Get it 'Fore it's Gone!

I've been AWOL from the social networking grid for a long long time, but have gotten an amazing amount of things done! Photos and details soon, I promise.

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Popping in today for a SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT.......

If you love to read, get Kat Magendie's Tender Graces today!! It's one of the best books ever. (Check out the 70 fab Amazon reviews if you don't believe me.) That it was written by one of my very best friends is a bonus. And that it has consistently been at the top of the Amazon list, reads like a fresh, lyrical Harper Lee work, is gripping & haunting...well, that's just more gravy on top the biscuit!

Even if you don't have a Kindle, you might be able to download this awesome book to your computer reader, iPad or phone. Trust me, you'll be glad you did. Or grab one for a friend. I did, and it made a nice little surprise! (The third "graces" book in the series comes out in the fall.)


[click here]--> LAST DAY OF THIS SUPER LOW $2.99 PRICE SPECIAL!!!!!

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LOVE, HUGS AND ALL GOOD THINGS. SEE YA SOON.  ANGIE
 

The Snark Bite C-O-N-T-E-S-T!

Hey there, ladies & germs. It's been too long since ol' Gumbo Writer rolled out a blog contest, dontcha think?

In order to rectify that, today's the day!

Here's da rules~~~

1. Get out your red grease pen and roll up your sleeves. You're now an editor at a major publishing house.

2. Read the "query letter" below and compose a response to the author in no more than 75 words. [The snarkier, the better!] Post your entry in a comment.

3. If your email address isn't attached to your Blogger profile, add it to the bottom of your comment/entry.

4. Contest runs through Tuesday. Winners posted Wednesday, Aug. 25. [If there are a big fat bunch of great entries, I just *might* pick the top several and have a public voting to determine winners!]

5. Top three entries will receive signed copies (personalized to you) of Kat Magendie's Tender Graces, and little Cajun goody treats! 

**Tweeting/FB'ing/posting linkage greatly appreciated and encouraged**

@@@  The Query Letter that lands on your desk....

Dear Mr./Miss Editer Two Whom It May concern:

Please find inclosed my womens fiction novel of 87,429 words! It will bee the next Number One Knew York Times Best Seller guaranteed!!!! Jump on my my offer to publish it pronto, or you'l be sorry. hahaha

Butt seriously, Moons O'er Miami is a funny, histerical book full of larger-than-life characatures and twisted plots, sortof like a cross between Rockie (Yo Adrian!) and Fried Green Tomaters...and all like that, and I've allready got the actors picked out for the Hollywood movie, so I'm way a head of the game and you can see how far thinking I am. I've also just made an website, a blog, and am jumping into the social net working pool with both feet, wich shows how eager and ready I am to help promote this new book for you!!

Please contact me immediately, or I can fly out there and sit down with you to talk things over and do lunch or a few martoonis. This offer is only good threw midnite on Sunday, cause after that I'm going to be talking to some other editor people and a few agents like my good friend Wally Lamb told me too.

Scentcerely,

Doofus Bergeron  -- Orpah's next guest (for reals!)

What Your Reading Habits Reveal About You

Unlike that seasonal quiz I took last week that said I'm a blithering idiot with a score of zero, today's test was fun and made me laugh.

The six (6) questions, taken in less than 20 seconds, give you an automatic profile of yourself with your reading preferences as the only scoring criteria. How cool is that?

Here's what my answers reveal about my literary match:

You're Les Miserables! by Victor Hugo One of the best known people in your community, you have become something of a phenomenon. People have sung about you, danced in your honor, created all manner of art in your name. And yet your story is one of failure and despair, with a few brief exceptions. A hopeless romantic, you'll never stop hoping that more good will come from your failings than is ever possible. Beware detectives and prison guards bearing vendettas.

El.Oh.El! I hope if you take the quiz you'll pop back in and share what sort of literary character you are.

And finally, ladies and germs, speaking of good reading...I thought perhaps you'd enjoy a photo (self-taken, no less) of me surrounded by my favorite current read. Even if you're sick of hearing me talk about/tout Kat's book, tough noogies, because I am the doting "godmother" of Tender Graces and got to read it from its inception! *nanner nanner boo boo* :)

Ready for it?....................

Hunh....hunh..............hunh?

Here it is. Booooooyaaaaaaa!!

PS This just in: Gumbo Writer's lucky #100th Follower has arrived. I've notified Robin at Be Still and Know that she's got a giftypoo coming to her. Now, carry on with your joyful Monday. (hehe)

Good Reads & Scrap Happy

Today is the official launch date of Kathryn Magendie's Tender Graces and I cannot wait to hold a copy in my hand! The first Amazon review is up too. It is purely magical:

Kathryn Magendie's debut novel is a tour de force of lyrical storytelling, heartfelt intuitions, and exquisite detail. TENDER GRACES qualifies as an "Oprah book" in the best sense of the term: This story of a dysfunctional family who are neither all bad nor all good, but simply very flawed and human, examines a broad spectrum of marriage, childhood, emotional abuse, forgiveness and family loyalty. Warm without being overly sentimental, funny without being frivolous, and poignant without being maudlin, Tender Graces is a strong start for Magendie's career as a novelist. If you love the novels of Barbara Kingsolver, Anne Tyler and Sue Monk Kidd then this book is for you.

And speaking of book launches, Kim Richardson's The Unbreakable Child just came into the world this month also. I'm almost through reading it, and all I can say is this -- it's devastatingly honest and a page turner. If you haven't already, order one soon!

