Come Play The Enchanted Summer Games

Starting June 21st you can join the celebration for the re-release of my first book, Enchanted Island. I'm hosting a decathlon-style contest over the summer. There are plenty of chances to win, 10 to be exact. As if that wasn't cool enough, there will be bigger prizes at the close of the games.  That's if you've competed like a boss! There's no purchase necessary so don't worry. You have plenty of chances to win for doing things you do online anyway. So why not join in the fun?  Get your friends involved, and get a little friendly competition going. The more friends you get to play the better your chances are at winning one of those final prizes.

Now that you've decided to play, (and I know you have :-D) here are the details:

Enchanted Summer Games 

Meet Another One Of The Judges Of The Enchanted Summer Games

or my upcoming Enchanted Summer Games I've elected to use judges in the event that there is a tie in one of the games.  There will also be games in which the best submission will be selected as a winner. I will then look to the judges to make the call. I have chosen people who I think will be fair when it comes to making  these decisions. So without further ado, here is my second selection.

Coletta Teske

I have chosen a great lady who I came across on Facebook. While I haven't actually met her in real life, we have a hell of a good time shooting the breeze online. Coletta Teske is a freelance writer of many interesting articles but I'll get to that in a minute.  It's when I discovered her wonderfully creative Huckaberry Cryptic Crydders, that I got hooked. For me to try to describe what these little gems are, would do them no justice. You must go check out these unique sculptures, they're absolutely incredible. I gave her an idea of what I wanted and she produced this amazing one-of-a-kind sculpture. You can see it pictured below. That is custom-made, folks!

Now back to her writing. If you want to know about gardening and get the best tips, you need to read her articles. Coletta has infinite knowledge on the subject. She writes articles about useful things and just makes you wish she was your neighbor. So make sure you find Coletta on Facebook,  Twitter and even Pinterest.

Aztec Hoot Owl

Meet My First Judge Of The Enchanted Summer Games

For my upcoming Enchanted Summer Games I've elected to use judges in the event that there is a tie in one of the games.  There will also be games in which the best submission will be selected as a winner. I will then look to the judges to make the call. I have chosen people who I think will be fair when it comes to making  these decisions. So without further ado, here is my first selection.

First, I've chosen a wonderful friend of mine, Jen. She heads up one of my favorite sites on the internet, Unseen NYC. It's such a great resource for people interested in visiting the New York City area, as well as its residents. What's great about it though, is that it doesn't concentrate on just Manhattan like every other tour guide.  There's so much more to New York City than Manhattan. You must take a bigger bite of the Apple and Jen will help you every step of the way. If you haven't had the pleasure of visiting the site, you must!  You can find Unseen NYC on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Flickr .

Here's a screenshot of the site. Now hurry on over and take a look! I'm confident Jen will make a fine judge.

The Prizes Have Arrived!

While I'm still making a few preparations for the upcoming Enchanted Summer Games, there's one thing I can cross off my list. The Prizes! The box of goodies arrived today and just made it all real! The excitement keeps building as well as my hopes of people participating! I would hate to have to keep all these cool prizes to myself.  Speaking of prizes, here they are:

Carry your Enchanted Island
 book in here  ;-)

Notepad, pens, sticky notes
key chains

Mouse Pad

T-Shirt

A Look At The Prizes

I'm starting to get really excited about the Enchanted Summer Games.  The games will last throughout the summer in celebration of the re-release of Enchanted Island .  The book is being cleaned up and given a new look. I didn't think I could be more excited than when the book was first released, but I am! Sadly,  I didn't do much in the way of marketing the first time around, so here I am learning from my mistakes.  I want people to be as enthused as I am.  My main goal is to attract new readers and have them hang in there with me as I journey into the world of writing.  I've always been a bit of an introvert, okay maybe more than a bit, but I'd like to change that. These games will hopefully help me gain exposure, but more importantly, allow people to get to know me. So please, come and play! Tell your friends, it will pay off :)

Ideally, I'd like people to play until the end and intend to reward those who do.  There will be a  new game every week  and will last for  10 weeks.  The more games you participate in the better your chances at winning multiple prizes.  For instance, if you play the game scheduled for week #1 and don't win, you can play in week #2 and not only win the prize for that week, but also the previous week's prize! So it pays to stick around and keep trying! At the conclusion of the games, there will also be "The All-Around"  Gold, Silver, and Bronze prize awarded to those who participated in all the games from start to finish.

So you see, there are plenty of reasons to come and join the fun. Purchasing the book increases your chances of winning but not necessarily a requirement. So please don't fret. Tell your friends, share the link with the info, because there's also a prize for that ;-) Stay tuned!

