Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Wednesday Bits and Pieces

A Post on Twitter at The Blood-Red Pencil

I'm at The Blood Red-Pencil today, showing how writers and bloggers can squeeze lots of information into, and maximize the reach of, a 140-character tweet on Twitter. Come on over if you can use a Twitter tip or two.


Books to Win at Medeia Sharif blog


YA author Medeia is celebrating her blogging experience with the Big Box of Paranormal giveaway. The link to her entry form is toward the end of her August 7th post on contests.


Thursday's Guest

My guest blogger tomorrow is J. E. Taylor, author of Dark Reckoning. I hope you'll drop by for another great "path to publication" post.


Another Story With a Fun Blogger Connection

Somewhere along the line, I made contact with Doris Plaster, a social worker from Missouri who blogs at "Hold my hand": a social worker's blog. Doris won a signed copy of the paperback edition of The Prairie Grass Murders from a mutual blogger friend, Ann Best, who blogs at Long Journey Home. Well, Doris took the paperback with her on vacation and the book became part of a wonderful story. I promise you'll like it. The name of her post is A note from Natoya.


Nice Job, Harlequin!

Today I received my free promotional copies of the mass market paperback edition of The Desert Hedge Murders from Harlequin Worldwide. Didn't they do a stunning cover for the book? The Harlequin-written synopsis on the back is so much better than the one I wrote -- I'm taking lessons.

The book will be available at Harlequin's online bookstore on September 1st. I'll post the link here when it's official.

In the meantime, just to celebrate, I'd like to conduct my first give away of this paperback edition. To be eligible for one of the two copies I'm making available this time around, please leave a comment on this August 11th post anytime between now and Saturday midnight (U.S. Mountain Time), and make sure there's a link to a contact url or e-mail address so I can track you down. And yes, all blogger friends are welcome to enter, no matter where you live (as long as it's on Earth -- I can't afford the postage to other worlds or planets).

28 comments:

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

I enjoy reading your bits and pieces,
Keep up the good work Patricia.

Yvonne.

Ann Best said...

That cover is awesome. And I'm excited for those bloggers who will be the "winners" of a copy!

Doris told me how much she loved the book. Said she couldn't put it down. I just went over and read her post. As I said there, I don't have words to express my feelings about all of this; how I have met so many special people in the short time I've been in blogger land.

I'm so excited for you. I think this is a book that has a mission!
Ann

Unknown said...

Well, congrats and the book cover looks great. I hope I can get a copy someday. Will it be available on Kindle?

CD

Patricia Stoltey said...

Good morning, Yvonne. Thanks for the support.

Hi Ann -- yes, you're the key to the whole Natoya story. So interesting how these things unfold.

And Clarissa -- I'm getting ready to put the first Sylvia and Willie mystery. "The Prairie Grass Murders," up on Kindle and Smashwords. I even have someone working on a cover for it. But I don't own the rights to "The Desert Hedge Murders" yet, so when the time is right, I'll work with my publisher on that.

Talli Roland said...

Congrats! I love the cover!

I read your article this morning - you're right, Twitter does help you write tighter!

Patricia Stoltey said...

Hi Talli, Yes, it's very hard to put adjectives and adverbs to good use on Twitter, and impossible to be redundant. :)

Anonymous said...

The cover looks great. Very professional. Best wishes for your success. And I'm heading over to the Blood Red Pencil now.

Stephen Tremp

Patricia Stoltey said...

Thanks, Steve. And I'm heading downstairs for some breakfast. I just cannot do this without my coffee. Seriously.

Unknown said...

Hate to say it again, but the cover is stunning. More eye-catching than the first even though they follow the same structure. Maybe it's the pink while the yellow gives a desert-like feel?

Patricia Stoltey said...

I think so too, Kay. The artists who did my covers for Five Star, Books in Motion, and Harlequin Worldwide Mystery are all awesome.

Rena Jones said...

Thanks for posting on my blog, Patricia. I hope your back feels better, too. Sitting for so long writing can really take its toll.

Patricia Stoltey said...

And thanks to you, Rena. I'm heading off to get a real life massage today, so that will help too. And stretching exercises would be useful, if I'd get out of the chair and do some. :)

Anonymous said...

Patricia - First, thanks for making your book available; I would love to win a copy : ). And also thanks for the link to Doris' story. I look forward to it, and to J.E. Taylor's post tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the linkage.

That's a great cover. I read Doris' post and will now read the other links.

Patricia Stoltey said...

You're in, Margot. I always enjoy the giveaways on other blogs, and I've won a few books that way myself. It's a fun way to add to our TBR stacks.

Thanks, Medeia. I'm pleased with the cover art, too.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I definitely need the Twitter tips!

Patricia Stoltey said...

Hey, Alex. I think Twitter's great, but I do limit my time there. It's addictive.

Jane Kennedy Sutton said...

I want to go to Jamaica just to meet Natoya! What a special story.

Jayne said...

Oh Patricia, the cover looks fantastic. I like the tag line as well - 'Hot, Bothered...and Dead'! Please enter me for your giveaway, and thanks for all the links of interest! :)

Donna Volkenannt said...

Hi Patricia,
You always have such great information on your blog. It is one of my favorites.

Love the cover. Harlequin did an awesome job with the cover; it's intriguing and inviting.

Donna V.
http://donnasbookpub.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

I found your blog by accident. The cover of your latest book is gorgeous.
Looking forward to reading your books.


CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

N A Sharpe said...

What great links - sorry I missed you at Blood Red Pencil...have to link over and check it out.

Harlequin did an awesome job - the cover is incredible! Looking forward to reading this!

Nancy, from Realms of Thought…

Sugar said...

That is an amazing cover.. can't wait to see what's inside!!

How exciting!!

Notes Along the Way with Mary Montague Sikes said...

Pat, what a great cover! How exciting for you to be published by Harlequin! That's a dream for many a writer!!!

Congratulations!
Monti
MaryMontagueSikes

skkorman said...

I would love to read your book—please enter me to win!

skkorman AT bellsouth DOT net

Holly Jahangiri said...

"Hot, bothered, and...dead." Isn't that adding insult to injury? (On second thought, as hot as it's been here, lately, death might be a relief.) I hope I've managed to squeak in before the deadline - I'd really like to read this, Patricia!

Patricia Stoltey said...

Holly, you've plenty of time. It's only 10:40 PM in Colorado.

Patricia Stoltey said...

My winners are Yvonne and Rena. Check the Sunday, August 15th post for the official announcement. And Yvonne and Rena, I need your mailing address. You can send it to:
patriciastoltey (at) yahoo (dot) com