The MONTH OF MEL: DAY 17 a contest for an ARC of BITE ME!

HAPPY KISS ME BECAUSE I LIKE GINGERS DAY! ST. PATRICK’S DAY!

So….Guess what?

I give you all a free pass to pinch me. That’s right. Even though I’m clearly wearing green, you’re allowed to pinch me.

You’re welcome.

Guess what else?

I’m supposed to be getting some BITE ME! ARCs (Advanced Reader Copies) this week! And because I’m feeling so generous (it is the MONTH OF MEL after all) I’m thinking of giving one away.

Here’s the deal. In honor of St. Patrick’s Day we’re gonna be writing Limericks!

Limericks rock.

If you want to win an advanced copy of my AWESOME book BITE ME! then here are the rules:

  1. The limerick subject has to have something to do with Me, my book, or my blog
  2. It’s okay if the limerick dirty, but please try to make it closer to PG-13 than XXX.
  3. You can enter up to 3 limericks. (If you enter more, I will only count the first 3)
  4. This will be totally subjective, as I will pick the winner. No random drawing this time! So make me laugh and you get a chance to win!
  5. You have to write and post a review of BITE ME! If you don’t have a website, you can email me your review and I’ll post it here. Yes, even if you didn’t like it. I know it won’t be for everyone and I’m okay with that. I will also link to your review once you have it posted if you’ll notify me.
  6. You have until midnight CST March 17 to enter. (1:00 a.m. EST/10:00 p.m. PST)

Now, who wants to play?

Interview with debut author Jeff Rivera


Forever My Lady is a love story, isn’t it? Or is it a coming of age? How would you describe it?
That’s a good question. I say it’s what you want it to be because it has a little bit of everything in it. But to me it’s a love story first and foremost and it’s one that’s very nostalgic for adults because we all remember our first love and I think we all have this desire to be with our soul mates like Dio and Jennifer do.

Do you feel that you’ve been treated differently by people because you’re published by a major publisher?
There’s an element of respect and acknowledgement that goes along with it yes. But to me I was happy just self-publishing. This is just an extra bonus. Like icing on a cake. Believe me though, there are pros and cons to being published by a major publisher.
You speak all over the country to schools and to young people in general. What is one of the most interesting things they’ve asked you?
I think one of the most interesting things they like to ask is if I’m single or not. Kids are so forward nowadays. They also ask me about my past and what life was like when I was their age. They say kids are different now but at the core they are very much the same as we were at their age. They all want the same things we wanted and maybe still want.

What about you do you think most people would be shocked to know about?
I think people would be shocked at how much of a kind of boring every day life I live. I mean I do the social functions and hang with friends and do all the high powered lunch meetings with people too but my day to day routine is just sitting at home typing (that is when I’m not procrasting) Answering these questions is so much more interesting to me sometimes than writing.

Where can we get Forever My Lady?
Amazon.com, www.JeffRivera.com or bookstores all over the country.

About Jeff:
Once homeless and living in his car, award-winning novelist Jeff Rivera writes passionate stories of those often forgotten and neglected by society. He believes even in the eyes of a gang member, even beneath the soiled clothes of a bag lady or behind the tears of a lonely kid in the back of the class, there lies a common thread that links us all, the universal human story. He has made it his personal mission to help change the way the world thinks in a positive way through his stories. Mr. Rivera currently lives in Miami, Florida. Adopted by his Filipino stepfather when he was seven years old, his ethnic background is Black American and Native American.

Leave a comment and get a chance to win a copy of Jeff’s book!

Don’t forget to swing by FatChicksRunning.com To see what we’ve been up to!

winners and the weekend…

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS! to Kimmie1111 and MJ!

I used a Random Number Generator (aka Rader) to pick 2 numbers between 1 and 25 and you two are the lucky winners! Shoot me an email through my contact page with your mailing address and I’ll pop the books in the mail to you on Monday!

Now I’m off to Oxford this weekend…but this time, I’m totally stoked! Oxford is hosting the 1st Presidential Debate and I’m going to be there! I have my ticket for the Democratic Watch Party, my friend Andrea has bought me my Obama shirt, and I’m totally going to be stalking Samantha Bee or Rob Riggle if they’re there. (please let them be there, PLEASE!) So watch for me…

I’ll be tweeting from my phone and trying to take lots of pics, so you guys follow me! Also, I’ll try blogging as much as I can. I can’t wait.

GObama!

write less and win!

I write like I read. I hate overdone passages of detail and superfluous words that slow down the pacing and are only put in the text to show how fancy the writer can be.

It’s not my style. When it comes to writing, I’m a minimalist. My biggest strength is dialogue. Truth be told, if I could write a dialogue only book and get away with it, I would. Because frankly, dialogue is where the story is for me.

That doesn’t mean that I don’t read wordy, big books. That means oftentimes I skim multiple passages in those books because frankly, if you can’t tell me in just a few words the exact shade of blue the sky is, then I don’t want to know. And if you bury something important in the middle of a ten sentence paragraph describing the exact shade of blue of the sky, then shame on you.

It could be undiagnosed ADD. I really don’t know, but I honestly don’t have the patience to wade through all that description especially when the only purpose of the paragraph is to prove what a good writer the author is. I just want to read a good story. I want to be engaged in the characters…not in the description of where the character is standing.

So I thought I’d have a little fun today. I have two extra copies of Roxanne St. Claire’s Now You Die (the 3rd book in a trilogy, the 6th book in the Bullet Catcher series). If you want to win a copy, all you have to do is describe yourself, your day, your life, your work…something about you…in 5 words.

Here are some examples:

Two houses, two cities, sucks.

Will be waiting tables soon.

Kids are fun when asleep.

Love/Hate relationship with Pug.

Fishdog makes me laugh alot.

Good friends make it better.

Who’s in? Let’s get our less is more groove on folks!

another contest!

Fictionistasare having a contest!

Stop by and read the interview, then leave a comment today for your chance to win Nico Medina’s YA novel Fat Hoochie Prom Queen! Read the blurb – the book sounds like a hoot! Here’ s the blurb:

Margarita “Madge” Diaz is fat, foxy, and fabulous. She loves herself, and is adored by almost everyone else…except queen bee/student- body president Bridget Benson. These two girls have a history that’s uglier than a drag queen after last call. During a heated argument, they decide there’s only one way to end their rivalry: Be named prom queen, and the other backs off. For good.

Of course, everything looks different in the sober light of morning, but pride is at stake and the race is on. Madge is committed to doing whatever it takes to secure the title, but so is Bridget. And everyone’s got something to hide.

Welcome to Winter Park High School, where the dirt’s not just gonna fly…it’s gonna go into freakin’ orbit.

All right, go get commenting!