All That Glitters

Several weeks ago, I was invited to attend the Southern Magic Reader’s Luncheon hosted by the Birmingham chapter of RWA. It sounded like a great opportunity to finally meet a few of the Southern Magic members I chat with online, and to meet Sherrilyn Kenyon. (Or at least stalk her from afar, since I’m kind of shy.) Then I got the news I would be hosting a table of eight readers.

And I learned that part of the hosting gig included supplying cool swag for my guests.

The problem was…I had no swag, cool or otherwise.

That was the start of my great promo adventure. I’m planning to attend the RWA convention in Atlanta next year, and I had my eye on a few promo items I thought were cool. This luncheon gave me a perfect excuse to order a little of everything and to see just how bright my ideas were.

Today I’d like to share what I bought, what it cost, and how I felt about the final product.

Let’s start with the basics: postcards, business cards and my personal favorite, trading cards.

For postcards, (pictured on the left) I used VistaPrint. Standard size postcards run $24.99 for 100. But I paid $12.24 per 100 during their latest clearance sale. VistaPrint has frequent sales. Wait for them, then stockpile.

For trading cards, I used GotPrint. Templates are on the site, you’re emailed a proof to approve before you’re charged, and the cards are fantastic. I love them. It costs $14.00 per 100 cards if you use the color front and back option. As an added bonus, you can have your cards added to the Romance Trading Cards website for a little extra boost in visibility.

Finally, I bought business cards for the first time. (They’re the skinny cards in the center of the picture.) Since I don’t see myself handing them out too often, I splurged and bought Moo Minis from Moo. They’re the same length, but half the width of a standard business card. They’re also super cute and cost $19.99 for 100 cards.

Oh, I almost forgot the stickers! You can see one at the bottom sporting the Araneae logo. I ordered those from Moo as well. They’re more plastic than paper, which I like. They cost $12.99 for 52 stickers.

Up next we have another staple in every author’s pantry—promotional pens.

I bought these from My Promotional Pens. There was a slight problem when my pens showed up with black logos (almost unreadable against the dark blue pens) instead of the white design pictured above. Once I expressed my concerns, the company was quick to correct the error.

They cost $.67 per pen with a minimum order of 100 pens. There were no hidden design fees, but it cost me $24 in shipping for a total of $91.00.

Then we have my Box ‘O Chapstick.

   

I ordered these through Lipbalm Express. The cost was $49 per 100 tubes. As you can see, they allow customization of your label (at no extra charge). However, they are limited in scent selections. You have to roll with whatever the featured scent is that month, or mint. But I love the individual packaging, and it’s a quality product. Even with the slightly pixelated labels, I feel good about this purchase.

Now, on to the more unique promo items I snagged. These are nifty pocket mirrors I found on Etsy. (The dog in the background is my daughter’s dachshund, Cookie Monster. The black rump and tail belong to my doxie, Lex.)

The shop owner, Vtg Sewing Patterns, was great about helping me get my design just right. I paid $60.00 for 75 pocket mirrors, and yes, the organza bags were included. I really love these!

Last but not least are lens cleaning cloths printed with A Hint of Frost’s cover art.

I ordered these from Custom Mouse Pad. They’re on the pricer side at $2.29 per 50 cloths. You save money with larger orders, but I went with the minimum so I could inspect the quality of the printing and the cloths themselves. I have to admit, I was impressed. As someone who started wearing glasses only about a year ago, I still fidget with them often. I’ve gone through several types of cleaning cloths and never found one that banished lint and smudges to my satisfaction. These do. I’m very pleased with them and will order more before RWA next year.

I have a few more items left on my “to-order” list, but I’m pleased with my purchases so far. How about you? If you’re a writer, what swag have you been meaning to try? Or what is your most popular item? If you’re a reader, what swag is your favorite to receive? Or what do you wish you could get?

Comment and be entered to win a swag bag full of the goodies pictured above, plus your choice of title from my backlist (excluding Soul Weaver), in your choice of digital format.

My favorite part....

