How I became a candy pusher to sell books.

I've always heard that you have to have a catch, something to attract readers and hold their attention long enough to tell them about your work.

I've also heard that it's good to have candies, foods of some sort, to pull people over to your table at events. Give lots of stuff away and people will stop long enough to listen to you, or at least pick up a book and check it. Hopefully leaving with said book.

I sat my table up, stacking books, spreading bookmarks and business cards, and filling a large glass vase with 4 bags of cinnamon disks. It all matched, the layout was satisfactory, and I was ready for the readers to rush through the doors. Never did I suspect I'd become a pusher of spicy candy!

Before the doors open a few Lumberton policemen strolled by. I said good morning to them, and them to me. As they walked away I heard one say to the other, "Those red things are like crack!"

Now, considering I'm still walking around a free woman I will assume that his comment was directed at the candy's addictiveness and not it's legality on the streets.

Everyone who came by heard a "Good morning!" from me, or similar salutation. I was usually greeted with a kind response and a glance at the table. Soon that greeting was followed by, "Do you like candy?" Now this drew people's attention even more. It caught them off guard enough to slow them down. Many paused to consider the question, leading them to consider the books laid out around the candy jar.

I enjoyed the fun of it so much that even the author at a neighboring table jumped on it. He would stop people to ask if they'd gotten some of my candy. He'd tell them that no one could pass without taking some. And when I'd come back to my table from being away for a bit he'd make sure I saw that my candy jar level was lower than before. LOL!

It was all very funny. I even made it a running commentary for those who would come by my table more than once. "Do you want MORE candy? Come on, take a handful and put it in your pocket."

So yes, I became the candy lady at Book 'Em. Anyone who came down the fiction hall was offered candy and most took me up on the offer. I even turned it around when someone said they didn't like vampire books with, "Well, do you like candy?" That always got a smile and usually they took my business card as well. :)

In the end, whether it's true or not, I'm going to contribute my book sells to my sparkling personality and the cinnamon disks! I went to NC with four bags and came home with half a bag, and sold more books than I expected to. Yay for candy!

Stop by tomorrow when I talk about the Author Meet-n-Greet from the night before Book 'Em.

The drive was harsh to Book 'Em NC.

Most of you know that I spent this past weekend in Lumberton, North Carolina at the Book 'Em authors' conference and book fair. And boy, what a weekend it was! It was such a crazy weekend that it has taken me this long to get started on my blog posts about it. Yes, posts. . .plural. Hell, I didn't even unpack until this afternoon.

The event wasn't until Saturday morning, but considering how long the drive would be we left Friday morning. I had everything arranged so that we could drop the kids at school and head straight out of town. We were heading on down the highway at 7:15am.

All was well and dandy until just below Atlanta. Rain started slowly, sprinkles, drizzles here and there. Then we exited to the second (of three) Interstate and the heavens opened up with the intent of drowning everyone below. We stopped three times in an attempt to simply take a breath. Once under a bridge as trees whipped around throwing stuff at the vehicles driving by. Traffic had slowed to 30 MPH in whiteout conditions at that point, the radio stations were blaring their emergency broadcasts with warnings/watches of tornadoes in the are, and all you could see was the single yellow line on the left side road.

*This was before it got too rough to see*

Needless to say, we were behind schedule by the time we made it to the Country Inn Suites in Lumberton, NC. I was just glad we'd made it safe & sound considering we'd seen 5 different cars off the road in the process of getting there. Eek!

Luckily, the drive home Sunday was much more pleasant, with sunshine and no rain. Instead of being half an hour behind schedule, we were 1 hour ahead on Sunday. Much better than expected.

Stay tuned tomorrow when I talk about the Author Meet-n-Greet dinner. Later in the week I'll post about becoming a candy pusher. Yeah, it happened before I knew what was going on. :D

Stay tuned!

And the winner is...

Good morning, all. How was your Valentine's Day? I hope it was pleasant. The kids and I ended up making homemade lasagna roll ups, salads, and freshly made breadsticks. Everyone enjoyed it and the girls got to help out.

I guess you're all waiting to see who the big winner of yesterday's giveaway was. Between Facebook, Twitter, and both blogs, there were a lot more entries than I expected. Making me a very happy giveaway host! :)

My 7 year old made a pile of paper hearts. We wrote all the names on them and folded them small. I placed them into a red, glass vase before giving them a good stir. Then I allowed her to draw out the winner. To which she exclaimed, "It's a boy!" LOL!

And the winner is. . .

