Now Appearing at Amazon!

Woo hoo! You Belong to Me is available in paperback on Amazon!

Ahem - okay...

So, we had our housewarming party this weekend, and it was great. Aside from a few people who (for whatever reason) just didn't bother to reply to the invitation, everything went off without a hitch. The weather was beautiful, the food was good, I got to see friends I haven't seen in a while - so I really can't complain. The Boy split his bottom lip open, but learned that you really shouldn't walk in front of a swing when it's in use. He's a tough kid, my Tank, so after about five minutes, he was off and playing once more. By night time, he'd forgotten all about his busted-up lip.

Still, I'm glad it's something we won't be doing for a while - probably not until next summer. My only complaint was that, while the weather was absolutely gorgeous, it was too perfect. It wasn't hot and humid, as August days in NJ usually are. In fact, it's been very comfortable, considering it is late August. Usually, it's hot and sticky and just miserable. Not this year. So, while it was comfy for sitting outside, it hasn't been real conducive to swimming (though the kids didn't seem to mind it being a little chilly.)

And now life goes back to normal. I'm working on yet another story - just beginning the outline phase of it, so it's really just in the earliest stages. Still waiting to hear back from my editor (which is the worst part of this business - the waiting). And now, it's time to go wake the Boy from his nap...

So hopefully I'll resume regular blogging after the holiday - when school starts and I get (woo hoo!) a little more free time!

Paper or E-Book as Prize?

Hmm... It's August already.

It's August.

Already.

Where did the summer go? School's just a bit over a month away (is it wrong that I can't wait for school to start up again? Nah - I didn't think so.) Soon it'll be fall and I'll be bitching about the cold and whining about wanting to open the pool (then again, considering I have to go and vacuum said pool in a little while, maybe I won't be whining about that.)

But that brings me to today's topic -

I've been promising a contest (and I just know you're all dying with waiting for it - admit it), but so far, I've yet to deliver. Part of it really is the fact that time just kind of slips away from me, but the more I think about it, the more I realize that there's something else to it.

People just don't care about getting ebooks as prizes.

It seems to me that the contests I run with ebook prizes don't do nearly as well as those I run where I give away paperback books. Sure, it's been a looooong time since I've done a paperback giveaway, but I have done them and I'll be doing them in the near future when You Belong to Me and Eden's Pass release in paper.

Remember, a while back I did a post on paper versus ebooks? Well, for me, I would rather have a paperback book as a prize as well. At least, with a paperback back, an author can sign it. Can't reallly do that with an ebook. Sure, I know authors who burn the book to a CD, print off a copy of the cover to put in the jewel case, and sign that, but let's face it, hardly the same thing, right? Well, they aren't, too me.

So what do you think? Is an ebook every bit as good as a paperback copy of a book or do you prefer one over the other? What else would you like to see authors do for giveaways (and yes, I am trolling for ideas here, ;>)?

Just curious... Yeah.... that's it. I'm just curious. =)

E-Books or Paper?

I have a confession to make.

I don't have a Kindle, and I have no intention of buying one. Quite possibly ever.

See, I'm not a big reader of e-books.

Nope.

Maybe I shouldn't admit to that, since I'm an e-pubbed author, but I don't particularly care for ebooks. I have a few, stored on my old laptop (read with Microsoft Reader because it was free and easy to get up and running), but that's it.

I'm old-fashioned. I like paperback books. I love the way a new book smells (yeah, go on and sniff a new book. You know you want to...), I like how they feel in my hands - the cool, sleek covers (with or without Fabio), the crispness of never-turned-before pages... All of that you just can't get with an ebook. Besides, I spend enough time as it is on a computer, the last thing I want to do is spend my leisure time curled up in bed with... my laptop.

Now it seems like everyone's gotten their Kindle. I don't have one. I have no plans to get one. First off, I'm cheap - there is soooo much more I could spend that $350 on - so unless Amazon really comes down in price, forget it. Why do you think I don't have an iPhone yet? Hell, I own an iPod shuffle because it was the least expensive iPod (confession-within-a-confession time - I am considering upgrading, since my iPod software doesn't work with my newer laptop.)

Second, I really don't need another gadget in my house. My son has the time of his life banging away on my AlphaSmart, on my laptop keyboard, on anything and everything he can get his hands on. I certainly don't need one more thing I have to keep waaaay up out of his reach. That pile of stuff is getting too high and is going to come crashing down on me, most likely killing me in an avalanche of expensive and/or breakable stuff (and car transmitters, since he's real good at unlocking and setting off my car alarm and popping the trunk open without my knowing it.). I really don't need that.

I don't see paper books going the way of the dinosaur just yet, which makes me happy. I like bookstores. I like going into them. I love how they smell and how they are almost as quiet as a library, but not quite (unless, of course, you're in the same aisle as the jerk shouting into her Bluetooth headset as she fights with her credit card company about transferring points. This just happened in a B&N a few days ago. If you're reading, lady, no one else really needed to hear about your points problem.)

With a Kindle (or any e reader. I'm not just bashing Kindle here), there is none of that. There is you and a download connection. That's it. No bookstore smell. No new books. No dolt with the Bluetooth (although that I would not miss at all, to be honest). No cashier asking if you've found everything, or commenting on the books you're buying ("Oh, this one is great! Evanovich's best Plum novel yet!" - or something like that).

True, you can carry every book with you, so there's no, "Damn, I really wanted to read XYZ but I forgot to pack it," but there's just something so.... cold about reading books on a screen. Maybe someday I'll get used to it. Maybe someday I'll do a post on the wonders of the Kindle. I can't say never. But for now???

Give me paper...