Winner of The Glass Wives + more about What She Left Us

 

Hey All, I will have a new book up for you in a couple of days but I wanted to announce the winner of The Glass Wives now. Congrats to Jess Blair who will be receiving a copy of Amy Sue Nathan's book The Glass Wives. Please send me your address so I can get the book out to you. Email me at stephanieelliot@gmail.com

A new book will be featured probably Wed or Thursday -- just waiting on some logistics from the author. It's been busy here at the Manic house. My youngest son Luke, who has epilepsy, left for camp on Sunday -- my first child to ever go to sleepaway camp! Waaahhhh! But I did not cry until MONDAY! It was really strange because I'm so happy for him, I know he's having a blast and doing a ton of great things (here he is ziplining on his first day!), but still, he's my baby and I miss him.

I woke up in the middle of the night the first night he was gone, because I WAS CONVINCED he was standing over me, tapping my leg, trying to wake me up as he does sometimes when he's not feeling well, so of course, I laid there awake, thinking, "Oh my gosh, he's awake at camp, not able to sleep, missing me, not feeling well..." And then that's when I got sad.

But, he's fine, I'm sure, and there's nothing to be freaked about. Right? Right.

So, I told myself before he left that I should use this time to concentrate on editing my next book and working on PR for WHAT SHE LEFT US, and what did I do all day today? Slept. Not very productive. But if you haven't yet read my novel, WHAT SHE LEFT US, it's available on KINDLE for less than a grande latte these days, at just $3.99, and here are a few links from some nice peeps who had some nice things to say:


Chick Lit Central's Review

The Book Chick

The Book Bag

Chick Lit is Not Dead

Even Tracey Garvis Graves, who wrote On The Island and the upcoming Covet, which I LOVED, has read What She Left Us had this to say about it: "This book kept me turning pages because the author does a great job of raising questions I wanted the answer to. It also highlights - beautifully - the relationship between two sisters, and how much they rely on and support each other." 

So, if you haven't yet downloaded What She Left Us and are looking for a book for your kindle, why not check it out? You can get it by clicking here! Thanks for your support and I'll have a bunch more books featured for you here coming soon! XO!

EMILY GIFFIN Signed Copies of WHERE WE BELONG & SO MUCH MORE!!!

Winners announced (see next post for details):

*Lizett Torres (lizette34)

*Absolutahnie

*A.C.

*Bookaholic (aka pigsrcute)

*Na S. (Cambonified)

 

Let's Celebrate Spring and Books & Fabulous Authors!

We've got some great things happening at Booking with Manic today, first and foremost, we are giving away FIVE SIGNED COPIES of Emily Giffin's book WHERE WE BELONG which is out now in paperback!

THERE. IS. MORE...

How is THAT for exciting! I am also kicking off this giveaway with a brand-new segment I'll be adding to all the features called THESE THREE THINGS (Triple Tees), in which the authors will share something personal either about themselves or their book.

Here are Emily's "Triple Tees!" and they all have to do with her book, WHERE WE BELONG:

So, take it away Emily!

1.  The original working title for the book was SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE, which was my favorite option! Ultimately, my publisher shot it down because of the Kelly Clarkson song, and I've since come around to WHERE WE BELONG (SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE just doesn't sound right anymore!)...

2.  There is a very brief shout-out tucked into the book to my high school (and early college) boyfriend -- the only time I've ever directly referenced a past relationship of mine in one of my books. Incidentally, we are still great friends and he is a TV writer out in Hollywood who provided a lot of advice and professional insights into Marian's career.

3.  Marian's high school character is, in part, based on a girl I was friendly with in high school, who went through something very similar before graduation. How she chose to deal with the situation is reflected in Marian's choices in the book, though they are not perfectly identical (thankfully!). I've always both admired and wondered about how she cameto the decision she did, which is something I really wanted to explore with Marian's character. If you read the book, you'll know what I mean!

Thank you so much Emily for sharing a bit more about your personal experience with writing Where We Belong in the very first segment of THESE THREE THINGS!

Along with FIVE winners receiving WHERE WE BELONG SIGNED COPIES, each of those winners will also receive an e-book copy of WHAT SHE LEFT US, my newly released book. (of course I have to pimp it, right?) And if you already bought it, well THANK YOU, and in that case, you may choose an e-book of that same cost on amazon, and I'll send that one to you instead!

But THERE'S MORE! (Of course there is because I'm MANIC!)

These five winners will ALSO each receive books from these amazing authors in their batch of book goodness:

 Amy Hatvany

Gwendolyn Gross
Anita Hughes
Katherine Center

The lucky FIVE winners will ALSO get some surprise books from some of these authors and they will be mix-and-match, so you won't know which books I'll send to you:

Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Leslie Daniels, Bethenny Frankel, Susan McBride, Hilary Reyl, , Patricia Harman, B.A.Shapiro, JillKargman, Julie Klam, Erin Duffy, Kristyn Kusek Lewis, Natasha Solomons and more.

