Wreader Fun

It's July 1st and as promised, I've drawn a name from all those who commented or played my 'dynamite contest' game over the last week here and on my eHarlequin blog. And the winner of Jillian Hart's book is... ChristaR Congratulations, Christa. Keep an eye out for my email. Thanks to everyone else for playing along. Have a great holiday weekend. :)

Just a couple more days to get in the drawing for a brand new copy of Jillian Hart's Love Inspired The Soldier's Holiday Vow . Check my June 22nd blog  for complete instructions. So far, 3 people have played the game so they each get their name thrown into the hat twice: - Carol's answers are in the comment section of the June 22 blog - Christa and Tammy have entered on my eHarlequin blog Also on my eHarlequin blog is FakeFrenchie who commented but didn't play the game so she gets her name in only once. There's still time to enter, but don't wait too long. I'll make the drawing on July 1st. :)

I'm back from my annual writing retreat at St. Peter's College and feeling great! I got so much done while at the monastery and want to share my joyful feelings, so I'm giving away a new copy of Jillian Hart's Love Inspired The Soldier's Holiday Vow . Yes, the book was released in Dec 2009 but the one I'm giving away has never been read. I want to make this a fun contest which involves both writers and readers. Last week, my son and I had a bit of excitement when we found what we thought was 100 sticks of dynamite on the side of the road. Well, it wasn't dynamite but an empty U.S. fireworks container . The thing is, it could have been a dangerous situation. One of the readers of my blog over at eHarlequin mentioned something about possible terrorists planning a raid at the G8/G20 summit in Toronto. My theory is that it was left as part of an exercise by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Training Academy which is in Regina, close to where I found the i...

The sun is bright and the days are hot. I've got my curtains closed and I'm in my cool house hiding from the ticks. *shudder I was very disappointed when I learned I didn't final in the Touched by Love contest. I'm now waiting for all my judges' comments for the second contest and then I'm going to hole up in my cave and get to work. But I wanted to give you something to smile about so I'm including this video. A few months ago, Trost Moving Pictures held a scriptwriting contest called The Raw Talent contest. This is one contest I didn't enter. However, in today's email was the video announcing the writer who did win. Watch this and see if it doesn't make you smile... Have a great day!

It's Round 2 of the Book Trailer contest. Head on over to Misty Taggart's site to vote for your favorite book trailer. Each voter gets an entry for the grand prize giveaway- A KINDLE! As well as a $25 Amazon gift card. Hurry - midnight (PST) March 23, 2010 deadline.

Wow, win a Kindle! Now that's a terrific prize. I received an email from Kathy Carlton Willis Communications the other day about a neat book trailer contest and the prize is a Kindle. Here's what's it's all about... Trailers to the Stars! is promoting their new book cover trailer package by having a trailer contest. They have 15 book trailers (YouTube) for you to watch and then you pick the one you like the best. The email states: The deadline for voting on your top pick is March 14 , midnight central standard time. In appreciation for your time and vote, you'll be entered in a giveaway contest for a KINDLE and an AMAZON gift card. In the next few weeks you'll also have the opportunity to choose the top pick for best TTTS trailer and another entry in the giveaway. Are you ready to play?  Here is the email with all the book trailers listed. Good luck.

It's January 31st! That means I'll be making the draw tonight at midnight for my Sun Dog Contest. If you haven't entered yet, here's the deal... check out my the two posts below this. They both have photos I took of recent Sun Dogs. Then click on the 'comment' below the post and leave a comment - I'm actually interested in which photos you like best. I'm going to pick one name from all the comments I've received and that person will win a book I'm giving away - see details in the posts. You get one entry for leaving a comment at each of these spots: - Sunrise Sun Dog Pics - Sun Dog Book Giveaway - My eHarequin blog (must be a member to comment) - Sunrise Sundog Pics on my Facebook note page - Sun Dog Book Giveaway on my Facebook note  page There... that's 5 chances for you ambitious types to enter. Deadline for entries is midnight CST tonight. I'll post the winner's name on Monday. Have a blessed Sunday.

This is the last day to enter the Prairie Chicks Anniversary contest. If you'd like to enter your name, just go to the Chicks blog and leave a comment. Starting Dec 20th, we've given you 7 days of seasonal stories and 7 days of recipes. Every day you enter gives you a chance at winning. So, as the Christmas holidays are waning, if you're trying to procrastinate taking down the tree, spend some time with the Chicks. The winner will receive a prize from each of the 7 Chicks contributing. Good luck. Anita.

