Carmen Cook's Blog

Happy...March? How is it already MARCH?

Hello all! I don't know about the rest of you, but I feel like there was a bit of a time warp through February. It started on Super Bowl Sunday with the snow falling lightly over Seattle. Snow doesn't happen all that often here, so we were excited about a possible snow day. HA! The snow didn't stop for days. We went from a dusting to over 18 inches (measurements taken from my backyard) and my boys didn't have a full day of school for 3 weeks. That's enough to make a month nearly disappear, right? (And I know a ton of the country is still dealing with a ton of snow...I'm so sorry! There is a reason I moved from Montana and it had a lot to do with snow. In other news, I ran off for a weekend for a writing retreat and decided to give Scrivener another try and I'm SO GLAD I did. Nearly 10,000 words in the weekend. I'm now trying to determine a way for me to be consistent with my writing time so I can continue to get some movement in that area. So, I've signed up to attend the Rose City Writer's Spring Fling with Becca Syme. Will I see you there?Hopefully I'll have more book news for you before too long. How have things been in your world?

Join the Romance #Readathon!

HOW IT WORKS:At the beginning of the month, we will email you a BINGO card. Like with any BINGO, your goal is to mark out 5 squares in a row – vertical, horizontal, or diagonal. (BINGO card is below!)The way you mark off a square is to read and review a book that square describes. (The review is how we verify you read the book during the month of our Readathon.)But be sure to leave your review so we can see it!For a complete list of rules and a list of the participating books, head over toRomanceBooks.Blog/Readathon

Contest!

Starting tomorrow, head over to the RomanceBooks.Blog and enter to win some book money! Contest runs 1/25/19-1/31/19. I'd love it if one of you won. Tell me what books are on your wishlist (or in your TBR pile).

All the books!

Happy middle of January!! How are you doing on all your yearly goals (remember, we're not calling them resolutions)? I've been avidly watching as people are falling all over themselves in their organizational efforts and reverently quoting Marie Kondo. At least they were...right up until the subject of books came up. Have you seen the meme questioning her recommendation of only keeping 30 books? It makes me snicker each time. But it also got me thinking.I know not everyone isn't as into books as I am. I'm not sure why they aren't, but I accept that it's true for them. But people, if books bring you joy, don't feel guilty about keeping them. Just like if an old quilt your grandmother gave you brings you joy, don't feel like you have to give it up because some anit-clutter genius tells you you should. We all take joy from different things. Be okay with that. So, in that vein...what are you reading? Anything new and wonderful? I'd love to hear!More soon,Carmen

Happy 2019!!

Happy New Year everyone! Did you manage to stay up and watch the ball drop? Are you making resolutions for a better you for the coming year? I'm not talking joining a gym (unless that's what you want to do for your health), but things that will make you smile more. I'm trying to be more organized in all my assorted efforts, so that means I'm going to be a bit more deliberate about how I spend my time. Like most moms, I often feel pulled in 8,000 directions with everyone's demands. So, while I can't stop the demands from rolling in (although I'd love to stop those "forgotten" school projects if anyone has a good way to do that!) I can control my response to them. This will, hopefully, impact my writing as well as my social media time. Right now, it's easy for me to get sucked into whichever social media platform I'm on because I want to engage. It's easy to have it on in the background of whatever I'm doing.I'll be spending more time over at Book + Main if you'd like to follow me there. I'm still learning all the ins and outs of the community posts and how to engage, but I'd love to see some familiar faces, while I explore. And if you have any tips, I'm all ears. I'm also going to work hard to plump up my FB group, Carmen Cook's Book Cafe. Pop by there to see sneak peeks, name characters (I'm terrible at naming people!) and whatever else tickles my fancy to post.Book-wise, I'm still working away on Coming Home, the next book in the Sapphire Creek series and will announce final release dates soon. Don't forget that Coming In Hot is in KU until the end of this month, so if you've been waiting to read it, now's your chance. What are you up to this New Years day? Any resolutions?

