Trey Stone's Blog, page 7

Self vs Indie Publishing – What To Do With Your Book

Okay, so you’ve written a book. Now what? Do you send it to a big publishing house? Mail it to your favorite author? Nail it to a frisbee and fling it over a rainbow?

Before we talk pros and cons here’s a thing you should know: YMMV. Your Mileage May Vary. Whatever I’ve done–or whatever other people do–might not be the thing that works best for you. So take it all with a grain (and/or scoop) of salt.

Alright! Am I qualified to talk about this? Yes (allegedly). How? I’ve self-published three books, published one through an indie press and sold short stories to online magazines and websites. I have not however, published with traditional publishing (yet) and by that I mean I haven’t been agented and sold a book to one of the massive, major, international players.

Before we start to talk about pros and cons, let me elaborate. I’ve sold two short stories, The Hunt and Time Of Death, to an indie anthology and a website, respectively. I’ve published They Came From Nowhere in an indie anthology (though that wasn’t paid) and I’ve published another flash fiction through an online publisher that isn’t available anymore. I’ve also sold one story (a podcast episode) that hasn’t been published yet.

I’ve self-published my crime thriller series, The Columbus Archives, which includes the books The Consequence of Loyalty, A State of Despair and A Form Of Revenge, through Amazon.

And lastly, I’ve published At The Gate with Inked In Gray, an independent press based in the US.

So let’s get to it! Pros & cons?

Selling short stories & micro fiction to websites, webzines, magazines, anthologies and collection.

Pros:

It’s relatively fast and easy, if writing shorter fiction is your jam. Some even take on whole books, though they usually have to fit into a theme.You can easily find hundreds of places to submit and you can resubmit as soon as your story has been rejected (check out The Submission Grinder, for example). Set aside a few hours a week and you can have tons of stories constantly on the roam.You usually get paid, and rates are getting better and better.

Cons:

Little to no creative say in terms of graphics, style, cover, illustrations. Little to no influence on marketing & sales strategy, beyond what you can do through your own channels.It’s often difficult to build relationships with publishers and editors – they’ll like you for your story, and that’s that. If you come back with a new story it’s often back to the back of the line.

Publishing books through an independent press

Pros:

You get to have a creative influence (in my experience). You can voice an opinion on title, cover, illustrations, style & formatting.A sense of belonging. In my experience, independent publishers are interested in retaining valuable and functional relationships. That’s not to say that they’ll automatically publish future books, but that they’ll consider you in the future, and maybe you get to jump the queue, and not have to go through the ordeal of querying each and every book in a formal way.You (in my experience) don’t have to be agented. You talk directly to the people in charge, there’s no one in between.You get help. Marketing, sales, setting you up with contacts for other opportunities, editing. An independent publisher is interested in you, and will want you to do better. They’ll want to invest in you.

Cons:

Scheduling. You won’t always be in control of when things happen, and if things go wrong/needs to be taken care of, you might have to rely on someone else sorting it out.Sales and marketing. This is a double-edged sword. It’s nice to have someone in your corner, but you’re also relying on them doing the work better than yourself. Whether or not they give your book the right amount of attention and care is up to you to decide.

Self-publishing

Pros:

You’re in charge of EVERYTHING. Full creative decision-making power, marketing, sales, platforms, format, covers, illustrations, fonts – everything! You get to choose it all.You also get to earn it all. All royalties go directly to you. (That’s not to say a self-publishing platform like Amazon doesn’t take a cut, but you can choose where to take your book).You can set your own deadlines. Make your own schedule, re-publish under a different name, write a new series, start a collaboration, or just quit. Without any contracts and no one relying on you, you don’t have to worry about disappointing anyone.Nothing’s stopping you. Self-publishing if free and you can take it one step at a time.

Cons:

You’re in charge of EVERYTHING. You have the full creative decision-making power, and you have to do all the marketing, sales, social media posting, and decide on formatting, covers, illustrations, fonts – everything! You have to do it all.You have to set your own deadlines. You need to make your own schedule, motivate yourself to stick with it and to keep up the work. There’s no one to turn to for help.It can be a very steep learning curve.

