I got this e-mail from beloved Wordcandy author Jennifer Colt yesterday:

Dear Friends,

I entered my unpublished McAfee Twins manuscript The Hellraiser of the Hollywood Hills in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards—and the Grand Prize is a publishing contract with Penguin Books. They narrowed it down from 5,000 entries representing 20 countries, and I made it into the top 10!! Now it's a popularity contest -- the entry with the most votes from the public wins.

That's where I could use your help. I would really appreciate your vote. Here’s how to do it:

1) Click on this link to my Amazon page.

2) Click on Read the First Four Chapters link next to my picture and download the excerpt.

3) Read the excerpt (or not—you can always fake it).

4) Backpage to the page where you started out. Down at the very bottom of the page it says, "Share your thoughts with other customers" next to a "create your own review" button. Click on the button to be taken to the review page.

5) Fill in a title of the review, rate it with 4 or 5 stars (a rating of 3 or below doesn't count), type a few words in the box about how entertaining/riveting/original it is, and...

6) VOILA! Mama gets a new publisher.

Thanks for your help, and please pass this on to anyone who might want to help a struggling writer (oops, I meant "emerging novelist").

xoxo

-Jennifer Colt

This is the homepage for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. We encourage everybody to check out the free excerpt from The Hellraiser of the Hollywood Hills (or any of the other titles that tickle your fancy) and let Amazon know your thoughts!

Labels: contest, Jennifer Colt

Well, dear readers, we're finally finished: it wasn't quite a week, but we did get through nine book reviews in eight days, so we're feeling pretty proud of ourselves. Meanwhile, though, other Wordcandy blog posts have been piling up, so we're going to try to get through several mini-items at once.

1. We said that we'd do a breaking news bulletin if J.K. Rowling announced her plans to write another Harry Potter book, and sure enough, she came through for us! Well... sort of. Her book of HP-related short stories The Tales of Beedle the Bard might never be seen by the public, so this doesn't really count. And we can't help but agree with the author of the linked article--if she really wanted to donate a huge amount of money to charity, why not publish the book and donate her profits to a deserving cause?

2. Behold, an adorably mod-looking retelling of Cinderella:


3. Check out this surprisingly functional coffee table--an attractive adaptation of a piece of library furniture that I've always coveted:


4. And, last but not least, we were thrilled to see that Jennifer Colt's next McAfee twins book will be out this month, and it's Christmas-themed! And a hardcover! The Con Artist of Catalina Island: A McAfee Twins Christmas Novel is due out on November 20th, and here's the publisher's description:

"In their fourth hysterical outing, Terry and Kerry are headed to Santa Catalina for a family vacation with Aunt Reba and Cousin Robert. But all is not as it appears on this quaint island getaway, as the twins learn when they launch an investigation into the case of a bride, uncovering a nefarious plot that reaches all the way from the shores of Catalina to a defunct Namibian diamond mine. The Con Artist of Catalina Island takes aim at the Patriot Act and the suspension of habeas corpus, while answering the burning question: What happens when you mix a French poodle with a herd of buffalo?"

Ms. Colt's books are always a guaranteed good time, and it will be nice to have another non-sappy Christmas story to sit next to Jennifer Crusie's Santa, Baby on my bookshelf.

Labels: J.K. Rowling, Jennifer Colt, Jenny Crusie, Shopping

Beloved Wordcandy author Jennifer Colt has two appearances scheduled for April: one on Saturday, April 7th at 6:00PM at The Mystery Bookstore in LA, and one on Saturday, April 21st at 4:00PM at Mysterious Galaxy Books in San Diego. Her newsletter promises chocolate bat cookies, Vampire wine, prizes, and a chance to meet with one of her more outlandish characters. It looks like it's going to be a very good time, and we encourage any of you in the area to check it out. Ms. Colt's next book, The Vampire of Venice Beach, is due out on March 27th, and we're really looking forward to reading it!

Again, did we mention the bat cookies? Look at 'em! They're worth the trip by themselves!

Labels: Events, Jennifer Colt

Hey, all. Be sure to swing by Jennifer Colt's website and check out the sneak peek of the latest book in her McAfee twins detective series, The Vampire of Venice Beach. These books are funny, smart, and cute as all-git-out. (Plus, I'm finally getting around to appreciating the cover art. I thought the first book just blended into the chick-lit shelves at Target, but the color schemes for the sequels have been much more eye-catching. And this series deserves eye-catching, damn it.) The sneak peek is available here.

P.S. Jennifer Colt is also running a contest on her website (details here) to win a signed copy of The Vampire of Venice Beach and a baseball cap.

Labels: contest, excerpt, Jennifer Colt

Whether you are heading off on vacation or just hanging by the pool this four-day weekend, here are a few new book suggestions to check out.

Jennifer Colt - The Mangler of Malibu Canyon
If you haven't gotten a chance to check out Jennifer Colt's books yet, then this is a perfect weekend to grab The Butcher of Beverly Hills and The Mangler of Malibu Canyon and settle down for a great time. I haven't had a chance to read the second book (since someone--JULIA--is hoarding the ARC copy), but I plan to pick it up when I get paid Friday. I'm excited to see what the twins get themselves into this time!

Check out the first chapter...



Janet Evanovich - Twelve Sharp
It's always a good month when we get a new Stephanie Plum novel, and Twelve Sharp is completely worth the price of the hardback edition. It is full of crazy skips, insane outfits, Grandma Mazur in rare form, Lula, and lots and lots of Ranger-y goodness. (Mmm, Ranger....)

Check out the first chapter...





Carrie Vaughn - Kitty Goes to Washington
The next installment of Kitty's adventures is coming out just in time for the holiday weekend. After barely escaping Denver skin-intact, Kitty Norville takes her radio show on the road, and ends up in our nation's capital. This promises to be a fun read. In related news, Ms. Vaughn will be producing at least two more books about Kitty: she's finished Kitty takes a Holiday, and is starting on Kitty and the Silver Bullet. They'll be available in early and late 2007, if all goes according to plan.

Check out the first chapter...



Laurell K. Hamilton - Danse Macabre
And for those of you who are not faint of heart, there is also the the new Anita Blake novel. Since the pain from her last book Micah hasn't really healed (Julia is still really bitter--you should hear her bitch), no one here at Wordcandy bothered to request an ARC (and none of us are remotely willing to pay for it in hardcover). Maybe when it comes out in paperback we'll pick it up, but until then we would love to hear what you guys think of it!

Check out the first few chapters...

Labels: excerpt, Janet Evanovich, Jennifer Colt, Kelly Armstrong, Laurell K. Hamilton