Category: My Books

Winner, Auction, and News!

First up, Chelsea from the comment trail won my BOX ‘O BOOKS HOLIDAY GIVE-AWAY. This is the first time a Canadian has won one of my website contests, so that gave me a little thrill (I could tell by the .ca at the end of her email address WordPress sent me that she’s a fellow Canuck, and emailing her for her snail mail address confirmed it). I used a random number generator program to choose the winner out of the 31 comment trail and private email entries. Congratulations, Chelsea! I hope you enjoy your books and the free copy of BORROWING ALEX.

I received such a great response to this contest that I plan to do it again next year, but of course it depends on if I attend a conference in 2009 and if my TBR pile grows out of control. And, by all means, anyone who entered the contest and didn’t win is free to contribute toward the King Family Kraft Dinner Fund (a.k.a my teensy royalty checks) by purchasing copies of BORROWING ALEX or HEAD OVER HEELS from Amazon (please, someone, anyone, we’re starving!!). (Yes, I’m serious about the Kraft Dinner Fund).

Second, the For Jo Leigh—Gifts for Writers and Readers auction is on-going. That’s the link to the main website, and here’s a link to the ‘007 Golden Heart Alumni #1 item up for bid, which includes a critique from little ol’ me. Get on over there and bid! The bidding for a historical romance partial critique from 5 Golden Heart finalists ends December 8th, and bidding for a contemporary romance partial critique from 6 Golden Heart finalists ends December 10th. Now, if you’re wondering, is Cindy capable of critiquing a historical manuscript when she writes contemporary? Yes, indeedy, I am! In fact, my longest running critique partner is multi-published under two names in historical romance, and I’ve been reading and critiquing her stuff since long before she published (some might say I am in fact responsible for her success). 😉 My four ‘007 GH compatriots volunteering their time to read the same partial are all well versed in critiquing historicals as well, including Elaine Levine, who is published in historical romance with Kensington.

Lastly, but certainly not leastly, I had the happy news the other day that my work-in-progress, SEX, PIs & PACKING TAPE, finaled in the NOLA Stars Suzannah Contest. Yippee!! My entry and the entries of my five co-finalists will now be read by two agents, four editors, and the sponsor of the Suzannah. Almost as thrilling…my name is spelled right on the NOLA website! Way to go, NOLA. I now officially love you.

I entered this contest at the last minute (and I mean the last minute), so I am thrilled that my story finaled. Hmm, come to think of it, the year I finaled in the Golden Heart, I entered that contest at the last minute, as well. I think I’ve discovered a new trick to entering contests, LOL.

That’s my week so far. How’s yours?

Box ‘O Books Holiday Give-Away!!

The holiday season is nearly upon us—what better time to tame my TBR pile and give away a Box ‘O Books?

The books I’m giving away to one lucky winner are comprised of free copies I’ve received at writing conferences and haven’t found time to read, as well as books I’ve bought but have never read and have realized that with all the books in my TBR pile, I might never read them (not because they aren’t good, but because I tend to go overboard in my book-buying and purchase copies in genres I don’t usually read simply to support the authors), or books that I’ve accidentally bought two copies of (hey, it happens).

These are all new, never-read books. Not ARCs. Not used books. Brand new, never-read. Not by me or anyone else. Some were published this year, some last year, and a wee few are a little older—but they’re all still new.

Here’s what’s up for grabs:

Young Adult: Gingerbread by Rachel Conn, Gossip Girl by Cecilyvon Ziegesar, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares.

Chick Lit: Unbecoming Behavior by Stephanie Rowe and Enchanted, Inc. by Shanna Swendson.

Historical: St. Raven by Jo Beverley.

Paranormal: Dark Needs at Night’s Edge by Kresley Cole, 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover  by Linda Wisdom, and The Undead Next Door by Kerrelyn Sparks.

Mystery: Candy Apple Red by Nancy Bush.

Contemporary: Skinny Dipping by Connie Brockway, Record Time by Beverly Brandt, Tangled up in Love by Hailey North, and Got a Hold on You by Pat White.

If you’ve read this far, I’m also including a copy of one of my books, your choice of either BORROWING ALEX or HEAD OVER HEELS (please click the links to find out more about each book). If you already have copies of both (aren’t you sweet?), feel free to enter anyway, because you can always ask me to sign the extra copy to your mom, your best friend, or your guppy.

