sidebar of your blog
• Tell all your blogger friends about the blogfest
• Go to the other contestant’s blogs and give them some comment love during the challenge week 9/5 – 9/10 30.

WHAT ARE THE PRIZES?

• Each of the 12 Jurors will receive a $5 Amazon Gift Card since serving on the Jury is compulsory (According to the Judge, this should in no way be construed as a bribe!)
• A $10 Amazon Gift Card booby prize will be awarded randomly to a new follower – I’ve already picked out the Follower’s number. You may already be a winner!
• Third place prize is a $5 Amazon Gift Card
• Second place prize is a $10 Amazon Gift Card
• FIRST PRIZE is a $15 Amazon Gift Card
• All prizes to be awarded at the completion of the blogfest.

MY ENTRY

Technically, I'm not entering the blogfest as a contestant because that would be a conflict of interest, right? But I still want to play! I modified a scene from my YA novel - removed a couple of characters from the scene and changed it from third to first person. It's really tough to figure out what to cut so that it's less than 300 words! I ended up with 311 - close enough, methinks! And since it's a defense scene, I ended up with a lot of dialog. I'm not sure if the scene works, but here it is! Constructive criticism is welcome, please!

A Scene from Secrets and Lies

Drop-dead silence filled the room. My stomach sank right down to my toes, anchoring me to my chair. I stared at Badger and Simon in turn, my mouth working, like a fish gasping for water.

Use your words, Indigo, use your words, I told myself. Calmness is what we need here. I can do that. I’m calm. See? This is me being calm. I took a deep breath. Rested my hands on the table.

Unfortunately my mind is not attached to my butt. I sprung from my chair, which slammed into the kitchen wall behind me, providing the catalyst for the eruption that followed. Suddenly all on our feet, voices exploded into the room.

“WHAT THE BLOODY HELL HAPPENED OUT THERE?” Sometimes being the loudest helps.

I found myself on the other side of the table, glaring up into Badger’s furious face.

“What the hell do you think?” he yelled back, almost as loud as me. “You think we caught up to him, beat him bloody, then threw his limp and bloody body into the bloody river? Is that what you think?” he demanded.

He banged his mug on the table. It bounced, coffee splashing across the tablecloth. A spoon clattered to the floor, but nobody moved to pick it up.

“The dude is dead, Badger. Don’t you get it?” I ran my fingers through my tangled hair and began to pace. “You must know how this looks,” I insisted. “Did anyone see you?” I stopped and looked from Badger to Simon. “More importantly, can you be identified?”

The boys exchanged a look. Two formerly red faces drained of color simultaneously, instantly deflated, like tires hitting a spike strip across a road.

They were bloody well seen. They were suspects. We all were.

Simon was the first to speak. “We wouldn’t have had time to kill Billy and get back here ten minutes after you did. You can’t possibly believe we had anything to do with his death. We wouldn’t. You know we wouldn’t.”

SIGN UP HERE AND PREPARE TO DEFEND YOURSELF!

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Book Cover Design Contest

Here's a fun little contest that I joined over at Teralyn Pilgrim's blog site, A Writer's Journey. The object is to design a book cover and post it on your site on August 31st. with a link to her site.

Then go over to Teralyn's site, scroll down to the linky thingy and visit each contestant to see their book cover design. Once you've seen them all, go back to the linky list and vote for your favorite covers by clicking "like" next to the three covers you like best.

Come back on September 7th to see who the winners are! (BTW, you don't have to be a contestant to vote - everyone can vote. So please go to the polling station and vote!)

Simple, right?

You'd think so, except for the anally-inclined. Yes, I'm talking about me. I knew exactly what I had in mind and spent hours (and hours, and hours) looking for the pictures I had in mind. And couldn't find what I wanted! *sigh* Because what I really wanted would have to be done professionally....after a book deal....and a movie deal. *sigh*

Well, I always do have to make things harder than they really are!

Anyway, once I came back down to earth, it was rather easy. I made use of what I had (I mean skill-wise) and this is what I came up with. I really sorta like it, imperfect as it is!

