Giveaways and Christmas Wisdom You Can Use

Writing friends are amazing! Today I'm sending you to a couple of hot spots on the web so you can judge for yourself.

Courtney and I with "our" agent in the middle

Dear, dear friend, Courtney Walsh, is giving away stuff, and I mean LOTS of stuff on her blog this week and next. Today is a multi-gift giveaway for the creative soul, and she's giving away Broken Wings and a jazzy 3 CD-set of Harry Connick, Jr. and several scrapbooking lovers items, including the scrapbooking book she authored. Like I said, very cool. Look for her other giveaways coming up too!

Courtney's Blog


My friend Judy Christie is a prolific novelists AND writes non-fiction AND she has the most wonderful sense of humor. She's a joy to be around and has some great advice from her new book Hurry Less, Worry Less, at Christmas which she shared on Inspire A Fire. You'll love this!

I'm trying to be more intentional this year and did a minimal amount of decorating, but I did set out the nativity sets.  I love the simplicity of this one.

Have a great weekend!

Book Giveaway Winners

Thank you, readers for the many comments on the posts for Alice Wisler's A Wedding Invitation and for my "thank you" giveaway for the choice of either of my books.

Ta-Da! The winner of A Wedding Invitation is Deb's Desk. Enjoy!

Cheryl Barker and Seashore Mary (love that name!) were the lucky winners of my post and have both chosen to receive Broken Wings.

Much appreciation to all of you for stopping by. If you didn't win, there's still time to get copies of all three books for Christmas giving. Click on title to take you to the spot where you can do that.

Chasing Lilacs

Broken Wings

A Wedding Invitation

In other news, this lovely review of Broken Wings from TheDabblingMum came to my attention last week. There are no words for the gratitude that comes when someone takes the time to express such poignant feelings about a book. Thank you, Alyice, for the review, and thank you readers for making what I do such a pleasure.

Thirty Days of Thanksgiving - Day 26

Day 26. The Letter Y for You, my readers!

If you have read one of my books, thank you.

If you have attended one of my book launches or book signings, I appreciate the time you took from your busy life to celebrate with me.

If you have written a review and posted it on your blog or online, thank you for sharing your insights and your gift of words.

If you’ve read my blog, been friends with me on Facebook, have liked my Facebook author page, or followed me on Twitter, thanks for hanging out and spending your days with me.

If you’ve said a prayer or given me a word of encouragement, you’ve blessed me in ways you can’t imagine.

If you’ve written me a note, an email, or messaged me, thanks for the sacrifice of your time.

If you’ve shared my books with others or recommended them to a friend, you are a treasure above all things.

To all of you, my gratitude overflows. Because of you, I search for the perfect word, that special turn of phrase, the spark that will make my stories come alive. It’s for you I write.


As a very small way of saying thanks, I’m giving away two of my books in a drawing. I’ll be drawing two names on Dec. 3, and winners may choose either Chasing Lilacs or Broken Wings. To be entered in the drawing, please leave a comment WITH YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION telling me how you first found out about my blog or my books. Even if you already own one or both books, you’re welcome to enter. I’d be honored if you won and gave my book to your church or local library or gave it as a gift. If you’re a first-time reader, my hope is that you will like what you read and tell others.

Thanks for your support and joining this adventure with me!

Note: These are my personal books. Chances of winning dependent on number of entries. Void where prohibited. Open to North American residents only. 

Opportunity Knocks

Just a quick post to tell you about some terrific opportunities for free books right now.

My friend Lynne Gentry's debut novel, Reinventing Leona, which I told you about here is available for a limited time for FREE on Kindle. Don't miss out.

And two blogs are currently featuring giveaways of my book Broken Wings. Check out my interview on Susan Meissner's blog, Edgewise, for details. And visit Dragonflies 'n Daydreams - the cyber home of Lesley Peck. This is a really cute blog that also has a short review. Both drawings end soon, so if you've not gotten a copy of Broken Wings yet, this might be the opportunity you've been waiting for.

And of course, it's always available for purchase - - -

Potpourri

Maui Book Signing

It's that time again - the time when I'm going to throw a bit of this and that at you. If you follow me on FaceBook (and you should), then you'll know that Broken Wings has been launched. And what a launch it was. We kicked off with a Twitter party and a book signing on June 3. Max and I were in Maui for his company's leadership conference (thank you IHS for the fabulous time!) so the signing was held on the terrace of the beautiful Fairmont Kea Loni hotel. I don't claim to be an expert on marketing, but it seems to me that if an opportunity arises, one should take advantage. Since almost everyone at the conference was a stranger to me, I decided to give my books away to people who loved to read. I hoped to tap into a new audience and - here's the brilliant part - they would be getting the book two days before boarding planes destined for places like Germany, Spain, UK, Canada, and dozens of US cities. I don't know about you, but when I travel I notice what people are reading whether by the pool or in the airport, so hopefully a few folks will have flashed Broken Wings to nosy curious travelers. There's no way to evaluate the results, but for me, it seems like a win-win deal.

