Showing posts with label Give-Away. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Give-Away. Show all posts

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Sneaky Red Sock GIVEAWAY!

[Don't miss the Giveaway details at the bottom of this post!!]

A couple months ago, my sister's brother-in-law contacted me about a book his colleague wrote titled The Sneaky Red Sock.

Ali Murdoch is the creative mind behind this eclectic collection of poems.  Murdoch's sense of humor permeates everything he pens, including his Amazon Author Central author blurb:

Ali Murdoch is an entrepreneur turned author, who had to rely on the business route when his sporting career was cut tragically short by a lack of any real talent. The father of three very troublesome children he lives on Long Island, New York and does his best to keep control by threatening to recite poems at night unless they go to bed. It even works some of the time!

What I loved about this book:

Murdoch's clever prose reminds me of Shel Silverstein's work.  Like Silverstein, Murdoch crafts poems with a wonderful melodic quality and canny humor.

Every poem illustrates the sharp, witty way Murdoch perceives the world around him.  This book is full of smart plays on words and observant imagery that brought a smile to my face again and again.

The comic drawings by illustrator Simon Goodway were brilliant and heightened the humor of each piece.

The website Murdoch created to promote his book is wonderful!  Check it out here --> www.sneakyredsock.com

Here's an example I loved from the book:

Committed
by Ali Murdoch, The Sneaky Red Sock, page 24

I was given a quiz, which I think I've solved
To explain the difference between Committed and Involved.
I was eating my breakfast, when the analogy fitted,
The hen was involved, but the Pig was committed.


Some Criticisms:

This book is self-published -- which I think is fantastic!!  However, a publisher may have cautioned against a couple things, such as:

The Sneaky Red Sock looks like its target audience is children.  The cover art is bright and cartoon-ish, something I would expect to see shelved in the children's book section.  And, the back cover blurb begins with, Welcome to a world where booby traps are successfully sprung, ghosts frighten teddy bears, and sneaky red socks turn everything in your washer a nice salmon color.  -- All this suggests to me that it is appropriate for children.

And in fact, many of the poems are.  But many aren't.  In the back blurb's second paragraph, Murdoch says, Misbehaving children and even grandparents' rowdy parties are all dissected with a moral scalpel...  -- I think a traditional publisher would have taken greater care to market this book to one intended audience.

Also, a publisher would have used a professional editor who would have found and fixed the mechanical issues throughout the book, starting perhaps with the punctuation typo on the back cover:  This eclectic mix of poems, cartoons and ditties brings you face to face with the US Army's most secretive of weapons, "the Bunny Blaster" and their all new "Think Tank".


Above all else, though, Murdoch's wonderful sense of humor captures your attention and keeps you turning the pages to see what ingenious and entertaining observations of life's absurdities he tackles next.  The Sneaky Red Sock truly has something for every member of the family to enjoy, though adults should pick out those their younger children will most appreciate.

I have THREE signed copies of The Sneaky Red Sock to share with you!  To add your name to the drawing I'll hold on Monday, May 23rd simply leave me a comment on this post!

Please Tweet and FaceBook!  Thanks!!




                                    

Friday, February 18, 2011

BPBlogfest Winners Revealed!

It was such a blast to read all the interesting, funny, and creative questionnaire answers you came up with in the Bernard Pivot Blogfest! I hope those of you who played along continue to visit blogs on the list -- every entry was a must-read. There are a lot of us, for sure! But each blogger brought something unique to the fest.

As you know, signing up for the blogfest put your name in the virtual hat to win giveaway prizes. If you helped me promote the event by putting my logo on your sidebar, your name went in five times.  Before revealing the winners, here's a reminder of what was up for grabs.

TWO prize packages, each containing:

A $25 Gift Card to Barnes and Noble or Borders Books (your choice)
A copy of Literary Foray, the anthology featuring my short story, and fiction and poetry by these fellow bloggers: Jessica BellMatthew Rush (a.k.a Matthew MacNash), Adriana NoirMara McBain, and Noelle Skeldon.
YAnd, assorted goodies J

And so, without further ado.....







The blog participants whose numbers were selected via the Sequence Generator at Random.org....







and who have each one the above prize package, are.....











Angela Scott

and

L'Aussie

Congratulations!!!!!!!!

Ladies, please email me your mailing addresses to nicoleducleroir(at)gmail(dot)com. Thanks!!

