HIDDEN - Naming Contest!

If you've been with me for a long time, you know I love hosting naming contests. The first contest was for Anathema - and the winner chose the main character's name, Reychel.

I'm running a similar contest again - but I'm throwing a little twist into the mix.

There's a grand prize for the person who wins the naming contest - but I'm also giving away a prize package to one winner who helped spread the word.

CHARACTER NAMING CONTEST

GRAND PRIZE:

- $25 Amazon gift card
- Your name in the Acknowledgements of HIDDEN
- A set of bookmarks
- An ecopy of HIDDEN when it releases
- An ecopy of MOTH, a newly released fantasy by Daniel Arenson, to keep you busy until HIDDEN releases

Help Spread the Word Prize:

- $5 Amazon gift card
- A set of bookmarks
- An ecopy of HIDDEN when it releases
- An ecopy of MOTH, a newly released fantasy by Daniel Arenson, to keep you busy until HIDDEN releases

To Enter Character Naming Contest:
 
The character: A woman, age 19, who is selfish and cruel. She's beautiful - blond and curvy. 

Comment below with your picks for the character's name. Only three (3) suggestions per person! If more than one person chooses the same name, and I wind up choosing it, the prize goes to the first person who suggested it.

If you don't have a registered Blogger account, please leave a way for me to contact you!!!!

Remember - I write epic fantasy. A name like Jane isn't likely to make the cut. Jayne, however, might.

I will choose the name I like best by November 12th and notify the winner!

To Enter Spread the Word Contest:

Check out all of the options in the Rafflecopter widget below. 
    

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Name a Character & Win!!!

Yep, it's that time again! I'm almost done with The Sundering, but I have one character who still doesn't have a name. This is becoming a bad habit for me, but a good thing for you. Why?

Because it means prizes! ;)

The Character:

A young girl, around the age of 8. She's blonde and sweet, but doesn't speak. She's a bit of mystery.

Rules:

Comment below with your picks for the character's name. Only three (3) suggestions per person!

If you don't have a registered Blogger account, please leave a way for me to contact you!!!!

Remember - I write epic fantasy. A name like Jane isn't likely to make the cut. Jayne, however, might.

What You Win:

(1) My undying thanks in the form of a mention in the acknowledgements in The Sundering.
(2) Ten bookmarks of The Swarm Trilogy to do with as you please.
(3) An eARC of The Sundering...to be delivered sometime before September 25th. Most likely, much earlier.

I will choose the name I like best by August 3rd and notify the winner!

Thanks and GOOD LUCK!!!!

Want to be one of the first to know The Sundering has released? Then sign up for my newsletter here.

The contest will run now through August 3rd, midnight CST. Please leave a way for me to contact you!!!! Must be older than 15 to enter, must have parent's permission to accept prize if you are younger than 18.

Megg's Big Freebie Bash!!!!

Source

I want to give you a bunch of free stuff to celebrate my new covers. Is that okay? ;)

<cue cheering>


First, I'm running a contest on Wattpad. You should totally go there and enter it. Like, right now. Just don't forget to come back here.

Okay. Did you go to Wattpad? DID YOU?!

Good.

So you know you can win one of five ebook cards there, which is awesome. You've also got my address if you want some signed bookmarks. Even more awesome.

What can you get here? Well, first I'm going to list a whole bunch of free ebooks from me and my friends. YAY! All of these links will go to Amazon. It's possible the books are free on other venues (Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Kobo, etc), so if you don't have a Kindle, please check the other websites!!!!! I would list them all but then this blog post would be a million miles long.

Then I'm going to give away three (3) $10 Amazon.com gift cards. This part is only open to the US, I'm sorry to say. I can't give gift cards to someone in another country, which totally sucks. :(

You can enter to win the gift cards in the Rafflecopter do-dah below.

