"Wedding Cake" Giveaway!

Wedding Cake, book 12 in the Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery Series, and

Sadie's Little Black Recipe Book are online and on shelves! It has been such an amazing journey, going from one stand-alone story to a 12 book series and a cookbook and turned my writing into a career. It has also been the introduction to so many people and places and yummy recipes—I can not express what a powerful experience this series has been in my life. To celebrate the completion, Shadow Mountain and I are hosting a giveaway—winners get their choice of any one copy of my books, including an ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) of A Heart Revealed, a regency romance coming out in April. You can enter in the following ways:

1.  Go to my Facebook post about the contest (Author Josi S. Kilpack) and follow the instructions. (no need to come back to the blog, the Facebook portion of the contest is self contained) 
2. Leave a review for any book I have written on goodreads, deseretbook.com, Amazon.com, and/or Barnesandnoble.com. You can leave as many reviews on as many sites as you like, then come back here and leave a comment that includes the total number of reviews you left. You will get an entry for every review (this does not count for past reviews, only those done between January 4 and January 10)
3. Post a status update on Facebook or Twitter regarding this contest and include the link to this blog post. Comment below to tell me where you posted; one entry per social network.

Thank you for the years of support and enthusiasm! Winners will be posted here and on Facebook on Monday, January 12. 

Book Winner--Diana!

Thanks to everyone who entered the first round of the Book Bloggers Cookbook contest. We had 15 entries, each of whom are still eligible for the Kindle portion of the contest, and of those "Diana" was the winner of the cookbook and a signed copy of Lemon Tart. Diana, please contact me at kilpack@gmail.com and I'll get your address information so we can get the books to you.

Don't forget that the second phase of this contest for a brand new Kindle e-reader is still open until July 22nd. To enter, leave a comment on the original post, HERE, before July 22nd. You can get additional entries by posting about the contest on Facebook, Twitter, and your own blog. Go to that original post for more information.

Thanks for participating, y'all. Also, don't forget the Countdown to Summer. The drawing takes place in just a few more days, don't miss your chance to win!

I Need Your Reviews Contest!

I'm looking to increase my online reviews for my Sadie Books--Lemon Tart, English Trifle, and, especially, Devil's Food Cake. Reader reviews are one of the best motivating factors in book sales and something I can't do myself--well, I could, but that's kind of classless, isn't it?

Here's the rules:

1--Post a 'permanent' online review people will find when searching for a book title through a website. For instance: Goodreads, Librarything.com, Shelfari, Amazon, Deseret Book, Seagull online, Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc. (Not individual blogs or facebook please--I love the mentions, but I'm looking for reviews that are static and will remain linked to the books in a specific database)

2--The review must be for Lemon Tart, English Trifle, or Devil's Food Cake.

3--One entry per review (copying and pasting the same review in numerous places totally works)

4--Any reviews you've done for these books in the month of February count.

5--Deadline is Midnight February 28th

6--Leave a comment telling me where you posted reviews--you'll get an entry for each review at each location.

The Prize is a copy of any one of my books--your choice, signed and shipped to whoever you want. I'll be giving away two books and will randomly draw two name via www.random.org on March 1st.

Here are links to some of the sites I'd love reviews on, but feel free to choose others as well.

Lemon Tart:                                  
Deseret Book                               
Amazon
Seagull Book
Barnes & Noble
Borders
Goodreads
Librarything
Shelfari

English Trifle:
Deseret Book
Amazon
Seagull Book
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads
Librarything
Shelfari

Devil's Food Cake
Deseret Book
Amazon
Seagull Book
Barnes & Noble
Goodreads
Librarything
Shelfari

In gathering these links I found out that Lemon Tart and English Trifle both have Kindle editions--so cool!

Thanks for your help! I appreciate it so very much.

Event Reminder: Provident Books & Humbinger Toys

Provident book and Humdinger toys in Pleasant Grove. chose Lemon Tart as their featured book of the month. I will be there for a discussion/signing on April 23 from 6:00-7:00 (661 W State, Ste A Pleasant Grove, UT). I will have all of my Cedar Fort published books there to sell, but you'll need to buy any of my Deseret Book published books at another location before that night. I've talked to other authors that have had the opportunity to be a part of the Provident book club and they said it was an absolute blast. I'm really looking forward to it. Open to the public!

Remember, if you come and mention that you read about the event on my blog, you get a special blogger-treat :-)

Event Reminder: Conference Saturday Signings

What could be better than listening to prophets and apostles and good ol' Mo'Tab?

Finishing it off with a good book!

Here's where I will be today. Remember, if you come in and tell me that you read about this on my blog, you get an eggstraspecial treat. No purchase necessary. Also, if you have a book already and want me to sign it, just bring it in a bag or purse--I'll vouch for you.

12:00-2:00--Deseret Book at University Mall (575 E. University Mall Parkway Orem, UT) I think this is the only signing I've done in Utah County in about six years. Wow. Open to the public.

6:00-8:00--This years Salt Lake location is the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, in the lobby. They always have drawings and food and all kinds of wonderful goodness to make it worth the trip. Open to the public.