See what I did there? Self-publishing is hard, no doubt, and I don’t mean to discourage anyone. But there’s something to be said by having someone on your team, someone to rely on, be that an independent press who publishes your books or just some friends who can beta read and help you with your marketing. Honestly, in my case, I think I’ll keep doing it all. It’s fun to chase calls for submissions and try and get my short stories into cool anthologies or onto revered websites. I’m also super thankful that Inked In Gray took At The Gate under their wing and help me set it out into the world. (I’m crossing my fingers that they’ll want another one of my books as well).

At the same time, I see myself self-publishing more books in the future. I like that I can take my time with, and I’ve learned a lot over the years. I know where I’ve gone wrong in the past and I know where I need to get better.

One of the most difficult things is still getting people interested in my books – so please! – if you’re into thrillers, crime or psychological, would you please go check out my books? I promise, you won’ t be able to put them down. And the support is immensely appreciated.

How have you gone about publishing your book? Or have you not taken that step yet? Let me know in the comments!

And if you’d like to stay in touch, I’d love it if you signed up for my newsletter. You’ll be the first to hear of new projects and special deals.

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Book Review: The Next Girl by Carla Kovach

This was a strange one.

A gripping thriller with a strong female lead, a varied and diverse cast and an intriguing mystery. We’re led on a long and detailed investigation into the identity of a newborn who’s been found on the steps of a church which leads to the realization that the mother – who disappeared years ago and was presumed dead – is still out there somewhere.

It’s a crime thriller-mystery that checks every single box, yet…

I don’t know. I didn’t like it, for some reason. It’s weird, because I feel like I should. I usually do, but somehow this book didn’t hit the right spot for me.

To begin with I blamed it on the language. I usually love UK thrillers (I lived in England for half a decade and I miss it every day) and British crime is usually top notch, so I know it’s not that, but at the start of the book I kept being pulled out of the story by small things. I’m not sure I can put my finger on exactly what, but all authors are different, we all write differently, so I shook it off and carried on. The story still intrigued me, so there was no reason not to continue, right? (If you’ve followed my blog and read my reviews before, you now I almost NEVER, not finish a book).

So I kept going.

And the story is good, it’s not that. It’s interesting and detailed, there’s tons of stuff going on, and yet…

I found myself bored and losing concentration. Maybe it has to do with my headspace at time I was reading this, but I felt like nothing ever happened. Don’t get me wrong, tons of stuff happened, like I said, but it felt like it didn’t matter. No matter what lead we found during the investigation I just felt like it never led anywhere. As if we just went, “oh, well it’s not this,” then carried on at the same exact pace, waiting for something to fall into our hands.

I don’t know. Me and this book just didn’t vibe. If you’re looking for British thrillers, Cayla Korvach comes with a highly decorated CV, so I’m sure you’ll find more than enough books to add to your TBR pile. But unfortunately, this didn’t do it for me. Not this time, at least.

As always – I want to direct you to my own books. It’s weird to pitch after feeling like I just stomped all over this book, but anyway – if you’re into fast-paced crime thrillers and creepy psychological horror, look no further. I also have a couple of science-fiction & fantasy short stories under my belt. You can find it all here. Thanks for your support.

Oh, and please subscribe to my mailing list. Let’s keep in touch.

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I Was Rejected

Ugh, does it ever get easier?

Last year, I submitted a horror novella to an indie press. It was a story that I had started ages ago, something that kind of never went anywhere, until I suddenly knew exactly where to take it.

I had heard about the indie press for a while by then, read some of the stuff they put out and been very fascinated with what they did. I knew I wanted to get my foot inside the door with them, and I knew exactly which story I wanted to go for it with. That old horror novella I never finished.

It went from not having any proper structure or plot to all falling into place, over night. When I found myself knowing who I was submitting it to, I somehow knew exactly what needed to happen. I revised the whole thing. Rewrote the ending 3 or 4 times. Sent it off to one of my most trusted beta readers. When I was ready, I hit send on that submission.

And it worked.

It took them a little while, but I’m sure they’re a bunch of overworked creatives who spend all their free time trying to put some of gorgeous art into the world, so I didn’t mind waiting.

Then I received the email I had hoped for:

“We’ve enjoyed reading your pitch for REDACTED and would love to see your full manuscript.“

They enjoyed it! And they would love to read more!

I was ecstatic. Of course I always am when someone loves what I do, but there was something particularly satisfying about getting that message from a publisher I had targeted so directly. This book was meant just for them! Usually, when I have a manuscript that’s ready to go, I’ll have a list of people I plan to send it to and I’ll tick them off one by one. But this was just for them, this was special.