It's Christmas Eve and I've posted a story for you over on the Prairie Chicks Write Romance blog. All the Chicks are posting Christmas stories this week and it's my turn today. It'll only take a couple mins to read and it's called, 'The Shepherd' . Next week we'll be posting recipes to help you clean up those Christmas leftovers. Anyone who leaves a comment between Dec 20th and Jan 2nd will have their name entered to win a fabulous gift basket from the Chicks. The more days you comment, the better your chance to win. Comments posted here will not be entered as you must post them on the Prairie Chicks Write Romance blog. I collect Nativity sets and have photos of my kids' favorite set here. I have more photos of my collection over on the Chicks blog today, so head on over, read my short work of fiction and view the pics. Have a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year. Anita Mae Draper.

Prairie Chicks Write Romance is having a Christmas Contest! On Jan 1st, the Prairie Chicks will celebrate their one year of blogging anniversary and we'd like to thank our readers by holding a contest. Visit  Prairie Chicks Write Romance any time between Dec 20 - Jan 2nd and leave a comment. The more you visit and comment, the more chances you have to win. For the prize, each of the 7 regular Chicks will send the winner an appreciation gift. Don't forget to leave your email address using (dot) and (at) so the web spammers don't get it. For a special treat, all this week the Chicks will be posting seasonal stories followed by seasonal recipes next week. Here's a photo of my stocking. My mom made it from felt approx 50 yrs ago and I used it regularly until 2008. I now display it to preserve it.

I do, I do! Of course I'm talking about none other than that most prestigious of romance writing contests, the Golden Heart. Actually, it would be nice to win any of the romance contests, but the Golden Heart . . .ah, that's something to dream about. Approx 1,000 snail mailed entries will be sent to Houston, TX in the next 3 months as unpubbed writers like myself find the courage to assume we have the right stuff to be published. It's like standing with my hand up and shouting, 'Pick me! I'm ready, I know I am.' It's a long road to the award ceremony which is held at the RWA convention every July. And unlike most awards, you don't receive a statuette for winning one of the 10 categories in the Golden Heart contest. Instead, you win a golden heart pendant like the one you see here. I think that's so practical. You can wear it anywhere and whip it out as proof that someone actually believed in you. How many writers have you seen lugging a RITA award a...

I've been trying to complete Silent Keeper as well as work on some contest entries. If you follow my blog, you'll have noticed I haven't entered any contests since the spring. That's about to change. But today, I'm supposed to be writing tomorrow's Prairie Chick post except I haven't a clear idea what to write. Actually...maybe I'll write about entering contests. What could I write? Let's see: I could write about the reasons for entering a contest, which for me is two-fold; the feedback and the exposure to editors. Take this contest entry I'm working on: When You Least Expect It ( When ) is an inspirational. It was a finalist in that category in this year's Linda Howard Award of Excellence contest and although it wasn’t requested by final judge (an editor), I did receive excellent feedback from the first round judges. So, I’m revising it and will try again. I’d like to enter it in the Southern Heat contest which has 2 final judges—an editor ...

I'm blogging today at Prairie Chicks Write Romance about managing your muse. This is not my concept but rather notes I've gleamed from listening to Allie Pleiter's workshop, Getting it Done, at the ACFW conference last fall. I'm so glad I was blessed with the insight to buy the audio recordings of the conference. Not only do I learn about the workshops I missed, I get to re-listen to those I attended. There just isn't enough time to absorb even half of what is going on at the conference. A very intense 3 days. So, over at the Chicks, I'm talking about how you write - whether you're a big chunky person or a little chunky person, and how you can use the knowledge to write a book. On the contest front: - no news YET on the Touched by Love contest - I've rec'd my scores sheets back from the Genesis. Both Charley's Saint and An Outlaw for the Lady scored in the top 25% of the contest. So, although I'm not a finalist, I really don't have anyt...

This is starting to be a refrain, but I'm still waiting for results of the Touched by Love Contest. Yes, they were supposed to have been posted by the 16th, but this isn't a perfect world, eh. By the time I get the results, it's going to be so anti-climatic - especially if I'm not a finalist. But I still have lots to do while I wait. I must: - write Thursday's Prairie Chick blog post - work on MMM revisions - write a blog post for Cheryl St John :) - critique chapter 10 for my CP I think I'm missing something... How's your memory... do you know that a banana a day will help your memory?...

