Thank You & Contest Giveaway Announced

Posted on October 2, 2013 by RoseAnn DeFranco

Thank you!

This past week has been a whirlwind. From the moment I realized my book was made available for its Kindle Exclusive Pre-Release, you have commented, shared posts on Facebook, tweeted, emailed and word of mouthed this milestone. SIX of you have taken the time to put a review up on Amazon which is huge in that it relates to some complicated algorithm for the future discoverability of the book I haven’t even tried to understand.

I shared in a previous post about the surprise gift sent to me by mother that hit me right in my Writer’s Essence. Today I’d like to publicly thank the two people who give me the shot of love and support I need every day to get up at 5am, face the long list of writing to-do’s before heading out to the full time job. My husband Tom and our daughter have quietly, and not so quietly, supported this dream of mine for years, not in just the big moments. Between the two of them I am nearly out of business cards purchased for the upcoming NJRW Conference. That’s okay, I’ll get more. Their excitement and belief in me is worth the cost of the re-order. I also appreciate their valiant attempt to eat that occasional crock-pot-dinner-gone-wrong, followed by Tom silently slipping out only to return with a rotisserie chicken, consumed with a minimal amount of giggling among the three of us. The important thing is they recognize the effort made to keep all the balls up in the air. They have their eye on the end goal, and when I reach it, I’m not there alone. They are part of every step of this journey. So, THANK YOU to my little family. I am so blessed!

Now, without further ado, I entered all the names of thoses who left a comment of the last few posts into a RaffleCopter drawing, which is one of the many internet techie things I’ve learned on this path to becoming an author, and the winner of the $5 Amazon gift card is Maria Imbalanzo! This is so super cool, because Maria and I celebrated our pre-release dates together and are both published with The Wild Rose Press. I’m looking forward to checking out her novel, Unchained Memories which takes place in Princeton, NJ.

There will be future contests with larger prizes when I kick up my heels for a few blog tours during the next few phases of lauching this book. Stay tuned!

Posted in Giveaway, The Brothers of Audubon Springs, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

A Surprise Gift

Posted on September 30, 2013 by RoseAnn DeFranco

Since the Kindle Exclusive “Gone Live” moment of Return to Audubon Springs, I have been overwhelmed in the best way ever from the love and support showered upon me by family and friends and the writing community.

Mom Dad Circa 1988

Mom & Dad, 1988

I have shared before that the prevailing theme of my writing is home and family. I was blessed to grow up in a household with a loving mother and father. I have carried this photo taken of  them taken at a Valentine’s Day Dinner ever since I left there home. It reminds me of the example I had growing up of a couple in love, dedicated to one another and their family.   This is why I should not have been surprised by the shot of love right to my heart in the form of gift package from my mother.

My parents were always my biggest fans. Back in my theatre days you’d find them in the front row for every performance with their state of the art camera and the telephoto lens purchased when the theatre bug bit me. They have since cheered loudly for every one of my endeavors, and I mean everything…all the show, when I found and married the love of my life, when I became a new mother and so on. Now, with dad gone, mom is cheering loud enough for two. Below is a picture of the gift, a Pandora bracelet.

Wearing my Writer's Essence on my sleeve

Wearing my Writer’s Essence on my sleeve

I’ve never owned anything quite like this. The beauty of the Pandora is in the stories told by the charms. Mom designed this bracelet to tell the story of my writing journey with the focus in the center portion for this first release, every charm symbolizing something important to the story. The remaining two sections are to be filled in (per mom’s instructions!) to tell the story of the other two books in the Brothers of Audubon Springs series upon each release.

While I won’t write word for word everything she wrote in the letter to accompany the bracelet, I will say that she touched upon many things I’ve written over the past year in my Writer’s Journey blog posts. The sunburst clips are to symbolize my rising “star” and to remind me to live in my Writers’ Essence. Wearing the bracelet will always remind me to do just that.

For those of you who have read Return to Audubon Springs, this gives you a bit of insight as to the inspiration for the Matriarch of the Iluiano Clan!

Since I’ve been blogging several commenters have shared how cute they think it is to see my mom in the comments. Most of her comments are followed by a response from me that usually sounds something like this.

AWWW…Thank you, Mama! I LOVE YOU! 🙂  

And I do. I really do. Thank you.

Don’t forget, I’m randomly selecting one commenter over the past week of posts to win a $5 Amazon gift card. Winner to be announced Wednesday. So, comment away! Love and praise for mom is welcome!

Posted in Contests, Family, Giving Thanks, Return to Audubon Springs | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Buying and Reading the eBook, a How-To Guide

Posted on September 27, 2013 by RoseAnn DeFranco

mhAK5rOThank you for your enthusiastic reception to RETURN TO AUDUBON SPRINGS! From the moment I signed the contract with The Wild Rose Press my family and friends have enthusiastically asked for a signed copy. Would that I could! Until January 3rd this first release is only available through Amazon.  Take heart if you do not own a kindle, there are other ways in which if you can still purchase and read the book.

Get a Kindle for free!

That’s right! Turn your iPhone, Android phone, computer (PC or Mac), or Blackberry into a Kindle e-reader by downloading one of the many FREE Kindle Apps from Amazon. Simply download the free software, purchase and read on your new Kindle app.

Below are all the links to the various Apps.

Kindle Cloud Reader

Read instantly in your browser

Smartphones

iPhone & iPod touch Android Windows Phone BlackBerry

Computers

Mac Windows 8 Windows 7, XP & Vista

Tablets

iPad Android Tablet Windows 8

Excerpt Alert!

Have I mentioned that Emma, the heroine in RETURN TO AUDUBON SPRINGS, is a children’s  book author?  Emma’s books are available in print as well as every eBook variety.  Lucky, right?  Here is a snapshot of her walking into a bookstore to find her own books on display.

***

Bells announced her arrival when she pushed the door open to the bookstore. She drifted to the unmistakable children’s section adorned with an area carpet comprised of big block letters and a small red table covered with teddy bears and a display of children’s books. A stand with flyers announced a book reading to take place during the Annual Art and Flower Show this weekend. The usual fan favorite book series were on display—Harry Potter, Fancy Nancy, Henry and Mudge, and her own Anderria Falls. It still gave her a thrill to walk into a bookstore and see her work in print. She picked up the first book in the series, Key of Hope, and studied the cover. She knew every tiny aspect of this illustration by heart. She’d driven the graphic designer insane in her effort to get it right.

Running her fingers over the embossed illustration, Emma recalled the first time she held the actual book in her hand just a few short months after Elana was born. She felt a similar feeling of love for the book as she did for her child. In many ways, it was her baby as well. She’d been afraid to share it with the world, yet she needed to let it go. The publication of her first book and its meteoric success gave her a tiny taste of freedom she’d never experienced before. These books symbolized the potential to become her own woman one day as opposed to a member of the Grant family.

***

When I first wrote that scene, the idea of having a book published whether in print or otherwise seemed very far off.  It is interesting for me as a writer to find this moment – a snapshot in the life of my heroine – that reflects a dream of my own.

Thanks for stopping by and don’t forget, I will randomly select one commenter to win a $5 Amazon gift card this week.  So please drop me a line in the comments below.

Posted in eBooks, Excerpts, Giveaway, Return to Audubon Springs, The Brothers of Audubon Springs | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments