Look What's Up For Grabs This Week...

Here's what's up for grabs this week in the Enchanted Summer Games. Join us for some fun across social media. Meet new people and win cool prizes. >>> Enchanted Summer Games

Hooray! For Second Chances

So, here's what's happening. A few years ago I published my first novel, Enchanted Island. Fast forward a few years and I'm re-releasing the book. I made a few mistakes the first time around which I'm correcting now. You see, I passively marketed while secretly hoping my family and friends would lend a helping hand. I must say a handful, and I mean one hand, did actually purchase and read the book. Those people will always be remembered and appreciated. My only problems is I have close to 300 friends on my personal Facebook page and just under 10 of them jumped on board to support me. It's true they don't really owe me anything. But still, isn't it nice to have the support of your peers? I think so.

Time went on and I saw that they weren't particularly interested in anything I had to say regarding my book. I was so proud of myself for stepping up and seeing this thing through. Most people don't. I know whenever I see a friend or even a distant acquaintance involved in something cool, that I'm so thrilled for them. I jump right in and support however I can. My mistake was wishing that people would do the same for me. I was wrong. When the book was just coasting along with trickling sales here and there every month, I resigned myself to the fact that, I'm not going to make it. I became resentful and even stopped writing for a while.

Every now and then I'd get a burst of inspiration and resume my feeble effort to market my work. There came a point in time nearly two months ago where I got this fire in my belly once again. I finally came to terms with the fact that I couldn't really count on my inner circle to help me get to the next level. When I saw everyone around me taking care of themselves, even the ones I helped at some point in time, I just had had enough.

It came time for me to get out there and mingle. I needed to connect with people so they could get to know what I'm all about. It's important for me that people see who I am and what I'm about. I came up with a fun way to help make this happen. To celebrate the new look for my book I have a summer-long contest going. If you follow my blog you know about the Enchanted Summer Games. The games are a way for the readers to get to know me and a little about my book. I received the proof yesterday and gave it a once over. I'm happy to say, Enchanted Island is now available in paperback with the new cover and also for Kindle devices. Hooray! For second chances.

Enchanted Island with new cover and new attitude.

Paperback copies of  Enchanted Island are available here with a limited time discount code D8PG38CH  

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.