Magdalene contest winner…

…is DIANA!

The five runners up are

Traci Kenworth
Rachel T
Ju Dimello
Peach
Gian Faye

who will receive all the ebooks in a bundle as soon as I gather your email addresses together.

There were 37 entries total, counting each link or citation as a separate entry, and each link is very much appreciated. Thanks to all who participated and helped get the word out!

That was kinda fun. Maybe I’ll do some more contests…

Magdalene: a contest and a prize

Magdalene, the third book in the Dunham series, will be released on Sunday, April 24, 2011. This is the last book in the series with contemporary characters; book four, Dunham, is an historical and book five, tentatively titled Delilah, is post-apocalypse.

For this, I thought it would be fun to have a contest. The grand prize winner will receive an Easter basket full of goodies pertaining mostly to Magdalene, and five runners up will win a trilogy ebook. Here’s the grand prize:

(Click to make big; a couple of the items are not shown.)

1. Print copies of The Proviso, Stay, and Magdalene, all signed,

2. Two canisters of Jacques Torres hot chocolate (one milk and one spicy),

3. Magdalene mug and mousepad,

4. One new CD of Carmina Burana,

5. A thumb drive with all three books plus their playlists,

and

6. A super secret and sexy prize hinting at what Mitch and Cassie might have done in a scene I never wrote…

…all in a nice Easter basket that will arrive at the grand prize winner’s doorstep at least a week before the release date. (Even if you live out of the country. I can do that. Because I’m in charge.)

2011-04-04 UPDATE: I failed to remember that many of the songs on the playlists are full albums, so instead of burning them to the stick, and in addition to Carmina Burana (orchestral version), these will be included as full (new) CDs: The Piano (Michael Nyman), Messiah (Handel), Nutcracker (Tchaikovsky), and the Rach 3 (Rachmaninoff). (Unfortunately, the chamber version of Carmina Burana that I have is an import and very hard to get.)

The five runners up will receive their ebooks at the close of the contest.

But every contest has rules, right?

1. Post about Magdalene and link to this blog post anywhere on the web.

2. Come back here and comment on where you posted it.

3. The more places you link from, the more chances you have to win. (One link per comment.)

4. The contest runs through midnight, April 10, 2011, US Central Daylight Saving Time (Chicago).

5. If you’re related to me or you worked on the book, you’re not eligible. I will know who you are. *ahemDudeahem*

That’s it.

I’ll use random.org to pick the grand prize winner and five runners up.

NetGalley

For whatever reason, NetGalley has decided to start putting tighter restrictions implemented publishers’ tightening of restrictions on who gets free eARCs (electronic Advanced Reader Copies).

So what.

Here’s the thing: NetGalley charges what is, to me, a micropress, an astronomical amount of money to give away books. That’s right: I would be paying to give my product to people in exchange for…very little in the way of a quantifiable return.

NetGalley is not in business to lose money. It’s in business to make money by providing a publishers’ colony. However publishers decide to define their ROI (return on investment) is how NetGalley’s going to be bringing in the money.

Follow the money.

When all other explanations fail, just follow the money.

Printgasm BINGO

I totally don’t blame Scalzi for being sick of the arguments for self/digital publishing. I self/digital publish and I’m sick of the evangelizing, too. (Because most of the arguments are just shitty logic.)

HOWEVER.

There’s another side of the Electronic Publishing BINGO card: Printgasm BINGO, for those who believe that reading ebooks is just one step away from civilization sliding back into the primordial ooze.