Sunsets in Maui were glorious!

Now that Maui sunsets are a distant memory, I've had book signings in Tulsa and two in Perryton, Texas. A quick story about the Tulsa signing - I put a reminder on FaceBook that morning and right away got a response "We're on the way!" Our good friends, Blair and Diana, came from Allen, TX! They definitely get the prize for coming the farthest! Full disclosure here: They were on the way to Chicago and just made this one of their stops. Very fun!



Two lovely signings in Perryton, TX, which is our old stomping ground. The wonderful thing about these events is that people come and pull up a chair, visit with their neighbors and sip iced tea. I love the feeling of community that we have at these events.

Michael, Cindy, and Jerry lend their support

Pam and Don - Pam loves books. Don and Max talked golf.

Diana and Blair - Prize for coming the farthest! Thanks, friends.

Every author's dream - a line of people waiting to get their books signed!

My assistant, Nash, drew Carol's name for the gift basket.

Media is part of a book campaign, and I've been blessed with two events that are new to me - a TV spot on our local FOX channel and a podcast on Shellie Rushing Tomlinson's "All Things Southern" where we had a virtual chat on her front porch. I'm NOT a fan of seeing myself in videos or hearing my voice, but people have told me these were both successful appearances. I'll take their word for it. One thing I can testify to was that the FOX TV folks and Shellie were fabulous hosts and made me feel comfortable and welcome. And you should check out Shellie's writing - she's one funny lady. Thanks all!

I don't know about you, but I'm weary. Summer is breathing down our necks, and when those muggy days roll in, I'm glad to stay at home and sit under the fan. Thankfully, I'll be able to do that for a while. That's not to say I'll be loafing. I've opened the file for the next book and am busy working on Sweet Dreams, coming in 2013! The cover art for next summer's release, Stardust, should be coming soon. Keep an eye out.

What's up for your summer? I'd love to hear about the places you've been and where you're off to. Safe travels.

A couple of corrections

I'm always nervous when I pre-post something here about events before they actually happen. And since I was in Maui last week, I wanted to dig my toes in the sand and sip Mai Tais on the beach and stay as far away from the computer as possible. I should have paid better attention to my calendar and taken better care of you, my readers.

So, here is the revised list of spots where Broken Wings can be found today.

• Still have a giveaway going on over at Trish Perry's blog, True Love, Real Laughs, Pure Fiction. Lovely blog. 
• Janalyn Voigt's blog has moved!!! She's now at Novel Books and has a giveaway going on the rest of the week. There I've written a letter to readers, so please stop by and say hi.

I'll also be on the RT Book Reviews Inspirational spotlight and at SouthernBelleView this week, but I'll wait until I have those links so I'm not sending you skipping all over the galaxy. And next week, there are some other stops so please stay tuned. Several copies of Broken Wings are still up for grabs around the bloggy world - I'll try to help you track them down.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

BROKEN WINGS Giveaways - Sightings around the Blogosphere

I must say, I'm overwhelmed at all the support from the Twitter party and the blog tour last week. Such good times and a warm welcome for Broken Wings. If you missed it, there's still time to get in the action! I've done some fun interviews and there will be giveaways on blogs off and on this month. I'll post these once or twice a week so you'll know where to visit and leave a comment.

MONDAY, June 6: Trish Perry's blog: True Love, Real Laughs, Pure Fiction. This is a gorgeous blog and Trish had a lot of great questions! She's also taking comments for a giveaway of Broken Wings. 

Also on Monday - Janalyn Voigt invited me to write a letter to her readers. While you're there, read a bit about Janalyn - I love her wisdom and the easy writing style she has. Giveaway on Janalyn's site, too.

Finally, all this week, I'll be on Casey Herrignshaw's Encourage an Author site. She has fun things planned each day. Casey has such a heart for encouragement - I'm very blessed by her, and I think you will be too. Giveaway scheduled - not sure which day.

So, this week is off to a great start. There are two more VERY EXCITING things coming up later in the week - exciting as in - I think I might "faint" because . . . well, I'll just have to tell you later.

In the meantime, stay cool - S U M M E R has arrived!

You're Invited to the Party!

Broken Wings releases Friday! Come for the send off by joining the Twitter Party!

WHEN: Friday, June 3, 2011 - All day.
WHERE: Wherever you are.
HOW TO FIND THE PARTY: Follow @Chasing Lilacs (that's me) and @FaithWords (they're throwing the party) on Twitter. Use the hashtag #brokenwings and join in the conversation!
LIVE Q &A from noon to 1pm Central time! Chime in with your questions, and I'll do my best to answer.

