Ozarks Indie Book Fest in One Week - Plus a Ticket Sale

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Today, let's talk about OIBF! Eep! Get your clicking fingers ready, and let's get going!

Ozarks Indie Book Fest is having its inaugural event starting on Thursday, October 19, 2017, and running through Sunday, October 22, 2017!

There's a ton of awesome stuff planned, and you can find the full schedule on the OIBF website here. See any names you recognize on there?

Of course you do!

Our weekend will kick off with a keynote speech by the one and only Christina Benjamin, and then the fun shall begin with treasure hunt fliers being passed out! This treasure hunt includes several of the attending authors, and readers will get to seek out the authors during the signings, Friday and Saturday, and quiz them to find out what to put on the paper. A huge gift basket full of goodies is up for grabs.

Saturday opens with a keynote speech from the always awesome BJ Sheldon before readers swarm the signing hall!

Want to be one of those readers?

Use the code oibf2017

on this link for $15 off a two-day ticket! 

That's right, two day passes are just $20! With the single day passes being $10, and no t-shirt or bag being included, this is one HELL of a steal. With your twenty bucks, you get entry into the keynote speeches, all the panels, entry into the signing hall, entry into the Saturday night awards program, and both of these goodies:

That bag is FULL of alllll kinds of author stuff. Wow, am I right?

Plus, you get to listen to my keynote speech Saturday morning, and you'll get to come to the princess party Friday evening from 5-6:30pm! Three of the War and Pieces ~ Frayed Fairy Tale authors will be there! We have a ton of cool games and prizes for you all.

At the awards, you can dress up as your favorite book character. That's right, it's a COSTUME PARTY! Huzzah! So very fun, and so close to Halloween, you can reuse your costume to go trick-or-treating just a week and a half later.

You know you wanna come, so get to clicking that link!

Drop a comment in below if you're coming and will see me, and I'll have a special prize waiting for you at my table. ;)

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

CRAY-Z Weeks - Updates and Such

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Holy crow, what a nutty few weeks it's been. Today's post is just a little what-not about what's been going on and why the blog has been so everloving silent. Ready? Grab your coffee (or tea), and let's get going!

So, after my London trip, I know you've noticed things have been rather quiet around here. It's hard to get back into the groove after being bombarded on all sides by people, but that wasn't the only issue. My husband was overly stressed, and he had to travel to another state to be with his father in his last few days.

Let me tell you what, trying to concentrate on anything when you wish you were with someone you love while they're going through a hard time isn't easy. I'd just come "down" from the overseas trip, and I thought I was ready to get back on the pony, when all this started.

Sad to say, my father-in-law took his last breath on September 11. I jumped right on a plane, and just returned home Saturday. Now, I sit here, wondering if I'm going to be able to get back on my schedule. I believe I'll be tweaking it today and starting fresh tomorrow. Some things worked, and others, not so much. But you never know until you try! I did well for a month or two, but a couple of things just weren't given enough time (like my blog), and I found myself scrambling to get it done in the short time I'd allotted. If you have suggestions for new topics, drop them in here.


That all changes this week. If you've been following me a while, you'll know I have two events at the end of October. I'll TRY to post during that week I'm on the road, but I'm making no promises. Keep up with my Facebook page, because I intend to have live video happening when I do my keynote speech. Yeah, it won't be me manning my device, but I promise it'll be live--October 20 at around 9am EST. WHEEEEEEEEE!!

On another note, Utterances is about 20-25k from being complete. That story is draining as hell. Very emotional. I'm gonna try like hell to have it out before Christmas. Send me good vibes! LOL!

One upside to all of this is that my road trip is with another author, Tia Bach, so we'll probably spend a good amount of time writing in the evenings. Maybe even plot new novels together. How exciting would that be? *grin*

As for events, these are my last for a lonnnnnng time. I'm only doing Roanoke Author Invasion next year, so if you wanna see me, you'll have to either come to OIBF or GLBB this year, or RAI next year. After that, I'm giving it a rest for a while and getting back to what I do best: WRITING.

November is NaNo month, and I'm planning to get back on my serial killer novel then. Anyone else going to write all the words that month?

Drop your NaNo name in the comments, and I'll give you a friend request/follow before then. Or, you can friend me here.

Well, I've chatted your ears off long enough. Time to get to revamping my schedule! That's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Nominations are Open for the First Annual OIBF Awards!

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I have the most exciting news for you all today. No intro. Get your typing fingers ready, and let's get going!

As you may know, the first annual Ozarks Indie Book Fest is happening October 19-22 in Springfield, MO. If you'd like to pick up tickets or an author table, here's the links you need: OIBF Website  ~  OIBF Tickets

Reader tickets are just TEN DOLLARS per day, and you can choose Friday or Saturday. If you purchase a thirty-five dollar ticket (which includes the awards and such), you'll be automatically entered to win dinner with several best-selling authors and the OIBF 2017 keynote speakers.

That being said, it's time to nominate your favorite authors' books for awards! There's only one caveat to winning: They must be present at the book fest to win.

If you want to nominate, you must be logged in with your email address, and you only get one shot at the form. Once you hit submit, that's all she wrote. You're done. Here are the categories (you get one nomination per category, and it cannot be yourself):

Best Indie Publisher

Best Editor

Best Formatter

Best PA

"Author of the Year (Aug 2016-Aug 2017)"

"Best Debut Author (Aug 2016-Aug 2017)"

Best Anthology

Best Book Cover

Best YA Book

Best NA Book

Best Hero/Shero

Best Villian 

"Best Overall Book Series (Has to be a complete series)" 

Best Fantasy/Paranormal Book 

Best Inspirational Book 

Best Contemporary Book 

Best Romance Book 

Best Mystery/Thriller Book 

Best Horror Book 

Best Dystopian Book 

Best Sci-Fi Book 

Best Children's Book 

Best Historical Book

Here's the link!

NOMINATE!

How awesome is that? Anyone can nominate anyone except themselves. If you have a large or enthusiastic fan base, get on it!

Did you fill it out? Will I see you at the conference?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Win Free Dinner with Several Amazing Authors

Did I catch you with that heading? Happy Friday! Eeep! So much great info for you today. Let's jump right in.

If you purchase a 2 day pass ($35) to Ozarks Indie Book Fest, you'll automatically be entered in a drawing for a chance to join the VIP signing authors and keynote speakers!

Who are these authors, you ask? Right now, they're:

USA Today and NYT bestselling author Mary Ting
Christina Benjamin
B. J. Sheldon
and yours truly (me!)

There will be more, but they can't be named yet. *wink wink* I can't even begin to say how excited I am to be a part of this! I'm the Friday morning keynote speaker, and there will be a block of time after that keynote for you to meet me one-on-one and get your books signed.

Ready for a linky?

Get your entry ticket here. Remember, it's the 2 day pass!

Here's a "few" more of the amazing authors that will be at OIBF! Meet, greet, get your books signed! EEP!

Will I see you there?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo