contests

ROAD TRIP BOOK TOUR: PART ONE* (PLUS a CONTEST!)

March 23, 2016 by Danika 17 Comments

For the first time in my book touring life, I am going on a “road trip” instead of flying, training, busing, and rental carring.

The Danika Road Trip is a special kind of road trip. Be forewarned when travelling with me. If I see a sign in Nebraska for the Pony Express Station or in Arizona for indigenous cliff dwellings, I will make a spontaneous side trip. World’s largest ball of twine? I’m there.

If I get off schedule, I will drive until I can’t drive any more and sleep in my car. I bring camping gear in case there’s a mesa I have to climb and get tuckered out. I WILL take the scenic route if one is offered. I WILL take the road less travelled (I almost got stranded in the middle of New Mexico when a sudden rain storm turned the dirt road into a slick mud bath). And if there is a sign anywhere for SALT WATER TAFFY, I will stop.

I adore road trips and Road Trip Stories. Every story is a journey, and the enjoyment of the story comes from being taken along for the ride. In this case a literal ride. Every story has an inward journey and an outward journey. For me a good road trip story (aka quest) entails the protagonist encountering a series of unexpected characters and events that precipitate profound change in him or her. What I love is both the anticipation of the unexpected and the twists those unexpected encounters allow.

Even if your character isn’t travelling cross country, you can use the idea of a “road trip” in a microcosmic sense. Perhaps your character is turned away at a club, her friends go in without her, and she must find her way home. When her car breaks down, she decides to walk, cutting through an alley and ending up in one unexpected place after another. On this journey home, she meets archetypal characters who lead her astray, give her tasks to complete, and inevitably teach her something new.

Archetypes are NOT stereotypes. The “gatekeeper” could be the bouncer at the club, the “wise sage” could be a garbage man who gives her a lift, the “trickster” could be a skater girl, the “matriarch” could be the waitress at the donut shop. Archetypes tell us why characters behave the way they do, not who they are. (COMMON ARCHETYPES)

Road Trips in Literature and Film

I think of Homer’s Odyssey as the original “road trip.” Lord of the Rings is also a road trip. Some of my other favourite road trip stories (in no particular order) include:

Libba Bray’s Goine Bovine
John Green’s An Abundance of Katherine’s.
William Least Heat-Moon’s Blue Highways
Kerouac’s On the Road
Thelma and Louise
Little Miss Sunshine
Oh Brother Where Art Thou?
Big Fish

What are some of yours?

ROAD TRIP CONTEST!

While on my road trip I decided to bring along four books to read featuring road trips (how meta of me, right?). So far I have decided on Station Eleven, Goodnight Sunshine, and Flaming Iguanas.

Help me decide on a fourth Road Trip book to bring along for the ride!

Mention it in the comments below (up to 3 suggestions). Any genre is welcome. I will choose the book I think complements the other three to create a diverse mix. (i.e. you might not want to pick The Road by Cormac McCarthy b/c I’m already reading one post-apocalyptic story). You may not pick one that someone else has already named.

The WINNER will receive a special souvenir from my Road Trip Book Tour along with a $10 Amazon gift card.

ENTRY DEADLINE: April 3

~ ~ ~

YOUR WRITING WORKOUT

As with the example above, your character might not take a long distance journey, but you can still use the idea of a “road trip” to structure your tale. Give your character a goal (to get home, to buy groceries, to locate a lost dragon, to find the waterfall of longevity), trials and tribulations that stand in her way, characters that help or hinder, and redemption/change (i.e. the better self) through the experience.

TIMED WRITING GUIDELINES
Set your timer for 5 -10 minutes per startline
(I increase the time with each startline: 5 min, 7 min, 10 min …)
When timer starts: write, don’t stop, don’t edit, don’t cross out.

My character’s “road trip” begins when . . .

On this journey my character is delayed by . . .

Help appears in the form of . . .

By the time my character reaches her destination she has learned . . .