There's no doubt that every author loves release day for their books. Well, loves might not be the right word.  In some ways, its terrifying.  The book is out there. People are going to read it, to review it, and they might not like it. They might find something lacking.  So, as much as we LOVE release day (and we do) it comes with a bit of trepidation. How could it not?

But there is a moment in the process where we can revel in what is happening without having to be terrified of negative reviews.  It is the day the cover arrives.  I love love love it.  I've been so lucky to have worked with some really fantastic authors who have absolutely captured my stories.

Above are two new examples.  They made my week.  I LOVE them.  And aside from release day, my favorite part of publishing.  

The Darnedest Places

I love to blog. I do. But there are days when the words, just like in my writing, won't come out and play. I wrote the title of this post thinking I had a plan. I usually do have a plan in what I do, but then there are those times when the plan falls apart. So I'm kind of right there.

But let me backtrack a moment. I got the title for this post from a trip to the store. Yep. I had a story running through my head about a man who is cleaning his house after his sister, who was the tenant, moves out and leaves the house a dump. I'm running with the story, but as I'm at the store thinking this story through, I ended up in the spirits aisle. Now I've given up soda, save for Diet Pepsi to get past the caffeine headaches and I don't drink very often, so I wasn't sure why I was in that aisle. It's not like the cleaning supplies were there. So I'm looking at the bottles and one caught my eye. A vodka called Kinky.

At first I snickered. Menage a Trois wine always makes me smirk and this was just as good. It's also bright pink, so very girly looking. But the longer I'm looking at the bottle, one of the characters started talking to me. His vice wasn't vodka, but bourbon. The reason he and the hero split was because he needed to dry out.

Talk about a rush. I had the general plan for my story and all from looking at a bottle of vodka. The second hero explained how embarrassed he was for losing control and how much he yearned to have the first hero forgive him.

The forgiveness part made me think further. It's that time of year. The time to forgive, forget and move on. Spread the love and be with the ones you care about. That's what these two want to do. How could I say no?

I'm glad I wandered down that aisle and opened my mind to the characters. Has that ever happened to you? You've been in a place you never expected and the characters just break out in chatter? Let me know!

~

Want to know more about Wendi Zwaduk? Here you go:

I always dreamt of writing the stories in my head. Tall, dark, and handsome heroes are my favorites, as long as he has an independent woman keeping him in line. I earned a BA in education at Kent State University and currently hold a Masters in Education with Nova Southeastern University.

I love NASCAR, romance, books in general, Ohio farmland, dirt racing, and my menagerie of animals. I also write under the pen name of Megan Slayer. I’m published with Total-E-Bound, Changeling Press, Liquid Silver Books, Turquoise Morning Press, Decadent Publishing and The Wild Rose Press. Come join me for this fantastic journey!

If you like my work, tell your friends and email me. I love hearing from readers!

Site: http://wendizwaduk.com/

Blog: http://wendizwaduk.blogspot.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WendiZwaduk

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/wendi.zwaduk

Fan page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wendi-Zwaduk/195277927167481?ref=tn_tnmn

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/wendizwaduk ~

Now here's a little bit more about my take on The Phantom of the Opera: The Phantom of the Opera

Gaston Leroux and Wendi Zwaduk
Total-E-Bound
Novel
historical
m/f, bdsm, spanking, multiple partners
Available here!

The Classics Exposed…

A chance sighting at the Opera, fated love, and three lives in turmoil.

One man pledges to own her, while another wants her heart. The Opera sets the stage for romance and intrigue. In the catacombs below the building lives a man rife with sorrow and passion. The Phantom. But he’s not content to live alone. He wants to possess the one woman who can set him free.

His Christine.

Viscount Raoul de Chagny doesn’t believe the rumours of a Ghost living below the Opera. He only has eyes for Christine, his childhood friend and first love. Together they embark on a sensual journey of discovery and fiery desire.

But she can only have one man. Will love raise her up or tear their world apart?

I'm in for a busy December

I don't know about you, but my Decembers keep getting busier and busier. And I'm not talking about the usual buying gifts for the holidays and baking. I'm talking about everything. In my writing, I have so many projects I want to finish up. On the promotion side, I have a bunch of blog tours and blog hops coming up. Plus, I have two stories set to release early next year that need various stages of edits. I'm not complaining. It just seems everything seems to happen in December, whereas some months I have little to nothing going on except writing the next story.