I think I uploaded the full manuscript the next day. Then I waited.

And waited.

About 4 months later, I had another email. This one.. Well, it wasn’t what I hoped for:

“We’re very grateful for the opportunity to read REDACTED, but it isn’t the right fit for us at this time.”

Another story rejected.

Let me pose the question I opened with again: Does it ever get easier?

The short answer is yes. The long answer is also yes.

It does get easier. I know it’s rough to be denied, to put a lot of effort into something and to fling it into the world, only to have it be flung right back at you. It’s perhaps especially difficult with writing, because that’s a thing that owes a lot of its value to people enjoying it. I play music – guitar and I sing – and with that, I can happily be proud of a great song I’ve written, even if no one has heard it yet. It’s difficult to do that with writing, because the story needs a host to live in, for the lack of a better word. Stories are like parasites. They thrive in the minds of others and much prefer to dwell there than on the shelves of their creators.

But being rejected does get easier, I promise. It’s not always going to sting as much. Because you’ll learn from it. Not just to write better, but to put yourself out there again. To dare try again, to dare risk being rejected again. And if you do that enough, eventually you’ll find a place for your beautiful little parasite of a story.

And also – very occasionally – you’ll be rejected by a magnificent indie press that will leave you with feedback like this, and you’ll love your stories a little more for it:

“Personal note: this really is a great read. Moody, big, gorgeous settings vividly described, genuinely haunting moments. An unfortunate business pass, not one that has anything to do with the quality of the story.”

As usual – I’d love it you checked out my books. You can find all my thrillers and short stories right here. Thanks for your support.

Oh, and I’d love it you subscribed to my newsletter. It’s the easiest way to stay in touch, give you news and let you know when about any and all offers.

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Where’s The Time Gone?

Somehow January lasted for eight years, but also passed by in a split second. Weird how that happens, right?

Last post I did I wrote about I finally felt like I was back in my groove, making a plan for 2024 and figuring out what I’m going to focus on, but now here I am feeling like time is just slipping away from me.

Ugh.

It’s fine, I know. There’s just so many things I want to have time for, you know?

I want to write, I want to edit, submit and query my books, I want to read new books, I want to have time for the gym, to play music, video games, watch all the cool new shows coming out, fix the shed, clear out the garage, go for a walk, redo the living room, have people over for board games, and I’m also supposed to spend time at the day job, like, literally every single day of the week.

How can I do all of that if the Januaries of the world just disappear from right underneath me?

Priorities, right? That’s what it comes down to. That, and knowing that your schedule will naturally fluctuate. For a while you’ll have more time to write, you’ll feel like you’re in a groove, but you might not have time for video games in the evening. Or you’ll make great progress in the gym for a couple of months, but realize you’ve hardly picked up that book you started reading around Christmas. I’m a very organized and structured person, and sometimes that stuff gets to me. I feel like I “fall off” my own schedule and like I’m losing out on the stuff I promised myself I would do, only to not realize that at the same time, I’m actually putting more effort into other things. Acknowledging that stuff is very important if you (like me) like to try and balance a lot of different hobbies and creative outlets in your life.

So this is me acknowledging. I probably did some things in January. It was probably important. And if I didn’t, then… Well, I’m acknowledging that too, and I’ve at least acknowledged it, thought about it, and now I can head into February with a different mindset. I’m editing a sci-fi thriller these days and it’s going really well, so I’m happy with that. Let’s see what I feel about February once March is here.

How you’ve been dealing with the start of 2024, so far? Let me know in the comments!

As always, I’d love if you checked out my books – all of which can be found right here – and I’d love it if you subscribed to my newsletter. Let’s keep in touch.

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Here’s What’s Happening This Year

I’m excited. I’m finally excited.

Writing has taken a back seat for a while. Since early last fall, I kind of stuck myself in a rut. I wrote some short stories that I submitted (and waited patiently to hear back about), and I read through and polished some things that I’d written before, but I after a while I felt like I kind of fell off the wagon. I lost my mojo. I wasn’t… producing.

All winter I haven’t written a single thing.

I’ve hardly even written any blog posts.