Now traditionally, the blogsites with the most followers wins these things, so here are the official rules according to Teralyn:

RULES:

• People with the most followers on their blog always win these contests. It takes all the fun out of it. Please be fair and vote for ones that deserve it.
• Don't open an entry or vote on one just because it has a lot of likes; that's not fair either.
• Don't vote for yourself three times. That's just sad.

Let the Games begin!

Caution: Blogfest Ahead!!!

Here is the second warning notification of my upcoming Blogoversary and planned Blogfest in September.

My first blogoversary is in 15 days! This past blogging year has gone by so fast and I’ve really had a lot fun doing it. So to celebrate, I am going to host my very first Blogfest:

The Judge and Jury Blogfest

All Rise! The Judge (me) enters the courtroom. My Jury consists of the first twelve (12) bloggers to sign up for this Blogfest. Now – Round Up the Usual Suspects and we’ll have a trial!

Everyone who enters the Blogfest is a Suspect (including the Jury – they’re not getting off with a slap on the wrist. But not me – cuz I’m Da Judge). The Jury will vote on the Suspect guilty of writing the best defense scene. Any tie votes will be decided by the Judge.

HOW DO I PLAY?

Every Suspect (remember, this includes the Jury) must write a short defense scene in 300 words or less (a short intro to the scene is acceptable). It can be about anything legal or illegal, minor or major. A stolen kiss, cheating, robbery – even murder! It does not have to involve the law or court. Feel like sharing a scene from your manuscript? Cool! Or maybe a scene from a short story you’ve written? Awesome! It only has to be a scene where someone defends themselves against something.

WHAT ARE THE RULES?

• The blogfest will run from Monday, September 5 – Saturday, September 10. 
•  At 12:01am Monday, September 5, a linky tool will go live on Run Gwen, Run! 
• Post your entry on your blog and then add a direct link to your post to the linky tool on my blog before 11:59 p.m. September 10^th.  
• Come back on Wednesday, September 14 to see the six finalists (chosen by the Jury), and then again on Saturday, September 17 to see the winners!
• All genres and forms are welcome.

WHAT ELSE SHOULD I DO?

·    Copy the Judge and Jury badge and post it as a link to the sidebar of your blog

·    Tell all your blogger friends about the blogfest

·    Go to the other contestant’s blogs and give them some comment love during the challenge week 9/5 – 9/10.

WHAT ARE THE PRIZES?

·    Each of the 12 Jurors will receive a $5 Amazon Gift Card since serving on the Jury is compulsory (According to the Judge, this should in no way be construed as a bribe!)

·    A $10 Amazon Gift Card booby prize will be awarded randomly to a new follower – I’ve already picked out the Follower’s number. You may already be a winner!

·    Third place prize is a $5 Amazon Gift Card

·    Second place prize is a $10 Amazon Gift Card

·    FIRST PRIZE is a $15 Amazon Gift Card

AND NOW...I HAVE A CONFESSION TO MAKE

*Dramatic courtroom music plays – the kind from the old black and white movies*

I am Guilty. I mean really, really, really, Guilty...of wanting more Followers. I have 35 of the dearest Followers right now, but for this blogfest to be really successful, I need more. More, more, more. So I’m throwing myself on the mercy of the blogger court. Please spread the word to your other blogger friends about this blogfest, and if they have as much fun as I’m hoping, maybe they’ll Follow me!

Whew! I feel lighter already. Confession really is good for the soul.

PLEASE leave a comment to let me know your thoughts! It’s my very first time hosting a Blogfest, so any advice is welcome.

Third Writers' Platform-Building Campaign

The Third Writers' Platform-Building Campaign has begun. Hosted by Rach Harrie over at Rach Writes, this campaign is a way to meet and make connections within the writing community through blogfests and contests. You'll meet writers just like you, who are at various stages in their writing. You'll make new  friends, perhaps even find a critique partner or beta reader, within the same genre. By blog hopping to participants blogs and leaving comments, you'll be paying the support forward and help them to build their online platform while building your own. You may even get a new follower or two!

Just click on the links to the Third Writers' Platform-Building Campaign to get more details. Or, go directly to this linky thingy to sign up.

It should be a load of fun! I hope you'll join.

Blogoversary Blogfest in September!

This is just a heads up on my upcoming Blogoversary and planned Blogfest in September.

