~Free Stuffs~

I’m in the middle of stepping up my “goods” on Etsy.  By stepping up I mean my arms are falling off from working on full sized blankets, cable knitted scarves, and snazzy things that take lots of work.  And all of this takes oddles of time.

While I’m taking oddles of time to make all of these detailed, anal retentive type objects, I’m working away in the mornings on basic items to fill my shop.  Because you can’t sell things if there’s nothing to sell, and yada yada yada.

And this is where the Free Stuffs come in.  While all this madness is going on I need to still consider promotions, getting my name out there and stuffs.  ‘Cept between everything else I seem to be running out of “free” time in which to promote.  So I’m turning to you, and waving free stuffs in front of your nose.  😉

I have these:

 

That are getting ready to enter my shop soon.  They are 100% cotton, hand knit, workout/yoga headbands.  Less than 2 inches wide, these are more like the nylon ones you’d buy at the store, than the big thick ear warmers you normally see.  The cotton is gentle on hair, and absorbs sweat, while fully washable.  The cinch part can go on the top of your head, or at the back of your head, depending on your tastes.

I’m looking for a few bloggers who’d like to try one out in the color of their choice, then blog them up, and possibly (possibly meaning reviews and blogging them up with no giveaway is fine too) give one away to their readers.  You don’t personally need to pick one out for you!  It can be for your daughter, grand daughter, whomever.

If you’d like more information please feel free to contact me at jemily383 (at) gmail (dot) com.

Thanks!  *hurries back to work*

What I Won’t Do

I have to clear some things up here.  Starting with that this post is about my personal philosophy towards this subject.  If your’s differs, this is not an insult to you.

I received an email last week requesting that I host a review and giveaway for a certain company who I shall not be naming here.  I simply replied back, “I’m sorry, but I cannot offer reviews for anyone or anything I have no experience with.  That is not my policy.” 

You see, even with my absence on my blog, and in my blogging communities (okay so I might be a slackard loser in this department as of late), I still consider my readers, my followers, my FRIENDS.  I love hosting giveaways, and giving out my own twist on reviews… but to lie…

I figured the case was closed, until I got another email to the tune of, “Other bloggers have given us great reviews, and you should trust them.  Listing our name on your site will heap your views, and make your blog even better.  That should be a better offer than a free product.  Here’s the link and guidelines for your review and giveaway.  We need you to list this by *insert a specific date*”.  (Paraphrased)

Rightttttttt.

No.

Sure, the company might be honest and great and totally legit.  Is “might” worth enough to risk my friends’ trust?  Hell no. 

So I’m putting this out here now.  As this is the second company that has requested a blind review.  SHUD UP.  Stop wasting your time.  It’s not going to happen.  I don’t care about getting free stuff, I care about my readers, my friends.  I will NEVER do a blind review on ANYTHING.

I will however continue to offer reviews and giveaways to all of my friends.  My policy remains:  I will recommend any person I trust, with or without product samples, but I’ll let you know if I have not tried their product/service.  I will review and recommend products and services I have experienced, and my review will be my honest opinion.  And you’ll know if they paid me for it, or not, as required by my morals and the law.  No exceptions.  If I do not know you personally, and/or if you cannot offer a sample of your product or service I will not share you with my friends, period.

Any questions?

 

And the Winners Are…

I’m going to keep this one short today, because obviously you only want to know if you won, and you’re probably already skipping all of this, straight to the bottom…

The two people who will be loosing themselves very shortly in a world of Vampires and Werewolves are….

*insert drumroll please*

As Determined by: http://www.mathgoodies.com/calculators/random_no_custom.html

Melissa A

and

Journey of Life 

Congratulations Ladies!  And thanks for playing!  (please send me your email info via barefootcoffeegirl (at) gmail (dot) com and how you will be reading your new ebook copy of Amy’s Story!)

Don’t forget to visit D’Elen McClain’s guest post here! 

And Hereeeeeeeeee’s D’Elen!

I had always been a huge fan of Johnny Carson, that’s what happens when you’re five years old and develop insomnia and your parents put a little black and white television in your room so they can get sleep.  Bad vision and a want to say Hereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee’s Johnny D’Elen McClain!

