Good things for you and for me. :)

This is a heads up about a very big giveaway! My blogger friend, Diane Estrella, is holding a week long giveaway on her blog with new prizes every day.
Prizes include everything from handmade purses, jewelry, mineral wear natural makeup, and a signed copy of Facets Of Fantasy, by Sarah Scheele. (If you read this blog you know I love Miss Sarah and her work. ;)

Anyway, you must run over to Diane’s blog right away and check out all the wonderfulness! And don’t forget to visit throughout the week for more chances to win.

Hope everyone his having a great Memorial Day holiday! Don’t forget to pray for all our amazing veterans and their families who have sacrifice so much for us.

Spread the Awesome Day: Reviews and Giveaway!

Yes, today is “Spread the Awesome” day out in the blogosphere and here at Benedictions I’m celebrating with my first book giveaway!
What is “Spread the Awesome” day, you ask? It’s an ingeniously little event thought up by blogger-extraordinaire, Elana Johnson. We all know books are sold by word of mouth, so today we’re using our blogs to spread the word about our favorite authors and books.
I’m shinning the spotlight on a new favorite author of mine, Deeanne Gist. I stumbled upon her first novel, A Bride Most Begrudging, last summer by chance. Honestly, I hesitated, because I’m not usually a fan of American historical fiction, but the backmatter was interesting so I gave it a shot.
I read the entire book in two days and it instantly found a home on my list of favorite books. It was both witty and moving. The type of book that sticks to you…kind of like soul food. (Okay, so I’m from California and don’t know a thing about soul food. You get the point. :)

Want a teaser?
Drew O’Connor just wanted someone to help clean his house and care for his younger sister, but when a ship of “tobacco brides” reaches the shores he finds himself stuck with a feisty young woman who claims to be a English countess, kidnapped and forced to the New World against her will. Read more

After enjoying Bride so much, imagine my delight when I found out for Deeanne’s newest book, Beguiled, she joined with mystery writer J. Mark Bertrand to create one of my favorite genres: Contemporary Romantic Suspense. Let’s just say Beguiled kept me up long past my bedtime. :D

Want another teaser?
Professional dog walker, Rylee Monroe, never feared the streets of Charleston’s wealthiest neighborhoods, until a thief started targeting the residents. Though harmless at first, the crimes are becoming increasingly violent and it’s starting to look like Rylee might be the next target. Read more

Sound good? Marvelous, because I’m giving my followers a chance to win a copy of Beguiled with a signed bookplate. Yes, signed by Deeanne!
How do you win?
1 point for being a follower of this blog.
1 point each for following me on Face Book and/or Twitter.
2 points for each mention of this contest on your blog, Face Book page, and/or Twitter home.

You MUST leave a comment telling me want you’ve done, even if you’re already a follower of this blog. And include your e-mail address in the spam proof form. (i.e: emilyannbenedict(at)gmail(dot)com)
Contest ends at noon on Thursday. I’ll announce the winner on Friday.

So, would you like to know how Spread the Awesome day get’s even better? Lots of bloggers out there in the sphere are taking part in this celebration by featuring their favorite authors and giving away books and we’re all linked together. Visit the next link this chain by jumping over to Jen Wilks’ blog where she is featuring author Mary E. Pearson. You can also check out a long list of recommendations at Elana’s official recommendations page.
And don’t forget to spread the word about your favorite authors! :)

Help Me Decide & A Great Opportunity For Writers.

This is a double topic post, just because I have two things I want to say and I don’t want to wait to post them separately. Yeah, waiting is not one of my strong points. God and I work on it often. ;)

ANYWAY…First off, I’m having a great time with the discussion we’re all having over Blonde heroines verses other hair colors, both here on the social networking world and in the real one. A friend of mine came to visit this week and one of the first things she said after getting settled was, “I support blonde heroines!” :D
So, I’ve decided to ask for your help decided my next round with hair colors. The current heroine I’m working on does not yet have an assigned color. Would you like to help me decided? Then vote in the poll I just put up (look to the right). Whatever color has the most votes will appear in the story.

All right, up next. Author, Elana Johnson is offering an amazing opportunity to writers. She’s running a contest on her blog this week. The grand prize? You’ll get your query critiqued for free by a real agent. I think it’s fair to say we could all use a little professional help when it comes to our writing and especially our queries. It’s the first chance we have to sell our work.
So, check it out at http://elanajohnson.blogspot.com/
(Deadline: Sunday)

Have a great weekend all! And hooray for team USA! Two gold medals last night alone!
…Hm, did I just introduce a third topic?

