Book Giveaways and Signings!

I promise to do a post soon on the wonder that was the Elvis 5K. But first, I have a few odds and ends to share!

First of all, I'm doing a book signing on Saturday, August 21, from 11 - 1 at one of the LifeWay Stores here in Memphis. I'll be at the one across from the Wolfchase Galleria, in the Commons. If you're familiar with Memphis, the Commons is the shopping center that has Old Navy. If you live near Memphis, I would LOVE for you to come by! And if you have friends in Memphis, please help me spread the word--you can direct them to my author page on Facebook for more information.

Now for some book giveaway information:

I did an interview last week on Barb's Author Interviews and if you'll go check out the interview and leave a comment on her blog, you'll be entered to win a copy of Love is Monumental. Check it out here, and I think you have until the end of August to comment.

Also, I noticed through Google alerts that my Amish book, Love Finds You in Charm, Ohio, is being offered in a giveaway by another blogger. Looks like on that one, you'll have the chance to win a copy of Carla Stewart's Chasing Lilacs as well. Check it out here.

I'm Giving Away a Copy of Love is a Battlefield!

The Battle of Shiloh took place on April 6-7, 1862. In honor of the 148th anniversary of the battle, I'm giving away a copy of Love is a Battlefield! As most of you know, Love is a Battlefield is set at Shiloh National Military Park and was inspired by the time I spent as a ranger at Shiloh.

If you've never visited Shiloh National Military Park, this weekend would be a great time to visit! There will be living history demonstrations all weekend, which are always really interesting to see. Visit their website for more information.

If you haven't had the chance to read Love is a Battlefield or you have a friend who you think would like a copy, answer the following question between now and midnight Friday for the chance to win a copy:

If you could visit any National Park this summer, which one would it be?

As for me--I can narrow it down to three! If I could visit any National Park this summer, it would be either Yellowstone, Gettysburg, or Ellis Island/Statue of Liberty.

Can't wait to hear where you'd like to visit! Just leave your answer in the comments and I'll randomly select a winner on Saturday!

Midnight Musings

Okay, it's actually past midnight, but who's counting? These days, time seems to mean nothing to me--I'm finishing Love is Grand and am as likely to be writing at 3 a.m. as I am at 3 p.m. When I get it turned in, I plan on sleeping non-stop for a few days. And watching the 4 new episodes of Grey's Anatomy I have saved on my DVR. (yay!)

So this is going to be a jumble of things I've been thinking lately. Perhaps if I get them out of my head, I'll be able to better write my book!

Here goes:

1. The Bachelor finale: Oh, Jake--I had such high hopes for you. But you let me down. Honestly, you disappointed me in the very beginning, like on the very first night when you sent home most of the girls who actually seemed to have brains. But I digress. Best wishes to you and Vienna. I give it 6 months.

2. Along those same lines: The Bachelor: Jason and Molly's Wedding...Seriously? That much money for a wedding and there isn't a rain plan? Come on. As an event planner, I am totally offended. You can't convince me that there wasn't a canopy available or at least someone could've held one of those handy clear umbrellas (were those sponsored by Macys too?) over poor Molly's head. Designer dress. Ken Paves himself did her hair. And ABC made her stand out there in the pouring rain. Whatever. Overall, they seemed happy though, so that was nice. And wasn't it great to once again get to hear the phrase "star-gazing amazing" in reference to Molly's eyes...ha!

3. Not to stay on this reality kick, but Dancing With the Stars...I'm loving the lineup! Kate! Evan! Brenda Walsh! Need I say more? I'm calling Evan for the win though. You read it here first.

4. Zumba. Okay. I took my first Zumba class on Sunday afternoon. Except that the main teacher wasn't there so it ended up being a hybrid zumba/belly dancing/hip hop. This was a most hilarious experience. Although I did learn the whole routine to Michael Jackson's Beat It, which has been a secret lifelong dream of mine... Monday I tried again--wanting to experience a "real" Zumba class. Nope. This time the teacher came to class and apologized for not having any choreography for us. We free styled. You know the African Anteater Ritual from Can't Buy Me Love? It was something like that. (By the way, I love that movie...a pre-McDreamy Patrick Dempsey as nerdy Ronald Miller. Sigh.) And today when I woke up, I could barely walk, so maybe it was a good workout after all...

5. In writing news...Love is a Battlefield is now available on Kindle!

6. In more writing news...you can now read a sample chapter of Love is Monumental on Amazon! It releases in May!

7. One more story and then I'm through, I promise... Last week, my e-mail account was hacked. Or spammed. Whatever you call it. Unbeknownst to me, strange e-mails went out from my account to EVERYONE in my address book. I've had the same e-mail address since 1997. I haven't really cleaned out my address book since then. Which means e-mails went out to all kinds of people. People I don't necessarily keep in contact with anymore. Ex-boyfriends. Their families. Old bosses. Former co-workers. High school friends I haven't seen in years. And on and on. And on. Fun times. Needless to say, once the problem was fixed, I cleaned out my address book.

Okay. Break's over! Back to writing.

Instead of a song of the day, here's a clip from Can't Buy Me Love! Enjoy!

Love is a Battlefield Has Arrived!

Okay, I am the world's worst blogger! But I have the best intentions!

Two weeks ago, on October 1, Love is a Battlefield officially hit the shelves!! It is the first book in my Walk in the Park series. Each book will be set in a different National Park. (Coincidentally, the Ken Burns National Park series premiered the same week Battlefield released...and I am hoping everyone has a renewed interest in National Parks!)

Things have been a bit of a whirlwind lately--I went to ACFW Conference last month in Denver. Fantastic time! In fact, that was the first time I'd officially seen Love is a Battlefield in real book form! My editor, Becky Germany, held up a copy on Thursday night in front of the entire room full of conference attendees. I thought I was going to bounce out of my seat! I was so excited to hold that book--it was seriously years in the making. The next night, Barbour passed out copies of Battlefield at the author reception, which then turned into an impromptu book signing. Very cool.

Photos below are me right after I got the book for the first time and then signing at the author reception:

Denver was really fun. I even met Ted Dekker (who gave me advice about writing: once you've turned in a project, stop thinking about it and look ahead to the next one...don't look back.)

Here we are, and I'm still holding Love is a Battlefield like a trophy! haha

And now, Battlefield has been out for two weeks. Hard to believe! I'm learning that once the book releases, the hard part begins! You see, I love this book. I want you to love this book. I want your grandmother and your mailman and your slightly annoying co-worker to love this book. But I realize that everyone isn't going to. And that's kind of hard. :) But I am dealing.

The song of the day...could it really be anything else??

Love is a Battlefield by Pat Benatar