Win Dinner with Authors Alessandra Torre, Alex Flinn, and Geneva Lee!

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I can't EVEN with this post! Oh my goodness! Can you even believe your luck?

Let me tell you, the dinner you'll get if you win this giveaway is delicious. I got to have dinner with Lauren Miller, Kim Holden, and Denise Grover Swank last year. There are no words to describe how amazing that was. But I DO happen to have pictures (well, of everything but the salad--it was also delicious, and I may have eaten it before I thought to take a photo--sorry)!

Feast your eyes on THESE!

 YUM!!!

However, hearing these amazing women speak was something I'll never forget, and I'm looking forward to sitting in while Alessandra and Alex give their keynotes this year! I've never been disappointed with a Utopia keynote speaker. They all rocked the house.

If you'd like to go beyond dinner and really get to know Alessandra Torre, Alex Flinn, and Geneva Lee, you'll need to be at the conference.

Get tickets HERE. It's not too late!

Anyway! I bet you're dying to get your chance, right? First, I have to give you the one and only rule for winning:

You MUST be in Nashville, TN on June 23, 2016 at around 5PM. Easy peasy!

Ready? Click here to enter!

Good luck to you all! Winners, I'll see you there. *grin*

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

Jo

Geneva Lee Announces New Release - GILT: By Invitation Only - Win an ARC!

New York Times and internationally best-selling author, Geneva Lee, announces new GILT Series -- described as "Veronica Mars" meets "Pretty Little Liars" --with a provocative cover reveal. GILT: By Invitation Only, which will hit shelves on Tuesday, May 31st, has already stirred a bit of controversy online because of its cover. A close-up picture of the delicate pink petals of a rosebud, it has readers' wondering whether it's symbolic of female genitalia.

While Lee is leaving interpretations of the cover up to the fans, she has this to say about the series: "It has been the ultimate guilty pleasure to write. I think that's because it combines that amazing visceral sensation of first love with scandal and bad boys, lies and murder. With GILT, I've given my wicked side free reign, and honestly, I'm having such a fun time with these characters."

Lee had originally intended the series to take place in the south, but after a recent trip to Las Vegas had her wondering what it would be like to grow up in the dark, gritty, and glamorous place, she was inspired to shift gears and setting to explore the world known as Sin City through the eyes of protagonist, Emma Southerly. Emma, who was raised in Vegas, but is an outsider to its elite circles, will have to discover if she's a pawn or a player in dangerous games.

In addition to the suggestive cover, the marketing of the series promises to be as engaging as the twists and turns contained within it, starting with a Las Vegas-themed casino party at UTOPiA reader and writer con in Nashville, TN on Saturday, June 25th. The sold-out party will entertain 500 guests, including fellow authors, fans, industry influencers, book cover models, and fans, before the Fifth Annual UTOPiA Awards that night.

Lee confirms three books in the GILT series will be released rapid fire in 2016.

 JOIN the sinful cocktail hour hosted by Geneva Lee at UTOPiAcon! Saturday, before the awards, in the Crown Ballroom at the Millennium Maxwell House at 6:30PM CST.

Add it to your Sched here!

About GILT: By Invitation Only: In a world with too much money and not enough rules, anything goes. Welcome to Belle Mère, the most exclusive zip code outside the Las Vegas Strip. It's every sinner's fantasy and every good parent's worst nightmare.

Emma Southerly doesn't belong at Belle Mère Prep despite her new stepfather's money. Not after she shunned her invite to the popular table, and especially not after what happened last summer. So when her best friend begs her to crash an invite-only, end of the year party, she should say no with a capitol H-E-L-L.

It's just a party. What could go wrong?

Getting kicked out to start. Running into the man who destroyed your family.

Everything.

Until she meets Jamie, who's also hiding from the in-crowd. After spending the night with the cute stranger, Emma barely makes it home before news hits Belle Mère's brunch tables. A body's been found on the West estate, and Jamie is the number one suspect. But he couldn't have done it…right?

Emma isn't sure she can trust him or the rest of Belle Mère. After all, no one is safe when everyone is a liar.

 
About Geneva Lee: Geneva Lee is the New York Times bestselling author of the Royals Saga. She prefers fantasy to reality, especially fantasies involving powerful, dangerous, and sexy men. You can find her devouring a good romance while avoiding the laundry and the children. She lives in Kansas City with her family, but she can be found online at: www.facebook.com/genevaleeauthor

Now, enter to win an ARC of GILT: By Invitation Only!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

SEVEN ARCs are up for grabs.