~ ~ ~

*ROAD TRIP BOOK TOUR: the series

This series will feature posts on what it takes to create a book tour as an author with an independent press (aka an “authorpreneurial” book tour). I will share my process and strategies and then take you on tour with me.

I have no idea what will happen . . .

Omnibus Release Week! Drawings and Freebies!

September 21, 2014 by Danika 14 Comments

This week marked the release of the print version of the Faerie Tales from the White Forest Omnibus. (*See how you can get a free ebook version of Book One at the bottom of the post)

The ebook version of the Omnibus contains all the same goodies as the print version, but for those of you who have a romantic relationship with print books, the print version really is beautiful. And thick! It’s a book AND a doorstop. And possibly a weapon.

In honour of the launch, I am giving away a $25 Amazon gift card through midnight 9/25.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you win, there is no obligation to buy the book. (Really!) If you would like to purchase a copy outright, however, you can order one from any bookstore or locate on Amazon:

OMNIBUS EBOOK ($7.99) OMNIBUS PRINT BOOK ($24.95)

You can also take your chances and win a copy of the Omnibus. The publisher is giving away two copies through a GoodReads giveaway, which runs until the end of October.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Faerie Tales from the White Forest Omnibus

by Danika Dinsmore

Giveaway ends October 31, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

*Not sure you want to invest in the entire series? Interested in reviewing Book One (Brigitta of the White Forest)? Contact me HERE and I will send you a copy. I have epub, mobi, and pdf versions.

If you’ve already read any of the books in the White Forest series, reviews are always appreciated. Reviews are one of the best gifts you can give a writer. We depend upon them to spread the word. 🙂

Children’s Book Week Winners & Another Giveaway Squeaks in

May 21, 2014 by Danika 15 Comments

Last week was Children’s Book Week, and authors toured, story-told (that’s a word!), gave books away, and otherwise celebrated children’s literature in bookstores, schools, homes, and libraries.

I only managed to visit about 8 blogs on the Children’s Book Week Giveaway Hop, but still managed to win a copy of An Unstill Life by Kate Larkindale, which looks like a great read.

I had a giveaway for the Hop and I’d like to thank everyone who entered and tweeted and posted and face booked. There were far more entries than I expected! Congratulations to the winners:

Sherrie Peterson

Cheryl Booth Rogers

I gave them both a choice of prizes and they both selected to receive the first 3 books in the WF series, which means that I still have a copy of Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror and Futuredaze: Anthology of YA Science Fiction.

I loved the Futuredaze anthology. I loved it so much I wanted to gift a copy to someone else. And I have to admit I’ve only glanced through the Now Write! book b/c I’ve been so dang busy. But there are an overwhelming about of respected writers inside contributing advice and writing exercises, so I know it’s going to be extremely useful and I can’t wait to get to it.

MORE GIVEAWAY!

So… I am going to split them up and give them away separately. One person will win the Now Write book and one person will win the Futuredaze anthology (North America only, sorry folks)

All you have to do is tell me why you want the book (or books)
OR
why you enjoy science fiction and/or fantasy
and I’ll have my elves pick a winner.

CONTEST CLOSES Sunday, May 25

Children’s Book Week Giveaway Blog Hop 2014

May 11, 2014 by Danika 31 Comments

Happy Children’s Book Week!

This year, in celebration of CBW (May 12 – 18), I am participating in an exciting giveaway blog hop.

The fabulous team of Mother Daughter Book Reviews and Youth Literature Reviews have joined forces to host this event, during which over a HUNDRED bloggers (yes, you heard me) are providing you with the opportunity to win fabulous children/teen’s books, gift cards, cash, or other prizes by hopping around to the participating blogs/authors LINKED below in the Linky List (see end of post).

What better way to celebrate Children’s Book Week?

All you have to do is visit each of the participating sites and follow the rules to win.

My giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents.

