GRAND SLAM! Party and Contest

Welcome to WordVessel! The party doesn't actually start until 7 p.m. (CST), so if you show up before then, would you mind sharing the photo to the left to let others know about the party?



I'll go ahead and explain how the party will work, so you'll have time to familiarize yourself with the process.



CONTEST:

First off, the purpose of the contest is to help me name a male and a female character in the Miller's Creek novel I'm currently working on--Pilgrimage of Promise, book 4. (If you want a peeksie, you can check out the rough draft of chapter one HERE.)



These characters will be minor characters in book four, but will become major characters in later books in the series. I'll give you a taste of the characters to help you come up with names. The man is a nurse, caregiver, nurturer type, while the female is hiding behind a gutsy, tough exterior to shield herself from further hurt. A role reversal kind of thing. (In case you're not familiar with my books, these are characters for a contemporary romance in the small fictional town of Miller's Creek, Texas.) Oh, I almost forgot. I want the female to have a name that could be used by male or female (or shortened to make her sound like a guy).



If you're familiar with baseball, you know that a grand slam is when the bases are loaded and the batter hits a home run which enables all the players on base and himself to score a run. Our Grand Slam party has four bases as well, but you can play as many of the bases as you choose. (Some of you may not have an account for all the social media bases, so I've given you some other options at the end of the post.) Of course the more bases you play, the better chance you have of winning a prize.



PRIZES:

Speaking of prizes, I guess you might want to know what they are! We'll have two winners--one for each name--and both will win the first three books in the Miller's Creek novels (print or digital, winner's choice) AND a $10 Amazon gift card. (Since some of you may already have the first three Miller's Creek novels, if you're chosen as a winner, you can opt to add $15 to the $10 Amazon gift card for a $25 gift card.)



Normally I use random.org to randomly choose winners for contests and parties here at WordVessel, but since this is for a character in a book, I will choose the names I think best fit the story. If more than one person enters the winning name (or if I'm having trouble choosing between a few names), at that I point I'll use random.org to choose the winner, and all the contestant's various entries will taken into consideration. Since it will most likely take a while for me to verify and consider all the entries, winners will be announced in a WordVessel post tomorrow (Friday, January 25, 2013).



Now for the particulars:



FIRST BASE: Twitter

If you're on Twitter and would like to enter the Twitter portion of the contest, here's the scoop. Tweet the following. (The easiest way to do it is copy and paste.)

You're invited! #AMillersCreekNovel Grand Slam! name-the-characters contest @ http://WordVessel.blogspot.com @Cathy_Bryant 

At the end of the post, put the name you'd like to enter for the name-the-character contest. If it's the male name, add "M:" and then the name. If it's the female name, add "F:" and then the name. For example, a post might look something like this:

You're invited! #AMillersCreekNovel Grand Slam! name-the-characters contest @ http://WordVessel.blogspot.com @Cathy_Bryant M: Johnny

or like this:

You're invited! #AMillersCreekNovel Grand Slam! name-the-characters contest @ http://WordVessel.blogspot.com @Cathy_Bryant F: Lisa

Then come back here to WordVessel (AKA Home Base) or to my author page on Facebook (AKA Home Base backup) and leave a comment with your Twitter handle (for verification) to complete your entry. You can tweet twice, once for the woman's name and once for the man's name. (If you'd like to follow me on Twitter while you're there, I'd be honored and will follow back. And I wouldn't mind if you decided to "like" my author page on Facebook either! =)



For extra chances to enter, in addition to tweeting the post above, you can also post this tweet:

#Free for #Kindle Jan 25-26: TexasRoads & APathLessTraveled (Christian romance) by @Cathy_Bryant @ www.Amazon.com 

Don't forget to add your "M:" or "F:" and your names of choice. Again, you can post once for each character, and be sure to tell me in the comments here at Word-Vessel or at my author page on Facebook that you tweeted the second option as well. And be sure to include your Twitter handle for verification purposes and an e-mail address so I can contact you if you're a winner.



