It's the New Zoo Review Contest!

EXTENDED, new end date Feb. 26.

Welcome to the easiest contest ever.

Almost 60 of you should now have, or be getting very soon, your one-of-a-kind, signed copy of "The List." If you don't have a copy, you can buy one now!

I have four reviews so far on Amazon, all great (aw, shucks *blushes*), but I want more, more, more!

So here's all you need to do to enter. Read the book you received. Go to my Amazon page and write a review (you may have to log into Amazon.)

How easy is that?

Anyone that writes a review between now and February 9 (that gives you a while to read it) gets entered in the contest. (You'll need to let me know in comments on this blog if you have a username that isn't obvious as to who you are.) If you're one of the lovely folks that's already left a review, you rock, and you're already entered once.

If you copy your review onto the Facebook page in the review section, you get TWO entries. (So those of you who reviewed on Amazon can be entered again if you do this part.)

On Feb. 10, I'll randomly select a name (probably from a hat) and that person will win a $50 hotel discount card, and a really cool new "The List" bookmark.

If I made the contest any easier, I'd just hand someone the prize, and that's no fun!

13 Wacky Items on Candace's List

More and more people are telling me that the theme of the book really resonates with their life. Well, duh! ;) Everywhere I go people are telling me "My wife had a list!" or "My list has that!"

Here is a list of 13 things that are on Candace's list the main character in my romantic novel, The List. (They're in no particular order) You can now buy The List on Amazon, made easy thanks to this sentence of shameless self promotion.



1. Likes to hold hands
2. Has good taste in furniture
3. Doesn't live with Mom
4. Not a vegetarian
5. No tattoos
6. No piercings
7. Hair in the right amounts and in the right places
8. Good kisser
9. Not tone-deaf
10. Likes to dance
11. Has a steady income (no moochers!)
12. Good dresser
13. Taller than me


Home of the new Thursday 13

Excerpt Post

Wow! I'm learning a lot about book marketing and promotion from my Facebook and Twitter author friends. My new friend Sara, author of paranormal romances (check out her blog) pointed out that I didn't have an excerpt from the book on my site. (Duh, she says as she *slaps* her forehead.)

So I added it to my list, and now it's live! It's a snippet from the first chapter.

READ THE EXCERPT

Of course, after reading it, you'll want to buy the whole book! Which you can do on Amazon.

Whut? Nobody won?

I can't believe that nobody won the gorgeous necklace from Peggy Li. Well, technically, I won, because all the comments were that I sent you over here. Ha! However, since I already own 4 Peggi Li necklaces, not to mention ethical issues with giving myself the prize, I am going to use the necklace for my Valentine's Day promotion, coming up soon.

Meanwhile, I mailed all of The List yesterday from the online signing event this weekend. I'm happy with the success, which I judged by the annoyance on the face of the post-office guy that had to hand stamp and put postage on each one. We were there for over a half hour! The people behind me in line were truly annoyed, but I don't care, because it's not like I was being persnickity like the other woman who kept demanding that they find her package (that was clearly not there.) I was a kind, paying customer, so I can't feel guilty. Plus, if you come into the post office at 4:55 p.m., that's your fault, not mine.

In other news, I'm working on a new pre-Valentine's contest for The List, so stay tuned.

I am also looking for any bloggers that might want to team up for some co-linking.

And that's it in today's List.

THANK YOU!

Well, time's up on a fantastic weekend of book orders and book signings. :)

My hands are tired, and I can't remember how to spell my name anymore, but I had such fun doing it. Everyone should have an "autograph" that is a little bit different than anyone else's. I wanted to make sure that everyone had their own special piece of The List.

I am mailing all the books on Monday, via Media Mail, so you should have them in your hands in about a week to read them.

Once you do read them, I would appreciate any and all reviews (even bad ones, how can I improve unless I get constructive criticism. Just don't call me an idiot or anything. Ha!) If you could sign in to Amazon.com using the link in the navigation, and write those reviews, I will be indebted.

If you missed the fantabulous booksigning, you can still order your copy using the link in the navigation above, which will take you directly to the Amazon.com page for The List

Welcome to the Book Signing and Launch Part-ay!

Welcome! Come on in, take a seat. Mingle. Grab some virtual snacks. We have cupcakes with blue icing, cookies, and Chex mix! Scroll down for the "Buy" button and more info.