Excited yet? Me too!

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

Jo 

UTOPiAcon2016 - Packing and Prepping for Authors

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, we're talking about all the things to help authors get ready to attend Utopia 2016. There will be posts by the other official bloggers to help those of you who are readers get your stuff rocking and ready to go, and posts by the other official author bloggers that'll give different tips than I do below. Since I'm an author, I'm hitting this post from that angle. If you're ready, let's dive in. This will be a longish post.

If you don't have tickets to Utopia yet, get them here. Right now. This isn't a conference you can afford to miss.

You can get your room at the Millennium Maxwell House here. There's a block for the conference, and the discount code is 1606UTOCON. Be sure and mention it if you call.

Transportation to and from the airport is provided by the hotel, but if you want to jaunt around Nashville somewhere the hotel won't take you, you'll want to visit Utopia's partner, Lyft. Use code UTOPIA2016 for a free first ride up to $20!

Now, let's move on to packing essentials.

What to Pack - Clothing

• Enough shirts/jeans for the duration. You may find you want to change midday, so bring at least two more than you think you'll need.
• Socks, underwear, and pajamas. Again, bring a couple more than you think you'll need. *I feel like I'm obligated to explain myself, so here goes. It gets hot. We're in Nashville, TN, in June. You sweat. It's gross. Enough said.* 
• Comfortable shoes. You'll be on your feet all day. Trust me. Heels are cute, but if you can't stand up in them for more than a few minutes, leave them at home.
• A fancy dress or outfit for the awards (don't forget shoes).
• A light sweater or hoodie (it gets cold in the panel rooms).
• Toiletries: Toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, hair stuff, deodorant, smelly good stuff, mouthwash, makeup (if you so choose). Good news: If you forget any of these things, the hotel has a sundries shop!
• Bathing suit! Yeah, the hotel has a pool!

What to Pack - Exhibitors

• Your Transient Vendor's License. Get more info here.
• Books. How many should you bring? Well, for any convention of this kind, there's a business formula. I wrote a blog post about it here. Utopia had well over 800 people attending last year, to give you an idea. It's always wise to do a pre-order form, too. The lovely Maria Pease created a walkthrough for you on how to do that. See it here. You can also bring out-of-stock order forms (if you choose).
• Something to put your books on. This can be a stand, a box, or something of that nature, but you want to show them off and make them look pretty.
• Pens. For the love of all that's holy, don't forget your pens! Sharpies, too!
• Swag. If you made it, bring it! The hotel has a rule about homemade food (you can't give it away), so be sure anything is store bought and wrapped properly. There's a contest for best swag, so be sure you kill it!
• Your Author Banner. Yeah...
• Table Decorations. While the hotel will cover the table with a standard cloth, you may want to bring a runner or banner to make it yours/pretty. 1/2 table = 3' and a whole table = 6' There are contests for best UTOPiA2016 REVOLUTION themed table, best solo table, best table decoration, and best shared table, so be sure you discuss with your table mate.
• Your Smile. This might be the most important thing on the list.

Remember to transport your books in a way that prevents them getting banged up or damaged in any way. I usually put mine back in the packing material they came in after I check them over for defects. No problems yet.

If you need to find a roommate or need to ship your books to Nashville ahead of you, here are a couple of resources:
We Are Going to Utopia. This is an unofficial Facebook group for the folks attending the conference. Just post in there that you're looking for a roommate, and you'll get responses. Same for shipping your books ahead. Several folks are willing to accept the shipments and store the books until the conference date arrives.
If you want, the hotel will also hold your books for you until you arrive. There's a fee for this, but you can find out more about it here. It's on the bottom of the page.

Leave bad attitudes at home, please! Ain't nobody got time for drama.

If you'd like to go ahead and plan your schedule out, visit the sched website here. Confused about how it works? That's okay! The bloggers will be discussing it next month.

GET TICKETS TO UTOPIA HERE.

Be sure and pay all the other official bloggers a visit this month! You don't want to miss a thing!

Week 1: Jo Michaels and Maria Pease
Week 2: Shana Benedict and Delphina Miyares
Week 3: Toni Lesatz and Ren Reidy
Week 4: Ashley Bodette and Kathryn Grimes

Sorry this was such a long post, but they're gonna get longer! I hope you're ready.

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

Jo