And it bothered me. It wasn’t that I wasn’t doing things – one of the main reasons I wasn’t writing was because I was trying to get through things I’d already written, things I had lying around that needed revisions and editing.

Yet…

That often doesn’t feel as valuable, know what I mean? It doesn’t feel like it counts.

And that makes me feel like I’m not doing enough. Like I’m not moving forward and putting in enough effort.

It took a friend of mine to ask me what I was working on this year to make realize that all of that is just bullshit.

He asked, and I answered: “Well, not much really. Haven’t been doing much of anything lately.”

I thought about it for a second. “Though there’s 2-3 books that I’m waiting to hear back about from interested publishers. Oh, and I have another one I’m querying. And I’m revising this other thing that someone wanted to have a look at.”

My friend hesitated for a moment. I noticed him staring at me.

“What?”

“That’s not ‘not much’! That’s tons of things! No wonder you’re not writing anything new these days, how could you?”

It seems so logical now that I say it to myself out loud. No idea how I didn’t see it myself, but he’s right. Of course he’s right. Like I said, all of what I was feeling was just bullshit. Just me failing to see that there are many parts to writing, to being creative in any kind of arts. It’s not just about making the thing. It’s about finding a will to make the thing, about show people the thing, about putting yourself out there, and about finishing all the things you started. I’m sure you’re probably just like me sometimes.

When I finally realized all of that, it made me be excited again. Very excited.

I’m not sure if I’ll be producing a lot of new things in 2024. But I’ve written a lot of stuff over the years, and hopefully some of all of that will see the light of day instead. I can’t wait to share it with all of you.

Of course, if you’d like to check out some of the things I’ve already made, you can always find all my books and stories here: www.trey-stone.com/books. If crime thrillers and psychological twists is what you’re into, I dare say you’ll enjoy my work. I really appreciate the support and I love hearing back from excited readers.

Oh, and if you’re interested in getting all the latest news first, sign up for my mailing list. There might even be a little treat in it for you if you do.

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Book Review: The Body by Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson is rapildy becoming my favorite non-fiction author!

I’ve loved his books since I read his A Walk In The Woods ages ago and I rekindled the love with the even better A Short History of Nearly Everything a year later. Now it felt like it was about time to devour another one, and what a read to start the year with!

The Body is about exactly what it sounds like – the human body – and it’s incredibly fascinating. Bryson takes us on a journey through every little part of ourselves, every organ, every system, every function, and he teaches us things we never even knew we wondered how worked. It’s like the most interesting anatomy lesson you’ll ever have.

Of course Bryson’s strength is in the way he writes. He makes stuff interesting, even when it isn’t. He teaches you stuff you didn’t think you want to learn, explains thinks you never even knew you didn’t understand. Did you know for example that if you’re blind you can still observe light with your eyes? But you probably don’t even know it yourself! And that the human body has no way of telling the difference between wet and cold?

There’s so many great facts in here, you’ll walk around annoying your friends and coworkers for weeks on end!

Honestly, I would recommend Bill Bryson to everyone, whether you like reading or not. It’s a great place to get into non-fictions, and if you prefer to listen, the audiobook rivals the best podcasts out there. My next Bryson read is already lined up, and it’s going to be Made In America. I can’t wait!

Have you read much Bill Bryson? Which is your favorite book? Let me know in the comments!

Oh, and as always, I’d love it if you checked out my books – crime thrillers and psychological horror that will keep you flipping pages long into the night!

Check out my books here

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Thank You For 2023!

Whoa – that year went by fast, didn’t it?

I have so much to be grateful for, and so many people I would like to thank for what has happened in the last 12 months. I wish I could reach out to all of you individually, but I imagine 2024 would be gone as well by the time I got to you all, so this first blog post of the year will have to do.

First, thanks to everyone who read my books. You’re always going to be the people who make me feel most proud. To everyone who let themselves be creeped out by At The Gate, and to everyone who dove headfirst into my Columbus Archives, especially the latest one, A Form Of Revenge! I love sharing my stories with you and I’ll never get enough of hearing that you love them. Some were sad to see that the Columbus Archives came to a final conclusion, but let me tell you that it only opens up new opportunities for me – some of which are already in the works for 2024. I can’t wait!

Of course, I can’t forget my latest release, the short story The Hunt, in the the anthology Empire of Beasts by Lost Boys Press. Being part of that incredible book has been one of my favorite achievements of the year, and the feedback has been great! If you’re looking for a unique fantasy read to start 2024, look no further!

Last year also saw my return to the stage and to a huge reinvestment in my first creative love: music. I’ve played the guitar since I was 11 and though I never put the guitar away, I stepped off the stage last time at some point in 2019 (with the exception of a few, very occasional gigs here and there). But in 2023 I picked it back up in a major way and suddenly found myself playing live with not just one, but two bands! If you enjoy death metal, you definitely need to check out Dark Delirium. It’s dark, hard and brutal, and I absolutely love laying down the rhythm with these guys and rocking out on stage. If you prefer something more mellow, don’t worry at all! You can listen to me sing my original songs with my acoustic three-piece Maryon. It’s melancholic singer-songwriter pop and I’m sure you’ll love it. It’s been a long time coming, but we’re finally getting out there and it sounds beautiful. I’m really looking forward to developing it further in 2024.

I haven’t reached all my goals yet (who has?) and I’m very excited about the opportunities that have and are coming my way. I can’t wait to face them head on. So lastly, thanks to all of you who follow me here on my site. Perhaps my biggest achievement of 2023 was the massively increased traffic on my blog – it’s gone up by 298% since my next best year, which was way back in 2019.

Thank you for coming with me on my journey – can’t wait to share 2024 with you.

Book Review: Dracula by Bram Stoker

Very occasionally I’ll have a browse through Amazon’s pile of old classics. They’re all free to download these days, so whenever I find myself between books or not knowing just what I want to throw myself at, I’ll have a gander at the old big ones, and see if anything jumps out at me.

That’s where I saw it, in big white letters on a black background, with a dab of blood on the cover:

Dracula

Who doesn’t want to read arguably the most famous horror novel of all time? Well, not, not this guy, that’s for sure!

First of all, I feel like I need to preface this review by saying this book is old. Like, properly old. It was first published in May, 1897, a fact that I feels need to be taken into account when talking about it. Because the language is weird sometimes. Not even talking about overly convoluted and complex sentences, full of old-timey words and phrases, I often found (and reacted to) a weird use of verbs. Consider this passage for example, talking about a burglar emptying a house while the owners are away:

“[…] some burglar come and broke window at back and got in. Then he went and made open the shutters in front and walk out and in through the door, before the very eyes of the police. Then he have an auction in that house, and advertise it, and put up big notice. And when the day come he sell off by a great auctioneer all he goods of that other man who own them.”

I’m still not sure if this is some weird formatting mistake or if this is a style preferences or what the hell is going on, but this kind of stuff kept happening throughout the book and it stuck out as a sore thumb to me. On top of this, half of the time, there are long passages that seem completely disconnected to what we were just talking about or what’s going on in the plot.

But never mind that—let’s focus on the plot! Dracula, as you might be aware, is a Transylvanian Count, and our story starts there. This first part of the book is particularly haunting and terrifying, and I was very impressed with how scary the book actually is. The frigid forests make it go cold down your back, and Count Dracula’s castle is very creepy indeed.

As the plot moves over to England, there comes a very thrilling part where we follow the travels of a ship called The Demeter, and I particularly loved this part. It reminded me that there’s a new movie out with that title, and reading this really made me want to watch it.

As the plot lands in England, it dials back a bit, and I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t find at least a third of the book pretty bland. It’s written as a series of diary entries and letters between people, and much of it is pretty boring.

But as the hunt for Dracula begins, and the slow revelation of his nature and powers comes to the surface, the mystery gains traction, and the book starts to terrify again. I was honestly impressed with how creepy it is at times, and I especially liked reading about Renfield and his madness. I was perhaps a bit let down by the end, but all in all, a magnificent classic and a surprisingly scary book.

Have you ever read Dracula or any other scary classics? Let me know what you thought in the comments!

As always – if you like what I do, if you’re interested in books and you’d like to support me, I’d appreciate it immensely if you checked out my books and short stories! Crime & psychological thrillers for all!

Check out all my book here!

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Book Review: Hyperion by Dan Simmons

The most incredible science fiction book I’ve ever read.

Hyperion is one of those books that I feel like I’ve heard of my whole life, but never really known anything about. If you’ve followed this blog for a while, you’ve probably seen me say that before. It’s the same with Dan Simmons. If I heard his name, I’d instantly know he’s a famous author, but if you started prodding, you’d soon realize that I had no idea who he was or what he’d written.

