Thanks again to Big Honcho Media for giving me the opportunity to give away a $50 VISA gift card to one lucky winner. I'm excited to announce that the prize goes to:

Shannon B. (shamish@...)

I already know your address, Shannon, so I'll pass it on to the people at Big Honcho. Congratulations!

I'm baaaaaack! While flying home from Utah yesterday, I thought about all the things I was returning to - laundry, dishes, diapers, cooking, cleaning, the heat - and I almost turned right back around. I had such a fun weekend visiting with old friends, hobnobbing with writerly folk, and talking about books, books, books. The Conference was excellent - I met lots of great people, learned a ton about writing and just had a ball. I'm exhausted, so I'll post more later, but I wanted to let you all know that I'm alive and well.

I have tons to catch up on, blog-wise and life-wise. Be patient with me! A couple of quick things:

- I take pride in helping out with blog tours, and I try to follow the guidelines the author/publicist asks me to follow. When I wrote my last post, I was at the conference, running on very little sleep and using my friend's teensy tiny computer. Needless to say, I did not have a chance to edit the post, so it was very garbled and typo-filled. Sorry about that! Hopefully, it makes more sense now.

- I wanted to make sure you know that the tour for The Ocean Between Us by Susan Wiggs is still going. I believe the next stop will be tomorrow at The Pink Chandelier. I could be wrong about that, but it's a fun blog, so check it out anyway.

- Big Honcho Media, who is running the tour, has generously offered one of my readers the chance to win a $50 Visa gift card to use toward the purchase of their own copy of The Ocean Between Us. Cool, huh? Click here to enter.

- Speaking of Susan Wiggs' book, I finished it while I was in Utah. Look for a review soon.

Okay, I think that covers it. I've got to get my kiddos off to school. After that, well, my bed is looking awfully inviting!

So, I'm leaving for Utah in the morning and my suitcase is still lying on my bed, half-packed. As I was trying to stuff everything in it this afternoon, my 11-year-old was curled up under the covers moaning about his headache while my 8- and 5-year-old were trashing the family room in an attempt to keep the baby entertained. Said baby? Yeah, she was happily splashing her hands in the toilet. And her diaper was so rank I could smell it from upstairs. As I groaned in frustration, my daughter said, "I bet you're going to be really happy to get on that plane tomorrow." She's absolutely right - my kids are making it very, very easy for me to want to leave.

One thing I had planned to do before taking off was finishing The Ocean Between Us by Susan Wiggs. It didn't happen. I will be reading it on the plane, though, and as soon as my computer and I are reunited, I will post a review.

In the meantime, enjoy these fun extras from a fellow Susan. To read the first chapter of the book, plus a special message from the author, click below:








Also, I am thrilled to announce that Big Honcho Media is offering one of my readers a $50 VISA check card. Yes, you read that right - one of you lucky ducks will receive $50 to buy your own copy of The Ocean Between Us. The deadline is going to be short on this one - you have until May 5. All you have to do to enter is comment on this post. Good luck!

P.S. The card can only be mailed to addresses in the U.S. If you live elsewhere, you may enter the giveaway as long as you have someone in the U.S. who is willing to accept your prize by mail.