One of the big things to happen to me recently is the print release of Intergalactic Heat, which is a collection of my 1Night Stand stories from Decadent Publishing. Here's a sneak peek:





Plus, my sci-fi erotica short story, Alien Lover, releases December 7, 2012.

So, what do you have planned for December? Are you taking it easy, or going to be just as crazy as me?

Jessica Subject started writing to encourage her daughter to read. Now she writes to keep herself grounded. Although she reads many genres, she enjoys writing Science Fiction Romance the most and believes everyone in the universe deserves a happily ever after. She lives Southwestern Ontario, Canada with her husband and two kids and loves to hear from anyone who has enjoyed her stories.

Website/Blog / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads / Amazon

Dark Dealings out now!

DARK DEALINGS released from Carina Press yesterday. It had been so long since I'd played with magic...and this story has it in spades. Oh, and a hero that makes my knees weak ;-)

There are monsters in the city. And one of them is her…

Ava Kalle's empty soul devours magic. And her hunger is deadly. She's sharp, quick and can live in shadow, making her work as a spy for the Mages a natural choice. She lives on the fringes of society and likes it that way.

When the man she loves takes another woman for his mate, the darkness in her heart unravels and she'll do anything to get him back. She makes a dangerous deal with a fire elemental, Heyerdar, who has a vested interest in agreeing: together they'll use forbidden magic, harnessing their sexual energy to drive the couple apart.

But soon their pact pushes them both into a dark sexual obsession. One that Ava may not be able to control…

Carina Press || Amazon US || Amazon UK

Amazon de || Barnes and Noble || ARe

Here's a naughty excerpt:

Ava’s mouth dried and the slick heat of her need pulsed heavily within her. “Your first time, Heyerdar.” She swallowed as his mouth brushed over her nightgown, his tongue curling against the thin linen and wetting a line to the curve of her breast. “I only...”

Making a Change

It feels a little strange to have reached the end of the Heavenly Lovers series. It was only three short books, but thanks to them, angels have ruled my creative side for three years. I've been all about the wings.

Now it's time to say goodbye to that world, those characters, and to angels in general. Well, not a complete goodbye to the angels. I have a short story planned for this year and sometime in the future I'll be writing a half-angel UF. (It's super cool, and I'm not sure the angelics are the good guys.)

So, what am I working on now? Nothing with feathers, fangs or fur. I'm working on a contemporary menage with a working title of Reinventing Henry. Henry is a girl, by the way. She's got a lousy track record with men and her two best friends, Tim and Matt, are determined to help her. It's very different from the angels, and the change has been a lot of fun for me.

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving growing up meant heading to my grandmother's house where all my aunts and uncles and cousins would be together. We ate and played and ran and ate a little more and chatted and caught up--doing all the wonderful things that made us wonder why we didn't put forth the effort to see each other more often.

Flash forward twenty years and I can TOTALLY see why many families treasure the holidays as sort of a time for truce and forced harmony. It's like there is something in the green bean casserole that numbs the fact that so in so called so and so a rumpeterircker in April. Or maybe so and so still owes so and so four hundred bucks--but have a piece of pie and let it go for today.

From my family (who is in a potato hotdish euphoria and forgetting a pesky email issue at the moment) to yours, Happy Thanksgiving. May your time be cherished, your hugs returned and held onto extra long and your turkey be juicy.

Lots of Love,
Stephanie Beck
www.stephaniebeck.net

"How To..." QR CODES

By now you've probably seen them often enough to know what they are. They're funky little square versions of bar codes that look like abstract art and contain direct links to websites or business card info.

But, do you know how to use them?

Well, first you need an app for your mobile device and you can get one for free. There are lots to choose from. I'm listing Red Laser because you don't have to also take a camera picture, you can just center and scan.

for iTunes, iPad - https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/redlaser-barcode-scanner-shopping/id474902001?mt=8

for Android - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ebay.redlaser&hl=en

Go to the link and download the app to your device.

