Contests Fun!

So, it’s July already. Not quite sure what happened to June, but there is no question it is gone, pecan. I did make it to ApolloCon and it was fun to see all the wonderful (including more steampunk this year) costumes and there was even a steampunk panel (summarized here by Alexis Glynn Latner). I bought me a couple of steampunk hats that I hope I’ll be brave enough to wear at the next convention.

Another great convention this year, and I’m really looking forward to my first ArmadilloCon in Austin the end of August. I’ll actually be on some panels, which is, like, wow. I’ll also be helping out with the writers workshop the Friday before the convention starts.
But let’s get to the contests! First off, if you have (or haven’t) read Sharon Lee and Steve Miller’s Laiden books now is your chance to get in on the Laiden fun:
Sharon Lee & Steve Miller are the author team behind the classic and ever-popular Liaden Universe®. This series of “adventurous romantic space opera” holds cross-over appeal for both romance and science fiction readers.

To celebrate the release of MOUSE AND DRAGON, Lee and Miller’s thirteenth Liaden novel, the authors are hosting a contest. It’s open to anyone and everyone who has yet to sample a Liaden Universe® novel. They’re giving away 36 digital copies of THE DRAGON VARIATION omnibus, which includes CONFLICT OF HONORS, LOCAL CUSTOM, and SCOUT’S PROGRESS.

Not only that, but if you’re a blogger who wants to help spread the word about it, you’ll be entered for a chance to win a $36.00 gift card from Barnes and Noble! And if you’re a blogger new to the Liaden novels of Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, you can enter both tiers of the contest.

Here is an excerpt from the official announcement at Sharon Lee’s blog:

In celebration of the publication of Mouse and Dragon, the thirteenth novel set in their Liaden Universe®, authors Sharon Lee and Steve Miller are holding an Expanding Universe Contest! Yes! No less than thirty-six electronic copies of The Dragon Variation will be given away.

The Dragon Variation is an omnibus edition of three Liaden Universe® novels — Conflict of Honors, one of the first modern SFRomances; Local Custom, second place winner of the Prism Award for best Futuristic of 2002; and Scout’s Progress, the first place winner of the Prism Award for best Futuristic of 2002, Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice for Best SF Novel of its year, and the prequel to Mouse and Dragon.

That’s three complete novels under one cover. No prior knowledge of the Liaden Universe® required. Electronic! In Baen Books’ DRM-free, multiplatform style. This omnibus can be read on your Kindle, your phone, your iPad, your desktop, or other ereader.

To enter the contest, visit the Expanding Universe post at Sharon Lee’s blog and follow the instructions you see there (it’s easy). The contest ends at “midnight Eastern Daylight Time (4:00 a.m. GMT) Friday, July 16”. Winners will be announced on Saturday, July 17, 2010.

So pop over and enter! If you go to The Galaxy Express, there is cut and paste code if you want to blog about the event. I’ve also got a new contest going on my site that runs until the end of July. It’s a gift basket of goodies that includes a beautiful amber purse charm. And as the release date for Tangled in Time approaches, I’ll be giving away some really fun steampunk stuff, including some handmade smell good stuff crafted by my amazing sister in law. 
My publisher and I decided to do a general print release of Out of Time, and it is now available on Amazon and B&N (though neither place seems able to get the cover art loaded for some reason). I’m very excited that the re-release of my back list has begun. The books have been re-edited and repackaged (and in some cases de-swear worded. My characters were a lot more foul mouthed in the early days, but have since decided that less is more. insert wry grin here)

Okay, let’s see in books, I sped through Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch. It was unfair to the other books in my TBR, but fair and logic often get trumped by mood when I’m picking my reading material. I ended up ordering it in Nook edition and downloading it to the B&N app on my iPhone to read it. I see it has since turned up at Amazon now. It is all alone in my B&N app, since that is not the primary place I buy ebooks which is: 1st Fictionwise, 2nd, kindle/amazon. I also shop at Baen Books for SF and SFR. Love that they let me email to my Kindle, my primary ereading device. I also bought some Carina Press Books, in particular In Enemy Hands by KS Augustin. Started it and am finding it very compelling SFR. I like Carina so far and am hoping that their books will start showing up in other venues, such as fictionwise and for kindle (which I hear they will). I’m working my way through the “100 Must Read SFR books” (well, the ones that grabbed me.)

Not much happening in TV this summer (though there are a few summer launches that look interesting), but I saw Eclipse! Seriously, I saw it on Friday. Not the first day, but the first week. Since I didn’t see New Moon until it released on dvd, I’m feeling very “with it.” I liked it, though I expected to like it, since this was my favorite book. I always felt this story was more “whole,” more cohesive. As a writer, there will probably always be things that bug me about the books, but as a reader, I just go with the flow and try not to worry the details.

And I’m also about 40,000 wds into my new novel, closing in on the parts that will either make my head explode or the plot take off at a gallop (or light speed, since this is SFR/steampunk). I’m obviously hoping for the plot to take off. My head finally exploding sounds painful.

That’s all for now, except for the hope that your Independence Day was wonderful and that your July will be great, too!
perilously,
Pauline