I’ve been a paranormal book fan for many years. So many in fact I read them before they were popular with the masses. P.N. Elrod’s Vampire Files is one of my oldies but goodies. I’ve thought for a long time about writing one of my own. My vamp/werewolf world has been a work in progress for more than a decade. I finally wrote part one Fang Chronicles: Amy’s Story last year and self-published it.

In my world of fangs, vampires and werewolves are bound to each other. A vampire gives the wolf pack immortality. There’s a tiny problem in that werewolves cannot breed to create children unless it’s with a human. They cannot be made another way. Before DNA, pregnancy blood work, and all the other scientific stuff we face today, the males got a female human pregnant and then stole the baby to be raised in the pack. Not such a good idea in the modern-day real world. What about artificial insemination? I go into it with a bit more detail in the second book Emily’s Story due out next month but the bottom line, it doesn’t work.

My vampires and wolves are sexy, dominant, and loving when they find the right partner. They are also dangerous, deadly, and like nothing more than to tear up a bad guy or gal. I don’t mind a bit of blood and guts mixed in with my romance. Oh, and did I mention sex? There must me some though I don’t think erotica plays a part. Some things can still be left to the reader’s imagination. Hmmm, Emily’s Story pushes those boundaries a little more than Amy’s.

Years ago I owned a bookstore and Jennifer Roberson came into autograph her books. I loved her Sword series and it remains one of my favorites. I asked her a question about killing off one of her beloved characters. I’ve taken her words of wisdom to heart in my writing.

Jennifer: “I kill off the occasional good guy because when I write a scene where someone could die I want you sitting on the edge of your seat knowing I’ll do it.”

Sorry readers, but I’m willing to kill off a great character or two just so you know I will. Thank you Jennifer.

What attracts me to the paranormal genre? In real life I am a police detective specializing in sex crimes. It doesn’t get more real than that. I love my job, I’m good at my job, and I need complete escapism when I read. I prefer strong women and the strong men that support them. I love the unbelievable worlds that I get lost in and take me away from work. I am a romantic at heart and I’ve been married to the same man for 33 years. He makes me a better person.

You can find more about my work on my blog http://fangchronicles.wordpress.com where I tell stories about my lifelong fascination with fangs. Spiders, scorpions and Rottweilers make for great stories and give you a glimpse into my weird life. Just ask me about Charlie my 150 pound lap dog and a female by the way, I won’t stop talking. I also write about my trials and tribulations as a police detective, a career I decided on during a major midlife crisis. Join me there for humor and some serious conversation at http://badluckdetective.com ummm, did I mention humor?

Amy’s Story was my first foray into fiction and I liked it but I’m quite proud of Emily’s Story. I’m editing away and have book III in my head and dying to be placed on paper. Every review (good or bad) is an author’s best friend. If you read my books, please try and find the time to write a review. The bad ones make me a better writer and the good ones give me a huge smile.

Thank you and may the fangs be with you.

 Just so we’re all clear here, Emily’s Story is sadly NOT about me.  (although it should be)

I can’t thank Miss McClain enough for taking her time out to join us for the past two days, sharing a bit of her crazy world with us.  You really need to check out her Bad Luck Detective site as well as her Fang Chronicles site, her humor is amazing despite the tough job she does to protect us from the scum of the earth! 

And don’t forget about our GIVEAWAY that’s going on RIGHT NOW!  D’Elen McClain is giving away two copies of her first paranormal romance novel, Fang Chronicles, Amy’s Story, that I reviewed yesterday!  (visit yesterday’s review for rules and details) 

Leave a question for D’Elen in the comment form below to get your first entry.

Tweet, Share on Facebook, or Blog about this for additional entries, and please leave a separate comment for each one!

And don’t forget you can also enter on Yesterday’s Post as well!

Once again Thank You D’Elen for your time and generosity!

When a Journalist Meets a Vampire You Get a FREE Book!

Soooo maybe it should say, “When a Detective meets a Dog Trainer You get a chance to win a FREE book.” 

