Time For Another Giveaway!

Okay everybody, are you ready for Spring? I am and you know why?  Because it's time for another giveaway on my blog!  That's right...I had so much fun with the last giveaway during the Winter that I just might make this a seasonal event!  I'm rolling up my sleeves and getting ready to have some more fun.  Are you with me?

Let's get down to business about the giveway...what it is, what you have to do to enter, what you are going to get when you win...and YOU WILL WIN!!  A lot of you know by now that my city is hosting a Children's Festival of Reading on Saturday, May 19th.  And you also may know that I was invited to have a booth there, so I came up with a creative way to help out all my lovely new friends in this writing community.  Traditional, Indie, and E-book authors are sending me their autographed books and autographed swag items so that I may showcase them at my booth for my giveaway items.  So far 12 lovely authors have agreed to send me 30 of their books but I'm greedy...I want to help even MORE authors get the word out about their wonderful stories!

That is where YOU come in!  From now until April 15th, anyone who would like to show their support for all the wonderful authors out there by helping me get the word out about my booth will get the chance to win one of four prizes.  Here is what you do:

Give a shout-out about this event and encourage authors or illustrators to get in contact with me so I can help promote their book(s).  Tie this link http://donasdays.blogspot.com/2012/03/calling-all-authors.html to a blog post, Twitter tweet, Facebook status update...however you would like to do it...and then leave a comment here or send me an email to tkd2lady (at) yahoo (dot) com letting me know you did so I can put your name in the hat for the drawings.

Anyone willing to help me get the word out will get to pick from the following prizes:

1.  Writing Picture Books by Ann Whitford Paul.  If more than one person would like this book, then I will put all names in a hat and draw the winner.

2.  You Can Write Children's Books by Tracey E. Dils.  If more than one person would like this book, then I will put all names in a hat and draw the winner.

3.  A creative blog post or interview by me.  I know I'm not famous but maybe you need a filler for your blog and I could help you out.

4.  A critique on a manuscript up to 1000 words.  Again, I must confess it would not be a "professional" critique but I have been writing for over 40 years and have been reading for longer than that and the one thing I DO know...I have an opinion of what is good writing...;0)

There you have it.  My Springtime giveaway and just maybe a way to draw more authors works to a fabulous event.  I am willing to do all the hard work promoting because it's the only way I can think of to express my gratitude for the friendship and loving support I have received from this wonderful writing community.  So, all I need to know is...who will help me shine the spotlight on some terrific children's book authors out there?

Skeletons In The Closet

One of the houses I grew up in was known for it's unusual closets.  The house was actually the first one built in my hometown and was nearly a century old when my parents bought it.  The front parlor and sitting room had been converted into two bedrooms with a two way closet between them.  There was something unnerving about that closet and whenever I slept in one of the bedrooms, I always wondered what might be hiding in the closet just waiting to jump out at me.  I thought there was definitely a skeleton or two in that closet and I wanted them to stay in there!

We writers have plenty of skeletons in our mental closets just dying to get out.  Fear, uncertainty, and frustration, just to name a few.  Those skeletons always seem to be lurking somewhere in the back of our minds, just waiting to consume us it we let them.

Sometimes readers look upon writers almost in awe and we don't want to let them down.  Instead of dealing with those skeletons that weigh so heavily on our minds, we decide instead to shove them further back into that closet and hope no one ever discovers them there.

But soon they begin to multiply until we have no choice but to decide what are we going to do with all them bones?  Do we let them continue to pile up until they have buried our creativity so deep that we may never find it again?  Do we try to ignore the skeletons and simply hope they will one day do a vanishing act?  Or do we take a deep breath and face those skeletons head on and vanquish those fears once and for all?

Writers have to realize we aren't alone with our doubts.  Other writers have experienced the same fears we have, and sometimes it's best to reach out to those around us for comfort and inspiration.  This writing community we are all a part of is a vast resource of knowledge and strength to help us weather any storm we may be dealing with, and the friends we make along the way can help clean out those closets for good.

Instead of living our lives trying to hide those skeletons, maybe we should just invite them to the party and let them celebrate that new freedom from fear with us?