So to recap, FIVE winners will receive a SIGNED copy of Emily Giffin's WHERE WE BELONG and either my new book, WHAT SHE LEFT US or another same priced e-book. AND, each of you will also get books from Amy Hatvany, Gwendolyn Gross, Anita Hughes, and Katherine Center! Plus in your prize pack, you will get a random selection of books from other authors listed above plus some more that I haven't even named here!

So, who wants to win some great books? Here's what you'll have to do…

TO GET ONE ENTRY: Enter HERE in the comments by just typing "EG ROCKS" and leave your email address or make sure you leave an identifying original name/contact info.

GET ADDITIONAL ENTRY BY TWEETING (just copy and paste this tweet):

@emilygiffin @stephanieelliot Win signed copies of Emily Giffin WHERE WE BELONG & other great books here! http://www.manicmommy.blogspot.com

GET THIRD ENTRY BY SHARING THIS BLOG POST ON YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE and MAKE SURE TO tag me and Emily (if you and I are not friends, friend me at https://www.facebook.com/StephanieSteinElliot)

You can only enter a grand total of THREE times (on blog, by tweeting and via FB. Tweeting or extra FB shares do not get you more entries, but ARE very much appreciated! :)

Sound easy!?!? It's SOOO easy, and so much fun! Jump on it folks, there are so many great books out there waiting for homes! And thank you so much for stopping by Booking with Manic!

If you have ANY questions, leave them here in the comment section. You must come back to the blog to see if you've won - I will list winners in a separate post during the week of April 29!

Thank you to Emily, Amy, Gwendolen, Anita, Katherine, (Stephen & Kate too, and everyone else's awesome publicists) for making this giveaway possible and to all of the great authors who write the wonderful books I'm able to share here on Booking with Manic! You're all amazing and I'm so grateful I get to give books to everyone -- I LOVE doing this! 

Some small but important details you should probably read:
If you're new to Booking with Manic, thank you for stopping by! We love new readers! Some notes - If you're entering to win a book, please leave a comment on this post and use an identifying name when commenting. It's usually a great idea to include an email, which I will never give out to anyone else. You can only enter once please. You'll need to check back here in a few days to see if you've won the book -- I will either list the winner in a new post OR highlight the winner's name at the top of this post, or tell you where you can find the winner's name at the top of this post. I do NOT personally contact the winners. It is YOUR responsibility to come back to see if you've won. Most books are supplied directly through publishers, publicists and the authors. Winners will receive books directly from the publisher or author within 3 weeks from the time you provide me with your address, unless I send you the book (sometimes I will). Sorry, but we can only ship to U.S. and Canada so if you're from another country, thank you for coming by to read and discover new authors, but we can't send you a book. Any questions on how I run the blog or suggestions on who you would like to see featured, please email me at stephanieelliot[at]gmail.com. Thank you for your support!

Winners of THE BEST OF US by Sarah Pekkanen & Upcoming SURPRISE on BLOG!!

Announcing the winners of THE BEST OF US!!!

 

But first,  
DO NOT MISS A HUGE SURPRISE GIVEAWAY

on TUESDAY!! 
Make sure to stop by!

Congrats to:

Emma S. - who wants to travel to Fiji or Australia

and

Kimmi who wants to go to Italy

You each have won a copy of Sarah Pekkanen's new book! Please email me at stephanieelliot@gmail.com with your full name and address so I can send you your book!

Remember, come back to the blog on Tuesday for some exciting fun giveaway!

And, have you heard about a little book called What She Left Us by me? Check it out on amazon if you haven't already! Thanks!

 

Huge fun great awesome giveaway on Tuesday, and if you read this far and need an extra clue -- here are two words for you... Emily Giffin...

What She Left Us by Stephanie Elliot

I'm no good at keeping secrets... 

available in e-book form on amazon.com... click the link below.

What She Left Us

The Next Big Thing

Hi everyone, before I announce the winner of Notes to My Future Husband, I was invited to participate in The Next Big Thing online event. It's a way for authors and bloggers to share news about what's coming up next for them, and for readers to find new, wonderful authors and bloggers! 

Susan Pohlman invited me into this mix, and she's a real-life friend of mine in Arizona, and has been a bit of a mentor to me as well. I just wish I got to spend more real-time hours with her. She wrote the amazing memoir, Halfway to Each Other: How a Year in Italy Brought our Family Home, and I shared more about her book on here a while back. Her blog, which continues to inspire can be found here: Susan Pohlman's Blog.

 

So, please check her out and find out about what she's got going on with her Next Big Thing as well. You can tell her I sent you!