First round judging of the ACFW's Genesis contest is over and the finalists have been announced. I'm not one of them. However, I want to send out major congratulations to those on the list. With over 450 entries, finaling in this contest is a huge accomplishment and I wish you all the best. I'm still waiting on one contest result, although hope is flagging something fierce. It's a cold, gloomy day outside. I'm not letting it drag me down, though. Chap 4 to Marry Me, Ma'am will be heading out to my CP's after one more proof read and I'm hoping to have a productive weekend of revisions. So, what are your plans for this weekend? Hitting a book? Or the beach? hehe

I'm trying to critique a chapter for one of my crit partners, but I'm having a hard time concentrating. Because I'm waiting. Seems every time I get a notice I've rec'd an email, I have to go check it out. Because I'm waiting. There's no guarantee I'll even get an answer today but it doesn't change anything. Because I'm waiting. What I'm waiting for: - the first round results of the Genesis contest are to be announced between May 1st-15th. (And it's the 12th today, eh) I have 2 entries in this contest. - the first round results of the Touched by Love contest are to be announced on May 16th. I have 2 entries in this contest as well. - the partial I subbed to TWRP has been passed from the Sweetheart line to Yellow Rose. She liked it, but will they? So, I'm waiting on 3 major career defining moments. Oh, the pressure... Are you waiting for something? Big or small? Is it self-induced or involuntary?

I've been immersed in writing this past weekend and I loved it. But, it wasn't all while sitting in my corner in the house. Sat was the monthly mtg of the Sask Rom Writers (SRW) up in Saskatoon. Last time, I picked up a fellow member of our group blog Prairie Chicks Write Romance , and spent the trip talking about writing. This time, however, Karen couldn't make it so I was on my own. It's a 4 hr trip without stops, 4.5 to 5 with. One of my recent purchases had been an FM receiver so I could listen to my iPod in my vehicle. S ome cars/vans have a plug-in as part of the stereo system where you can plug your iPod in and the sound will come out through your vehicle's speakers, but my van isn't equipped with it. I needed to plug the FM receiver into the cigarette lighter which is normally just under the stereo system, around the air temperature controls. Not in the Chevy Uplander. For whatever reason, the cigarette lighter is an inch above the floor, under the pull-...

I know I did some writing in Feb, but it was mixed in with all this fun stuff: I won 2 free books! It’s been a couple months since I won anything so this was a thrill: 1 – I won a copy of Perfect Target after leaving a comment on new Love Inspired Suspense author Stephanie Newton’s blog at http://stephanienewton.blogspot.com/ . Since I already had the book in question (and my teen daughter is raving about it), Steph graciously decided to send me a free copy of her next release, Moving Target due out this summer. 2 – I rec’d an email from Becky Germany over at Barbour Books saying I’d won a copy of Desert Roses with the new cover designed Heartsong Presents repack collections. Apparently, I’d missed the announcement about me winning in all the Dec/Christmas stuff which included my 30th anniversary. I really appreciate Becky hanging onto the book for me and finally tracking me down to claim it. Look for the gorgeous new design here: http://editcafe.blogspot.com/2008/12/act-fast-and-wi...

Today, I’m blogging over at Prairie Chicks Write Romance. Since I’ve been working on revisions for my contest entry, I decided to write my post on the different ways judges critique the entries. I’ve posted some examples from my novel Charley’s Saint , and given a select amount of actual comments from some judges. My hope is that anyone interested in entering the contests will see that a comment from a judge is just a matter of opinion. The writer has the choice whether to accept the suggestion or ignore it. In case you don’t go over, I’d say this again: Thank you to all those people who expend their own time and effort to judge these contests without monetary compensation. I truly appreciate it. Now, for the rest of you, come on over and join in the discussion at http://www.prairiechickswriteromance.blogspot.com/ See you there...

If you’re wondering why I’m hiding out, I’m working on revisions to my Linda Howard Award of Excellence contest entry. One of the judges gave me a near perfect score and the 2nd judge was about 37 marks below that! So, it went to a 3rd judge. Why the 3rd judge? Because in this contest, any score difference over 35 marks goes to another judge and the lowest score is dropped. I’m truly blessed because not only did the 3rd judge like it, but she’s given me a wonderful critique filled with insights and comments to improve my story. That’s why it’s taking me so long to revise. Plus, I had this fantastic idea to thicken the conflict between Hannah and Bobby and now I have to weave it into the plot. It’s working, but it’s taking time. I’m on a time limit, too because I have to have it in Alabama by Feb 20th by snail mail or I forfeit and even Canada’s ExpressPost will only guarantee 6 business days. Eeps! I better get busy...