I absolutely love it when my friends have good news to share–and two of my writing friends have some fantastic news to share, so I thought I’d mention them today.  🙂

Now, I did mention Edie yesterday, but her news is so hugely awesome that I wanted to mention it again.  Edie Ramer is one of the finalists in the American Title contest, sponsored by the Romantic Times. Her entry is titled DEAD PEOPLE (I love that!). Congrats, Edie!!

And my second friend with some great news?  Manda Collins.  I met Manda through my local writing chapter, and, at our last meeting, Manda announced that she has signed with Holly Root of the Waxman Literary Agency.  Yay, Manda!

Starting the day with good news just feels…good.  So, hey, if you’ve got some news to share, post away!

(And, just a quick reminder–I’ll be chatting at Coffee Time Romance tonight with Jacquelyn Frank and Stella Price. The chat starts at 9 p.m. Eastern–if you have a chance, stop by!)

(Ah, is it Monday already?)

Calista Fox–a lady who is an all around great person and a fabulous author–is having a reader appreciation month over at her site. She’s giving away autographed books, posting author interviews, and generally having fun. 🙂 Today, she’s posted an interview with Allyson James (and she’s giving away a free download of CATCH A FALLING STAR). On Wednesday, Calista will post the interview she conducted with me. In addition to the interview, Calista and I are giving away an autographed copy of EVERLASTING BAD BOYS (check her site on Wednesday for details!). But these aren’t the only prizes…If you visit Calista’s site for the rest of the month, you’ll find more interviews and lots more books.

Tomorrow night at 9 pm. Eastern time, I will be over at Coffee Time Romance, chatting with Jacquelyn Frank and Stella Price. Book talk, prizes…what more could you ask for at a chat? If you get a chance, do stop by.

And, final bit of weekly news…I’m blogging today over at Divas of the Dark. My topic? Promotions–the other side of writing. Because an author’s life isn’t just about writing; instead, promotion work is a big responsibility for authors.

The family and I went to the beach this weekend, so I’m still in recovery mode. I’m going to try and wake myself up a bit more–and then get to work organizing a few more mailings.

How was your weekend?

Update!!!!!! Update!!!!! Okay, so since I was at the beach (and catching an Elmo live show–don’t ask) I missed this news on Friday and as soon as I got the scoop, I had to come back and post. Because, you see, someone I know had a very, very good weekend…

Edie Ramer is a finalist in the American Title V contest!!! That is awesome! Congrats, Edie!

So I headed over to Books-A-Million to pick up a needed bundle of books the other day, and guess what I saw?  EVERLASTING BAD BOYS on their Recommended Reads shelf!  🙂

How very cool.

And speaking of recommended reads, Manda has selected the September pick for my book club.  She picked THE PRICE OF DESIRE by Jo Goodman.  This will be my first historical by Jo Goodman–and I’m looking forward to the read.

Anyone else have any good reads to suggest before I head back to the bookstore?

So I finished writing my latest paranormal romance (my white tiger story)–yay!  Now, I’m going to take this week to relax (um, when I’m not worrying about the story I just submitted), judge a contest, read, and get busy with promo work for MIDNIGHT SINS.

Ah, the promo.

My bookmarks and door hangers arrived last week…

Yep, my dining room table is still covered with the boxes.  Good thing we don’t have too many fancy meals at my house!

That would be my son’s hand, dipping into the bookmark box.  As soon as I opened the box, the boy started making piles for people he wanted to have bookmarks.

These are my door hangers.  The lighting makes them look a bit orange here (sorry, the bad lighting is my fault), but they actually have a darker, redish tint.  I’ll see about putting up a better image soon.

The folks who receive my newsletter have already had the opportunity to let me know if they’d like autographed bookmarks or some door hangers (and I will be sending those out this week!).  I’ve gotten an overwhelming response to these items, and I can only say–wow. Thank you!  🙂

If you’re not on my newsletter list (and, hey, why aren’t you?), you can request items by sending an email to info@cynthiaeden.com.

After I send materials to the wonderful folks who have requested items, I will start bundling bookmarks until I have 700 piles–those will be heading to the 700 “Bookstores That Care” (via RT).  I will also be sending materials to readers’ groups and, heck, anyone else who wants some!

So…my writing break week looks like it will be pretty busy, after all.

I want to send out my wishes for a very speedy recovery effort for those areas (and people!) who were hit hard by Gustav.  My prayers are certainly with you.

We didn’t get too much bad weather here–just some flooding and strong winds (winds that took down one of our trees).  I suspect things will pretty much be normal business here in Mobile, and I hope the normalcy can return to Louisiana and Mississippi soon, too.