Happy New Year and Contest Recap

Farewell, 2011. Welcome 2012.

A few updates for the end of the year.

First, thanks to all my followers, friends, readers, "likers" and commenters. I write this blog as much for you as I do for myself. And a special thank you to those who have bought and read my books, with even more thanks to those who have taken the time to tweet, rate, or review them somewhere in cyberspace.

My newsletter is just about ready to send, and thanks again for all the feedback. There's still time to sign up so you won't miss the first issue of 2012. And I'm having an exclusive giveaway for those getting my newsletter, so if you haven't signed up, be sure to take a minute to do it now.

And my ongoing book giveaway contest … although I didn't hit all my goals, I'm still giving away books. But if you want some, you have to enter.

A recap:

I'm cleaning out overflow on my bookshelves. Some new, some gently read. Some autographed. Maybe even a 'collector's item' from my box out of print books. I'll stuff as many as will fit in flat rate priority mail box.

There are five ways to enter, and you get one entry for each:

1. Follow the blog on Google Friend Connect (sidebar)
2. "Like" the blog (sidebar)
3. Sign up for my newsletter at my website
(remember it's a 2 step process; you have to click through the confirmation email)
4. Share a recipe for my What's Cooking Wednesday
5. Share photos for my Friday Field Trips.

Send your entry to contest @ terryodell. com (remove spaces) Put "Big Giveaway" in the subject line. 1 email is enough, just tell me what categories you're entering, and I'll add your name to the list as many times as needed.

Contest entry deadline: Friday, January 6, 2012. 

And don't forget the Backlist eBooks 99 cent sale. It ends Jan 8th, so don't miss your chance to pick up some great bargains from some great authors. Deadly Secrets is my sale book, but you can find others here.

Also, if there's anything you'd like to see more (or less) of on this blog, you can let me know at terry @ terryodell. com (again, remove spaces)

Have a safe, healthy, productive and Happy New Year! See you in 2012.


Like this post? Please share by clicking one of the links below.

Weekend Update

(If you were curious about the birds in yesterday's post, Hubster has identified them in the comments there.)


My Giveaway Contest is still going on. I have too many books on my shelves. Some brand new, some gently read. Some autographed.

Five ways to enter, five chance to win.

1. Follow this blog on Google (I know they're going to be changing it, but I think it'll still work for Blogger sites. Either way, I'd love to see the numbers climb, even if they're going to disappear)

2. "Like" this blog: click the icon in the sidebar.

3. Send photos for my Friday Field Trips

4. Send a recipe for "What's Cooking Wednesday"

5. Sign up for my newsletter. Form is on my website.

How to enter: Click the Deals & Steals tab above for instructions.



Like this post? Please share by clicking one of the links below.

Weekend Updates

1. A reminder: Giveaway #3 is underway, and if you want some books, you need to enter by Monday, December 5th. Details at the Deals & Steals tab.

2. Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter. I'm waiting until I hit 20 new followers, and then I'll have even more books to give away.

3. My overall giveaway is still going on. Remember, you get an entry for following the blog, "Liking" the blog, signing up for my newsletter, sending me a recipe or pictures for a Friday Field Trip. That means you can have up to 5 chances to win a big batch of books.

4. Guest Blogging.
I'm ready to open the first quarter of 2012 (January, February, March) to guests. Guests don't have to be published authors, or even writers—I'd love to have readers leave posts as well.

The basic "rules"
1. No religion
2. No politics
3. No BSP (blatant self-promotion)

If you'd like a slot, please email me for the official guidelines at blog @ terryodell.com (remove spaces)

Like this post? Please share by clicking one of the links below.

Marketing Recap

What I'm reading: Seal of my Dreams, by too many authors to list here.

And Giveaway #3 is underway, so be sure you enter. Check the Deals & Steals tab for how. Deadline to enter: Monday, Dec. 5th.

I've been working on final edits for my mystery, DEADLY SECRETS, working with the cover artist to finalize the cover (what do you think?), and still trying to follow my own advice from Monday's post and move forward on the WIP.

And then there's the marketing side of writing as well. In keeping with my honest sharing of what's going on with writing, I thought I'd give a short recap of my Thanksgiving weekend sale promotion.

Rather than bruise my ego too badly, I'll chalk up the lower than expected number of requests for the free books to the fact that many people were involved with holiday travel, family, and other real life chores.


Because my sales of my Pine Hills Police books were low, my goal was to lift FINDING SARAH, and hopefully, the rest of the Pine Hills Police books to a more visible spot in the Amazon rankings. To do this, I gave copies of the book to anyone who requested one. This means I paid for the book rather than offer a Smashwords coupon. However, I know there are a lot of people out there who don't own Kindles (myself included), so I DID offer a free coupon on Smashwords. These don't cost me anything, but they don't move the book up in rankings.

Friday Field Trip - Potpourri

We're on the road today for Iron Man Arizona (see yesterday's post for why). I hope I'll have some new pictures for next weekend, but for now, more from my hard drive. (A lot of these were taken with my old camera, and I wasn't saving them as very large images, so apologies if they don't open larger. I'm learning!)

Remember, I'll be drawing a name for Giveaway #2 when I get back, so be sure to enter. Can't win if you don't!  I only need a few more followers. And 20 new newsletter signups will kick off yet another giveaway.