December. Normally considered a dreary cold month filled with too much holiday stress, shopping lines, holiday parties with co-workers that you’d rather not interact with, and festive music whose repetition delivers migraines with each ringing of their bells.

December also marked the release of my latest novel, Escape from the Spotlight. The novel, oddly enough, didn’t mention this month at any point, nor did it explore the holidays of the month – no festive trees, no seven-limbed candles, no red envelopes (ok, sure, those are more of a Springtime thing, but you get the drift).

To celebrate that month, and the release of the book, I created a contest through the wonderful site called Goodreads. As to what Goodreads is: “Goodreads is the world’s largest site for readers and book recommendations. [Their] mission is to help people find and share books they love.” What better way to share books than by having a website that is essentially a giant flea market of books mixed with social opportunities about books and book clubs? They also help set up contests.

The one I did was a giveaway – not of my latest novel (as I strangely have yet to receive the copies of the book that I ordered weeks ago), but rather – of my debut novel, The Twelve Cataclysms. Published in 2014, this was the first part of a larger story about the most badass of all people on this planet: a single mother.

781 people from the USA, Canada, and the UK submitted their entries to receive one of the 10 copies of Vie’s story. Sadly, I could not share copies of her tale with everyone, but the following ten lucky individuals will soon be receiving a signed copy in the mail.

Let’s give a big congratulations to:

• Lorrie Kralka
• Hope H
• Rhonda Forbes
• Alexis Holland
• Anita Yancey
• Stephanie James
• Emma Holley
• Leah Hess
• Shawna Baker
• Elizabeth Best

Thank you all for your interest. Even if you didn’t win, go ahead and get your copies of The Twelve Cataclysms or Escape from the Spotlight. If you do, a review of either book at their sales page on Amazon.com or on the book page on Goodreads would be most appreciated.

Until next time.