The weiners
Wow. So I said "galley giveaway" and you said, "Bring it!" Consider it brung. I'm going to try and get more ARCs to do more giveaways next month. And now the big reveal. The completely random winners whose numbers were selected by Dean are...
4 -- Katie of bluestocking.org
316 -- Jean who wrote about a Readers Choice book
If Katie and Jean would kindly email me at squeetus (@) gmail (dot) com with your mailing address I'll send you an ARC! Please let me know who you'd like me to sign it to and if you're under 18. Do write back after you've read it and let me know what you thought. And if you feel so inclined to burn the book, I'd appreciate it if you'd let me know in advance so we can attend and roast marshmellows.
In the past 4 days, I've heard from two people who have read this book. So exciting! After my week of worry, the response was so delightful I wanted to share.
The first, Cathy from Blue Willow Bookshop in Houston, Texas, wrote: "I got the ARC yesterday at work and, after dinner, got the kids into bed, cleaned the kitchen (sort of), and picked up the ARC, intending to read only a few pages before going to sleep. "Ha!" Couldn't put it down and read the entire book in one sitting -- the heck with tomorrow... I kept bursting out laughing, startling my husband, and then began weeping (he kindly passed the kleenex) and then began reading furiously, knowing it was getting late, but having to finish the book. Well, now it's tomorrow and I'm sitting in front of the computer, bleary eyed but happy, thinking about Becky and Felix and Mike and the hairless cat. Smiling to myself over some of my favorite lines ("We don't eat gravel, Sam. We are not chickens.") and knowing that this sleep-deprived day was totally worth it."
Wow, thank you, Cathy! That gravel line, I said that to my 18-month-old daughter one day when we were outside, then I rushed inside and wrote it down and later put it in the book. It was so fun to write a contemporary book about another mother so I could share some of my personal experiences with her.
The second response is kind of cheating because it's from my sister Jessica, who has read all my books multiple times. She might be my biggest fan, bless her heart. She told my mom, "Oh my gosh. This is Shannon's best book. I was hooked from the very beginning. Just the emotions...it was so moving, and I was laughing, and then crying, then laughing. I can't stop thinking about it. I love this book."
Wow, thank you, Jessica! Don't let me forget I have that DVD I borrowed from you. Let's rent Ghost Town on Thursday, okay? Also, I don't smell. I don't. So stop accusing me of that. Really, I wear deodorant. And shower and everything. And I took an informal poll and other people don't think I smell. Unless they were being nice.