Giveaways Galore: A One-Stop Shop

It's Friday, and what better way to celebrate than to share some great giveaways.

My Crazy Corner featured me on Wednesday as part of the 2013 YA Blogfest. My Post, Power to the Females, was all about strong female characters. An excerpt:

Lately, I see a generation of women who are only getting stronger and savvier. That's not to say they don't struggle with indecision and tough choices, but they seem to be tackling them with a stronger sense of self than even a generation ago. What I do not want is a book with a main female character who whines all the time, can't make her own decisions, and has no self-confidence.

Check out the article to read more. In addition, I offered a paperback copy of Chasing Memories as a giveaway. I've included the Rafflecopter here. Take a moment and enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Simply Sensational Book Fanatics is hosting a huge giveaway to celebrate 2 years in the blogging world. Win 85 eBooks and other swag. Click here to enter. Contest ends 9/30/13. And, yes, an eBook copy of Chasing Memories is part of the winnings.

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Indie Books Gone Wild is an amazing resource for indie writers, featuring many publishing services including formatting, proofreading, and editing. (Note: I am an editor for IBGW.)

Right now, you can enter to win a paperback of Sixty Days of Grace by Dorothy Ruppert. A snippet from the book's summary: In today's world, women desperately struggle to meet the unrealistic expectations of others and of themselves. Society tells women they can do it all, and yet they instinctively know they do not have the resources to accomplish all the demands placed upon them. Drawing on their own strength is not enough; in order to survive, women must draw on God.

Check out IBGW and enter to win here.

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And just in case you've missed it... September is Indie-Credible month. Until 9/30/13, you can enter to win an eReader of choice with the balance going on a gift card. Check out my interview at BookKraze. After enjoying that, you can watch an Indie video (you don't want to let my dancing debut go unnoticed) and enter the giveaway.

Oh, and you can still catch some amazing Indie features through the rest of the month. The schedule can also be found on the BookKraze post.

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Now that's how I like to end a week... giveaways galore. Hope everyone has an amazing weekend!

Courting the Muse: ROW80

Last Wednesday, I wrote a post detailing my difficulties inspiring my muse on Book 2 of the Tala Prophecy trilogy: Fear of the Blank Page.

Fortunately, I have some amazing author and blogger friends who offered some amazing advice to kickstart my writing. Jo Michaels, my editor and all-around giving author, had a great post last week to help writers overcome the slow days: Writing Prompts and Exercises. Sometimes, you have to step away from your book and just get the writing juices flowing. Creativity begets creativity.

In addition, Jo re-shared a post from earlier this year: When the Muse Steps Out of the Room. It contains simple, yet highly effective, tools to lure your muse back.

Thanks to all the advice and Jo's articles, my muse visited several times last week. Even more exciting, I stuck to a real writing schedule--my only goal right now for A Round of Words in 80 Days (ROW80). I'm a bit behind on sponsor posts, but I will make up for lost time tomorrow. But, only after I write.

Also, I've decided the best way for me to prep Book 2 is to re-read Chasing Memories and take detailed notes to 1) avoid any inconsistencies and 2) to get re-energized about the story.

Some news...

Today, I'm over at BookKraze visiting the lovely Coco White for the IndieCredible event. Stop by my post to find out what traits irritate me in female characters. And for fun, what traits most irritate you in a main female character (no matter what genre)?

While you are there, enter to win an eReader of choice (and remaining funds on a gift card). If you'd like to see a schedule of authors for the month-long Indie-Credible event, please visit my post here.

Oh, and for those of you who participate in the Insecure Writer's Support Group (#IWSG) or simply read my insecurities here, Alex J. Cavanaugh is launching (with some writer buddies) the Insecure Writer's Support Group website, hopefully in October. Find out more about it here.

Wow, it's hard to believe but Round 3 of #ROW80 ends in just a few weeks and Round 4 starts October 7. Hope everyone is rocking the end of the round.