Yay! It’s almost my first blogoversary! This past blogging year has gone by so fast and I’ve really had a lot fun doing it. So to celebrate, I am going to host my very first Blogfest:

The Judge and Jury Blogfest

All Rise! The Judge (me) enters the courtroom. My Jury consists of the first twelve (12) bloggers to sign up for this Blogfest. Now – Round Up the Usual Suspects and we’ll have a trial!

Everyone who enters the Blogfest is a Suspect (including the Jury – they’re not getting off with a slap on the wrist. But not me – cuz I’m Da Judge). The Jury will vote on the Suspect guilty of writing the best defense scene. Any tie votes will be decided by the Judge.

HOW DO I PLAY?

Every Suspect (remember, this includes the Jury) must write a short defense scene in 300 words or less (a short intro to the scene is acceptable). It can be about anything legal or illegal, minor or major. A stolen kiss, cheating, robbery – even murder! It does not have to involve the law or court. Feel like sharing a scene from your manuscript? Cool! Or maybe a scene from a short story you’ve written? Awesome! It only has to be a scene where someone defends themselves against something.

WHAT ARE THE RULES?

• The blogfest will run from Monday, September 5 – Saturday, September 10. 
•  At 12:01am Monday, September 5, a linky tool will go live on Run Gwen, Run! 
• Post your entry on your blog and then add a direct link to your post to the linky tool on my blog before 11:59 p.m. September 10^th.  
• Come back on Wednesday, September 14 to see the six finalists (chosen by the Jury), and then again on Saturday, September 17 to see the winners!
• All genres and forms are welcome.

WHAT ELSE SHOULD I DO?

·    Copy the Judge and Jury badge and post it as a link to the sidebar of your blog

·    Tell all your blogger friends about the blogfest

·    Go to the other contestant’s blogs and give them some comment love during the challenge week 9/5 – 9/10.

WHAT ARE THE PRIZES?

·    Each of the 12 Jurors will receive a $5 Amazon Gift Card since serving on the Jury is compulsory (According to the Judge, this should in no way be construed as a bribe!)

·    A $10 Amazon Gift Card booby prize will be awarded randomly to a new follower – I’ve already picked out the Follower’s number. You may already be a winner!

·    Third place prize is a $5 Amazon Gift Card

·    Second place prize is a $10 Amazon Gift Card

·    FIRST PRIZE is a $15 Amazon Gift Card

AND NOW...I HAVE A CONFESSION TO MAKE

*Dramatic courtroom music plays – the kind from the old black and white movies*

I am Guilty. I mean really, really, really, Guilty...of wanting more Followers. I have 35 of the dearest Followers right now, but for this blogfest to be really successful, I need more. More, more, more. So I’m throwing myself on the mercy of the blogger court. Please spread the word to your other blogger friends about this blogfest, and if they have as much fun as I’m hoping, maybe they’ll Follow me!

Whew! I feel lighter already. Confession really is good for the soul.

PLEASE leave a comment to let me know your thoughts! It’s my very first time hosting a Blogfest, so any advice is welcome.

The Favorite Book Challenge Blogfest!

I am taking part in a blogfest in which you must pick five of your favorite books, write one line about what each book is about and then write one line about why you liked the book. Semi-colons are cheating, but you can use them anyway (I didn't use any but probably should have, lol!).  Then, go to other participants blogs (find the list at A Writer's Journey) to discuss the books. 

The Favorite Book Challenge Blogfest is being hosted by Teralyn Rose Pilgrim at A Writer's Journey, so please be sure to go by her blog to find the links to the other entries. I'm sure you'll find some pretty interesting books to read!

Since I read so many books, I chose books that I have read more than once. My entries are a mixture of some old and some new favorites. Without further ado, here they are!

Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert

The “chick flick” of books where inextricably unhappy Liz divorces her husband and gives up everything in order to go on a spiritual journey to find herself, and ends up meeting a cast of unforgettable characters who help her along the way. I love this book because it sends the message to women that they don’t have to settle and do what is traditionally expected of them.

