BBF Giveaway Winners!

Thank you to everyone who made the Blogger Book Fair as exciting as it was!  All of us authors and bloggers know we would be nowhere without our readers, and I'm grateful to each one of you who took the time to stop by my blog, read the guest posts, and enter my giveaway.  Results were powered through the Rafflecopter widget, which uses Random.org.  That being said, the winners are:

• Jackie R. (Autographed copy and keychain)
• Cindy B. C. (E-book copy and keychain)
• Laura F. G. (Keychain)
• Brigette S. (Keychain)

Winners should expect to see an email from me soon and will have 72 hours to respond.  If a winner does not respond, an alternate winner will be selected.

BBF: Coming to a Close

It's the last day of the Blogger Book Fair! While one of the benefits of a virtual event such as this one is the fact that you can continue to read all of the fantastic guest posts, excerpts, etc., it is the last day to take advantage of some promotions such as discounted books and giveaways—so don't forget to check those out.

In this fast-paced week, writers and bloggers have come together, demonstrating our strength and reach as a community (despite the relatively small percentage of community members actively participating in this particular event). The purpose of this event was promotion, and fun, but the implications of our community's potential shouldn't be ignored. 

Given the opportunity, we can have an immense impact simply by doing what we do best. So, I would like to use this final BBF post on my site to remind everyone about a project organized specifically to provide that opportunity: Scripting Change. This community effort depends on writers, and bloggers, to contribute to their efforts for the sake of raising money to support fiscally responsible nonprofit organizations. This year's recipient is the MSTR Scholarship Foundation, which offers financial assistance to students affected by chronic illness. 

Each and every one of us can help, whether by liking the project's Facebook page, submitting a piece of poetry or short fiction (guidelines here), or spreading the word.

Our Words Can Change the World

Blogger Book Fair: Day 4

The Blogger Book Fair is soon coming to an end, but it's still going at full speed! Guest appearances continue to be posted, giveaways are still open, and even the Reader's Choice Award voting doesn't end until later tonight.  So what are you waiting for? Check out the Fair's Directory to join in on the fun while you still can!

While you're here, don't forget to stop by my Blogger Book Fair posts: 

• Making a Genre Match, on A.J. Hayes' blog
• Sneak Peek at Life Under Examination, on Emma Calin's blog

And of course, check out their guest appearances here and enter my dedicated giveaway!

Guest Post by Emma Calin

This should be a guest post for the Blogger Book Fair to tempt you to read my books. However, since I am on the blog of a lovely poet, I wanted to share some poetry with you from a collection by a good friend, Oscar Sparrow.

I had the honour of writing the foreword for this anthology, so it feels like one of my books in any case!

The collection is called “I threw a stone” and is an eclectic selection of poems about life, love and nature. Some of the poems are serious, some are funny, some are raw and brutal. All exhibit Oscar's unique talent of distilling the essence of a subject into poetic form. The book is unusual in that the digital version includes a link to a FREE audio recording of all the poetry, recorded by Oscar himself with a specially composed musical introduction written by a local young musician. What better than to hear a poem read aloud by the poet?

Guest Post: Tips to Find Inspiration Every Day

By A. J. Hayes

Last year, on my 30th birthday, I took the challenge to write a poem a day for a year and post it on my Tumblr blog. I completed the task earlier this year, and compiled all 365 poems into a collection, 30th Year Poetry. Inspiration for these poems came in many forms. I talk about the specific inspiration for the poems in the book. In order to “get inspired” on a daily basis, I recommend doing the following:

Finding the Gatekeepers of the Walled City of Publishing

Unfortunately, one of the authors with whom I was scheduled to exchange posts for the Blogger Book Fair had to drop out at the last minute. Rather than deprive all of you of the post I wrote for her site (and we all know it'd be an unacceptable loss) I am publishing it here. I look forward to reading your thoughts in the comments!

Agent Adventure

Finding the Gatekeepers of the Walled City of Publishing

Having chosen the traditional route, a writer begins a quest not unlike that of medieval heroes. We’ve packed our bags with the necessary supplies (our finished manuscript, a polished query letter, determination, and as a bonus—internet access) and now set out to make it past the gatekeepers (aka agents). At least one must be convinced of our worth before we are allowed to enter the walled city of publishing and fight for a place in its perpetual tournament. First, of course, we have to seek out the gatekeeper most likely to appreciate our potential.

Reader's Choice Awards!

As we kick off the Blogger Book Fair, in an extremely fortunate twist of fate, the Author Alliance 5-star review (by Nada Adel Sobhi) of Life Under Examination was posted today!  With lovely comments such as:

"I loved it. And that’s all I’m going to say about it. I will leave it for the rest of the world to read and see for themselves. *thumbs up Ms. Glazki*" 

and: " Life Under Examination deserves more than a 5-star rating for it is a collection that can, and will, touch each and every one."

Ms. Sobhi has certainly warmed my heart and reddened my cheeks!  

The timing is in part fortuitous because the polls for the Reader's Choice Awards have opened!  So please check out this thoughtful review, and then go vote!! (Life Under Examination is listed under "Poetry")

Blogger Book Fair Kickoff & Giveaway

The 2013 Summer Blogger Book Fair has officially begun!  This is my first time participating in a virtual book fair, but it's certainly shaping up to be quite the experience.  Authors and bloggers from around the world have come together to bring you a week saturated with wonderful guest posts, book reviews, giveaways, free & discounted books, and so much more!  Check everything out through the BBF directory.

All books participating in the Blogger Book Fair have been entered into the Reader's Choice Awards, including mine! Head on over to Shut Up & Read blog to cast your vote. Votes for my collection would of course be greatly appreciated, but don't forget to check out the many other categories!

Virtual Etiquette: Who's Doing It Right

It's been about a week since the release of my poetry collection, and it has certainly already been an uphill climb. One of the results of choosing to publish independently is that, once the book itself is complete, the work is really just beginning—which seems silly to us writers who have already spent countless hours, even years, slaving over the content. Still, I have been very lucky to have the support of Donna L Sadd, with whom I did an interview, and Sherry Fundin, who quickly pulled together a promotional post for me. Patience is the name of the game now, as I wait for the major promotional boost that participating in the Blogger Book Fair should turn out to be and hope that my efforts will eventually turn into readers and sales. (That isn't to say I won't be promoting in the meanwhile—don't forget to enter my launch giveaway!)

This will be my first experience participating in the Blogger Book Fair [BBF], but it looks like it's shaping up to be a huge event, and I'm excited!

Start of Summer

Summer is officially here, or so it seems to me after my time away and return to a season of graduations, picnics, and sunshine. Honestly, I'm a bit behind in my goals for this year, but all that can be done about that is catching up. Of course, one of my biggest problems is my tendency to bite off more than I can chew. Still, here is what I am planning to do and considering doing in the near future:

• Publishing my poetry collection, Life Under Examination. This will hopefully happen within the next week.