Saturday, September 11, 2010

Countdown to Blogmania--3 days to go

Block off September 15-16 on your calendar and get ready to snag lots of great merchandise. Blogmania is a chance to friend lots of new blogs and to gain fabulous prizes.

It's a weekend long extravaganza where you leave comments on as many participating blogs as you can. Each blog will be offering at least $100 worth of merchandise as prizes. Pretty cool, huh?

Wondering what the prizes will be? Leap Books is participating, and we'll be offering one grand prize worth $100, plus other prizes for commenters. And watch for these Blogmania signs that will be popping up all over the Internet. Check back on Sept. 13 for a sneak peek at the great swag we'll be offering.

Today's the Day

See author Bonnie J. Doerr and 40+ other authors at Bookmarks 2010 in Winston-Salem, NC. 11 a.m. on September 11, 2010:

bookmarksbookfestival.org

Friday, September 10, 2010

Interested in Writing Mysteries?

Leap Books author Bonnie J. Doerr will be speaking on a panel this weekend at Bookmarks 2010 in Winston-Salem, NC, at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 11 at the Millenium Center. Also appearing on the panel are New York Times bestselling authors John Hart and Erica Spindler.

Here's the blurb about the panel: 

Writing a Mystery with Bonnie J. Doerr, John Hart and Erica Spindler 11:00 - 11:45 am In honor of the On the Same Page Program’s pick for 2010, The Maltese Falcon, written by Dashiell Hammett, the featured writers will discuss how they approach writing a mystery.

For more great programs, click here.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Bookmarks 2010

If you're in the Winston-Salem, NC, area this weekend, be sure to stop by their famous yearly book festival. Bookmarks 2010 features big-name authors and up-and-coming stars. On Saturday, September 11 from 10 am to 5 pm, you can see many of your favorite writers in person at ten different downtown venues.

For a brochure of the event, click here.

Here's a list of the authors who are speaking:

2010 BOOKMARKS FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

Sixth Street Stage – Billy Collins
Young Readers Central – Tim Tingle
Red Room, Millennium Center Basement – Jade Teta and Keoni Teta
Speak Easy, Millennium Center Basement – Charlie Pierce
Food for Thought, Millennium Center Dock – Joan Nathan

10:30 am. – 11:15 a.m
.
Artworks – Trudier Harris
5ive and 40rty – Alexander Ewing
Urban Artware – Rachel Keener

11:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

Young Readers Central – Carol Crane
Signature – Workshop with Carol Roan, “Speak Up: The Public Speaking Primer”
Red Room, Millennium Center Basement – Panel Discussion: Emerging Voices with Erica
Eisdorfer, Kathleen Grissom and Kim Wright
Blue Room - Millennium Center, Basement – Panel Discussion: The Art of Mystery with Bonnie
Doerr, John Hart and Erica Spindler

11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Sixth Street Stage - Christopher McDougall
5ive and 40rty - Jack Riggs
Food for Thought, Millennium Center Dock – Lulu Powers

12 noon – 12:45 p.m.

Young Readers Central - Storytime (will only last approximately 20 minutes)
Artworks - Robert Leleux
Speak Easy, Millennium Center, Basement – Frank Deford
Blue Room, Millennium Center, Basement – Christopher Cardinale

12:30 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.

Young Readers Central - Melissa Conroy
Signature – Workshop with Anjail Rashida Ahmad, “The Essence of Poetry Writing: A
Workshop for Beginners”

1:00 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.

Sixth Street Stage – Diana Gabaldon
Artworks - Watts Wacker
5ive and 40rty - Patricia Phillips Marshall & Jo Ramsay Leimenstoll
Red Room, Millennium Center, Basement – Ursula Vernon
Blue Room, Millennium Center, Basement - Erica Spindler
Food for Thought, Millennium Dock – Aviva Goldfarb

1:30 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.

Young Readers Central- Irania Macias Patterson
Urban Artware - Emily Herring Wilson

2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.

Signature – Workshop with Judith Geary, “Publication Pathways 2010”
Speak Easy, Millennium Center, Basement – John Hart
Blue Room, Millennium Center, Basement - Kathy Patrick

2:30 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.