Living, Loving, & Learning by Leo F. Buscaglia, Ph.D

Possibly the only professor in the world who was kooky enough to teach a class called Love 1A, Leo entertains us through stories of learning to love while growing up in a traditional Italian family. From reading Leo’s lectures, I get a strong sense of what type of person he was and it inspires me to try harder to be a kinder person.   

The Power of Positive Thinking, by Norman Vincent Peale

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale introduced a new way of thinking to the world when he wrote this book about finding happiness, self-confidence and how to achieve your goals through the power of positive thoughts. This is my go-to book when I need a reminder of how much my own happiness is directly up to me.

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

The ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet-To-Come teach Ebeneezer Scrooge how to love his fellow man through a series of nightly hauntings in which they show him where things went wrong in his life and remind him that there are more important things outside his counting-house. Scrooge’s transformation never fails to give me a warm, fuzzy feeling every Christmas when I read this book.

The Shack, by Wm. Paul Young

Mack Philips receives a note from God (who appears in the guise of a black woman called Papa, who cooks, no less) with an invitation for him to meet her at The Shack where his daughter died, in order to help him understand the horror of her death. I liked this book because it shows that God can be whoever we perceive him/her to be, and it explains some of the questions we have about why things like death happen.  

Naming Crystal's Abode - I Won!

I'm the winner! Me!! I took part in Crystal Cheverie's blogfest for the naming of her new bachelorette pad, and I actually won!!! Crystal is 35,000 words into her WIP and will be finished in July, before she starts her revisions. She just HAD to name her writing space before she finishes, right?.

And the new name, you ask???? *drumroll please*  The Chronicler Cave. She tends to choose basement type dwellings, for which you can come up with some awesome names for. Some of the initial names I came up with, well.....never mind. And, uh, it didn't really mean that I picked the best name, because she actually picked the name out of a hat.  BUT I WON!! Now I have to choose my prize: $10 Amazon card, $10 itunes card, or the book Naming the World. Is that your book Crystal? If so, I'll take an autographed copy of that!

If you get a chance, check out Crystal's awesome blog at Little Bundle of Contradictions.

Thank you, Crystal. It was totally fun thinking up names for you.

Power of Tension Blogfest

The Power of Tension Blogfest is on! It is hosted by Cally Jackson and Rachel Morgan.

What’s it about?
We all know that in fiction, tension is vital. Tension ramps up the emotional stakes for your characters and keeps readers burning through the pages to find out whether that tension is resolved. Tension comes in many forms – it could be animosity between family members built up over many years, sexual tension between strangers, or jealousy between work colleagues as they vie for a lucrative promotion.

We want to see how tense your fiction can be. Give us an excerpt (up to 300 words) from your manuscript or recently completed work (or just a random scene) that drips with tension and will tie us in knots wanting to know more. It doesn’t matter what the piece is about, as long as it screams tension.

And so here is my entry into the Power of Tension Blogfest. I modified a scene from the YA novel I'm writing (names have been changed to protect the innocent!):

This is only make-believe, I reminded myself, as he leaned in and softly touched his lips to mine. Investigating murder was proving to be dangerous on more than one level. We were only pretend lovers, and at Adam’s signal, we would bolt to escape the two goons who were following us.

“Do you think you can keep up?” I teased huskily. The feel of my body against his made my hands shake slightly.

 “That sounds like a challenge,” he said, kissing me again.

And that was the signal, which I had nearly missed. He grabbed my hand and we dashed across the sodden grass, sprinting toward a slit between buildings and into a rundown historic area.

As we raced through the twisting passageways, the corridors became almost cave-like; dark and damp, as we ran further and further, and ever downward into the maze of passages. I hoped we would be able to find our way out again.

It was impossible to tell how close our pursuers were, between the sound of our own harsh breathing and the mist and fog distorting the sounds that bounced and echoed off the stone walls.

The cobbled stones beneath us were slick from rain, and I struggled to stay on my feet. We had to hide, and quick. I hurtled around a corner and ducked into a dark stairwell, dragging Adam behind me. We tumbled further up the stairs, breathless, into the shadows. I fervently hoped that I hadn’t gotten us trapped. I peered into the alley below watching for the two men.

We waited. The only sound in the dark stairwell was our heavy breathing, when out of the shadows above us, a voice said, “Are you two going to sit in the dark all night, or are you going to come inside?”