I scrolled past Hyperion on my Audible account one day when I suddenly remembered I really wanted to read it. And there’s never a better time than right now, right?

Turn out I had no idea what Hyperion was about. I’m not quite sure what I thought it was, but it for sure definitely wasn’t this. Because this is so much better.

Hyperion follows the story of seven people on a pilgrimage to the planet of Hyperion, the home world of the time tombs. Why they’re all going there is unclear at the start of the book, but to pass the time, they all decide to sit down and share their stories, and so the most incredible stories begin.

First off is a tale of a priest and his ethnographic study of an isolated culture on the planet of Hyperion. The archaeologist in my really loved this part – the execution, the world building, the mystery – all of it was fantastic! I want to read it all again right away.

The second story is of a soldier who’s searching for a mysterious lover. I can’t really say much more than that without spoiling anything, but I was impressed with both the romance and the action scenes in this part. Loved the character building as well.

Thirdly, we have the story of a spoiled, vulgar poet, who against a lot of odds (if you ever read this book, you’ll see why I didn’t say all) manages to becomes super famous. He ends up hating most of that though. This one was particularly funny, even though it’s serious, sad and mysterious. Oh, and the writing is incredible. Dan Simmons is a genius.

The fourth story is perhaps the most heart-breaking. It touches on a trope that I’ve seen done many times after this was written (in 1989), but never executed even half as well! A fantastic read!

The fifth story is a crime mystery, sci-fi thriller all in it’s own right. A bit slow to start and to begin with appearing a bit duller than the previous four, this one really surprised me by the end.

Lastly, the sixth story is a tragic love story that I can’t say too much about without spoiling. Two people find each other in the vastness of space and try to be with each other even though they don’t have time for it. The ending really caught me.

You’ll notice there’s no seventh story, even though there are seven pilgrims, and you’ll have to read the book yourself to figure that part out. In essence, Hyperion is a collection of short stories, but there are also things happening between each tale, while the storytellers interact, and that part of the book is just a good. I was seriously impressed by Dan Simmons writing throughout this book, and I can honestly recommend this highly to any science fiction lover.

This is what Dune should have been! If you read my review of that, you’ll remember that I found Dune particularly boring and drawn out. Hyperion is not like that at all, and though I often say I’ll continue a series of books and end up never going past book 1, in this case I think I’ll have to make much more of an effort. I really want to read more of this. Like, really!

Have you read Hyperion or anything else by Dan Simmons? I’d love to hear about it, so let me know in the comments below!

Oh, and as always – if you like my blog and you’re into books, I’d love it if you checked out my thrillers and short stories!

Check out my books

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Book Release Party & Podcast Appearance

Hey gang!

Just wanted to take the opportunity to mention a few things I’ve appeared on lately. I know most people prefer to catch these things live, but just in case you need something to watch during those incredibly boring and/or tense family gatherings that are coming up toward the end of the month, here’s a few places you can catch me.

First of all, the release party for Empire Of Beasts! Hosted by the fantastic crew over at the Don’t Make It Weird, they made a tremendous effort and did a great job hosting for us. We had nearly all the authors of the anthology on, including people from Lost Boys Press and it was just tons of fun. There are individual interviews with all the authors, as well as fun trivia, hilarious jokes and an interesting group Q&A at the end.

Be sure to check out Empire of Beasts and my short story The Hunt if you love fantasy, and you can catch my segment of the release party right here!

Also – I sat down for a one-on-one with Catie O’Neill a few weeks earlier. We talked about writing, our influences, challenges and where we see ourselves going in the future, and it was a really interesting talk about being an author. I’ve gotten a couple of comments that this was a really nice interview to watch, so if you’re interested in a little insight into what I’m up to, definitely check this one out!

You can find O’Neill’s interview with me on her Instagram page, right here.

Also, if you’re looking for all the other interviews, podcasts, shows I’ve been on and talks I’ve done, you can find them all here.

As always – I’d be honored if you would take some time to check out my other books. You can find them right here on my page, or over on Amazon.

Oh, and I’d love if you subscribed to my newsletter. Then you’d be the first to know of new releases, special deals, and exciting giveaways!

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