Or it could say, “When an Urban fiction romance writer meets another urban fiction wanna be writer who usually doesn’t like romance novels, but loves it 100% anyway despite the romance *takes breath*, You can win a FREE book!”

Do you get the point yet?  Because I think I’m totally lost.

I do know that there’s going to be a giveaway at the bottom of this post, so you need to stick around! (Don’t make me beg, because I can get really annoying)

That’s what D’Elen McClain found out when she mentioned that not only does she write under two names, but she also writes Urban Fiction, with vampires and wolves, and the stuff half of my hard drives and thumb drives are made of.  Of course I was in heaven, with a writer who will talk to me, and hold my hand, and yell at me softly to get my arse in gear.  A writer who might be just as obsessed with dogs as I am, and also is in the whole Urban fiction world to boot!  My annoyance skills might have kicked into high gear.

And then I got my little, editing cramped hands on her first novel, Fang Chronicles, Amy’s Story… and I got scared.  I panicked.  As I did with reading my friend Cole Gibsen’s first novel, Katana.  I mean what if I hate the books?  What if it’s just as painful as reading 50 Shades of Grey?!  (not in the painful sexy way, but in the, “OhEmGee, what is the big friggen deal over this book because I see no reason to read one more page” way) 

So I dove in anyways, because reading books is the biggest risk this lady takes lately. 

 

Amy’s Story is the tale of a young, not so special reporter, who lives only for her work.  In desperation to finally nail that big story that would gain her the attention she has worked so hard for, she takes some big risk, disguising herself as the corner merchant in high heels if you know what I mean.  The problem is that the locals fall for it, and before she can save herself, she finds herself being saved by an extremely handsome, wealthy man… who isn’t exactly the tycoon portrayed on TV.  In the blink of an eye, Amy finds herself submerged in the world of Vampires and Werewolves, romance and war… and some very important life questions.

The beginning of the book soared by too quickly for my own personal tastes, you could tell that D’elen had an awesome plot she was about to rope you into and couldn’t wait to get you there.  But after she got me into that plot, I was stuck.  I could not put down my dang Kindle, ask my husband who threatened that if I drop the dang thing into the tub that he would not be replacing it.  For her first venture into Urban Fiction/Romance the writing was smooth, easy to read and easy to follow.  The characters were well-developed and left me very attached to all of them.  Maybe too attached.  😉  It’s a book I could see myself reading again even if I had the plot all wrong to the next in the series, Emily’s Story, which sadly is NOT about me… (as always, we can pretend).  And to boot, this anti-romance reader didn’t mind the romance aspect… which is always a plus.

You need this book.

Luckily for you I was able to con,  beg Miss D’Elen out of two electronic copies JUST FOR YOU!  Well, that’s a lie, you can’t just have them, because that’s no fun at all.  And because that would mean she’d have to fork over a hundred copies, and why the heck do you need two copies all to yourself!?!  Greedy, greedy people! 

You have to enter for your chance to win one of the two copies.  Just leave a comment and you’re in for one chance.  Come back tomorrow for D’Elen’s guest post, leave a comment and get a second entry.  Easy peasy.  Wanna suck up get extra chances?  Tweet about this post, share on Facebook, BlogHer and blog about it for extra entries!  Just leave a comment for each separate action pleaseeeeee.  Myspace or Cafemom about it and I’ll probably just make fun of you.  I’m potty training a toddler, it’s my right to be snarky!

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for a very special guest post from D’Elen herself (aka Suzie Ivy for my BlogHer peeps)!

And as always please go visit D’Elen McClain at her blogs: http://badluckdetective.wordpress.com/ and http://fangchronicles.wordpress.com/

*This contest will end on June 25, 2012, around 6 am central time, depending on when I have my first cup of coffee.  Winners will be chosen by some random number generator via google and will be announced that same day.  If I don’t hear from you within 48 hours or have no way to contact you I will choose another winner.  Books won will be in electronic format, and are incredibly easy to transfer to any device or read via your computer. 

**I have received this electronic book as a gift, and was not paid or asked to do this review… I just happen to like reviewing things in my own special ways.  In case you feds were wondering.  😉