Cassie Photo Bomb Comp!

As a newbie author, I'm still pretty excited about the idea of people out there in the world actually reading my book! So I've come up with a little competition. Send me a photo of yourself reading my book somewhere exotic, glamorous, groovy or unexpected. I'll publish them on my blog and the best will win a $100 Amazon voucher!

I may give additional spot prizes for particularly interesting or exciting photos, so go get creative!

Bradley Cooper goes in the running for a $100 Amazon voucher
just for submitting this photo of him reading my book!*

Submit your photo to emmie @ emmiedark.com without the spaces (you know how it works).

We don't need to see your face, so it's the perfect photo-comp if you're camera shy. Just need you, your copy of my book and some fabulous surroundings. Don't worry if you have an e-reader version, just hold up your e-reader screen-forward and pump up the font size so that I can read Cassie or Ronan's name on it. Easy!

The small print: by sending me your photo, you give me permission to reproduce it here on my blog. And the judge's (my) decision is final! Competition is open now and closes on 15 April 2012.

*NB - Bradley Cooper probably didn't submit that photo. But you get the idea.

How do I buy your book?

Me: Ah, the most beautiful question an author can hear. *sigh of happiness*
Fans: That's lovely, but how can we buy your book?
Me: Oh, you're just messing with me now. *blush*
Fans: Seriously, Emmie. Get over yourself. How do we buy the bloody thing?
Me: You're serious? Right. *clears throat* Sorry about that.

The answer, my fans (if I may call you that), is actually kinda complicated and depends on a number of factors.

I've got an e-reader, so where I can I get an e-book version?
Easy! If you have an e-reader that can take EPUB formatted books, you can buy Cassie's Grand Plan RIGHT NOW from the eHarlequin store. That's right, it's already available! If you have a Kindle, you'll have to wait until it's available on Amazon in Kindle format. The timing of the release of Kindle versions of Harlequin books is still one of the great mysteries of the modern age.

What's all this e-reader nonsense? I want a hard copy!
You can order a copy from places like Amazon, Book Depository (the US store is best), and Barnes and Noble and they'll send you one as soon as it is released. Cassie's Grand Plan is officially out on 6 March. If you've never ordered a book online, Book Depository provides free shipping. (And if you didn't know that, I may just have changed your life...)

I don't like that internet shopping business. I want to buy one off the shelf.
Well, if you live in North America, that's easy! From 6 March you can pop in to your local Barnes and Noble, or Walmart, or similar places, and purchase one! (Don't forget to re-shelve the remaining copies to nice, front-facing, eye-level positions when you do.) If you live in Australia or NZ, unfortunately you'll have to wait until July, when it will come out under the imprint "Blush" and will be sold in places like Target and Kmart. Don't worry, I'll make a bit of a fuss when the time comes. If you live in other places in the world, it will depend on your local release dates. In all honesty, if you don't live in the US, maybe you need to reconsider that issue you have with internet shopping.

Why can't you just sell me one directly? I saw that big box of books they delivered to you.
Because I can't. That's not how it works. The publisher gives me money to write the book and then THEY sell it. That's just the way things are. Don't blame me, blame capitalism.

Well, if you can't sell me one, can you just give me one?
See previous answer. Capitalism. Not my fault. I have to pay my mortgage.

Will you sign it? 
You're still messing with me aren't you? No? *happy squeaky noise* Yes, absolutely, I would love to sign it. If we're not in the same room at the same time, though, the logistics of doing so become complicated. And expensive. You have to post it to me. I have to post it back to you. And so on. The idea is to make it easy, so when we're seeing each other, just bring the copy you have purchased (via internet or in-store) and I'll graffiti it all over for you. You're welcome to buy me dinner or cocktails in order to facilitate this. Signing e-books is obviously a more knotty issue, but I have a Sharpie and an iron will, so practically anything is possible.

Why is this so complex?
Good question. If you have any more of them, feel free to leave them in the comments. Also please leave a comment if you have any additional wisdom to impart. I'm new at this, after all.