LASR Easter Egg Hunt

Easter Egg Hunt Contest!



The Long and the Short of It Reviews (LASR) is running an Easter Egg hunt on participating websites, and you can win great prizes including books, gift certificates, T-shirts and Easter goodies. The prizes are categorized by Young Adult (Aurora), Mainstream (LASR), or Erotica (Whipped Cream) romance. I participate under the mainstream LASR category.

How It Works

Easy! Under each category is a list of participating authors. Find the easter egg on his or her website, and email the URL location to lasrcontests@gmail.com - that's it! You get one entry for each easter egg you find. Couldn't be much easier to get a prize than that, and you may find a favorite new author while you're hunting!

Click here for official rules, and happy (Hoppy?) hunting!

Exclusive Book Signing Giveaway (5/8/10)!

I will be presenting a special gift box giveaway to guests at my book signing of EARTH on May 8, 2010 from 12:00-4:00 PM at Books 4 Less in Liverpool, NY (Click here for directions). The giveaway (a $40 value) contains a variety of organic and earth-conscious items, all packaged in a beautiful rattan-bound wooden box:

• A Beanpod soy candle in Earthly Embrace scent


• A packet of organic Burpee sunflower seeds


• A clay pot in which to start your sunflowers


• A bar of Clearly Natural glycerine soap in Berry scent


• A canister of Green and Black's organic Hot Chocolate mix

This gift box will be offered exclusively at the book signing on May 8th at Books 4 Less in Liverpool, NY, so if you're in the neighborhood, come and visit! No purchase is necessary, and though you will need to be at the signing to enter, you need not be present at the time of the drawing. If you win, you may pick up your prize at Books 4 Less after the closing of the event. Click the picture below for a larger view of this wonderful earth-friendly gift box.



Keep an eye on this blog for announcements of future prizes and upcoming book signings. I'll list them all here as they come up. Good luck, and Happy Reading!

Stopping Junk Mail and Unwanted Telemarketer Calls

I got no less than three pieces of junk mail yesterday from credit card companies I will never patronize. I had been on the opt-out for both junk mail and telemarketing phone calls. Looks like my opt-out for the junk mail finally wore off. I have subsequently found a way to stop that junk mail for good, by opting out permanently. (You have to do it by mail, ironically enough, but it's a one-time thing and you'll - hopefully - never see those stupid credit card offers again.)

Are you, like me, sick of credit card offers that uselessly waste trees and ink and a million other things that could be put to better use? In the U.S., visit the Federal Trade Commission's website on just this topic. From there, you have the option to get rid of junk mail, junk E-mail, and unwanted telemarketer calls. Try it out. Let me know if your efforts result in a blissfully junk-free mailbox (and fewer calls just as you're about to sit down to dinner). Go green!

We Have A Winner! / Bob Mayer

We Have A Winner!

Congratulations to Janice of Gloversville, NY, who has won a sweet little gift basket containing a signed digital Advanced Reading Copy of EARTH! The basket (a $25 value) also includes an organic scented candle and a canister of Green and Black's organic Hot Chocolate mix. Yum! This lovely basket was donated to the 2010 CNYRW Mini-Con. Click the picture below for a larger view!


Keep an eye on this blog for announcements of future prizes and upcoming book signings. I'll list them all here as they come up. Congratulations again to Janice, and Happy Reading!

Bob Mayer

The 2010 CNYRW Mini-Con was a great, information-packed event! Speaker Bob Mayer is a NY Times Bestselling author, and he had a lot to say on the world of publishing and our roles in it as authors. I found his military, strategist approach to writing extremely eye-opening. He spoke a lot about finding, facing, and using our greatest fears, and channeling them into the passion we need in our writing. I especially found a resonance in his talk about expanding our comfort zones by way of repeated exposure. As a writer, I have trouble with this, and I think most of us would prefer to hide behind our computers and let our books/manuscripts do the talking.

But we can't.

Networking and getting your face, brand, and platform remembered are a big part of such a small business. I'm dead scared of getting up in front of people and talking about myself. But that's something I need to get comfortable with, now that my book's about to come out. Now is the time to start generating a response, so that by the time EARTH is released, I'll have people who want to read it. Bob said that we could have the best manuscript in the world, but it won't mean anything if no one knows about it. And he's right - so if I keep pushing myself past that fraidy-cat envelope, eventually I will be comfortable doing so.

We can't succeed if we don't try. Thank you, Bob, for a truly motivating two days!

EARTH Paperback Available for Pre-Order!

The paperback of my first novel EARTH is now available for pre-order! You can visit The Wild Rose Press to place your order now for this riveting love story between a Montana rancher whose paranormal gift has mysteriously vanished, and a determined plant biologist who won't stop until she discovers the truth about him. EARTH will be shipped to you as soon as it becomes available.



If you'd rather enjoy the eBook, you'll have to wait until its release on April 2nd, but don't forget that there will be lots of great prizes once the book's released. Cheers!

Book Signing May 8, 2010

I'm excited to announce my first book signing for EARTH, scheduled for Saturday, May 8, 2010 from 12:00-4:00 PM at Books 4 Less in Liverpool, NY. If you're thinking of attending, you can find directions by clicking here. I'll be bringing some goodies and a raffle prize. Please join me in celebrating the release of EARTH!