 What is the working title of your book?

What She Left Us

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I got the initial idea when I read Gwendolen Gross' second book, The Orphan Sister because I kept imagining the dynamics of the three sisters in that novel. I have one sister, and she's my Irish twin (we're 11 months apart in age), and I guess something just kept bringing me back to wanting to write a novel about two sisters. I also loved Sarah Pekkanen's first novel, The Opposite of Me, which is about twin sisters who are completely different. Keep in mind that in both of these novels, the main characters are about twins. In my novel, What She Left Us, Jenna and Courtney are not twins - they are actually five years apart in age.

What genre does your book fall under?

I had a different answer here (which is below) but now that I've heard of the term "New Adult" I might classify it as that. Wiki defines it as: New-adult Fiction or post-adolescent literature is a recent category of fiction for young adults first proposed by St. Martin's Press in 2009. St. Martin’s Press editors wanted to address the coming-of-age that also happens in a young person’s twenties. They wanted to consider stories about young adults who were legally adults, but who were still finding their way in building a life and figuring out what it means to be an adult. 

My characters are between the ages of 19 and 26. I originally wrote that the book is definitely women's fiction with a side of chick-lit, but not in the gotta-go-shopping, gotta-get a boyfriend-or-I'll-die kind of way. More like, it's geared to a younger crowd. The age of the characters are mid-twenties so it might appeal to women who enjoy chick lit.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

Two sisters who are at risk of having the disease that killed their mom navigate their way through new and old relationships only then to discover a life-changing secret.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I recently decided my agent was causing me more stress than good and I parted with her on good terms. I've decided to take this book to Kindle Direct Publishing, and then to launch a second one (unrelated) six months later. The third, depending on how the first two go, will come out a year later.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

The first draft was very quick for me to write -- it took around seven to nine months for the first draft.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

As mentioned earlier, it's a sister relationship book, and I was inspired by Gwendolen Gross' The Orphan Sister, and also Sarah Pekkanen's The Opposite of Me. I hope readers of those books would enjoy What She Left Us. Also, Jennifer Weiner's In Her Shoes comes to mind as it could be somewhat similar, but a reader does not have to have a sister to understand the themes in this book, which include the mother-daughter relationship as well as some other surprises.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

Part of the book deals with a relatively unknown blood disease. I have been a big proponent of blood donation. You will see that in this book. So along with the inspiration from when I read the above books and knowing I wanted to write a book with sister characters, I wanted to also share a little bit about the importance of donating blood. There's not a lot in the story, but it's important for people to donate blood.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

When I first wrote it, I was really skeptical about the ending. I had a few people read it, and I got their reactions. Judging from their thoughts, I let it sit for a long time. I decided something different had to happen in the end, so the ending you will read is NOT the original ending. I didn't want to cheat the reader, and I wanted to be true to the characters. I think when I wrote the first ending, I cheated the reader AND the characters. So it sat for a long time. After giving it much thought and a reread, I now feel that I have done it justice, and really, the characters, who are like real people to me, are happy with how their lives have turned out. I really had to think long and hard about it. But I didn't want to just tie it up neatly in a bow.

And now I'd like to share a couple more friends with you so you can learn about what their Next Big Things are…

Check out Jess Riley, who is one of my very BauthorFFs in life and online! She wrote Driving Sideways and has a new one out just in time for the holidays that you will love. I'll also be sharing more about ALL THE LONELY PEOPLE  here in a couple of weeks. Find out more about Jess and her books by popping over there too!

And Sara Dobie  -- she's an AZ pal of mine who's a very talented writer who has some great things going on. She's just finished a novel called Life without Harry. You'll love her style of writing and will definitely want to know more about Sara -- she is one to watch!

And now, for the winner of Notes to My Future Husband, and I have to say, the comments on this one were some of the absolute FUNNIEST ones I've ever read. And I was reading them as my own husband was trying to fix the cabinets (NOT TRYING TO BE FUNNY for those of you who know the 'fix the shelves' sex joke in our life!)… he was literally trying to fix kitchen cabinets that are FALLING off the wall and I just kept my EFFING mouth shut the whole time, and you know what, finally, ON HIS OWN, he admitted defeat! I secretly smiled to myself. But why? I have no idea because we're not going to pay to get them fixed ever. I'm going to have to live with EFFING BROKEN KITCHEN SHELVES FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!

Thank you for the laughs about your wonderful fault-full hubbies, boyfriends, exes, etc… I loved them all! And now the winner of Notes to my Future Husband is… randomly chosen…

Margaret Literary Chanteuse

Please email me at stephanieelliot@gmail.com your full name and address and I'll mail out your book!

Thanks everyone and more books coming to you next week!

Thanks and happy weekend!