Thursday, October 19, 2017

Pages of Fear Blog Hop


Welcome to the first ever Pages of Fear Blog Hop. It's a pre-Halloween event celebrating authors who like to fright and delight with their writing. As you progress through the twenty-eight blogs / websites, you'll learn about authors you may already know and be introduced to some new ones.

Everyone loves the opportunity to get something free so twenty-eight authors have gathered together to give ONE lucky winner signed copies of their books (one per author). You may even find other types of giveaways on their sites, so keep your eyes open. While you're looking, you'll want to locate the secret word on each site. Make a list of the words in the proper order. When you reach the final destination (Authorsfbenson.com), you'll find an email address. Send your list to it. The winner will be selected courtesy of random.org

Ready?

Get on your marks.

Get set.

GO!

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This weekend is going to be a super busy one for me! Not only am I participating in this awesome Pages of Fear Blog Hop, but I'm also attending the Ozarks Indie Book Fest in Springfield, MO.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ozarks-indie-book-fest-tickets-18912946131

The event kicks off tonight with a keynote speech from Christina Benjamin followed by an awesome treasure hunt with some sweet prizes for the best hunters.

If you haven't already gotten your tickets yet, you can click on the image above and it will send you right to the ticket page, or you can buy your tickets at the door. I hope to see you there because it's going to be an amazing weekend, full of treasure (books, books and more books) plus lots of FUN!

Also, before you go, I have a couple more FANTASTIC giveaways to share with you.

First, another Spooktacular Authors Giveaway. Click the image for a chance to win some Halloween treasure.

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/2703c98f80/
 
And how about some Harry Potter treasure? Click the image and all the fun could be yours.

http://genrebuzz.com/giveaways/this-harrypotter-giveaway-is-everything-enter-to-win-in-5-seconds-or-less/

Good luck and I hope to see you in Springfield!

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To continue the hop, please go to Stephany Wallace's site at https://www.stephanywallace.com

Did you get lost? Enter the hop at the middle? Retrace your steps here or begin the hop at Lily Luchesi's site at http://lilyluchesibooks.wixsite.com/lilyluchesi.

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Saturday, October 7, 2017

Tyrabbisaurus Rex, Finalist for the Thorpe Menn Literary Excellence Award


What an amazing day!

Tyrabbisaurus Rex was recognized as a Finalist for the Thorpe Menn Literary Excellence Award at a luncheon earlier today.

I had two of my nieces with me, which made it even more special. My youngest niece, Josie, is T-Rab's biggest fan, so she was super excited to see him honored, while my older niece, Tobi, is one of MY biggest fans, always encouraging me and asking me how my writing's going.

When I accepted the award, I thanked them both, acknowledging the very real impact they've both had on my writing. As I said in the moment, "Between the two of them, I'm definitely kept on track when it comes to my writing goals."

The other person I thanked (she was actually the first person I mentioned) was Jeanine Henning, the artist who brought to life the Tyrabbisaurus Rex character, in a way I wasn't even sure was possible when I began my search for an illustrator. I've never been so happy to have been wrong. Jeanine literally breathed life into T-Rab's character, somehow managing to showcase his enormous attitude without ever losing his utterly adorable bunniness. As I said when accepting the award, "The book wouldn't be what it is without Jeanine's amazing cover and brilliant illustrations."

The award was sponsored by the Kansas City chapter of the American Association of University Women and the Kansas City Public Library. I'll leave you with a picture of the absolutely gorgeous award they presented me with.