Thanks to Rebecca Nazar of Twist Whimsy for the Honest Scrap blog award! Since I love making new meals from scraps, the new bling makes me smile. The rules of bestowal say:

This award is bestowed upon a fellow blogger whose blog content or design is, in the giver’s opinion, brilliant.

1. When accepting this auspicious award, you must write a post bragging about it, including the name of the misguided soul who thinks you deserve such acclaim, and link back to the said person so everyone knows she/he is real.

2. Choose a minimum of 5 blogs that you find brilliant in content or design. Or improvise by including bloggers who have no idea who you are because you don’t have five friends. Show the five random victims’ names and links and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with Honest Weblog. Well, there’s no prize, but they can keep the nifty icon.

3. List at least ten (10) honest things about yourself. Then pass it on!

1. I really do love grits.
2. I cleaned houses & offices for 10 years, but could really use a maid.
3. Love dogs, but not so much the other four-legged fur balls.
4. Naps are one of my secret pleasures.
5. My feet are huge.
6. Poetry peels my apple.
7. My finished manuscript keeps taunting me because I have not worked on revisions in a long time.
8. I have an identical twin sister...and she's thin.
9. The big Five-Oh approacheth.
10. I have two tattoos.

How can I possibly choose just five blogs for the award? I'll just run my mouse randomly down my Rockin' Blogs list with my eyes closed because I love each and every one of them and let Chance pick~~

• Eight Days to Amish - Who wouldn't love a guy who once ate like Elvis for a week in the name of research?


• Midlife Jobhunter - Because she's trying to find a balance between home and the workplace. No easy journey, that.


• Scobberlotch - Dontcha love the name? This is the bloggy home of Karen Harrington, author of Janeology.


• Catbird Scout - Home of Deb Schucka filled with beautiful photos and life commentary.


• Grosvenor Square - Melissa Marsh always generously shares writing thoughts and other goodies.

Kickin' The Blog Up a Notch

Some good stuff on tap today. First, some tippage on hosting a better blog, because don't we all want to improve our web presences to show ourselves in a better light? Sure we do, boys and girls! Here's a few things we can do to kick our bloggy homes up to the next level:

• Think about removing that aggravating word verification thingy from your comments form. I know I've said this before, but it bears repeating. I've had no spam incidents or other negative fallout since I removed that extra step, and I've had several visitors comment on how much easier it is to leave comments. [And isn't that what we want...our readers to feel at home and want to leave a few words?]


• A good rule of thumb: Visit unto others as you'd have them visit unto you. Ya know...if I visit your blog and comment daily or several times a week, isn't it just good bloggerish etiquette and form to return the favor? Tit for tat goes a long way in the social networking world.


• Keep it fresh. Our home environments can become stale and unappealing when kept static for long periods. Same thing goes for our blogs. I'm no Martha Stewart [just call me Erma], and admit that my Christmas tree is still up, but I do try to keep my Gumbo Writer content updated and appealing. It never hurts to tweak your settings and layout to better serve your friends and loyal readership. I'm not saying to redecorate for every holiday or season, or to top load your blog with so many buzzers and whistles that visitors go nuts from overstimulating graphics, or bored to tears waiting for everything on your page to download, but a little spiffing up never hurt anyone.


• Lagniappe is a good thing. [Come on, y'all. You been hanging around long enough to know what lagniappe is, but in case you're a new visitor, it means a little something extra.] There are lots of groovy widgets and things you can add to your blog including polls, photos, and trivia, or hey, what about a little fun contest now and then?
• Now, for the love of Pete, could ya put your email contact in your profile so that I can email you after I read your complete ID or straight from the automatically generated email I get when you comment? So many times I want to say something private or give a suggestion...and the return email address says, "noreply-comment@blogger.com." Argh!


• I'll be the first to admit I'm no expert. I'm just sharing a few things I've picked up along the blogging trail. For some even "betterer" advice, stop by Helen's Straight From Hel blog to learn some social networking hints. [This is a two-part post, so bring your favorite beverage and a pen/pad to take notes. It's a quick read, I promise, and easy to absorb.]

Now, a little shameless self promotion. I got an email last night from someone at bloginterviewer.com saying my blog had been nominated as a reader favorite or some such [thanks to whichever of my friends put my name in the hat!], and would I come fill out an interview form. It was quick and didn't strain my brain, so why not?

If I'm understanding correctly, I'm to ask readers and friends to vote for Gumbo Writer as blog-o-the-month for a chance to win $50. Isn't that exciting? And if I do happen to win, I'm going to buy some of Kimmi's The Unbreakable Child and Kathryn's Tender Graces books for contest prizes! Oh, and also some grits to send to you poor souls who haven't had the opportunity to try them yet!

So, if you're in a mood and of a mind to help three writer womens out, go pull the lever for me. You can vote once per day. [See icon at the top of my sidebar. The blue one with the LSU purple & gold colors. It'll take you to the short interview.] Thanks in advance for your vote. My campaign promise is this ~~ "A chicken & dumplin' in every pot!" :)

And speaking of Kathryn, stranded somewhere in Texas after visiting me here in Baton Rouge...her soon to be released book TENDER GRACES has a new page at publisher BelleBooks' site with a pre-order form included for those of you who've been waiting. [And it's also a cool look at what an indie publisher can do for your own future novel!]