The Rules:

  1. Contest is open from Monday, November 24th to Sunday, November 30th. I’ll choose the winner’s name at random Sunday at midnight and contact the winner Monday morning, December 1st by email for your snail mail address, so I can ship the books. I will ship the books within 2 or 3 days of hearing from you, which means, you never know, you might receive them in time to stuff a few stockings!
  2. Only one entry per person please.
  3. I am very sorry, but because of the weight of the Box ‘O Books and because Canada Post doesn’t provide discounts for shipping books, I can only open the contest to residents of Canada and the contiguous United States. This means that if you live in Alaska, you can enter (seeing as Alaska borders the Yukon), but if you live in Hawaii, you can’t. I’m shipping the winner the books by ground, not airmail. The airmail cost, frankly, would be wayyyy too prohibitive for my rather skinny wallet.

How to Enter:

  1. Enter your name in the Comment trail, and please let me know if you would like a copy of HEAD OVER HEELS or BORROWING ALEX along with the Box ‘O Books. Please don’t be shy about entering your name in the Comment trail. I am the only person who sees your email address, seeing as I’m the Administrator of this blog, so whether you enter in the Comment trail or choose Option 2, yes, I will know your email address, but I promise not to use it for any other purpose but this contest. That means, no, I will not sign you up for my newsletter or any other promotional activities without your knowledge or permission.
  2. Or you can email me at cindy AT cindyprocter-king DOT com with BOX ‘O BOOKS in the Subject line, again please letting me know if you would like a copy of HEAD OVER HEELS or BORROWING ALEX included in your holiday surprise.

Go forth and enter! Tell your buddies, tell your chapters, tell your guppies.

If I get a good response, I’ll make the Box ‘O Books Holiday Give-Away an annual event.

Secrets Volume 26 is Shipping!

Secrets 26 is now shipping from Amazon! That’s U.S. Amazon. Canadian Amazon still has the volume showing as a pre-order, but that doesn’t mean you can’t order it now and then anticipate its arrival (even better, if you haven’t read Penny’s first novella yet, you can order Volume 21 AND Volume 26 and then wait with bated breath for them to arrive together). (Those are the Canadian Amazon links).

Why order Volume 21 AND 26? (Those are the American Amazon links). Because Penny has stories in both, naturally! Don’t you want to read EVERYTHING Penny has written?

Here’s the cover for Secrets Volume 26:

Nice and big and bee-oo-ti-ful!

So, which story is Penny’s? Honestly, if you’re a frequent visitor to the blog, you should know. If you aren’t a frequent visitor, I’ll give you a hint. If you search for Volume 21 on Amazon, you’ll note that one of the names on Volume 21 matches one of the names on Volume 26! Isn’t that amazing? The name that matches is…ta-da…Penny’s.

And if you don’t know who Penny is, really, people, try to keep up!

Note: Amazon has a habit of leaving one author’s name off the Secrets novella anthology listings. For Volume 26, Penny’s name, while on the cover and while her story, Exes & Ahhs, resides within, is missing from the American Amazon listing. It’s easiest to search the Secrets volumes on Amazon by author name, so search for Juliet Burns, one of Penny’s anthology-mates, and you’ll find Secrets 26.

(Penny is anxiously waiting for U.S. Amazon to correct the problem, but last she checked, they hadn’t).

Yesterday Penny received her RITA copies of Secrets 26. Yes, her wonderful publisher supplied the copies free of charge. Not always done, I assure you. Last year Penny provided her own copies. Maybe she’s moved up in the world.

Penny also received a ton, and I mean a TON, of glossy, bee-oo-ti-ful bookmarks. And she gave them all to me! Not sure what I’ll do with them yet. Maybe take a bath in them, they are that gorgeous.

For those who are wondering, no, I don’t sell copies of Penny’s book from this website or any other. They must be purchased from Amazon, or, if you’re American and lucky enough to find them in a store, grab ’em up. For Canadians, Chapters used to carry Secrets, but they stopped around Volume 15 or 16. So the only place I know of for Canadians to buy Secrets Volume 21 and 22 is from Amazon.ca.

Don’t be afeared. I order books on-line all the time. It’s very convenient.

In case you need a refresher, here are the links:

Volume 26, Canadian Amazon

Volume 21, Canadian Amazon

Volume 26, American Amazon

Volume 21, American Amazon

Go forth and buy! (Make Penny look good). (Seeing as she refuses to show her face in public, she apparently needs all the help she can get).

