C.H. Admirand's Blog, page 18

Website/Blog Contest Winners!!!

Congratulations to the following winners:

Laurie G: Group 1




Cindy @cinful1121: Group 2


 Melissa Keith: Group 3


Please email me with your mailing address so I can send the books to you!


Happy Reading!!!
C.H. Admirand

Website Contest May 15th -31st!

Sometimes my brain seems to work more flawlessly than others when I'm on deadline. I wish I could pinpoint why so that I could make sure to follow the exact same routine for the next book...due July 1...and the one after that due Sept. 1st.
But alas...once I finish a book and turn it in, my brain is fried and I seriously have trouble forming coherent thoughts and speaking. But I had the same problem when my darlings hit the terrible twos! LOL. Our darling daughter, a mom herself, calls it baby-brain! She's such a wonderful mother.
To celebrate turning in book two in my upcoming Small Town USA series for Sourcebooks...ONE DAY IN APPLE GROVE two days ahead of schedule...I'm giving away a bunch of the fabulous free books that I received at RT this year, plus 3 copies of TYLER. 
I will not have the time to read for pleasure for the next little while, so I figured...why not share? It's what Romance Readers do, right? We pass on books we love...well I used to until the time one of my friends returned one of my Julie Garwood's with a smear of chocolate across one page...Julie? Seriously? AND it was a hardcover...arrrgggghhhh OK...I'm over it...but I stopped loaning out books to that particular friend.
Soooo, here's the scoop from today, May 15th through Midnight May 31st, enter to win by friending me on facebook http://www.facebook.com/CH.Admirand or following me on twitter http://www.twitter.com/CHAdmirand  or if you have already friended me and are following me on twitter...leave a comment on my website http://www.chadmirand.com  with your email address. I will be selecting three lucky winners and will make the announcement on Saturday, June 2nd.
I've grouped the books together in a nice mix of genres and will be adding a copy of TYLER to each group - here are the pics...
Group One:


Group Two:


 
Group Three:
 

Good Luck...Back to catching up with my overflowing inbox and my next deadline!

Fredericksburg, VA Author Luncheon

It was such a pleasure driving down to Virginia on Tuesday, the sun was shining, the sky a bright blue and the air...well in West Milford it was a crisp 41 degrees, but the further south I drove, the warmer the temperature. By the time I reached Virginia it was nearing 70 degrees!
My lovely friends, Joan and Jim Leavitt extended an invitation to stay with them in Fredericksburg, VA at Falls Run and greeted me with warm hugs and big smiles. We had time to catch up on news from NJ and what was happening in VA. I don't think I've had time to decompress and relax like that in years! A HUGE thank you to Joan and Jim.
 Here's a photo of the main entrance to their community...



and a one of their Club House...



We were so busy catching up that I neglected to take photos of Joan and Jim, but I was able to get in some pages Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning (my May 15th deadline is rapidly approaching!) before Joan and I headed to the Riverside Theater and Conference Center for the Author Luncheon.


Here's a photo of the luncheon committee...all members of the Friends of the England Run Library. I hope to have everyone's names soon so I can update the information!


Mingling with attendees...




The lovely ladies collecting tickets and selling raffle tickets for the wonderful donations, Target, Walmart, and local business were very generous with their donations, all in support of the Friends of the Library. 
Because my mom always taught me never to go anywhere empty-handed, I brought a raffle basket filled with my Irish Western Series, a journal, pens, etc. 

 Here is a photo of Joan Leavitt, myself, and Joan. I apologize for not getting Joan's last name, but I will update this blog with the info as soon as I have it. Both Joans split the organization of the event and I am indebted to both of them for a wonderful event!



Pictured below with Joan and Joan is Nancy Buck, the England Run Library Branch Manager.




Here is a shot of the tables...It took sheer willpower NOT to eat the dessert before lunch...a yummy lemon confection with fresh raspberries.  My great-grandmother always ate her dessert before her meal...but in her defense, she had 10 children and by the time they were all finally at the table and eating, she wanted to make sure she got dessert! :)
 
What a wonderful group of people in attendance yesterday. I was more than a bit nervous, being that I would be the first author to kick off the Friends of the Library Author Luncheon Program...soon to be an annual fundraising event. Soooo, I rehearsed my talk ahead of time...and all the way down to Virginia...and Tuesday night before I closed my eyes. 
I'm happy to report that the talk and Q&A that followed was well received. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was high praise to hear Joan, my former office manager, tell me what a lovely job I did. Thanks, Joan! 
Another highlight for me was when one of the ladies came up afterward and told me that while I was speaking my Irish heritage came through. She smiled as she told me that I was a true Seanchaí...Gaelic for Storyteller...like her husband. 
Here is a photo of the entrance to the England Run Library... 
and the amazing fireplace!