Summary of April Events

April is chocked (chalked? chucked? chuck? chock? Annette--where is your OED?) full of many great things--Easter, chocolate, spring break, tulips, chocolate. And my calendar is brimming. So, I'm going to lay it all out here and eventually I'll update my web page with it as well. If you're able to make it to any of the events, I'll be thrilled to see you. In fact, I'm going to have a "Blog" treat for anyone that attends an event and says they read about it on my blog :-) ( I realize some of the events are 'closed' to members, but those members are still eligible if they see this blog and there are plenty of other 'public' events that are open to everyone.)

Until April 6--LDSbookcorner is featuring Lemon Tart in their "A chapter a Day" program. What they do is send a chapter a day via e-mail. This allows you to sample a book before you decide whether you want to read the whole thing. This is a great opportunity for me and I'm so dang excited to have had them feature Lemon Tart this week. To sign up, go to www.ldsbookcorner.com enter your email. You will shortly recieve an e-mail that says 'update your profile' which then allows you to choose your preferences. Look for my name (Josi S. Kilpack) and click on it. My name will only be there for a week, but if you sign up you'll recieve all five days of the daily chapters. Anyone can join.

April 4th signings:
I will be doing two signings this Saturday, on in Provo and one in Salt Lake. If you have already bought books you would like for me to sign, just bring them in a purse or a bag so the employees don't think you've picked them up to buy.

12:00-2:00--Deseret Book at University Mall (575 E. University Mall Parkway Orem, UT) I think this is the only signing I've done in Utah County in about six years. Wow. Open to the public.

6:00-8:00--This years Salt Lake location is the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, in the lobby. They always have drawings and food and all kinds of wonderful goodness to make it worth the trip. Open to the public.

April 16: Presenting to the Reader's Challenge group at Adele C. Young Intermediate School in Brigham City. Closed except to members.

April 17: Presenting to Mrs. Hollingworth's english classes at Adele C. Young Intermediate School. Closed except to students (and Mrs. Hollingsworth)

April 18: Presenting at the state conference for the National Teachers Association for Women; Alpha Delta Kappa. The conference is held at the Comfort Inn in Ogden this year. Closed except to members.

April 23: You can see on the side of my blog that Lemon Tart is the featured book for Provident book and Humdinger toys in Pleasant Grove. I will be there for a discussion/signing on April 23 from 6:00-7:00 (661 W State, Ste A Pleasant Grove, UT). I will have all of my Cedar Fort published books there to sell, but you'll need to buy any of my Deseret Book published books at another location before that night. I've talked to other authors that have had the opportunity to be a part of the Provident book club and they said it was an absolute blast. I'm really looking forward to it. Open to the public!

April 24 & 25--I'll be one of the boot camp instructors on both mornings of the LDStorymakers writers' conference 2009 and I'll teaching a workshop on how to build and take advantage of your own writing community. My workshop is at 9:30 on Saturday morning--I'm up against Carolyn Campbell's article writing and Rachel Anne Nunes Plot and Conflict. Ouch. Hopefully I'll get a seat or two filled though. Registration is still open!

April 29--I've been invited to the "Treats and a Good Book" bookclub for a ward in Tremonton. They chose Lemon Tart as their book for April, and have invited me to sit in on the discussion. I love these things! Closed except to members (and freinds they might invite)

April 30 or May 1--I'll be doing a booksiging at the BYU bookstore sometime during women's conference. This is another fabulopus venue and opportunity, so if you haven't caught up to me by then, look for me then. I'll post the details when I know them. Open to the public.

Oh, and Lemon Tart hit #1 on the fiction/literature list on DB last Friday! It's #10 on DB's overall bestseller list and the 3rd fiction title of those top ten. I owe it to you guys! Thanks so much.

GOAL! #1 on Deseret Book

Oh I am so glad I am home alone right now. Serious. I would be forever embarrassed if anyone had overheard my maniacal laughter, shouts and unrestrained jubilation.

BUT, my neurotic-celebration is totally warranted because I have accomplished a goal I have hoped for and tried to talk myself out of for almost ten years. Lemon Tart made number one on Deseret Book's General Fiction list AND the Mystery and Suspense list! AND that puts it as #2 on the Overall Fiction list and #12 on Deseret Book's overall best seller list. Take a LOOK at the best seller's list--how many fiction novels to you see up there? Yeah, exactly my point!

Fiction is a hard sell, it really is, and any publisher will tell you that non-fiction sells better than fiction. ESPECIALLY in regard to DBs bestseller list because you a competing with General Authorities! And MY book is on the list. Worldwide Ward Cookbook is also on the list, which also makes me so very happy.

Ya know, in life there are some really icky days you have to suffer through, and honestly it's days like this that help me get through the mud-slog days.

In addition to the #1 spot on DBs list, I also received an honorable mention in Scribbit's March writing contest. You can read my entry by going to her blog--read a couple of the others up there as well, they are great.