And what am I giving away, you ask? Well, this is a nice big one! I’m giving away:

1) A set of the first three books in my middle grade fantasy series Faerie Tales from the White Forest

2) Copies of BOTH Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror and the FutureDaze: An Anthology of YA Science Fiction

If you have a moment, leave a comment telling me about the last children’s book you read that you really loved. That gets you 2 entries into the giveaway right there!

I’m using RAFFLECOPTER this time around to make things easier, but it doesn’t work with WordPress except through a link. So CLICK HERE to get to the giveaway, which runs THROUGH SUNDAY, MAY 18 (EST).

Good luck and GET HOPPING!

(Powered by Linky Tools)

Click here to view the complete list of participating bloggers and authors…

Children’s Book Week: Ides of May White Forest Extravaganza

May 8, 2014 by Danika 4 Comments

Next week, Children’s Book Week, is going to be a pretty exciting all around in White Forest land.

First, I’ve joined a BLOG HOP, which I don’t often do. But it’s a Blog Hop Giveaway during Children’s Book Week, so how could I turn that down?

Never Blog Hopped before? Basically, you go to a list of blog links from authors, book bloggers, and others who are GIVING PRIZES AWAY all at the same time (who doesn’t like prizes?). And you hop from one to the next adding your name to the drawings. If you like children’s lit, what have you got to lose?

The hop runs from Monday, May 12 through Sunday, May 19, so you’ve got plenty of time to get around to all the blogs. And you’ll need it, because as of this morning, there are 93 blogs participating! That’s 93 chances to win.

ALSO NEXT WEEK:

Hydra House is RELAUNCHING the first two books in the White Forest series with NEW COVERS! Thanks to Christian Fink-Jensen, and his mad typography skillz, the books have a bright and poppy new look to them.

In celebration of this relaunching, the ebook version of Book One, Brigitta of the White Forest, will be FREE on Amazon from May 14-16 next week. So, if you haven’t gotten your copy yet, now’s your chance.

ALSO, the ebook of Book Two, The Ruins of Noe, will only cost $2.99 from May 14 – 31. (then it goes back up to $4.99, which is still a pretty good deal).

IN ADDITION (Wait, you say, there’s more??), on MONDAY, MAY 19, the publisher will release an ebook COLLECTION of all THREE books for $7.99. So, even if you miss the free Book One window, you can get an excellent deal for all three books at once.

It’s all part of the (cue booming / echoing voice)…

CHILDREN’S BOOK WEEK:
IDES OF MAY WHITE FOREST EXTRAVAGANZAAAAAAA

And the winners are…

April 18, 2014 by Danika 2 Comments

CONGRATULATIONS!

The winners from Tuesday’s RenovaLaunch Party are:

A copy of Telling Tales (donated by Tod McCoy):

Janka Hobbs

A copy of Witches, Stitches, and Bitches
(donated by Shannon Page):

Yvette Dudley-Neuman

A copy of Now Write! Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror:

Kim Aippersbach

$25 Amazon Gift Certificate:

Pamela Hobart Carter

Thanks for playing, everyone! And much gratitude for your support.

I will be emailing you individually soon. dd

Bitten by Books Editor/Author Chat and Giveaway

March 11, 2013 by openchannel 5 Comments

No Middle Grade Monday post for me today. If you want to get your MG fix for the week, visit Shannon Messenger’s Blog for today’s posts.

but I have this announcement:

Bitten by Books is offering an online chat between authors and readers tomorrow. The dialogue is ALSO a contest, a chance to win one of TWO $20 Amazon Gift Certificates.

If you RSVP TODAY to enter the contest you get a 25 point BONUS:
https://bittenbybooks.com/?p=62201

HOW IT WORKS

Tomorrow, Bitten by Books will put up a short blog post by the editors. Then readers post questions in the comments over a 24 hour period and they/we answer those questions, creating an online conversation between editors/authors and readers.

There are two $20 gift cards from Amazon.com. For every post, readers acquire points and the two readers with the most points win. Earn 25 extra points by RSVPing to the event (you only get the points if you go back and comment tomorrow, though).

