Contest on Goodreads

Are you on Goodreads? Want to get an early jump on winning a free copy of A Man of His Word?

Well, you're in luck! Starting October 29th, I'll be giving away five copies of A Man of His Word on Goodreads! How easy is it to sign up? Super easy! Just go to the here and follow the instructions! The winners will be announced via Goodreads on Nov. 29th.

Not on Goodreads? Still want to win a free book? I've got you covered. Follow along at home with the A Man of His Word Blog Tour! Check out this page on my website to find out where I'll be blogging between now and the New Year. At each stop, I'll be giving away an autographed copy.

PLUS!

Oh, you're going to love the 'plus.' The 'plus' is a custom-made book locket from Artwear by Wanaree. She's still working on the locket--did I mention that it was custom-made?--but you can check out her page to see some of her beautiful, wearable art. More tour dates could be added so be sure to check in.

Free books! Free jewelry! Woohoo!

Of course, if you don't want to wait for me to get to the post office, you can order your very own copy at Amazon or Barnes and Noble. That's fine, too.

The Official Book Signing

Mark your calendars! Save the date! Book your hotel rooms early, they'll fill up fast! (Or not. But better safe than sorry.)

Almost here!

Yes, the official book release and signing for A Man of His Word has been scheduled!

On December 6th, A Man of His Word comes out! True, Amazon starts shipping it on November 29th, and if you can't wait until December, you can go here and preorder it now to be the first to get it. Go on, I'll wait. I'm patient like that.

But if you are patient or you just have to have an autographed copy, head to Great Debates Books in Quincy, Illinois on December 10th. I'll be there from 10 until 1 (central standard time, people!) signing books and handing out chocolate. I'll also be registering people for my grand-prize giveaway, a custom book locket from Artware by Wanaree. As soon as I have a picture of this stunning piece, I'll have it plastered everywhere!

So mark your calendars now! December 10th, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (I had to add that part to make my husband happy). Hope to see you there!

P.S. Here's the book trailer again, because I can't get enough of the shirtless cowboy. If only there was a way to get him to the booksigning...

Wallpapering!

I know that there's been a lot of Authorial to discuss recently, and trust me, there's going to be a ton more Authorial coming your way in the next few months. But I don't want you to thing that I'm not doing a whole bunch of Mom stuff. Because I am. Boy, am I. Observe:

This is our entry way, or, if you're feeling 'fancy,' our foyer. Note the run-of-the-mill cream-colored walls. Boring! (Not the woodwork, though. The woodwork is anything but dull and one of the reasons we bought the house!) (Butternut, for all you wood fans out there.)

So, I've lived with the vanilla (literally!) walls for six years. But I bought wallpaper to cover them two years ago. It was my Valentine's Day present. Next time I get wallpaper for a gift, you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm going to get some installation to go with it.

Okay, no need to dwell on wallpaper that sat unseen under a bed for multiple years of my life. The important thing here is that we hung it, and now the end result is fabulous!

Because I'm what you call 'OCD' and my husband is what you call 'legally blind,' I was in charge of the detail cutting and trimming. I wield a mean utility knife, let me tell you.Yes, I'm on a ladder in this picture. I'm tall, but I'm not THAT tall.





The end result?

 

So much more formal and classy, although I'm fully aware that wallpaper may be one of the most subjective things out there, but I like it, and it's my house, so there.

BTW, that kind of light is called a pan light, because the body is shaped like a pan (duh!). I knew you'd want to know.

Why are we hanging wallpaper? Well, the short answer is that we're weird. The longer answer is that our house is on the Quincy Preserves Behind Closed Doors fall tour this coming Saturday, October 15, from 10 until 4! I'll be handing out some of those 2,000 bookmarks, so stop by and see the wallpaper for yourself!

So there you have it. In addition to being published by Harlequin, raising a child that verges on precocious, having my home on a tour, and being a fabulous chef (oh, wait...), I also make time in life to slap some well-aged paper on a wall. It's okay to be jealous. You didn't stab yourself with a utility knife!

The Call by Jennifer Anderson

Author Jennifer Anderson
(No relation!)

Authorial Mom Sarah here. Please help me welcome Honorary Authorial Mom Jennifer Anderson back to the blog! Today she tells us how she got "The Call." Take it away, Jennifer!

About two to three weeks before the Lori Foster Author Reader Get Together in Ohio in June of 2011 (which is a totally awesome get together--I recommend!), I had decided to attend and meet some friends whom I'd actually never met before.  We'd connected on Twitter and hit it off immediately. Julie Lindsey was actually the one to tell me about Honey Creek and Turquoise Morning Press (TMP).

So I drove 5 1/2 hours by myself to Ohio. I've never driven anywhere that long alone. I got there and meet Lindsy and her fiery cousin, Nikki Brandyberry, who has a book review blog and we hit it off. (I actually wrote a blog about us meeting called "It all started with 2 Long Island Iced Teas, a Rum and Diet Coke, and a glass of wine."). 

I wasn't able to schedule any appointments since I'd waited to confirm I was attending. Instead, I decided to attend an open meeting/class that TMP was putting on where they talked about the company, their mission, and what new product lines they were working on.  

During the meeting, I raised my hand and asked how long should someone wait after they've submitted to them and was told they hadn't yet decided and were meeting soon. Kim Jacobs, the TMP President, asked my name. I sheepishly told her and she said "See me after this meeting." Around the room everyones eyes were big and round with smiles plastered across my face. Yeah, me too!  

So when I found her she said that she was 99% sure they were offering me a contract this week but the person who was in charge had been on vacation the prior week. Without thinking, I leaned into her and hugged her. Yes, I hugged a complete stranger. And she was like, "Oh, my God, is this your first time!" and I bit back tears and shook my head.  But I didn't want to get my hopes up because what if there was another Jennifer Anderson or a Jennifer Menderson?

I still made my calls home and jumped up and down and basically cried myself silly in a corner while I told my husband. Needless to say, two days later after I'd safely returned home I received a contract for Ice Princess. 

Before Ice Princess comes out, I'll have a story in Men in Uniform, a TMP anthology that will be available on November 21st. You can read more about it on my blog, Jen's Peanut Gallery Musings.