For more information about the England Run Library in Fredericksburg, VA visit  http://www.librarypoint.org/englandrun
And for more information about the Friends of the England Run Library visit http://www.librarypoint.org/friends 

Edie Gross from the Free-Lance Star contacted me for a phone interview about the event while I was attending the Romantic Times Booklover's Convention in Chicago two weeks ago. She just sent the PDF of the two page article. Thanks, Edie! But, since I'm not all that computer savvy, I can't figure out how to convert the PDF into an image....so here's the link to the web article instead...http://blogs.fredericksburg.com/features/2012/04/13/writing-adds-to-womans-story/


Now...back to my deadline and wip ONE DAY IN APPLE GROVE!! 

Sourcebooks Author Tour

What a wonderful time -- has it already been a week since the tour? 









OMGoodness time is flying past me as I get ready to go to Virginia overnight next week, I'm the first author to speak to the Friends of the England Run Library in Fredericksburg, VA...note to self...finish up notes and pack promo...keeping my nose to the grindstone to finish One Day in Apple Grove, Bk 2 in my new small town USA series for Sourcebooks.
Here's a pic of Dominique Raccah and Danielle Jackson...


I wasn't able to attend the first tour, but was so lucky that Danielle and Beth had a second smaller tour for their authors. Check out the drum....they bang on it when there is amazing news: an author making the NYTimes and USA Today List and SB employees come from all corners of the office to hear the good news!
Here's a closeup of the rock shelves...they displayed our books...and me the eternal geek snapped a closeup. LOL!
Did I mention that the back of this rock shelf had a fountain? The sound of water is sooo soothing. I have a table top fountain in my office at home. :)
 


It was a day of firsts for me: I'd never seen one of the Chicago cows up close (wearing a boa...that cow must sneak out at night and party.  
 
I had the opportunity to sign the wall with other Sourcebooks authors!
















They have two walls that are filling up with signatures of SB authors who visit their Naperville, Illinois office. :) 



 Here is the fab PR Department!
 












Our wonderful publisher, Dominique Raccah was on hand to greet us.






What a lovely surprise to see our covers displayed as we walked into the office... Thanks, ladies!!!
I was sooo excited to be on the tour, that although I remembered to snap photos, I didn't have the time to write down everyone's name, and for that I apologize. 




Although the office wasn't full, we met everyone who was there last Friday and learned just a bit about the departments who work together to keep our books out there for our readers. :)

Here are some Pics from the IT Dept.






 When we visited the Sales & Marketing Dept. how cool was it that when we mentioned our titles, they knew who we were! LOL. :)



Interesting banner on the wall...

 
Production Department hard at work, so jealous of their top notch computers and monitors!

These lovely ladies were one of the last stops on our tour, we made a huge circle coming in the front door and ending up here...just past the too-die-for authors' wall... Next time, I hope I'll be able to jot down everyone's names.






I met Todd Stocke last year at BEA...he was one of our last stops on the tour before they surprised us with a yummy fruit platter and the decadent chocolate goodie platter. OK...I did give in to when the brownie called my name...but I had some fruit first! :)

 A HUGE thank you to Beth and Danielle for driving us and for taking us on the tour. I'm delighted to be a part of such a fabulous team.

Fredericksburg, Virginia - Friends of the Library Event

I'm so excited to have been invited to speak to the Friends of the England Run Library in Fredericksburg, Virgina on Wednesday, April 25th from noon to 2pm at the Riverside Dinner Theater and honored to be their first author!

While attending the Romantic Times Book Lovers Convention in Chicago last week, I was interviewed by Edie Gross of the Free-Lance Star. 


Here is the link the wonderful article http://blogs.fredericksburg.com/features/2012/04/13/writing-adds-to-womans-story/

TYLER and DYLAN will be available to purchase and I'm putting together an excerpt from JESSE which will release in July.




Here is the info from the article:


WANT TO GO?
The Book and Author Luncheon, featuring romance novelist C.H. Admirand, takes place April 25 from noon to 2 p.m., at the Riverside Center Dinner Theater, 95 Riverside Parkway in southern Stafford County.
Tickets cost $25 and are available at any branch of the Central Rappahannock Regional Library. All proceeds from the event, sponsored by the Friends of the Library, support library programs. For more information about Friends of the Library, visit librarypoint.org/friends.
I'll also be bringing a lovely raffle basket filled with goodies.

If you live in the area, here is the link to the library's website http://www.librarypoint.org/node/16859
Tickets will be available until Wednesday, April 18th.


Looking forward to making new friends in Fredericksburg!

Digital Comic Contract w/ Sea Lion Books!!!!