A "birdie" told me there might be giveaways!!

I like parties. I love chatting it up with readers and other writers. What I don't like is selling. Even so, Broken Wings is available here and here and here. You might also find it at your library or your favorite book store. I appreciate your support.

See you on the Tweet Deck!

BROKEN WINGS Blog Tour

Broken Wings is getting ready to try her wings!! June 3 is the official release day although there've been sightings already at Barnes and Noble, and Amazon shipped the books early but not the Kindle version.  Some of you have already read it! THANK YOU! There'll be a month-long hoopla with blogs, book signings and sightings, and the last two weeks of June - a HUGE contest right here at the Cafe. I hope you'll stay tuned for we're just getting started!

For today, though, Sarah Reck, the FaithWords web publicist has set up a blog tour at some lovely sites. I've sneaked over and taken a peek at some of them, and you're in for a treat. Some of the sites are offering giveaways (I'm sorry, I don't know which ones), and you'll be introduced to some very fun people out in cyberspace.

The following blogs will post sometime between June 1 and June 3. Stop by and say hello, okay?

Dragonflies and Daydreams   

Books in the Burbs  

Celtic Lady's Reviews

Book Nook Club 

The Review Stew

My Reading Room 

Heaven is a Bookstore 

A Cozy Reader's Corner Reviews 

A Musing Reviews   

Jen's RAC (Recently Asked Questions)

ReadAllOver Reviews

A Peek at My Bookshelf

Next up, I'll tell you about a great way to start your summer - a Twitter party - Broken Wings takes flight on June 3!

Friendship on my Mind

"A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words." 

 

Isn't that beautiful? I want to be that kind of friend - to be there when disappointments and trials come. To wipe the tears from the eyes of my friend as my own cheeks moisten. To celebrate small moments and big with whoops of joy and to listen with an open heart. I want to be dependable and encouraging and honest and grateful. Often, I fail.  Perhaps it's a sign of growing older, but in the past few years, I've become more aware of the priceless treasure that friendship is. I want to savor it more. 

That was part of the reason I wrote Broken Wings. To celebrate friendship, especially the friendships of women. To show that it's a give and take. That sometimes you're the one down and need a hand up. Or sometimes you're the comforter your friend needs. Or the kick in the pants. Friends come in all ages and sizes. For the next few weeks, I'm going to share stories about some of my friends (no worries - I'm honor bound to get your deep dark secrets) and tell you why they're so special.

Yours truly with early childhood friends

In the meantime, I've heard from some of you that your copy of Broken Wings has already winged its way to your mailbox via Amazon. THANK YOU so much for pre-ordering the book! I hope you love it as much as I loved telling the story of Mitzi and Brooke.

I also have a new "author" page on FaceBook. I'd thought about having a party there to launch Broken Wings and give away some cool prizes. Wouldn't you know? The same day I put up my page, the FaceBook guidelines changed and contests can no longer be held on FaceBook itself. But I will be able to direct people here to the Cafe for some fun partying and a grand prize that I think will make you drool. So, stay tuned. And please "like" my author page here.

 

Now, for a fun quote about friends:

A true friend is someone who thinks you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.   ~ Bernard Meltzer
 
Can you name three friends from your grade school days? Did you have a best friend? Please share!

 

Proud Moment: BROKEN WINGS COVER

It's here: the cover of BROKEN WINGS !!!

FaithWords has done an amazing job again on the cover art for my book which releases next summer: Mark your calendars: JUNE 3, 2011. Available for pre-order on Amazon.

Here's a bit about the book:

Onstage, the singing duo of Gabe and Mitzi Steiner captured America's heart for more than two decades. Offstage, their own hearts have throbbed as one for sixty years. Only now, Gabe has retreated into the tangles of Alzheimer's, leaving Mitzi to ponder her future alone.

On the other side of Tulsa, everyone believes Brooke Woodson has found the perfect man--a handsome lawyer with sights on becoming Tulsa's next District Attorney. If only Brooke felt more sure. If only her fiancé could control his anger. If only love didn't come with so many scars.

When an accident lands Brooke in the hospital where Mitzi volunteers, the two women quickly develop an unlikely friendship birthed by providence and bathed in grace. And with Mitzi's help, kindness, and insight, Brooke learns how to pick up the broken pieces of her life.

And so it begins. The page proofs are done. The Advanced Reader Copies for reviewers will be out before you know it. Marketing strategies are being considered. And I'm just as excited about this book as I was the first one. I guess it's true - you can love more than one child with equal fervor. And I so hope that you will love Broken Wings too. You'll be hearing more of the developing story, but for now, I'm just thrilled that I can share this much with you. 

So how about a round of applause for Jody at FaithWords and his magnificent touch in creating this beautiful cover? Thanks, Jody. Thanks, FaithWords. And thank you, readers for this moment of indulgence.