SECOND BASE: Facebook



If you're on Facebook and would like to enter the Facebook portion of the contest, here's the scoop. Post the book cover picture to the right on your wall (to copy the photo, right click on the picture and "Save Image As" on your computer; name it something you'll remember and put it in a file you'll remember; then go to Facebook and add a photo) along with the following text (which you can copy and paste):

I'm helping name characters for @Author Cathy Bryant and her next book, Pilgrimage of Promise, a Miller's Creek Novel. Join the fun at http://WordVessel.blogspot.com (Jan. 24, 7-9pm CST). My choice for the

And then finish it with either:

hero is:

Or:

heroine is:

Don't forget to add the name you've chosen. =) You can do this twice, once for the male character and once for the female, then leave a comment here at WordVessel or at my author page on Facebook with a link to your Facebook page for verification purposes.



For an extra chance to enter (in addition to the post above), you can also post the following twice (once with your name for the hero and once for the heroine):

Free for Kindle on January 25-26 at www.Amazon.com: Texas Roads and A Path Less Traveled (both Miller's Creek novels) by @Author Cathy Bryant. For her name-the-character contest I've chosen (enter your name of choice) for the (hero/heroine-choose one).

Then be sure to let me know either in the comments section below or on my Facebook author page that 

you also posted the second status update along with a link to your Facebook wall for verification, and leave your e-mail address in case I need to contact you as a winner.



By the way, I'd love to have you as a Facebook friend if you're not one already! =)



THIRD BASE: Pinterest

If you have a Pinterest account and would like to enter the Pinterest portion of the contest, copy the book cover above and pin it to your board along with the following comment:

Pin to Win! A Miller's Creek Novel: 1-24, 7-9pm(CST) @ WordVessel blog.

Then follow the comment with the "M:" and your hero name and the "F:" with the heroine's name of choice. Since they probably won't let you post the same picture twice, you can re-pin one of my other book covers for the second comment. These can be found at my Pinterest board for the Miller's Creek novels.



If you want extra entries for Pinterest, you'll need to post the remaining two Miller's Creek novels with the following comment:

Free for Kindle Jan 25-26, 2013 (followed by your M: or F: and the names you've chosen)

After you've pinned, come back here to leave a comment or do so at my author page on Facebook along with the link to your pin. (Don't forget to leave an e-mail address just in case you're a winner!) And please feel free to follow me on Pinterest (by my highly original handle...Cathy Bryant). ;) I promise to follow you back!



HOME PLATE: WordVessel (or my author page on Facebook)

When you leave your various comments here at WordVessel or at my author page on Facebook, that will count as another entry for you! Please only leave one comment for each "base" you complete, so that this old blonde-haired lady doesn't get too confused. ;)



Extra Chances For Everyone :

I realize that many of you may not be on Facebook, Twitter and/or Pinterest, so I came up with a few other ways for you to gain entries. You can do all or none of these, but if you choose to do them, don't forget to come back to WordVessel or my author page on Facebook to let me know. Please put all of them in one comment, along with your male and female character names of choice. Here's the list of extra stuff:


"Like" the print version of Texas Roads at Amazon. (NOTE: If you've done this before in a previous party here at WordVessel, you won't be allowed to do it again.)
"Like" the Kindle version of Texas Roads at Amazon.
"Like" the print version of A Path Less Traveled at Amazon.
"Like" the Kindle version of A Path Less Traveled at Amazon.
"Like" the print version of The Way of Grace at Amazon.
"Like" the print version of The Way of Grace at Amazon.
"Like" my author page at Amazon.
"Like" my author page at Facebook.
Leave your honest review on any of the books that you've read on their pages at Amazon . A few sentences will be fine, just saying what you liked and disliked about the books. (NOTE: If you leave a review for a Kindle version, it will automatically show up on the print version's page as well.) One entry for each review.

Since I'm gonna be scuttling through cyberspace to keep up with all the entries, I may not always be here to respond to your comments. Just leave them anyway, and I promise to check them. Thanks so much for joining me for the fun and for helping me out in naming these two moniker-less folks! I can't wait to find out their names!!! Check back tomorrow to see who wins!



Happy Tweeting, Status Updating, and Pinning! ;)





P.S. In case I didn't mention it, Texas Roads (Book 1) and A Path Less Traveled (Book 2) are both free the next two days (January 25-26, 2013) for Kindle readers. (I frequently post about the free Christian ebook giveaways for Kindle, so check back often to see what's free for that day. If you'd like to read all the free Kindle books available each day but don't want to buy a Kindle, check out my post HERE for an easy solution.)