OMGoodness, I am still pinching myself! Renee Bernard and I both won Digital Comic Contracts from Sea Lion Books yesterday!!! It was announced during the first Graphic Novel workshop of the day. Needless to say, I was so surprised and overwhelmed that I made a complete fool of myself. (If my husband or one of our children is reading this, I do expect them to put on their "surprised face.") 
I was trying to keep it together and not cry--the good kind, which always looks like the bad kind because my eyes and nose turn red and well...you get the picture--and was doing all right standing in front of the room while the composed and lovely Renee stood on one side of the huge board with our names on it, Les Dabel, of Dabel Brothers Publishing, and myself stood on the other. And then someone said I should be smiling and the damn broke...I HATE to cry...so I did what any knot-headed person would and left...found the nearest ladies room.
YIKES! After I mopped my face, I went back and thank Les profusely and apologized for breaking down. It's so hard when a dream you thought would never happen is being literally handed to you on a silver platter with angels singing in the background. Hey...I was there and that's what I heard! LOL! Here we are with our sign proclaiming us as winners. :)

Here is a picture of Renee, myself, and Derek Ruiz, VP of Sea Lion Books during the Graphic Novel & Indie Publisher Expo...




Here is the sequence of events...when I signed up for RT and was perusing the workshops to be offered...a link popped up to enter a contest to win a Digital Comic Contract from Sea Lion Books. I've always wanted to see one of my Irish Westerns in comic/graphic novel form and the wheels started turning, but I almost didn't enter. I was on deadline and  expecting copyedits any day, but after receiving a not-so-subtle nudge from one of my dearest friends, I decided to give it a try.
What could they possibly say that I haven't heard in the 17 years I've been writing? No? LOL! The word no just has me quoting our Purcell ancestors' family motto: Aut Vincan, Aut Periam...translation: I will either conquer or perish.
My Irish Western Series is near and dear to my heart, so it was a no-brainer to continue with Michael Flynn's story.
Here's the blurb for the Digital Comic:
 
Bring ‘Em Back Alive Blurb by C.H. Admirand      Megan O’Mara travels all the way to America to hunt down her betrothed. She’s been waiting four years and 319 days for Michael Flynn to fulfill his promise to marry her.  She’s done waiting. With just a few months left before her 21st birthday, she counts up all of the pin money she’s saved to give her and Michael a start in their married life and uses it to buy passage on a ship to America and then a ticket on the stagecoach that will take her halfway across the country to Emerson, Colorado where she plans to confront the man who’s broken her heart. 
     Michael Flynn worked his way West from New York City where he got off the boat from Ireland five years before. He’s promised Meg, his sweetheart back home, that he’d be back in five years to marry her, but buying his way into a card game to double his money and return to Ireland a well-propertied man that Meg could be proud of goes awry when he wins—and then is shot and robbed by the very same man he cleaned out at the poker table. 
     Will Meg be able to reach Michael in time to bring him back alive?
I'll be posting more as I have info and updates about the timing of the Digital Comic.

Vampires, Werewolves & Fairies & WRR at RT

It was wonderful to see the lovely ladies of the Vampires, Werewolves & Fairies blog yesterday. We met in the hallway and they came to party at at the Western Reader Roundup yesterday. 
Shonna invited me to guest blog a few weeks ago, and I was delighted to...after I explained that I didn't write about vamps, weres or fairies...but I LOVE fairies...and sent her a pic of the beautiful little porcelain ones gracing our fireplace and windows, etc.
Here is a pic of Wendy, me and Shonna that Wendy during the Roundup that she emailed this morning...

Thanks for loving romance!!!

Can't wait to visit their blog again!

Western Reader Roundup at RT!

We had a boot-stompin' time yesterday at the Western Reader Roundup! Here's the line-up of who gave away books and goodies yesterday:
C.H. Admirand  http://www.chadmirand.com/index.php  Vivian Arend http://www.vivianarend.com/ Lorelei James http://www.loreleijames.com/home.php Cat Johnson http://catjohnson.net/Janette Kenny http://www.jankenny.com/ Amanda McIntyre http://www.amandamcintyre.net/ Bobbi Smith http://www.bobbismithbooks.com/ Cindy Holby http://www.cindyholby.com/ Beth Williamson (AKA Emma Lang) http://www.bethwilliamson.com/
The lovely Mari Freeman was on hand to teach line dancing, but to tell you the truth, I didn't have a chance to see how many readers got up and danced...but the music was awesome!
It was wonderful to have the fabulous Bobbi Smith join us this year. But aside from the books and goodies for readers to pick up and enjoy...there were two good-looking cowboys for their viewing pleasure.
There's just something about a cowboy that puts that little hitch under your heart and gets your blood pumping!
I didn't have a chance to take as many pictures as I would have liked to, but that's good...because it meant we were crazy-busy!


A special thank you to JoCarol Jones, Beth Williamson and Cindy Holby for keeping the Roundup going!