In like a lion, out like a...lion?

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, whichever one(s) you celebrate. I'm writing this from my desk, which is surrounded by kitchen drawers and the kitchen sink.Literally. Just before Christmas we discovered (thanks to wet feet) a massive leak in the drain pipe of the kitchen. Now, you may remember that we had to replace the hot water pipe at the start of 2018. Which means, I'm going out of 2018 the same way we came in...with the kitchen sink on the floor. Aw well. It makes for a good story, right? And, speaking of stories, I'm hard at work on Coming Home, the 3rd installment of the Sapphire Creek Series. I'm not much for making New Year resolutions, but I've set a pretty solid writing schedule for myself so there won't be such a long wait between stories next year. Do you have any goals you're setting for yourself? I'd love to hear them and cheer you on!No matter what your goals are, let's tackle them together. Like a pride of lions.More soon!Carmen

Holiday Splurge Giveaway

HOLIDAY SPLURGE GIVEAWAY Runs 12/10 to 12/20 (2018) Enter to win a chance at a $350 Amazon GC This is a separate giveaway from the Follow Me Windfall Giveaway. All entries are mandatory. Enter to win at:http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/77deea0986/? Bookbub is not responsible for this giveaway. No purchase necessary to win.

I would send a newsletter, but...

Morning everyone! I hope you and your family had a fantastic Thanksgiving holiday. I have a couple bits of news, and I would send a newsletter, but I assume you all are like me; deleting the dozens and dozens of emails just as quickly as they hit your inbox this Cyber Monday. So, blog post it is!First, I want to say how thankful I am to each and every one of you. The fact that you've read the books, cheer me on, give me a boot in the butt when needed means the world to me.I can't remember if I've mentioned here on the site that I moved Coming In Hot over to KU for a little bit as we lead up to Coming Home, the next in the Sapphire Creek Series. If you, or anyone you know, has been wanting to try the book and has KU, now's the time.Also, there are a few autographed copies of Coming In Hot on the shelves of the Lake Forest Park Third Place books. If you need a gift for the special reader in your life, give them a call. They've assured me they'll ship the book, so you don't need to be local to participate. Later today I'll be helping Tess Thompson celebrate her newest Cliffside Bay release. If you're interested in having fun and winning prizes, be sure to come party with us! https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheRo...

GIVEAWAY!

Happy October everyone! I'm running terribly behind on things (aren't we all) but I wanted to let you all know about this awesome Giveaway!https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/77deea0982/This Halloween we have something special for you. The Goodreads Halloween Follows Giveaway has a $350 Amazon Gift Card. All you have to do is follow each authors on Goodreads. Each entry contains their Goodreads link. Every entry is mandatory. Giveaway runs all of October and the winner is picked on Halloween!

Passport to Romance Cover Contest

Hi Everyone! I'm so excited for October (even though I'm having trouble believing that we're already nearing the end of September. But October is going to be so fun--and not just because it's my birthday month.There will be a lot of giveaways and events happening next month, but to kick everything off is a cover contest. And I'd love your vote! http://gsrwa.org/ecwc/passport-to-romance-cover-contest/Each October I participate in the best reader event around, the Emerald City Passport to Romance Reader event. It's 40+ authors who are gathered to meet reader and give you stuff. Seriously, there is NO selling at this event (except the bar), and a ton of free SWAG from amazing authors. There are also raffle baskets (ok, you do need to purchase tickets for $1/ticket or $10/12 tickets) to win and proceeds go to benefit DAWN (Domestic Abuse Women's Network) in the Seattle area. If you are around in late October I really hope you'll join us for this awesome event. For more information about this amazing event, visit the website and sign up for their newsletter : Passport To Romance.One of the highlights is the Cover Contest, where several of us compete for bragging rights. You can click here to be taken to the contest page. Every IP address is limited to 2 votes.So, go vote, and I hope to see you next month!