(P.S. In case you haven’t done so by now—really, what are you waiting for?—you can order MY books from Amazon, too!)

Pubbed Contest Deadlines

A mini-rant. Gee, coming on the heels of my bye-bye to Bebo post last week, I almost feel grouchy!

Okay, last year, I entered Penny’s first novella in the RITA. That was the only contest Penny entered. Penny did not final, but that’s not the source of my gripe.

This year, Penny has entered her second novella in the RITA. Now, because Penny’s novellas don’t actually release until the end of December, the January 2nd receipt date for the five copies of the book reaching RWA in Texas is impossible to meet. I can pre-order Penny’s novella anthologies on Canadian Amazon all I want, but I won’t receive them until mid-January. Argh. (P.S. for those who’d like the link to pre-ordering Penny’s second novella on American Amazon, here it is).

For the RITA, I’m willing to pester Penny’s publisher for five copies of the anthology and, like last year, perhaps even hassle her to mail them to RWA for me. I mean, it’s the RITAs—the Oscars of romance writing. Even though there’s a slim chance of an erotic novella finaling, entering is a chance Penny can’t pass up.

So, I receive the October Romance Writers’ Report (RWA’s monthly magazine, for those not in the know), and I’m thinking this year maybe I should enter Penny’s new novella in more than one contest. However, every contest listed in the October RWR has an entry receipt date of no later than January 15, 2009. Usually earlier. That’s fine and dandy if you receive copies of your books from your publisher no later than December 15th (especially when the author lives in Canada, as I do), but when you don’t get copies until mid-January for a book released the end of December, where on earth is the author supposed to find the time to enter these contests?

Hopefully the November RWR will list published contests with more reasonable entry receipt dates—like February 1st. Because I would love the chance to enter a couple of contests other than the RITA and see how Penny’s work stacks up (assuming the contests have novella categories—many don’t). However, I still feel like my freedom of choice of which contests to enter is sorely lacking. Not to mention ironic. My book is copyrighted and published in 2008, but because the release date is the end of December and I don’t physically have copies in my grubby little hands until mid-January, I can’t enter contests with an early January deadline. Yet I can’t enter Penny’s 2008-published novella in next year’s contests, either. Because then I’d need a 2009 copyright/publish date. I dunno, I think that’s wonky.

Amber Quill Press Anniversary Sale

In celebration of its 6th anniversary, Amber Quill Press is holding a month-long, storewide sale of its downloaded (ebook) novels, novellas, and Amber Kisses—25% off the retail price. That includes the ebook versions of Borrowing Alex and Head Over Heels. Tell your friends, tell your puppies, tell your fellow mutants! (Or anyone else you know who enjoys ebooks).

(They don’t have to be friends, puppies OR mutants). (But if they are mutants, and they know Wolverine or even Hugh Jackman in a pinch, send ’em my way).

(Okay, just send Wolverine my way).

(All right, all right, I’ll settle for Hugh Jackman!)

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Categorized as My Books

Can You Kindle?

I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned that Borrowing Alex is now available in a Kindle edition. And, if I have, I should mention it again.

Do you Kindle? If you do, what do you think of the Amazon e-reader? Care to rave, rant, pout?

I don’t have a Kindle. But then why would I? Last I checked (as of this typing), Canadian Amazon doesn’t even sell the Kindle. I wonder why not?

If you’re Canadian and if you had the option to buy a Kindle, would you?

If you’re American and you have a Kindle and you love it, tell me why. Is the Kindle your first e-reader? If you’ve owned other e-readers, how is the Kindle better/worse/different? Should Canadians feel jealous that we can’t Kindle?

If you’re American and you don’t have a Kindle, do you want one? Why or why not? Wonder if Oprah gave them to all my blog readers for free, then would you want one? (Note, Oprah has no plans that I know of to supply my blog readers with Kindles, it’s just a theoretical question—sheesh, relax!)

Alas, Head Over Heels does not yet boast a Kindle edition. The Amber Quill Press website lists five—count ’em five!—other electronic editions and Amazon of course (of course!!) sells the trade paperback edition, but no :::sob::: Kindle. Should I worry? What, me?

Nah, I won’t worry. But I can dream.

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Categorized as My Books