My Very First Giveaway - Burning Up by Nalini Singh, Meljean Brook, Angela Knight & Virginia Kantra

I've decided to do my first giveaway; WOO HOO!  What prompted it, you ask?  Was it the fact that I reached 25 followers?  No.  Was it the fact that this is my big monumental FOURTH post? No. Was it the fact that I have a habit of buying books that I've entered contests for....before the contest winners have been announced?  DING DING DING!  Sigh.  I'm really going to need to start keeping track of all the contests I enter one of these days.  Until then, though, I'll just let my absent mindedness benefit someone else!  The details of the giveaway are below but first, let's discuss anthologies.
What’s your feeling on book anthologies?  I CURRENTLY find them to be a great resource for finding new authors to try out.  There was a time, however, when I would buy an anthology just for the one story by the author I was familiar with and ONLY read the story by that author!  That was back when I was very focused on the authors I knew and loved and wasn’t particularly interested in other/new authors UNLESS I was in the bookstore and was won over by an intriguing cover and/or I got a recommendation from another reader whose opinion I valued.  Times have changed, though.  Now that I’m on Twitter,  I add books to my TBR pile fast and furiously, based on how many folks I see talking about them in a positive light.  I don’t want to be left behind; I wanna be caught up in the obsessions too!  I also make a habit of buying and anthologies and reading ALL of the stories contained within.  I can’t take the credit for discovering the benefits of anthologies, though; that goes to my sister Melinda.  Years ago, I bought the, “Out Of This World” anthology, because it had a J.D. Robb novella in it.  I ONLY read the J.D. Robb story and never even considered the others.  Melinda, however, read them all.  The other stories in the anthology were by Maggie Shayne, Susan Krinard and Laurell K. Hamilton.  Melinda was intrigued enough by the Laurell K. Hamilton story to decide to start reading the series that the short story was taken from, the Anita Blake series, which she later recommended to me.   I mentioned in an earlier post, it was the Melanie Rawn Dragon/Sunrunners books that opened my mind to fantasy books as a whole but it was the Laurell K. Hamilton Anita Blake series that introduced me to urban fantasy/paranormal romance books, in particular. My love for that series in has waned slightly with the last few books but there was a time when they were among my favorites of all time. Those books introduced me to sexy vampires and shapeshifters and I’ve been OBSESSED with them both since then.  After I started reading those books, I asked my sister how she came across them and she mentioned the short story from the anthology.  I know this sounds silly, but it really was like a lightbulb went off for me; “OH….you read the other stories TOO?  Hmph.  What a novel idea!”  Prior to then, I would only buy anthologies that had at least one story by an author that I knew and read already.  Now, I not only buy those but I’ll occasionally buy ones that don’t include any authors I read, just to see if I can discover a new obsession.  In addition to Laurell K. Hamilton, I also started reading Angela Knight, Patricia Briggs and Meljean Brook, among others, as a result of first encountering their stories in various anthologies.  So, thank you Melinda for, once again, opening my mind to something I hadn’t previously considered!
 Now, time for my very first giveaway; WOOT! I’m giving away an anthology, in hopes of maybe turning someone else on to an author they may never have tried; a kind of Pimpin’ It Forward, if you will.  Or, if you’re like I once was and only want to read a story by an author you know but didn’t feel like paying for a whole book to get one short story, now’s your chance to grab one, free of charge!  I recently entered a contest to win the Burning Up anthology which includes stories by Angela Knight, Nalini Singh, Virginia Kantra and Meljean Brook. 

Unfortunately, I FORGOT about that and bought the book before the contest ended.  I won the book in the contest and now I’ve got two copies.  I figured the one I bought  would make a great first giveaway for my blog.  Entering is easy; just make a comment below and let me know your opinion of anthologies and if you’ve ever discovered an author via an anthology. If you want to be entered into the giveaway, just let me know in your post & don't forget to include your email address so I can contact you.  You don’t have to be a follower to enter but I’d appreciate it if you’d become a follower if you aren’t one already. The contest ends Friday 10/29/10 at 11:59pmEST and is open to all who care to enter.  As always, thanks for stopping by!

Comments

  1. Congrats on your 1st give-away Penny. Not a big fan of anthologies, but I will however purchase one if one of my very favorite authors has a story included.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Not much of a cowboys fan... But your blog is nice.

    I've been meaning to read Laurell K. Hamilton, she is a STL native, keepin' it local.

    Some anthologies are very entertaining. Grats on your first giveaway.

    Lorielle11@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've only read a couple of anthologies and I think I need to read more of them in the future. I totally agree with you Penny that they are a great source to get introduced to new bloggers!

    Please enter my into your 1st giveaway! Congrats Buddy!

    hangingwithbells@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm not a huge fan of anthologies, but I've read a few and HAVE discovered some really awesome writers because of it. :) I was like you before the lightbulb went on - I'd ONLY read the stories by my favorite authors. Then when I was bored one Christmas day (my mom decided I'd want something OTHER than books, uhhh... no!) I picked up the anthology and started reading a few stories from the other authors. :P

    Anywhoo, please enter me into your giveaway <3 I'm a converted anthology lover? :P Oh and I'm a new follower as well! :) Checkin' out the first of your blog after this. :)

    angelmistress[at]hotmail[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
  5. I never really give anthologies the credit that they're likely due. I can't believe I don't see them as a way to discover new authors! I do have one in my possession that has short stories from authors I'm already familiar with: Jim Butcher, Simon R. Green and Kat Richardson. There's a fourth author that I don't know...but maybe I might give it a try after reading your post!!!

    Please enter me into the contest :-D.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I like anthologies. I have discovered some of my favorite authors in them.

    I do have to say that anything with Nalini and Angela does immediately go into my tbr pile

    heatherlire@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. I agree with you not that I read that many but the ones I have read I found someone new to read!
    Please enter me in your 1st giveaway & thank you!
    kuuipo228@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. I am growing to LOVE anthologies...at first I was just buying those with the same author..but have since branched out. I read Gena Showalter that way and now she is one of my FAVS...as well as Cythia Eden and Shelly Laurenston...

    nmulder81(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anthologies would be new to me. Most of the time I read paranormal books.
    Congrats on your blog and 1st giveaway!
    Please enter me.

    lucybeugelingramos@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Congrats on your first giveaway! I already own this book, so please don't enter me! LOL! But I do like anthologies. Especially if one or two of the stories fit into a series I read. Then the other two are nice short stories to give me a view into other authors.

    ReplyDelete
  11. NICE giveaway, Sweetie!! I am not usually an Anthology person but I have to say that since I read The Iron Duke I am DYING to read the related novella in this, and also the NALINI SINGH Novella!!!!!
    Thanks for the giveaway!
    spazp {at} me {dot} com

    ReplyDelete
  12. I do like antthology...but i always knew a book or two by the ones that wrote it ..:)

    Enter me !

    raluk.93 at gmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oooo count me in! Congrats on your first Giveaway!! drensbpot at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

KLB Virtual Events Blog Tour - Eternal Rider by Larissa Ione - Day 8 - Review + Giveaway

Pimpin' Book Boyfriends

My sorta kinda late San Diego Comic-Con recap!