Professor Author and a BOOK GIVEAWAY!

One of the many perks of living in Az, besides the 70 degree winters, is the number of incredible authors who call Az home. Yes, that includes uber-famous Stephanie Myers.

But there's so much more to Az Authors!

There's NYT best-seller Lisa McMann (WAKE trilogy, THE UNWANTEDS reviewed here), Robin Brande (FAT CAT, PARALLELOGRAM Series reviewed here and here), Amy Fellner Dominy (OyMG reviewed here), and James Owens (THE CHRONICLES OF THE IMAGINARIUM GEOGRAPHICA series, DRAWING OUT THE DRAGONS) just to name a few.

So what that Az has the coolest authors? So... local authors are the best resource for fine tuning the craft of writing. And they are most generous in sharing their knowledge and experience with low cost or even free writing workshops.

A few weekends back, I attended a dialogue workshop by the hilarious and talented Tom Leveen. He is an Arizona native and author of the young adult novels PARTY (2010) and ZERO (April 2012). His third novel, MUSTARDSEED (Spring 2013) began as a NaNoWriMo project (yay!). Check him out on his website www.tomleveen.com.

In honor of this wonderful Professor Author, I am giving away a hard back copy of his 2010 debut novel PARTY. This edgy, honest teen tale, told from the viewpoints of eleven different characters, will be a great warm up for his next book - ZERO. Simply leave a comment and you're entered. Entries will end Sunday 2/5 (Is it February already?!) at midnight MST with the winner announced Monday 2/6 morning. Get on board! Tweet, facebook, or blog about the giveaway (just tell me in your comment) and I'll give you an extra entry for each one. I'm just cool like that.

Research your local authors and independent book stores. Chances are you'll find a writer's workshop near you. The experience will be priceless!

Happy writing and ¡Buen Provecho!