Friday, May 7, 2010

A Winner, a Crash, and a Plea For Help

Okay, listen up, we’ve got some important things today. :)

First, to the winner of Monday’s Spread The Awesome event! (drum roll please) Jen D! Congrats, Jen! Beguiled is awesome book. I hope you enjoy it. Everyone should jump over to Jenn’s blog and say hello.
http://jennifer-daiker.blogspot.com/

Overall, I think my first giveaway went well…except every time someone left a comment I thought, “I hope you win!” By the end I wished I had 70 copies available. But fear not, I plan on having another one soon. :) And with that future giveaway in mind, I’d like to ask, how did you hear about this contest? Was a link through another blog, Twitter, Face Book? It would be great to know for the next time around.

Of course in the middle of the whole thing my computer had to crash. I clicked over to my e-mail and they randomly started to disappear. That didn’t seem good, so I quickly clicked restart…and that’s where it got stuck for hours. :? Unfortunately, my brother, who has always been my IT department, is working full-time now, so I had to wait for him to get home. (This whole adulthood thing is rough sometimes. ;) While we’re not entirely sure what happened, it seems in part Microsoft had corrupted itself. Apparently this naturally happens over time. So, he clicked something called “CCleaner” and now it’s working. I don’t know….
(A plea to my Apple loving friends. Don’t e-mail me and tell me this is a sign I need to get a Mac. Most of the programs and systems I interface with are not compatible with Macs. I’m sorry. That’s just the way it is. ;)

Now on to the plea for help. Have you seen the flooding going on in Tennessee right now? It’s pretty bad. A lot of people have lost their homes and loved ones. I actually have a friend out there who says his family can’t get out of their house without a 4wheeler. They driveway was just washed away. And they won’t have regular phone service until the end of the month.
Several writers located in the region are setting up an auction to help fund the rebuilding that will need to happen fast. They are asking writers, agents, and publishers to donate signed copies of their books and critique services. And if you don’t have anything to auction, please consider bidding. According to the organizers, the outpouring has been wonderful. For more information check here.

Well, that’s all for the moment. I hope you had a lovely, “Spread the Awesome” week. :) And remember, this event was about spreading the word about your favorite books and authors. Your opinions are actually as important as any reviewer. Check out my previous post on the subject for a list of great ways you can help.

21 comments:

Diane said...

Those blasted computers! I am not a mac lover either. Thankfully, we are both up and running again! :O)

Emily Ann Benedict said...

Yes, it's good to be back in the land of the living. :) Ten hours with no e-mail was pretty harrowing. ;)

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for the book! I'm so happy I won!!! I never win anything!!!

Silly computers, sometimes I wish they would just WORK!

Emily Ann Benedict said...

Congrats, Jen. Winning is just plain fun, isn't it? ;)

I know! I thought computers were supposed to make our lives easier. :P Well, at least they teach me patience. ;)

Robyn Campbell said...

Waaahaaaa,I couldn't enter the contest, because MY computer went bonkers. Crashing whenever I tried to connect to the internet and sometimes after turning it on. I'm not a MAC person either, but I love that the MAC pro has a battery life of THIRTEEN hours. How cool is that?

Oh, and, btw, Emily. I'm going to see about trying that and see if it will fix mine.

I'm happy that Jen won, though. CONGRATS JEN!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY It couldn't have happened to a nicer person. ;)

Shannon O'Donnell said...

Congrats to the winner! My prayers go out to everyone in Tennessee - it's awful.

I have an award for you today! Have a great weekend. :-)

Emily Ann Benedict said...

Robyn: Sorry about all your troubles! I am planning on doing another giveaway, so hopefully you'll be able to join in that one!
Good luck with your computer.

Shannon: Thank you! That's so sweet. :)

Corinne O said...

Hi! I am sorry for your computer issues... sometimes you just wanna *kapow*! I too am too enmeshed in PC software stuff to make the move to a mac. Just how it is.

I heard about your blog via Elana Johnson's post on the "Spread the Awesome" reading list.

I am glad so many are beginning to share about the auction for TN folks... its incredible there is nothing happening mainstream for them.

TGIF!

Anonymous said...

PS. Macs are not perfect either.

Sincerely,

A Computer Tech

Lydia Kang said...

Sorry about the computer snafu. So inconvenient, right? Congrats to Jen!

Karen said...

Congrats to the winner! I hate it when the computer "imp" acts up! I have friends in Tenn. too. They're okay, but others not.

Emily Ann Benedict said...

Apparently a lot of the media orgainizations in Tens. are underwater too, so getting information out is hard. :(

And yes, computer problems are tough on the nervious system
..Mac users are usually in denial about any issues it might have. :P

Karen Lange said...

Great giveaway:) Congrats to Jen.
The Awesome week was fun.
Have a great weekend,
Karen

Emily Ann Benedict said...

Thanks Karen. :)

Unknown said...

Technology...grrrr. Congrats to Jen!! And thanks for ideas for how we can help those devastated by the flooding in TN.

I left you an award on my blog today!

Have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend!

Warren Baldwin said...

Glad your give away went well!

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Emily Ann -

Congrats to Jen!

Computers are wonderful - when they work. I've had my share of disasters this year. Glad your machine is working now.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Emily Ann Benedict said...

Thanks everyone! Yes, technology can be quite a trial.:P
But I really am grateful for the computer I have. Usually it's nice to me. ;)

Kara said...

Computer problems drive me crazy:)
I heard about your give-away on facebook!
Thanks for the info on the auction, I will check it out:)

Charmaine Clancy said...

Congratulations on a successful giveaway.
And thanks for joining my blog, there are some awards there for you today:

http://clancytales.blogspot.com/2010/05/encouragement-and-awards.html

Jayne said...

Hello! Computers really time there moments don't they? I am sure they wait for the day you just cannot do without them. Maybe it is a lesson for us to be humble, to appreciate that sometimes they really like thinking about things (rather than opening them) and that being slow is a virtue. Maybe!