Let me end this with a plea that you will forgive my indulgent explosion and pride in my accomplishments--I am a writer which means I will be humbled tomorrow when I wrestle with a scene that just isn't working--BUT thank you, each and every one of you that read my blog, read my books, leave online reviews, recommend my books to my friends, tell me what you liked, help me improve, listen to me rant, and cheer right along with me. I could NOT have achieved this goal without amazing support from everyone in my life. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

It's a good day. AND I'm done writing today. I'm going to go for a celebratory jog and eat half a box of Thin Mints.

ALSO, I did a podcast with LDSwomenbookreviews a few weeks ago, and the podcast is up and ready to be downloaded. Click HERE to find out how you can download it.

Lemon Tart: Time out for Women book March 2009!

To say having a book chosen as a Time Out For Women book club selection is a big deal, is an understatement. Not only are there only a couple dozen books chosen every year, but there are very few fiction titles chosen. Sooooo, when I found out Lemon Tart was chosen, well, let's just say I'd have been embarrassed if anyone had been watching me. Luckily, I was alone and my dignity remained in tact as far as anyone else was concerned, but I felt a little like this:If you haven't heard of Time Out For Women, it's a program designed by Deseret Book that brings women together with recommended books and a traveling women's conference. I attended my first TOFW event in Ogden in January, and it was awesome--very inspiring. I have had other books considered for the bookclub, but not ultimately chosen, so in many ways I feel like I've been working toward this for a few years.

So, here's what's in it for you. If you haven't yet bought Lemon Tart, you can buy it through the TOFW website for 25% off. You can also read my author intereview and read up on the other TOFW book this month "Tell it like it is" by Sheri Dew (yeah, I share the page with HER!) So, anyhow, check it out HERE and tell a freind of two; maybe suggest it for your ward's bookclub next month, since you can get it at a discount during March.

Did I mention this is pretty exciting?

Book Signing TONIGHT!

For books past I have done rather elaborate opening night parties where I have prize drawings, refreshments, door prizes, and other kinds of hoopla. They really are a lot of fun--but they are also rather labor intensive to put together. Lemon Tart was released early, which means I didn't have time for much labor intensive shanagins--and life is crazy enough that I'm actually a bit relieved :-)

BUT, I am having a local book signing tonight and though it won't be as big as others have been in the past, there will be discounts and Lemon Tarts. I cleared my day so that I have nothing else to do but bake and bake and bake today. Honestly, I'm quite looking forward to it. I love to cook and I love this particular recipe and so it's happy smiles all the way around. Here's a look at my kitchen so far:













So, if you are in northern Utah and would like to come to the opening night--I would LOVE to have you. If we don't get a lot of people showing up, you can bet the sisters I visit teach are going to have lemon tarts coming out their ears :-)

Here are the specifics:

Date: Thursday, February 5
Time: 5:00-7:00 p.m.
Place: Reflections of Utah Bookstore
47 So. Main St.
Brigham City, Utah

Lemon Tart Contest!!

I just got the release date for Lemon Tart, my first Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery. It will be released on March 4! Wohoo, I'm so excited and in order to share that excitement (and help gear up for my promotion phase) I'm hosting a contest.

There are three ways to enter, all of them can be taken advantage of through my website and you can enter any and all of the ways listed--basically quantidurpiling your chances of winning. (I made that word up :-)



So, here's how you enter:

1--Go to my website www.josiskilpack.com and click on the "Lemon Tart" menu option. Read the first chapter posted there, then e-mail me and tell me what time the timer dinged. kilpack@gmail.com

2--Leave an online review of any of my four most recent novels at Deseret Book Online. You can access the website via the "Buy the Book" Button on the pages for those books on my website (it will not obligate you to buy anything--just take you to the page where you can leave a review) Then e-mail me and tell me which book you reviewed. kilpack@gmail.com (If you've already posted a review, the website won't let you leave another one on that particular book--sorry)

The eligible books are:
Her Good Name
Sheep's Clothing
Unsung Lullaby
To Have or To Hold

3--Due to my computer crash in October, I have been unable to update my website. Now that I finished English Trifle (did I forget to mention that? I FINALLY FINISHED ENGLISH TRIFLE AND TURNED IT IN--HAPPY DANCE WITH ME, PEOPLE!) I took three whole days to rebuild my website from scratch. I'm sure there are several typos, dropped links, etc. If you find any of those things, e-mail me the mistake and you find yourself entered. I will fixing mistakes as soon as one person lets me know, so you'll want to be the first one. You get one entry per page that you find typos on--so if you find a mistake on three different pages, you get an entry for each one you point out. If you find three typos on one page, you get one entry--does that make sense? kilpack@gmail.com

In addition to the contest, I'll be having my Opening Night Party sometime in March--if you would like to receive a postcard invitation with a discount (only good that night), please e-mail me your mailing address.

AND there is an option on the website to pre-order autographed copies of Lemon Tart via the website as well.

So, there you have it--multiple chances to win one of the first copies of Lemon Tart. I will be sending out the copy as soon as I receive the books--probably the first week of March. This contest will go through January 30th, at which time I will draw two names and post the winners.

Thanks for playing!

(I had e-mail links, but Ali pointed out they weren't working--and I don't know how to make them work so I've fixed them. She got an entry for pointing out the problem :-)