Holiday Hop 2: Name That Gal!

Welcome, welcome, as we continue our hop through the holidays...and through naming people and places in my books!

To take part in my GRAND PRIZE contest and name the hometown in "Going Home," click here.

To suggest a GUY's name for a coming YA series, click here.

And today...we get to...Name. That. Gal!

She's cute.  She's spunky.  She's everything to everyone.  Between activity overload and running interference between her parental units and her - wait for it - FIVE siblings, she's one worn-out chica by the time summer break roles around.  Perhaps a few fun "Summer Nights" will be just the thing to recharge her batteries with senior year looming just around the corner.

So...what's her name?

Enter below, and make sure you leave me a way to contact you as well!  All entries get their choice of one of my short stories and the winning entry gets a bundle of stories.  Plus, each and every entry in all of my holiday hop contests goes in the overall hop hopper for a chance to win a Kindle Fire!

So what are you waiting for?  Enter now!  And don't forget that there are many other blogs and authors also participating in the holiday blog hop - share the love and share the visits!

Anne

Holiday Hop 1: Name That Guy!

Welcome back to my blog for the continuation of the Holiday Blog Hop, featuring Indie Writers Unite authors. I do hope you've visited hop headquarters to see the other great sites available to visit!

Have you entered my grand prize contest, to name the hometown in my next novel, Going Home? If not, please do!!

For today's daily prize, here's your mission, should you choose to accept it: Name. That. Guy!

I have a YA series of 4 books outlined to begin writing early next year. The series is called Summer Nights and is set on the Jersey shore. The main characters - ages 15-19 - are enjoying their summers at the beach, where the days are hot but the nights are hotter. (Ok, it's YA. Not that hot.)

Help me name my characters!

Today's character: The Preppie

You know the type. He's cute. He's slick. Daddy has money. And so Sonny Boy has a buck or two to spend and is on the prowl for a cute little chickie to spend it on.

But he's not that stereotypical. See, Preppie has a soft side. He's really not all that - but he wants his dad to think he is. And so that means that the soft side rarely comes to surface. But perhaps it'll come out on a special summer night.

So what's his name?

Leave me a comment with your proposed name for Mr. Preppie - first and last, please - and, if you want, a brief explanation of why you chose that name.

Everyone gets one of my free short stories for entering (choose between A Strange Place, Dream Scream and Hidden Intent and let me know which you chose in your comment) and the person who suggests the name I chose will get all three short stories plus an acknowledgement in each book that uses that name.

And remember that everyone who enters this contest and all others through the Holiday Blog Hop will also get an entry to win a Kindle Fire in the overall contest!

Time...to Hop, Hop, Hop!

Thanks for visiting me during the Holiday Blog Hop tour!

Now that you've been lured to my lair....*steeples fingers*

...it's time to get to work!

That's right. You heard me. Work!

I am giving away the lovely basket you see displayed here...and in return...

You get to name the hometown in my next novel, Going Home.

When a terminally ill police officer loads his family up for a journey to the hometown he left behind, the road trip hangs a left onto a time-tarnished Memory Lane as he struggles to share his beginnings with his young children who have themselves only begun.

So...where are they going?

Here's the situation:

He's a Denver Metro police officer. He's from Idaho originally. But, as you may know from the last time you looked at a map of the good ol' US of A, Idaho is a tallllll state. There is a lot of room for towns with quite interesting names...and even more open space where YOU can invent the town that I will use.

It's a small town, rural. From there...let your imagination explore.

So to recap...

To win the grand prize, suggest a town name - real or imaginary - oh, and tell me why!

Entries are due by December 24th and the basket will be awarded to the winning town name on Christmas Day!

Hope you'll come back and visit me between now and then, as well, for my daily contests that offer up free ebooks in return for naming characters in MY future ebooks. I also have several author interviews coming soon for your reading pleasure...it's always fun to add new authors to your library!

Now it's time...to hop, hop, hop...remember that everyone who enters here and through other participating blogs will also get an entry to win a Kindle Fire!

Anne

IWU Holiday Hop with PRIZES

Howdy!  Are you ready for Christmas?

I'm still busy shopping and planning and drooling over pictures of cookies that I may or may not ever bake.

Here's another way to get ready for Christmas.  From December 15th through 25th, I'll be participating in the Holiday Hop, a blog tour by Indie Writers Unite authors.

I'll offer daily prizes of short stories and a grand prize of a big basket (virtual, of course) that includes eBooks from varying genres.  I think you'll enjoy!

I'm going to make you work for it, though.  Each day, I'll have a post up describing what you have to do to win that day's prize.  And throughout the hop, I'll also have a reminder on what you have to do to win the grand prize.  But I think you'll like what I have in mind!

Stay tuned...I'll post again in a couple days at the start of the hop. I'll also share the address of Hop Headquarters so you can be sure to visit all of my cohorts in holiday fun. Hope to see you there!

Anne

Mommy Letters NEW Release Date

Hi, friends!

Are you as excited for the release of The Mommy Letters as I am?

I hope so!

First, I want to thank you for all of the well wishes you sent me on Facebook and Twitter during and after my thyroid surgery last week. Getting stuck in the hospital for a few extra days wasn't exactly the most fun thing in the world, but it made me feel good to hear from so many people!

Now, having said that, I'm sure you'll understand what's coming next.

I'm not going to make my release date of December 26th for The Mommy Letters. Just not going to happen.

I'm behind on editing/proofreading/formatting for publication from delays both before and after surgery. A couple weeks behind.

So while I'm disappointed that my debut novel will not, in fact, be released in 2011, I'm sure you'll agree that delivering a spotless final product to my readers is important!

Thank you for your continued support - and stay tuned for some AWESOME holiday blog hops I'm participating in that have neato prizes included!

Anne