Barbara Vey's Reader Appreciation Luncheon

Barbara Vey is a staunch supporter of Romance Books, Writers, Readers and the Genre...and we are lucky to have her. Her blog Beyond Her Book is a fun place for readers to go to hear the latest, attend events virtually with Barbara, and have their finger on the pulsebeat of the latest releases. Here's the link:  http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/beyondherbook/
The luncheon was dedicated to Barbara's mom and I have absolutely no doubt that her mother -- a reader and romance lover -- would be very proud. Barbara and her volunteers did an amazing job with the event. Every single seat was filled and all of those attending had big smiles on their faces as they chatted with favorite authors...or new favorite authors.  
Heather Graham as always was a fabulous speaker. I am in awe of her not only her talent as a writer, but the ease with which she stands before a group and enthralls them with tales...she is a true Seanchaí -- Gaelic for storyteller.
My dear friend, Anne Elizabeth sponsored a table at the event and invited me to join in the fun. At the last minute she was unable to attend, so Renee Bernard and I shared the distinctive duty of "being Anne" for the day. We had a blast!
Here are some pics...







  Elizabeth Hoyt and Cathy Maxwell...

 Renee Bernard, Elizabeth and Cathy...

 Carolyn Follett, an Independent Editor, and Andrew Bamford from Australia

The lovely Jennifer from Australia...wish I remembered to ask her last name...and Megan Bamford, Bookseller and Reviewer from Australia...



 That's me, Jennifer, and Megan...


So Anne could see the program and her bio, I texted this pic to her...

Molly Laabs, librarian at the Oak Creek Library, C.H. (me) and Barbara Roark, Director of the Franklin Public Library. These lovely ladies joined the rowdy group at our table. As we chatted, I began to wonder if there wasn't a bit of Karmic influence involved as we chatted about our love for books (especially romance) our gardens, crocheting, and our grown children...common ground that made the time fly.
By the end of the event, I wished we lived a bit closer to Wisconsin.
Here is Ann Hinnenkamp (hope I'm spelling that correctly as I gave Anne her business card already) She won Anne's gift bag...Christina Skye, Renee Bernard and I contributed books...here's hoping Ann enjoys reading them as much as we did writing them.
All in all, it was a fabulous event and I am already planning on attending next year. RT will be in Kansas City so it's still doable!
Oops! I have to get going or I'll miss out on breakfast with my hubby...he has to meet Johnny Jones downstairs at 9...they'll be crazy busy moving tote bags, books, and more for the fab events on the schedule today. As always there is a friendly crew who are working alongside them, I'm just sorry I didn't have time to help out this year...but there is always Kansas City! LOL!
Today is the Western Reader Roundup at 2:15...hope to see you there!

Bunny Ears & RT

OK...so there are only a few times in a parent's life that they can take pictures that will always have a place in their heart...and at the same time inevitably embarrass their children. We have quite a few for our kids, but of course that was before digital cameras. LOL! 

Soooo, to continue this tradition, I bought this adorable bunny ear hat for our darling grandson, Jack. Hence the title and the pic... I think our daughter is going to be asking for a copy of this for future use. :)



I'm so glad we had a chance to see Jack and Jessi on his first Easter. Unfortunately Tom had to work, so we didn't get to see him. Before we left to go see the great-grandparents, I snapped a pic of Uncle Josh and Jack fighting over Josh's laptop.


I can't leave Uncle Phil out, here's a pic of him keeping Jack occupied a week or so ago...


Now for news from Chicago ~~~~~Today, I'm headed to Barbara Vey's first ever Reader Appreciation Luncheon...here's the link /http://www.barbaraveyreaders.com/

My fab friend, Anne Elizabeth organized things so a bunch of us could ride over together from the hotel...did I mention it was in Wisconsin...good thing she didn't tell me that before hand or I might have said it's too far! LOL. Unfortunately, Anne won't be able to attend today, so the lovely Renee Bernard and I will each be 1/2 of AE for the day, ready to hand out her promo for her table. I'm looking forward to the ride, and promise to take pics so Anne can see everyone who sat at her table! Here's the link to Anne's website http://www.anneelizabeth.net/

And Renee Bernard's website http://www.reneebernardauthor.com/

Sooo...in about three minutes, it'll be time to get dressed, grab some tea and something to munch on and be off for the day.

My darling Dave, who drove the 12 hours to get here from NJ yesterday, will be moving boxes, books, tote bags and more working behind the scenes. I'm so glad he's here with me, but am not sure how often I'll see him in between the events, I'm one of the hosted authors for: the Western Reader Roundup tomorrow at 2:15, Afternoon Delight Bookseller & Librarian Party at 12:15 on Friday, and the SOS Military Mixer on Saturday at 3:30 pm.

Here's to a fabulous week at RT!!!