While I continue to hammer out all the details of the games you can feast your eyes on a few of things up for grabs.

I have other goodies but will save them for another
post as I keep you updated on the upcoming Enchanted Summer Games.

A Look Into My Short Story Compilation

I'm currently putting together a short story collection slated for a Halloween release.  Each story can stand alone  but are intertwined with each other. Make sense? :)

Here's a little snippet from the rough draft of the first story.

Thursday Night

It was Thursday night, which meant that Morgan’s ex-husband had come for the children.  Her face lit up when she opened the door.  After lingering on the doorstep, her shoulders dropped as she headed back inside, alone.   Nestling deep into the loveseat, she wrapped herself up in her favorite throw blanket.  With a click of a button she settled in to watch her favorite hospital drama.  As she sipped on a glass of chardonnay, she combed her fingers through her honeysuckle locks.  Every few minutes she let out a deep sigh then quickly swallowed down her wine.

Having watched her over several weeks, he knew she would soak in a bubble bath next. For exactly 23 minutes he would get to know her intimately.  His fixed his eyes on her form as she slowly undressed.  His pulse quickened instantly, for Morgan was quite exquisite.  While she didn’t have the model physique seen on covers of magazines, she was perfect in his eyes--scars and all.  He loved how her ample bosoms were just barely visible through the mounds of bubbles in the tub. He gulped hard as she began her bathing ritual.  These next moments were the ones he believed they connected on a spiritual level.

He marveled at how comfortable she was caressing her own body.  As always, he joined her from afar.  So many times he felt like he would finish first, but in time conditioned himself to hold back.  It wasn’t easy when her every move was made with total awareness of what pleased her. By now he knew the exact moment she would release.  After a few attempts he was able to time it perfectly so they could share in the moment together.  Each time they did, he felt closer to her. He convinced himself that she muttered his name each time.  She was made for him, of this he was certain.

He waited for her to dry off and slip into bed before entering her home.  In his eyes, a woman like Morgan needed to be with him.  What he learned by tracking her every move, was how freely she gave of herself.  The time had come for him to collect.  He formulated different scenarios on how he would get her to go with him voluntarily.  However, he was fully prepared to take her against her will.  Whatever it took, he would have her...

Are You Ready For Some... Enchanted Summer Games?

Nearly four years ago I wrote a book and then dipped my toes into the  social media pool.  It was big and scary at first but then I got the hang of it. I still enjoy my time chatting with folks from all over. I've gotten familiar with a variety of writers and those associated with other aspects of  the book publishing industry.  However, I did take a very passive approach to branding myself online and have reaped the rewards accordingly.  As I stated in an earlier post, I'm not very good at selling.   I am the least pushy person when it comes to advertising myself and tooting my own horn.  So it stands to reason that I've only made a tiny ripple when I should have made a big belly flop of a splash.

When I put  my first book out,  I was so proud of my story.  I believed the book would be enjoyed if given half the chance.  Then it happened. I was horror-stricken when I found errors in the printed copies.  I had so many of them and had spent money getting them printed.  But people started buying them anyway.  I got positive feedback and people were kind enough not to mention the errors. (Phew!)  In hindsight, it was probably the reason why I didn't push the books so hard.  Fast forward and now I'm ready to re-emerge, stronger and better.  The book has gotten a new design and the errors are being cleaned up.  Once again, I'm anxious to share my story.  I want to form a connection with the everyday reader so they may get to know me and in turn fall in love with the stories that I tell. That brings me to my plans for the summer.

In a previous post titled, Enchanted Summer Games, I spoke about how I had an idea of holding a summer-long contest.  So far I've gotten a stir of interest which led me to elaborating a little more.  I thought it would be fun to hold games and contests to get people interested in Enchanted Island.  I love the story and I want others to as well. Let's be for real for a moment, what better way to try to get people interested than to offer incentives?  I want to attract new readers by creating a fun atmosphere free of the "hard-sell."  Of course I would absolutely love  for people to rush out and read my book, but what I want most is for people to stick around and take this wonderful ride with me.  Writing can be a lonely journey!  I just want to be able to know that I'm producing something that brings enjoyment into people's lives.

As for the Enchanted Summer Games, I'm planning  a decathlon style contest.  The games will run 10 weeks with a different event each week.  That means there will be prizes up for grabs the whole summer long!  During that time I'm hoping to foster relationships with readers that will last through time. I don't want the games to be all about having to buy my book, so there will be chances for everyone to participate.  Even if they never pick up my book!  I enjoy writing, but for so long I kept my stories to myself.  It's about time I start sharing.  After all, didn't I hear someone say, "Sharing is caring?"

As a bigger interest builds, I will provide more information regarding the upcoming games.