Love Follower Hop Winner & Cool Stuff

Congrats to Noely J. for winning the Follower Love Giveaway Hop. As mentioned, the winner will be allowed to choose one of the following killer books: Clockwork Prince, Bloodrose or Hallowed. The winner will be notified via email and will have no more than 72 hours to respond before another winner is drawn. The contest winner was selected by the reputable Random.org.  And now for some other cool stuff.

For readers...

I thought I'd mention a few of my fellow author friends that have either recently released their novels or are about to.  If you're looking for something new, unique and paranormal to read, you may want to give these a try:

- Cherie Colyer recently released Embrace which is a teen paranormal thriller / romance. Check out the book description via Goodreads and visit Cherie's blog for more information.

- Jessica Redmerski also recently released her debut novel, The Mayfair Moon. I reviewed the thrilling YA crossover tale last month (my review) plus I did an author interview which has some interesting tidbits about the series.

- Jessica Therrien is set to release her debut novel, Oppression, at the end of the month. I'm in the middle of reading this YA paranormal romance/adventure series, so check back soon for my review. Visit her blog for more info or check out the book description via Goodreads.

- Donna Galanti's Paranormal Suspense, A Human Element, is set to release March 2012. That's the next one on my list. If you get a chance, visit her website for book details. 

For writers...

- If you missed NiNoCon earlier this month, check out this post with a breakdown of the presenters and excellent takeaways and intel for writers.  

- Also, the today is the last day to sign up for Writer's Platform Building Campaign #4.  Visit Rachel Harrie's blog to connect with some fab authors!
- Last but not least, Alex Cavanaugh is co-hosting the A-Z Blogging Challenge this April.  The challenge is pretty intense, but its a great way to connect with other bloggers and authors.  Right now there are over 600 people signed up.  That's flipp'n amazing.  Visit here to learn more and sign up today.

Whew!  That's it.  I'm tired.  Back to work now...

Mina B.

NiNoCon Writers Conference, 2-4-2012

NiNoCon (the Ninja Novel Conference) is coming!  I'm super excited to have a wonderful guest today, Ali Cross, author of Become.  Ali Cross is also the sensei of the Writer's Dojo where she holds a black belt in awesome.  She lives in Utah with her kickin' husband, two sparring sons, one ninja cat, two sumo dogs and four zen turtles.  Ali's here to talk about  NiNoCon on February 4, 2012.

Please welcome Ali!

Ali Cross

Mina:  Can you tell us a little about NiNoCon:  The Ninja Novel Conference?

Ali:  NiNoCon is a brand new baby! February 4th, 2012 will be its birthday—literally. The ninjas and I first talked about how awesome it would be to have a conference at one of our very first chats (held every week on my blog), and back then I just laughed it off.  And yet … here we are! 

Mina:  How will the NiNoCon online writers conference work? Will we be using Google + Hang outs? Please say yes! 

Ali:  Ah, I wish I could say YES!  The truth is, I think we need you (tech savvy that you are!) on our team! This year, we will be hosting the conference at the writer’s dojo; www.ninjaswrite.com. But I must talk with you about this Google+ Hang Out of which you speak. *strokes imaginary beard* 

Mina:  Lol. Sign me up! I'm a total team player for writer's dojo! Google+ would be sweet, but for now get your pens, minions. The NiNoCon will be hosted at the the writer’s dojo;  www.ninjaswrite.com on Feb. 4th.

  

Mina:  What are the panels and who will be presenting? 

Ali:  We’re going to have some fun!

*  We’ve got Mark Peter Hughes (author of the book that inspired the Disney hit movie LEMONADE MOUTH, and other awesome books). He’ll be talking about how he colored outside the lines to find a successful career as an author.

*  The Query Ninja Elana Johnson (POSSESSION 06/11, SURRENDER 06/12), will critique queries LIVE and chat with us along the way.

*  Mike Mullin (ASHFALL) is a social media guru and he’ll be teaching on getting the most out of social media.

*  SP Sipal will be presenting her famed class, Harry Potter for Writers.

We will also have two panels: a Self Publishing panel, and a Book Blogger panel.  A couple more presenters are still trying to clear their schedules—so there may yet be a surprise presenter or two! 

Mina:  Wow!  That's an amazing line up!  This is going to be the start of something great.  I can feel it. 

Mina:  Who do you recommend attend? 

Ali:  Anyone who wants to connect with other writers and authors and learn some writerly stuff that they’re not as likely to find at other conferences. Self-publishers will enjoy the panel, to be sure—and Mark’s story (as he started out as a self-published author). All writers will enjoy the classes though! We could all do with help regarding writing, self-promotion, and how to write books readers want to read, right? Right! 

Mina:  I'm so pumped about this  Do attendees register or do they just show up? 

Ali:  Just show up! The fun begins 11:00 a.m. EST! www.ninjaswrite.com 

Mina:  Will there be any special contests or prizes? 

Ali:  YES! There will be many prizes awarded throughout the day. Print books, eBooks, swag, query critiques, editing services—just a taste of what’s up for grabs!

Thank you so much for featuring NiNoCon Mina. You’re a true ninja!

Mina:  No...thank you and your team for putting this killer conference together.  

Okay, minions.  Obey your sensei!  Mark your calendars and bookmark www.ninjaswrite.com for February 4th!  Feel free to share, tweet or blog about NiNoCon or snag one of these buttons/banners to place on your blog.  

Mina B.