Bake a cupcake and win five paperbacks

CONTEST CLOSED! Winner: CORI from NEW YORK, USA. Lucky #4

I still have a few of those misprinted paperbacks hanging around in a box in my office. It’s a handy box, because it raises my laptop up when I’m working from the treadmill desk, but it isn’t very pretty. I should replace it with something in the nearish future, so the books need to go! Plus it feels like a long time since I’ve hosted a giveaway.

This is the final full set of misprints. The books are slightly streaked with pink lines. The files/printings have all been corrected, so once these are gone there won’t be any more. I’d be happy to sign them, personalized or not.

Do you want to win all FIVE of these paperbacks?

Yes?

Then, to enter:

1. Bake some cupcakes inspired by one of the cupcake creations in the Dowser books. You can use one of my recipes or your own – from scratch or a mix, your choice.

2. Take a picture of your cupcake(s) and post that picture in the comments as a .jpg (if possible).

Unfortunately, there isn’t mechanism that allows you to post a picture directly in the comments, but you can link a .jpg. The comment thread should embed it automatically — direct links to the .jpg are best for this. If this isn’t possible for you then you can link to a post on Instagram/Flickr/Facebook/Twitter/etc. This will just show up as the link, not the picture though.

3. Tell me about your cupcake. Which Dowser cupcake inspired yours – Lust in a Cup, Sunshine in a Cup, Buzz in a Cup, etc?

This is not a baking or beauty contest. Even with how much I bake I cannot manage bake/frost a ‘pretty’ cupcake.

FUN! FUN!

Notes/Rules: OPEN INTERNATIONALLY. Each cupcake/picture will be assigned an entry number. The winning entry will then be selected via random number generator. One entry per person. Please make sure to fill out a valid email address in the comment form. Email addresses are not collected for any purpose other than notifying the contest winner.

If you haven’t commented on the blog before, or you comment from a different IP address, the comments are moderated. So don’t worry if you don’t see your entry right away. I will approve it, then assign it an entry number.

Contest closes SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 2015 at 8 p.m. PDT.

NEW TO THE DOWSER SERIES BUT YOU STILL WANT TO PLAY ALONG? Dowser 1 is currently perma-free on all retailers.

Ecstasy in a Cup

I’m planning on posting a contest tomorrow to win a signed, misprinted set of Dowser 1-4 and Oracle 1 paperbacks. The entry will be a picture of any of the cupcakes that appear in any of the Dowser books, baked either from the recipes here on the blog or one you’ve figured out on your own. And yes, pre-mixes are acceptable for those who don’t have the time or the inclination to bake from scratch.

Anyway, I thought I should get Ecstasy in a Cup up on the blog so there was one more recipe option. Note, if you do choose to bake the Ecstasy’s you might also want to enter into the contest running over on IndieVisible that closes on June 12, 2015.

What cupcake should be featured in Dowser 5?

At the beginning of Dowser 5 *spoiler alert* Drake eats three different cupcakes. Two are new creations of Jade’s, and the fledgling has previously tasted the third one.

Dowser Series cupcake Masterlist — The Cupcake Masterlist for the Dowser Series

As I was working through the third draft today, I thought it might be fun if readers of the Dowser Series decided on the ‘previously tasted’ cupcake.

To that end, I have embedded a poll below – which I seriously hope works – with five possibilities. All of the cupcakes on the poll were mentioned in Dowser 1, and therefore could have previously been consumed by Drake (which is the main criteria).

Pick one. Majority rules.

I promise to release the cupcake recipe a couple of weeks before I release Dowser 5. Yum!

Misprint giveaway #5 – last but not least!

GIVEAWAY CLOSED. WINNER AMANDA FROM OKLAHOMA, LUCKY #7

To recap a fourth time. I had fifteen misprinted paperbacks. The covers of the paperbacks were all oddly tinted to various degrees with pink and red. And, in a few, the top and bottom margins shift down or up around the halfway point. Since I’m a fan of decluttering, I thought I should give these ‘rarities’ away.

I given away fourteen so far.

I’ll autograph and label the book as a misprint. I’ll even throw in an I See Me postcard and some butterfly tattoos.

Would you like a chance to own this misprinted, but still pretty, Treasures, Demons, and Other Black Magic (Dowser 3) paperback?

Treasures (Dowser 3) with Leo — Leo kept insisting he wanted to be in the photos, so I finally let him.

You would?

Then #1. Comment on this blog post with your favourite quote from Treasures, Demons, and Other Black Magic (Dowser 3).

And #2. Tell me why it’s your favourite quote.

Remembering #3. To include your email address in the comment form so I can contact you.

OPEN INTERNATIONALLY. Giveaway closes 9 a.m. PDT Saturday, April 25, 2015. Each entry will be assigned a number, and the winner will be selected by random number generator.

May the random number generator be in your favour!

Misprint giveaway #3

GIVEAWAY CLOSED. Winners: Megan from Chicago, Linda from Wisconsin (which might be a first for me), and Michelle from New Jersey!

To recap a second time. I had fifteen misprinted paperbacks. The covers of the paperbacks were all oddly tinted to various degrees with pink and red. And, in a few, the top and bottom margins shift down or up around the halfway point. Since I’m a fan of decluttering, I thought I should give these ‘rarities’ away.