Now to test. How about the one that leads to my website. Simply center the QR code in between the bars and it should pick it up and take you to VictoriaDanann.com.

Now, if you're sitting in traffic behind a truck that offers a service you want, you can simply grab the code with your phone. Welcome to life in the early 21st century.

My best,
Victoria

National Novel Writing Month

November is National Novel Writing Month. I've known about NaNoWriMo for a years, but I've never participated. I have been lax in my writing duties, mostly because there's simply been a lot going on. So I decided to partake in NaNo this year. Here, around the mid-point, I've made some decent progress on a work-in-progress I've had sitting around for a bit. 20,000 words worth, which is a sizable chunk, but still a long way from finishing the book (final word count goal is around 80,000 words, it's sitting just under 60K right now). 

Those 20K words seems to have purged a good amount of the story that I've been trying to hammer out. But it also means that I've hit a point where I hate the book. This happens with me, and it's mainly from looking at the words on the screen for too long and constantly thinking about the characters and plot. I have yet to be able to start a book and work on it until the first draft is finished without wandering off to work on something else. 

I'd hoped NaNoWriMo with help with this, but alas, this hasn't been the case. While this point may frustrate other writers, I know myself well enough to back away from the project and work on something else. Nothing really says you can't work on multiple projects for NaNoWriMo, just that the word count is important. Yes, I know you're supposed to verify your word count at the end of the month, but, overall, that really wasn't the reason I participated. 

Are you participating in NaNo this month? If so, how is your progress? 

I blame Thanksgiving!

It's been mentioned that I'm in the Christmas spirit a little too early this year...by my British friends on Facebook. This is true, I have been in the festive mood prematurely. And I've found this happy, seasonal feeling is sneaking upon me earlier and earlier each year I'm in the States. I've only just clicked why this is.
Thanksgiving!
The lead up to this holiday, and Black Friday, means Christmas is on my mind much earlier. Holiday shopping will be completed if not before then on Black Friday (around Thanksgiving for my non American Friends -- it's the day when all stores have door busters and supposed mega sales). And the decorations go up before November is finished because of this extra winter holiday we now partake in.

If that isn't enough to get me in the spirit sooner than usual, I've also got parcels coming in from family who, like myself, have sent out the presents early to beat the extra charges the post office like to slap on boxes with promises of delivering before the holiday.

It's no wonder my writing has slowed down considerably with all these holiday arrangements going on. I've even got to order our Christmas foods this week, to ensure our favorites from the UK will make it to our table on Christmas Day. Crazy!

It won't be long before I'm making a huge batch of Mince Pies! It isn't the holidays without these babies.

MINCE PIE RECIPE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mincepies_73207
MINCE PIE FILLING IS AVAILABLE AT WORLD MARKET and AMAZON. It's a fruit blend, not meat - thought I should clear that up, just in case)

Also, I wonder if the fact that I have a holiday romance coming out in a few weeks has something to do with my extra early celebrations? Could be...

Coming November 30th 2012

HOT WINTER KISS, book 4

Hot winter kisses are all this couple needs to stay warm this Christmas, but will the heat stay long after the magical season of mistletoe has finished?

A small tease from Hot Winter Kiss

She scuttled in and sat near a window, her back to the ugly painting so she could admire a beautiful view instead, albeit it one covered in a blanket of brilliant white snow. Wind danced around the evergreens and whistled around the walls of her winter paradise. In the distance, a wee stone cottage sat by itself, a little boy building a snowman by the front door. Had it snowed like this back in London? Were her grandkids sledding through the estate and playing games? She’d have been black and blue from snowballs by now. She chuckled. Guess it’s not Christmas without some injury or other. A bruised ankle, I can deal with. But no more, you hear me, St Nick?

ALSO AVAILABLE from the bestselling Irish Kisses 1Night Stand series:

Sweet Irish Kiss, book 1

Shamrocked, book 2

Threesome Sweetness, book 3

Get exclusive sneak peeks at JoAnne Kenrick's new and upcoming releases by signing up to her quarterly newsletter here: http://tinyletter.com/joannekenrick 

Discover more about JoAnne's books here: www.joannekenrick.com