I'm so glad you stopped by, and invite you to buy a signed copy of my new book, The List. It's a story about Candace Saunders, who is a 30-something who thinks that by creating a list of things she wants in a boyfriend-then-husband, she can keep herself from making bad choices and getting hurt. She meets two men - one who matches her list, and one that is the opposite of everything she thinks she wants. Who should she chose? It's a bit of a brain-candy romance book. Some even call it a romantic comedy book. If you have a moment, check out the book trailer below. If not, skip to the end!



For this weekend only, I'm offering a special deal on my book. It sells on Amazon for $15.99 + shipping (unless you order over $25, then shipping is free.) You can buy it there anytime by following the links at the top of this page. However, you can buy a SIGNED COPY for the special friends and family rate of $11 + shipping. That's a huge savings! And it's all because you guys rock!


In addition to that special rate, I'm having a contest. You can win this lovely necklace crafted by my friend Peggy Li, who has had her jewelry featured on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and other shows that aren't as cool as Buffy but still significant, like CSI, etc. ;) It retails for $65, and Peggy chose it for my launch because she thought it represented the romance in the book! All you have to do to win it is leave a comment and send your friends over this weekend - it's really that easy.

Here's how it works.
1. Leave a comment on this site (where it says "reviewers raved about "The List") Make sure you leave a way for me to contact you, either with a Web site url, an email, something.
2. Then, send friends to this site. You can post a link on your Facebook page, tell your Twitter friends with a Tweet, steal the image above an post on your blog, or just stop people on the street. :) Tell them to follow step 1 and leave a comment, but to also tell me in the comment who sent them. For example, if Monica sends Heather, Heather says "Monica sent me" in the comment.
3. I keep track of who tells people about the book, and how many comments add up with their name as the referral.
4. The person with the most referrals wins the necklace. Second place wins a $50 hotel booking card.

It's almost effortless, really.

No purchase is necessary for the contest, but I really think you'll enjoy The List. Just select how many books you'd like (they make good gifts), how you'd like me to sign your book, and then click "Buy Now." You can pay with any major credit card, or your PayPal account.

ORDER FORM REMOVED, PROMOTION ENDED

Here's my ask of all of you. If you buy a copy of the book, I would so appreciate it if you would go to Amazon and write a review for me. Honest reviews are perfectly fine!

Win this Necklace!

Pretty thing, isn't it? It was made by my friend, and tv-star-jewelry-maker Peggy Li (peggyli.com). She's had her jewelry featured on Buffy (I own one of those), CSI, Without a Trace and more. She chose this romantic piece, which retails for $65, for the giveaway for my romantic book (romantic comedy) The List!

"How can I win that?" you ask. Here are the rules.

1. Visit this site next Friday, Saturday or Sunday, January 23-25
2. No purchase necessary, but if you'd like to buy a signed copy of The List, for a discounted price, here's your chance.
3. You leave a comment in my comment field (where it says "reviewers raved about The List"). This is to make sure I can contact you. (so there has to be some kind of email or Website associated with your comment.)
4. You then tell your friends, family, relatives, coworkers, or people you don't even know. :) You can do this by posting a link on your Facebook page. By putting a post up on your blog, etc.
5. They come to the site and leave a comment, saying who sent them. (Ie: Person A sends Person B. Person B leaves a comment and says "Person A sent me.")
6. Person B can also participate and send people. So Person C can say "Person B sent me."
7. The commenter who sends the most people to the site that weekend, that leave comments and tell me who sent them, will win the beautiful Peggy Li necklace. The second place commenter will win a $50 hotel reservation card.

Of course, my hope is that you will want to buy a book, but I won't hold it against you if you don't. :) If you can't make it next weekend, you can always buy a copy on Amazon.

-

You can now buy "The List"!

It's official. I'm now the proud owner of a published novel for sale!

I've just posted the book trailer under the Photos & Videos page, so you can get a preview of the book, and you can buy it by clicking on the "Buy on Amazon" link in the navigation, or, if you're lazy like me, click on this link below

BUY THE LIST ON AMAZON

On January 23, I'm having a weekend-long online book signing event. I invite you to visit that weekend to purchase a signed copy of the book, participate in a Web contest, and more. A new post next week will tell you all the details!