And zee winair ees….

Stephanie

of Stephanie's Books 

Congratulations, gal! You're the proud owner of Wendy Roberts's The Remains of the Dead. I'll be in touch, or you can email me with your addy and info to: author at colleengleason dot com. 

We've got some great participation from both bloggers (check them out here!) and commenters so far…but if you're still stumped on ideas for ways to enter my Pay It Forward Contest (the prizes are awesome—Buffy, Amazon and Colin Firth!), then here's a list of suggestions.

**Please don't post your Pay It Forward Contest Entries here on this post; add them to the original contest sticky post….here.**

Ways to Pay it Forward… 

1. Drive past the really good parking place so the car behind you can have it.

2. Pay for the person’s order in line behind you at the drive-thru window

3. Drop off two toys, instead of one, at Toys for Tots

4. Make a few extra batches of cookies and bring them to a local senior home

5. Find a family to adopt for the holidays

6. Buy an extra roll of stamps and give it to the person in line behind you at the post office

7. Offer to babysit (for free) for a mother of young children so she can go shopping or wrap gifts…or just take a breather!

8. Bring a box of your old books to a women’s shelter

9. Give a 30% tip at a restaurant instead of 15-20%

10. Make a donation to your favorite charity before they even ask!

11. Buy a bag of groceries and take it to your local food bank
(they’re really hurting this year!)

12. Donate blood

13. Let someone in line behind you go first at the checkout counter

Contest runs until Dec 19….post your comments/entries here, and if you're a blogger, you can enter for a special extra drawing here. 

Yesterday my dear friend Wendy Roberts–also known as one of the Non-Bombs (there's a story behind that one…)–released the first book in her new mystery series, The Ghost Dusters.

It's about a woman who does crime-scene or death-scene cleanup, and who also has the dubious pleasure of being visited by the ghosts of the victims.

I had the chance to read the book before it came out (look, Ma, my name's on the back cover!) and let me tell you…it's a really unique, edgy premise and I love the ghost aspect of it. (And I'm pushing Wendy for a good romance subplot, too…)

Ever since I heard the story a couple years ago on This American Life about a woman whose crime-scene-clean-up business has really taken off, I've been fascinated by the concept. (Er…fascinated from a distance.) And Wendy does a fantastic job with the research and reality of this business.

She doesn't back off from the gritty reality of what these people face, yet there's a twist of humor and the paranormal. Plus a whodunnit all mixed in. What's not to love?

So, if this sounds up your alley, I hope ya'll will go out and pick up this book and support Wendy….that is, except for the winner of the giveaway here on For All The World To See.

Oh, I didn't mention that? Well, of course there's a giveaway. To enter, tell me in the comments about a career or job that you would find fascinating…from a distance.  And I'll pick someone after midnight EST Thurs. (since this is a late blog post)

And please…don't forget to Pay It Forward! Do a little nice, unexpected thing for someone and tell us about it here.

Reading about these things motivates others to Pay it Forward too!

I did this last year, and it was so much fun…and so fabulous and heartwarming to see people take the time out of the terrible hustle and bustle of the holiday season to remember others.

I mean, really, that's what it's all about, isn't it? Doing for others? 

So, here we go again this year. Even bigger and better, and there are two parts to this contest: one for all you bloggers, and one for everyone who cares to participate as commenters–bloggers, lurkers, regulars…whoever. 

Read the rest of this entry »

The contest is over, and I've used Random.org to generate the winning entry in my Immortalize Your Friend in a Book Contest.

And…dadadadummmmm….the winner is:

Debbie Guyette,

nominated by her friend Melissa Lawson.

So both Debbie and Melissa will make an appearance in When Twilight Burns!

I'll be in touch with them shortly, but you can send your congratulations now! Yay! I'm so excited!