Listen up!

All right my friends, listen up because I’m only going to say this once.
(Well, at least for the time being. ;)
I often stumble upon contests in the world of websites and blogs. A lot of times blogs offer free books to random followers and there usually are a few contests out there for writers looking for a place to send their work.
Well, after thinking about it, as much as I like to share these notices, I really don’t want this particular blog to turn into a contest announcement board. :P
Instead I’m taking over the blog I created for the contest I ran last year. If I hear of any contests that sound worth the effort, I’ll post the announcement on: emilyannbenedictcontest.blogspot.com
So, if you are looking for a contest for writers or just love winning stuff, keep an eye on that blog. I’ll have a link it on this blog. :)

Btw, I just put up a writing contest a friend sent to me. Check it out.

I'm Scared and other Announcements

Gasp! You are never going to believe this. It hasn’t completely sunk into my brain yet.
Right out of the blue I got an e-mail from a television station, asking me if I would be available to do an interview on their local morning show. Yes, me…on live TV! Gasp!
At this point I’m actually trying not to think too much about it because I’m pretty sure I would panic if I did.

This week has actually turned out to be completely insane, but in a very good way.
-I just got back from a local Jr./Highschool where I had my own table at their Career Day event. It turned out to be a lot of fun. The love of books and writing is a universal language whether you are 12 or 26.
-Then on Friday I’ll be at the local Fox station at 8:40AM. (Amazing :)
-And finally I will have my very first Christmas Book signing on Saturday. Which reminds me, if you are going to be in the Fresno area, or know someone who will be, please come on over to the Borders Books in the River Park shopping center. I’d love to meet you. See my EVENTS page for all the details.
-Oh, don’t forget, you have just one more month to enter my contest. Check out my Contest Blog.

I have to say, to all my friends with whom I correspond, please forgive me if I don’t get back to you until next week. I hate doing that, but you probably don’t want me this week. I’m a little scattered. ;)
At the moment, I’ve got to go find something to wear on Friday. I was told I cannot wear red, patterns, stripes, or too much white or black. I think that eliminates the majority of my wardrobe. Lol.

I'd So Appreciate It :)

This is just a quick reminder for my contest! I’d so appreciate it if you’d join in. Every little bit helps. All you need to do is send the link to my first chapter out to your friends and family.
http://www.emilyannbenedict.com/Read_The_First_Chapter.html
Encouragement them to tell me, either by e-mail or by leaving a comment on my blog, who sent them to the link.
Every referral you get counts as a point towards Barnes and Noble and iTunes gift cards.
Check out my contest blog for all the details: http://emilyannbenedictcontest.blogspot.com/
Don’t delay. The contest ends on December 31st.

By the way…It’s November 2nd. :)

I love my neighborhood.....

My First Contest

Yes, this is the first contest I am running through my blog! So, join up, especially if you like gift cards.
I’m calling this the Read The First Chapter Contest. Anyone can join, whether or not you’ve gotten a chance to read my book yet.

How does it work?

1.) Send everyone you know to www.emilyannbenedict.com/Read_The_First_Chapter.html so they can read the first chapter of ONLY ANGELS ARE BULLETPROOF.
Contact your friends, family, blog readers, Face Book connections, and anyone else you can think of.

2.) Once they read the first chapter, ask them to tell me who referred them to my site, either by leaving a comment on my blog or sending me an e-mail: emilyannbenedict@gmail.com.
That’s it!

The first person to get ten referrals wins a $20 gift card to Barnes and Noble.
The person with the most referrals by December 31st 2009 wins a $20 gift card to Barnes and Noble and a $20 gift card to iTunes.

If you know someone who’d like to join in, send them to my official contest blog:emilyannbenedictcontest.blogspot.com.(Or you can just go there to see the newest background I’ve designed. I have way too much fun.)

*NOTE: I do have an analytics program on my website that allows me to know if I’m receiving new visitors. So, if I get lots of e-mails, but no new hits on my website, or just a second long visit I’m going think something fishy is going on. I.E. Don’t cheat. (Feel my reproachful gaze.)
**Barnes and Noble gift cards can be used through their website.