Congratulations, Steve! Please e-mail me at authorchristiesilvers@gmail.com with your mailing address and I'll get your goodies right out. I hope you enjoy. :)

All righty, I'm off to do some housework and play with my kids. They're out of school this week for a "Mid-Winter Break" and think I should be readily available to them whenever they're here. Sheesh! Kids! LOL.

Have a great Wednesday!

Happy Valentine's Day! Here's a goodie for you.

Here we are again. Another year has passed and we're back to Valentine's Day. I hope you're spending the day with the person/people you love most in the world.

I know many of you joined in on yesterday's multi-author pre-Valentine's Day giveaway on Robin Renee Ray's blog. There were lots of freebies given away and a lot of fun to be had by all.

However, today I'm doing a giveaway all my own. One lucky person will win the collection of goodies listed below.

1 - Step Into Sexy Clutch
1 - Step Into Sexy Eau De Toilette Rollette
1 - Step Into Sexy Eau De Parfum Spray
1 - Step Into Sexy Luminous Body Moisturizer
1 - Autographed Paperback Copy of Time for Death (Liz Baker, book 1)


All of these goodies are yours if your name is drawn at the end of the day. How do you get your name into the drawing? It's really quite easy. If you helped spread the word on Facebook about yesterday's giveaway you already have a head start. For the rest of you and those of you who want more entries, here's how:

1 entry -- Comment here telling me your Valentine's Day plans.
1 entry -- Share on Twitter.
1 entry -- Share on Facebook.

Each person can rack up 3 entries today, and if you shared yesterday you have 1 extra, for a total of 4 entries per person. If you share on Twitter or Facebook be sure to let me know.

It really is that easy. I'm not the type to make you stand on your head, singing the Star-Spangled Banner, and shucking corn with your toes. Though, I must say, that would be quite the sight. LOL!

Let the festivities begin! Get to sharing and commenting. I'll draw a name at the end of the day and inform the winner first thing on the 15th. :) Good luck!






*Avon is not affiliated with this giveaway in any way, shape, or form. This just so happens to be what I have on hand to give away on Valentine's Day*

Multi-Author Pre-Valentine's Day Giveaway

Happy day before Valentine's Day! Are you planning something special for the loved one in your life? Tim & I had our big night Friday. It was quite nice and fairly low key...just the way I like it.

Today I'm inviting you to join in on a multi-author giveaway. This is a BIG one you won't want to miss. Stop by my good friend, Robin Renee Ray's blog for your chance at numerous free books. At the end of the day one lucky visitor will win a HUGE gift basket of goodies.

Each author (myself included) has a riddle. Answer the riddle correctly and win that author's e-book of the day. Anyone with kids should get my riddle right away. If not, ask your kids. LOL!

Stop by and see what you can win today: http://robinreneeray.blogspot.com/2012/02/happy-valentines-day-before-party.html

One last note: If you stop by my Facebook page and share the post about this giveaway you'll be entered into my personal Valentine's Day giveaway for tomorrow. My 7yr old is making many paper hearts today just to use for the drawing tomorrow. Don't disappoint her. ;)

Just two weeks away.

Two weeks from Friday I'll be heading out of town and toward Lumberton, North Carolina to attend the Book 'Em NC conference / book fair. I'm very excited--albeit ravaged by an army of butterflies--as this is my first out-of-state event.

Since it's quite a drive from my north Georgia home to Lumberton, NC, we'll be heading out Friday morning, even though the event isn't until Saturday. I'll make into town just in time to catch a short rest break in the hotel room before sprucing up and going to the Author Meet-and-Greet Friday evening. I can't wait to meet all the lovey people I've been chatting with online. Especially the lovely Trish and cheerful Katie. :)

Up above, I took a quick snapshot of the books and some of the goodies I'll be taking with me. Let me just tell you that it's a good thing the hubby is going with me because those books are HEAVY. He'll be doing all the heavy-lifting. :D

The red vase will be full of candies for anyone that stops by my table. I'll have bookmarks for all the Liz Baker books, business cards (with 2012 calendars on back), and whatever else I think to bring along. All in all, I'm expecting to have a lot of fun meeting new people and enjoying being at the conference.

Now if I could figure out how to listen to some of the lectures that interest me without leaving my table unattended. Alas, if only I'd learned to clone myself.

If you will be in the Lumberton, NC area on February 25th, please stop by the Robeson College for a day of books and the authors who wrote them. Attendance is free to the public!

For more information visit: http://www.bookemnc.org .