HAPPY FRIDAY and a few more links of note

We're headed into what looks like is going to be the hottest weekend of the year so far. Sunshine is definitely better than tornadoes! And things are heating up in the pre-release days of Chasing Lilacs. Please don't think I'm pushing, pushing, pushing you to run out and buy my book. It might not be your cuppa at all. I surely understand that and get annoyed when people twist my arm to buy something I don't want. If that's you, I'm giving you permission to skip on over and play on YouTube or hang out on FaceBook with people who are infintely more interesting.

Here's the thing: Some really gracious people have invited me to be on their blogs, have interviewed me, reviewed Chasing Lilacs, or are offering giveaways of the book. I am honored to be part of a writing community that is so supportive. AND I want to introduce these writers and folks to you. By sharing where I am in the blogosphere, I am promoting their work as well. I love talking about other people's books and reading about their lives. I hope that you do too.

Here are the places where I've been the last couple of days:

My friend, the lovely Ane Mulligan, is one of the most encouraging people to writers I have ever known. She wrote this review on Novel Reviews (scroll down a bit to find the review).

Rel Mollet from Australia, who I introduced you to a couple of days ago, has a very fun feature on her site called CHARACTER SPOTLIGHT where authors tell what famous people most resemble the characters in their novels. I had so much fun with this. If you're curious, check out Relz Reviews. This link should get you there.

Last year when my publisher requested an author photo, I went to the phone book and checked out local photographers. One sort of jumped off the pages at me - Yellow Chair Photography. I loved the name and the work Sarah Adams had on her site so I gave her a call. I love this girl! And now, she has a blog for women in Tulsa that is just adorable and full of fun, chatty things and great giveaways. Today she's offering an autographed copy of Chasing Lilacs. You can find it here on Dandelion Lane where she tells how she chose the name of her blog. You might be surprised. I was!

I never knew one of the benefits of writing would be meeting so many interesting people. I hope you enjoy getting to know them too!