Milestones and a Contest

**CONTEST CLOSED**

by Camela Thompson

I turned thirty-five last week on the same day I launched my second book, Blood, Spirit & Bone. The launch party was amazing and I had a lot of fun! Great authors took over throughout the event. I felt very lucky to be in such great company. I've linked their websites so you can check them out:

• Alys Arden
• Terri Reid
• Melanie James
• Dr. Shay West
• AJ Aalto
• Patricia D. Eddy
• Rebekah R. Ganiere
• Monica-Marie Vincent

**Contest Closed** As I sat at my table after the launch, I realized I have copies of both books. Why not give away a signed copy of book one and two of The Hunted? Here are the books:

Congrats to the winner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There are a lot of things happening in the next couple weeks. If you're in the Seattle area, please join Michael G. Munz and I for a reading at the Lake Forest Third Place Books. The event is May 28th at 7pm. The Facebook event is listed here.

If you're an author and are planning a launch, I really recommend Facebook launches (click here for a more in depth post) as an easy way to connect with a lot readers across a huge geographic expanse. We chatted with people in the South, far north Canada, and Great Britain. It was great! There were contests, giveaways, and a lot of great conversation. I nearly fell out of my chair during the "in my pants" game courtesy of Alys Arden (list the book title you are reading right now and add "in my pants" to the end for a hilarious statement). If there is any advice I'd like to give you, it's this: Ask authors you admire to do takeovers even if you think they'll say no. I was stunned that a couple people said yes. It was awesome.

With a week of heavy prep work leading up to a solid day of online activities, I was exhausted the next day. It's amazing how shifting priorities can cause your house to look like a disaster zone. It's even more amazing that I didn't notice until it had gotten really bad. I was so thankful when my husband and mom showed up after the launch, pried the laptop out of my hands, and took me out to dinner. The emotions ran high. As we sat and talked and laughed, my shoulders dropped from around my ears. I relaxed a little. I even celebrated some.

Launching a book is a huge deal. It is so easy to get caught up in all of the things that MUST BE DONE instead of enjoying the experience. Perhaps one day I will learn that all of the things will be done eventually and not to panic. One day.