We’d love to have you there! If you’d like to help spread the word, here’s the info you need to know:

ONLINE CHAT WITH FUTUREDAZE EDITORS AND AUTHORS
Hosted by: Bitten by Books
Event Date: Tuesday, March 12th.
Start Time: 12:00 Central Time (US)
RSVP TODAY!: https://bittenbybooks.com/?p=62201
Contest Open: Worldwide
Prize: Two $20.00 Amazon Gift Cards (two winners)

Upcoming Deadlines for Deadline Centric Writers

January 30, 2013 by openchannel 4 Comments

I’m a fan of deadlines. If you have to set your own hours and organize your own day, you might be a fan of deadlines as well. Lately, I’ve been using calls for themed anthologies as deadlines for producing short stories.

I don’t enter a lot of contests (other than my publisher sending my published books out). I prefer to put my energies toward submitting for publication. But this Writer’s Digest contest seems like a no-brainer to me:

Writer’s Digest “Dear Lucky Agent” Contest

First off, I love that they call it “lucky agent” instead of lucky writer. 🙂

Second off, it’s completely free to enter. And easy.

This is a recurring online contest with agent judges. The details of each contest are essentially the same, but the genres change. This round the focus is on science fiction (adults or teens) or any kind of young adult novel.

Top 3 winners get a critique of the first 10 double-spaced pages of work by the agent judge (Victoria Marini). Apparently in a previous Lucky Agent contest the agent judge signed one of the winners. Getting agents to read your work is always a great thing. Getting them to critique it is GOLD.

Deadline: January 31, 2013

Their requirements are simple. You make 2 social media posts to promote it, and then email in the first 200 words of your novel. What have you got to lose?

(on a side note, this was posted on Chuck Sambuchino’s Guide to Literary Agents Blog, which I suggest subscribing to for information on literary agents, literary agencies, query letters, etc. I like reading his agent profiles.)

Spellbound Children’s Fantasy eZine

If you write for a slightly younger audience (8-12 yrs), I just discovered this fantasy eZine (they were a print mag for years and now relaunched). They publish themed magazines and the theme for their summer 2013 issue is: DRAGONS.

Since I’ve not written a short story with dragons in it, I’ve accepted this challenge. HERE are the guidelines. This is a paying magazine. We like that.

Deadline for Summer 2013 Dragon issue: March 31.

Always remember if you submit to a magazine or anthology, READ the previous magazine or work by that publisher to see if your work is a match.

Wednesday Winners: Final Round, Feedback, and Book Draw

March 14, 2012 by openchannel 7 Comments

Thank you to all who participated in any stage
of the 50 First Lines Challenge!

(FEEDBACK questions to you in blue)

THE PLAYBACK

In Round One, you were challenged to come up with 50 first lines and pick your top FIVE. We chose FIVE lines as finalists.

(FEEDBACK: do you think this worked well? should we require a link to the person’s blog to prove they did 50?)

In Round Two, you had to use either your five lines or the finalists’ five lines and come up with 5 first paragraphs. You sent us your top 3 and we picked our TOP THREE. (FEEDBACK: do you think everyone should have to use the same five finalists’ lines?)

In the Third Round, you had to pick one of the top three paragraphs and tell us what that story was about. (FEEDBACK: I’ve never tried it this way before, any comments or ideas for a different 3rd Round challenge?)

THE WINNERS

For each round, every participant got an entry into the drawing. If one of yours was chosen as a finalist, you got an extra draw.

For the DRAWING, and a choice of a print or ebook version of either Book One or Two of the Faerie Tales form the White Forest series:
Charissa and Esther Jones!

The judges consensus is that

4 AM Writer (Kathryn J) had the best storyline in Round Three (congrats 4 AM), so with a total of 6 points, you are the grand prize winner!

Not only do you get a choice of the books from above, I’m going to mail you a special prize. Once I knew it was you, I picked a prize I thought you’d really like.

Congrats to all. Thank you so much for playing. And thank you to our judges and tie-breakers (Tod, Jennifer, Natalie, and Yvette).