Sixth Street Stage – Patrick McDonnell
Young Readers Trade Street Stage- Linda Beatrice Brown
Artworks - Zee Edgell
Food for Thought, Millennium Dock – Fred Thompson

3:00 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

5ive and 40rty - Wanda Urbanska
Urban Artware - Anna Fields

3:30 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.

Sixth Street Stage- Panel Discussion, Sense of Place: Diana Gabaldon, Rachel Keener and John
Kerr
Young Readers Central - Major Brian Dennis
Signature – Workshop with Andrew Leslie, “Finding Your Voice in Oral Literature: The Basics
of Storytelling”
Speak Easy, Millennium Center, Basement – Kenneth Posner

4:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.

Artworks - Panel: Future of the Book and Publishing: Barry Miller, Carolyn Sakowski, Lee
Thompson and Myles Thompson
Red Room, Millennium Center, Basement – Getting Immigration Right with David Coates,
Hernando Ramírez-Santos, and Peter Siavelis

A Special Performance held by Choctaw Storyteller, Tim Tingle, will be held at the Center
for the Arts beginning at 4 p.m.


Programs will be held in the following venues:

Sixth Street Main Stage, Young Readers Central at the City Market Stands / Downtown School, 601 North Cherry Street; Artworks Gallery, 654 North Trade Street; 5ive and 40rty, 541 North Trade Street; Urban Artware, 207 West Sixth Street; Signature, 534 North Trade Street; the Red Room, the Speak Easy and the
Blue Room, the Millennium Center Basement, 101 West Fifth Street – Entrance is off of Trade
Street; Food for Thought, Millennium Center Dock – Entrance is at the back of the building.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Win a T-shirt

Author Bonnie J. Doerr is giving away a T-shirt. All you have to do is comment on her blog. She'd love to know what you're doing to live a little bit greener or share anything else you care to say. Never commented? Directions are listed and you only need to provide a first name. She'll contact the winner or
post a request to be contacted by same.

http://www.bonnieblogsgreen.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Are You a Paranormal Junky?

Need a fix? Here's a chance to meet all your fav paranormal authors online. Of course this blog tour is being held in October, the month of haunting and spirits. And meeting great authors is only part of the fun.

You'll get to read the continuing saga of Eryn McCain, half-human and half-wolven. Part of the story will appear on each blog. Follow it, find the clues, solve the mystery, and you'll be eligible for great prizes.

TOUR PREMISE: The pressure is on Eryn as she faces tough decisions. Luckily a rash of paranormal activity within the walls of Redgrave High provide a distraction. Are these harmless pranks or something more sinister? You’ll have to do a bit of research to find out. A new clue will be revealed at each blog stop during the tour. Can Eryn and the crew track who (or what) is causing the mayhem in Redgrave High? Follow the hunt and meet a bevy of dreadfully talented young adult paranormal authors along the way!

And there'll be a wicked cool selection of SWAG and ARCs as prizes!

If you want to find out more about the tour, check out Judith Graves' website or follow any (or all) of these bloggers who will be keeping the book world updated about the tour:

Crossroads Tour Official Bloggers:

The Here, The Now, The Books

Liyanaland

Ms. B’s Book Swarm

Kid Lit Frenzy

Narratively Speaking

Tales of a Teenage Book Lover

Just Your Typical Book Blog

Late Bloomer Online

YA Addict

Book-Savvy

Book Faery

Book Bound

A Simple Love of Reading

Confessions of a Bookaholic

Supernatural Snark

Wolfy Chicks: The Blog With Bite


Wanna join the fun? To become an official tour blogger, let Judith know, and you can post this cool badge on your website. Be sure to link it to the web address below.

 

Monday, August 9, 2010

Are You a Mystery Buff?

Here's your chance to immerse yourself in a weekend-long crime/mystery writing extravaganza. Killer Nashville is happening next weekend. The conference runs from Thursday evening, August 19, to Sunday afternoon, August 22, 2010, and is jam packed with great speakers, including our own Leap Books author, Bonnie J. Doerr, who is writing an eco-mystery series. Book 1, Island Sting, is already out. And Stakeout's on it's way in 2011. Pelican Peril will follow in 2012. 
Here's a schedule if you're interested in attending. Keynote speaker is Jeffery Deaver; find out more about him on his website. And Bonnie Doerr will be presenting at a session on "Writing the YA Mystery." Agent and editor pitch sessions are included in the registration price. Hope to see you there.