I given away eight so far.

I’ll autograph and label the books as misprints. I’ll even throw in an I See Me postcard and some butterfly tattoos.

Would you like one of THREE chances to own one of these misprinted, but still pretty, Dowser 1 paperbacks?

You would?

Then #1. Comment on this blog post with your favourite quote from Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1).

And #2. Tell me why it’s your favourite quote.

Remembering #3. To include your email address in the comment form so I can contact you.

OPEN INTERNATIONALLY. Giveaway closes 9 a.m. PDT Saturday, April 11, 2015. Each entry will be assigned a number, and THREE winners will be selected by random number generator.

May the random number generator be in your favour!

I’ll give you three guesses …

… but you’ll only need one.

I just finished something.

My right hand is aching so fiercely I can barely type this, and my fingers are covered in green ink.

My brain feels like mush. I really need a heavy dose of chocolate and to bake something, stat.

I’m also off-the-wall pleased with myself.

Can you guess what has me feeling this way?

How about a visual hint?

Mystery writing notebooks — Can you guess what is in these notebooks?

Yep, you got it. You’re looking at the first draft of Dowser 5.

!!!!!!! 😀 😀 😀 !!!!!!!

Misprint paperback giveaway #2

GIVEAWAY CLOSED. WINNER: WENDY FROM ALASKA!

To recap. I have fifteen misprinted paperbacks. The covers of the paperbacks are all oddly tinted to various degrees with pink and red. And, in a few, the top and bottom margins shift down or up around the halfway point. Since I’m a fan of decluttering, I thought I should give some of these ‘rarities’ away.

I gave the first four way last week.

I’ll autograph and label the books as misprints. I’ll even throw in an I See Me postcard and some butterfly tattoos.

Would you like to own this set of misprinted, but still pretty, paperbacks?

You would?

Then #1. Comment on this blog post with your favourite quote from any of the books.

And #2. Tell me why it’s your favourite quote.

Remembering #3. To include your email address in the comment form so I can contact you.

OPEN INTERNATIONALLY. Giveaway closes 9 a.m. PDT Saturday, April 4, 2015. Each entry will be assigned a number, and the winner will be selected by random number generator.

May the random number generator be in your favour!

Dowser 4 – the paperback

This seriously pretty proof for Shadows, Maps, and Other Ancient Magic (Dowser 4) showed up last Thursday, but I thought I would wait until it was available for purchase before mentioning it.

As with all the Dowser paperbacks, the cover and the page break knife image were designed by the lovely and talented Elizabeth Mackey.

While Mark at 52 Novels made sure that the text, formatting, and chapter headings were all pretty, pretty.

A big thank you to both Elizabeth and Mark for helping to bring this beauty to print. I prefer to read in ebook format these days, but there is just something about holding your own paperback that is absolutely thrilling.

Want to grab one yourself? You can order copies through Createspace and Amazon. Coming soon to B&N.

Have a great week!

A reconfigured office and a giveaway

GIVEAWAY CLOSED – MISSY FROM NEW ENGLAND IS THE WINNER THIS WEEK! YAY!

So I’ve been spoiled this week. I treated myself to a walking treadmill for my standing desk, then Michael decided that he was going to repaint my office along with reconfiguring my desks.

We just threw the office together when we moved here in September to get it as function as possible as quickly as possible so I could get Oracle 1 published.

Now when I complain about my ‘writing cave’ I will actually be joking.

New paint, new treadmill, and new reconfiguration.

The paint colour is the ever classy ‘cloud white.’ I still need to hide all the wires, but I spent two hours on the treadmill today and actually hand wrote 2k of Dowser 5 this afternoon while walking! And, not to worry, I have another regular desk underneath the window on the opposite wall for when my feet get tired. 🙂

While we were pulling everything out of the office I unearthed a box of misprinted paperbacks.

And, since I’m a fan of decluttering, I thought I should give some of these ‘rarities’ away.

To that end, for the next five Fridays, there will be a giveaway here on the blog. I’ll start with two full sets of Dowser 1 – 3 and Oracle 1, then three Dowser 1s, then three Oracle 1s, and finally one lone Dowser 3.

The covers of the paperbacks are all oddly tinted to various degrees with pink and red. And, in a few, the top and bottom margins shift down or up around the halfway point.

I’ll autograph and label the books as misprints. I might even throw in an I See Me postcard and some butterfly tattoos.

Shall we begin?

Would you like to own this set of misprinted, but still pretty, paperbacks?

You would?

Then #1. Comment on this blog post with your favourite quote from any of the books.

And #2. Tell me why it’s your favourite quote.

Remembering #3. To include your email address in the comment form so I can contact you.

OPEN INTERNATIONALLY. Giveaway closes 9 a.m. PDT Saturday, March 28, 2015. Each entry will be assigned a number, and the winner will be selected by random number generator.

May the random number generator be in your favour!

Dowser 4 – Tease in a Cup

Presenting Tease in a Cup, Kandy’s second birthday cupcake, from Shadows, Maps, and Other Ancient Magic (Dowser 4). These blackberry chocolate cupcakes share the same base with Sass in a Cup but they’re iced with blackberry buttercream! The touch of lemon in the buttercream is definitely the secret ingredient. So tasty!