I won’t be around due to the book fair, but there will be some time release posts coming and some guest bloggers. I’ll try to check in from Bologna if possible.

FURTHER FEEDBACK: which was your favourite round? your least favourite? the one that challenged you the most? And – would you play again?

50 First Line Finalists and 2nd Round Rules! Join us!

February 29, 2012 by openchannel 17 Comments

I have been trying to write this post all day. It’s just been one of those days.

For those just tuning in, I am hosting a writing challenge/contest and we have just finished the first round. Anyone can join in the next round, so read on.

First, thanks to the writers who took up the 50 First Lines Challenge (they wrote 50 first lines as fast as possible and submitted their favourite five). Our judges actually had their own challenge, and I had to bring in a tie-breaker to settle things.

Judges included a MG writer/educator, a spec fic publisher and sci fi writer, and an adult fiction writer, so we ran the gamut. One of them exclaimed, “These are so good! It was hard to pick.”

If you did not attempt this exercise, I highly recommend it and I’m sure any of our writers would say the same thing. It’s a fantastic way to inspire yourself.

Without further ado… the top First Lines picked are (in no particular order, mind you, that would have been chaos):

Nothing was tastier than brains, not that he could remember any other flavour.
(by Esther Jones)

Nobody wanted to claim the abandoned baby on the hill. (by 4AM Writer)

There’s no such thing as a good day in Antarctica. (By Annie Cardi)

If you destroy someone’s life, they’re yours forever. (By Annie Cardi)

I blame everything that happened on orange chicken. (By Char)

For each line our judges picked, you receive an entry into the prize drawing.

I think it’s interesting to notice that the top picks were all short and punchy. Perhaps that’s how readers like to be drawn into a story? It’s definitely something to think about.

ROUND TWO
(Goodie!)

Generally when I give this exercise to my students, the next stage is to pick 10 First Lines and write 10 First Paragraphs. You are welcome to do that, but I’m only going to ask you to do five. The five you entered, if you entered.

If you did NOT enter the first round, your job is to write 5 First Paragraphs using the WINNING First Lines above. ONLY SUBMIT YOUR TOP THREE.

I ask you to do five to complete the challenge and to give you some choice. But only submit 3 to the comment section. (you are more than welcome to link to the rest if you post them all on your blog)

Again, the idea is to write them fairly fast, not thinking too much, and go from one right to the next. This could be the start of a novel, a short story, or a piece of flash. It doesn’t matter. You can edit them afterwards all you want, just get the first drafts done fast. Maybe even set a timer for 15 – 20 minutes.

YOU HAVE UNTIL MONDAY March 5 AT MIDNIGHT PST
TO SUBMIT YOUR 3 FIRST PARAGRAPHS!

Here’s a few samples from my own pile:

Green, red, blue . . . what mattered the colour of his blood when his heart was a broken hinge? He lay his head back down on the institutional hospital pillow. The nurses didn’t know what to do with him. He had red blood spurting from a gash in his arm and green blood coming from his nose. He reached up and touched it. His nose. Where Karmen had punched him.

It was a perfect morning for picking mushrooms. Green and misty in that way that spring teases. If she could identify them, she’d pick them now. They had sprouted up overnight, literally overnight, on the median across from the bus stop. But she couldn’t tell the difference between the poisonous and nonpoisonous ones. Nor did she know how much of the poisonous ones to add into a tincture, so that it would be just this side of magic, and not lethal.

I was taking a short cut through the cemetery when I spotted it. Him. It. The limping coyote. I had always assumed it was a he. I hadn’t seen him in weeks and I was glad he was safe, although not glad it was almost dark and that I was alone. I shifted my grocery bag to my left arm. Was I supposed to make myself big or small in the face of a coyote? Run towards him, back away, play dead?

HAVE FUN!!

ROAD TRIP BOOK TOUR: PART ONE* (PLUS a CONTEST!)

Omnibus Release Week! Drawings and Freebies!

Goodreads Book Giveaway