Thank you again for helping me bring the blogging world just a little bit closer this week. And a quick note to my fellow Crusaders:  If I haven't followed you back yet, I will soon! Please look for my 300 word entry for the First Crusader Challenge tomorrow.  Can't wait to read your entries, too!

Have a fab weekend, all!!


                                    

Friday, February 11, 2011

Fun Galore


Lots of great bloggy peeps and activities to pimp!  Here's what you don't want to miss:



If you've been visiting writers' blogs in the past week or so, you've definitely noticed this photo on sidebars everywhere.  Rachael Harrie @Rach Writes is launching this event for the second time, after the huge success of the first Writer's Platform-Building Crusade.  Become a Crusader and join us as we network with authors within our genres and outside.  Event is underway and runs from February 1st to April 30th.  Full details and sign-ups HERE



Don't forget: Next Wednesday, February 16th, is the Bernard Pivot Blogfest. To date, there are 95 bloggers playing along, but since the questionnaire is only 10 questions, it'll be quick reading and so easy to hit tons of blogs that day.  You'll meet dozens of new people, hopefully gain new followers, and share about yourself.  Fun!  Still plenty of time to sign up HERE.



LOLApalooza!☆∴*★∵∶。◦°✰•*¨*•♪♫


Lola Sharp @Sharp Pen/Dull Sword is one of the sweetest bloggy friends I know!  Her giveaway is all about paying it forward, supporting each other in our writerly and personal pursuits, and spreading the love around.  Visit her blog on any given day and you'll be met with colorful, uplifting posts that do just that.  The prizes in this particular giveaway are awesome, but it's about more than that.  It's all about the rewards you reap from being the wind beneath another's wings.  Get in on it today, click HERE.





DL Hammons over at Cruising Altitude is celebrating a fantastic following of +600!  And because he's a mystery writer, and because he's highly creative and all-around awesome, DL has crafted a murder for us to solve.  To play along, read the murder-mystery short story HERE.  Then, hunt for clues that have been posted on the sidebars of 37 fellow bloggers.  (Psst....look at MY sidebar...)  Next week, DL will post a list of those 37 clue-toting blogs to help those out who haven't found enough to break the case.  Everyone who plays along gets a chance to win a prize, but those who solve the case risk to win more!  Full details HERE.


If you're looking for contests to join, I have a couple listed on my right sidebar.  If you know of any I can get in on, leave me the 411 in a comment!


And lastly, I have created an account with DropBox.  I have a question for those of you that use it.  Do you drop your files to save/archive/protect into your DropBox, or do you put a COPY of the files in?  It seems like to copy would be to double the memory it takes on my hard drive, but to drop means I no longer have a copy on my hard drive??  Is that smart/safe??  What if the files are compromised?  Maybe I don't fully understand.  All advice and tips are welcome and appreciated!

My sister's coming from Florida for a visit, so I won't be around.  Have a great weekend!!


                                    

Monday, March 1, 2010

Contest!!!!



Exactly two months ago, on December 29, 2009, I nervously launched my blog. I had no idea how much I would love blogging...no idea how many amazing people I would meet...no idea how rewarding it would be to hear other creative writers talk about their crafts. Here I am, still the giddy novice, reveling in the joy that comes with realizing people are actually reading what I have to say each day, when in the midst of this blissful, whirlwind experience I realize I've almost arrived at THE first major blogging milestone. So, in the grand tradition of celebrating one hundred "Significant" followers, I'm hosting a Give-Away!


In a drawing on March 15th, a lucky winner will receive:




A signed copy of The Writer's Bump Anthology, Volume One, in which my first published short story appears! (*does the goofy Arsenio Hall "woh-woh-woh" fist thing*)

In addition, I'll include a Barnes and Noble gift card worth $25!




You have to follow my blog to be entered in the Give-Away. Here's what to do to maximize your chances to win:


Leave a comment telling me you stopped by = 1 pt.
Sign up as a New Follower = 1 pt.
Current Follower = 2 pts.
Blog about this contest = 1 pt.
Add a link to this post on your sidebar = 1 pt.
In your comment, tell me which you prefer, Milk Chocolate or Dark Chocolate :) = 2 pts.


Bonus: For every 25 new followers that sign up before the Give-Away on March 15th, I'll include another cool prize!


Thank you, Significant Followers, for welcoming me with open arms, for encouraging me to be more diligent writer, and for inspiring me with your creative talent!