Pump Up Your Book's 5th Anniversary Hoedown Giveaway!

Pump Up Your Book is celebrating 5 years and you get all the presents!

It's hard to believe Pump Up Your Book opened its virtual doors 5 years ago. I swear I just started working with our founder, Dorothy. But the calendar doesn't lie. My first clients--I'll never forget them--were authors Darrell Bain and Maureen Fisher. I still receive Darrell's newsletter, and Maureen's latest release, Fur Ball Fever, is on my Kindle waiting for me.

There's something special about first clients. You remember them. You follow their careers. You think how you might have run their tours differently now that you have all this experience. In 2007, virtual book tours were a new vehicle of book promotion. That's changed now. Blogging has exploded. We've gone from a handful of clients to touring 30 - 40 authors a month. Big publishing houses make virtual book tours part of their marketing plans, and independent authors know they have to attract an online audience to be successful.

Another change on the virtual book tour scene? E-books. For the first four years, we explained to authors that they needed to make printed copies of their books available for reviewers. Now, I have almost as many bloggers requesting digital versions of books as I do printed ones. Darrell Bain had e-books out for years before the Kindle Fire and color Nook came along. Maureen Fisher's first book, The Jaguar Legacy, was released last year in a Kindle version with a new cover. Both of her books are also available for Nook.

In the spirit of firsts, I am giving away a PDF copy of my first book, Little Shepherd. Obed is in the hills outside Bethlehem when the angels appear to announce the Savior's birth. Can he trust that the miracle of the first Christmas will keep his flock safe while he visits the newborn King?

Please leave a comment with your email address for your chance to win. This is an international giveaway. Winner will be selected by Random.org. Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM Eastern on Sunday, April 22, 2012. You must be 18 years or older to win.

For a complete list of tour stops and giveaways for the Pump Up Your Book's 5th Anniversary Hoedown, please visit us at http://www.pumpupyourbook.com/2012/04/01/pump-up-your-book-5th-year-anniversary-celebration/.

Thanks for the last five years. We hope we'll see you again in another five.

Final Edits Done for A Christmas Kindness

I just finished the final edits to A Christmas Kindness, which will be released by 4RV Publishing this fall under my pen name, C.C. Gevry. I'm so excited about this one. It tells the story of Robert, who learns how thinking of others is the greatest gift of all.

I'll keep you posted on the latest developments.

Contributor to Christian Children's Authors

I am now blogging every 1st and 3rd Friday of the month at Christian Children's Authors. This is a group of Christian authors with a shared enthusiasm for reaching children and their families with our messages of faith, love, and fun. We will address many topics of interest to parents, teachers, caregivers, grandparents, relatives and neighbors who care about children. Please come back to see our progress.

Here are a few categories we plan to include:

• Devotions relevant to family life or Christian children’s leaders
• Family activities and fun
• Family health
• Grand-parenting
• Book reviews

Please visit us online at  http://christianchildrensauthors.com/

Guest Blogging at Strands of Thought Today!

I'm guest blogging today over at Strands of Thought, a blog run by talented children's author, Kai Strand. For the month of love, I am honoring those who have helped my writing career through the years. You can find my post at http://kaistrand.blogspot.com/2012/02/where-would-i-be-without-you-industry.html  I hope you'll stop by to learn of all the great people I've been blessed with.

Guest Blogging at The Steady Hand

April from The Steady Hand was kind enough to ask me to be a guest blogger this month. You can find my post that includes three quick and easy recipes for busy moms at http://thesteadyhandblog.com/guest-post-quick-easy-recipes-for-busy-moms/

Little Shepherd Giveaway at Books, Products and More!

I'm running a giveaway over at Books, Products and More! for three printed copies of my book, Little Shepherd. You can find the details at http://booktoursandmore.blogspot.com/2012/01/free-for-all-fridays-little-shepherd.html

Guest Blogging at Cafe of Dreams

Today I am guest blogging at Cafe of Dreams. I'm talking about my fun and serious goals for 2012. You can find me at http://www.cafeofdreamsbookreviews.com/2012/01/here-i-come-by-cheryl-c-malandrinos.html 

April is also running a wonderful feature this year titled, 365 Days of Great Authors and Giveaways. She plans to feature a new author every day of 2012 and there will be a giveaway each day. Don't forget to stop by her blog at http://www.cafeofdreamsbookreviews.com/ to see who she is interviewing.