Free ebooks*:

Anathema by Megg Jensen
Sleepers by Megg Jensen
Into the Shadows by Karly Kirkpatrick
Loramendi's Story by Angela Carlie
Exiled by RaShelle Workman
How to Date an Alien by Magan Vernon
Mind Games by Susan Kaye Quinn
The Almost Assassin by Laura Pauling
In His Eyes by Indelibles
Clockwise by Elle Strauss
Beautiful Demons by Sarra Cannon
Running Wide Open by Lisa Nowak
Born of Fire by Heather McCorkle
Glimpse by Stacey Wallace Benefiel
Day of Sacrifice by S.W. Benefiel
Watched by Cindy Hogan
Soulkeepers by GP Ching
Bound by CK Bryant

*(prices subject to change at ANY time - please check the price before you buy) 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Afterlife is OUT (and a CONTEST!)

I cannot believe Afterlife is finally out in the world. Well, at least part of the world. You can find it on Amazon (US & UK) and Barnes&Noble, but the iBookstore, Sony, and many international outlets are slow to post.

In honor of its release, I'm selling Afterlife for only 99 cents on April 27th through April 29th on Amazon and Barnes&Noble. It goes to its regular price of $2.99 on April 30th. Why? I wanted to give my loyal fans a chance to get it for cheap. You guys are the ones who've been there with me, who follow me in various places (Facebook, Twitter, my blog). It's my little gift to you.

But wait ... there's MORE!

Yes, you know me. It wouldn't be a book release without some kind of giveaway. If you've been following me, you know I took my family to Universal Studios in Orlando for the first time. I have to say, the Harry Potter portion was pretty damn incredible. It's something I won't forget anytime soon.

The best part? The souvenirs. I brought back a few for you!!!! One winner will get this really fun prize package - a stuffed owl (I think it's Pidwidgeon, but the tag doesn't specifically say so), a Gryffindor patch, and (what I think is the coolest thing ever because I bought one for myself too) a leather suitcase filled with Hogwarts stationary!!!!!

I'll also throw in some of my swag, but you know that Harry Potter stuff is way cooler anyway.

Enter below in the Rafflecopter widget. Yes, I'm having a little love affair with Rafflecopter!!!!

Thanks again so much for being a part of this journey with me. I love writing and I love that I'm able to make so many of you gasp, smile, and cry.

XoXo,

Megg

(the contest is open internationally!)

Okay, so Rafflecopter is having issues this morning. If it's working, use it to enter. If not, here are the ways you can enter - just leave a comment below to let me know which actions you took and make sure to leave me a way to contact you in case you win:

1pt - Leave a blog post contest below
1pt (once per day) - tweet this:  Afterlife by @meggjensen is out & only #99cents thru 4/29 on #kindle and #nook - enter to win cool #HarryPotter prizes http://bit.ly/IWmNCT
1pt - Follow me on Twitter
1 pt - Follow me on Facebook
1pt - "Like" this blog post
1 pt - Join my email list

Happy Birthday Anathema!!!!

I can hardly believe Anathema has been out for one year. I can't let my baby's first birthday go by without a party, can I?

You're lucky, too, because I have goodie bags filled with some pretty fantastic ebooks from my fellow Indelibles!!!!

I was going to write this long, meaningful post about how fantastic the last year has been (freakin' awesome!), how many ebooks I've sold (almost 10,000), etc, yadda, blah, but....

Screw that - let's just go straight to the goodies!!!!!

GRAND PRIZE (1 winner): All 3 books in the Cloud Prophet Trilogy - Anathema, Oubliette, and Severed in paperback and ebook (and some random swag I toss in the package too)!!!

eBook Goodie Bag #1 (1 winner):

The Secret of Spruce Knoll by Heather McCorkle
Zellie Wells Trilogy by Stacey Wallace Benefiel
How to Date an Alien by Magan Vernon
Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn
Bloody Little Secrets by Karly Kirkpatrick
The Green by Karly Kirkpatrick
The Veil by Cory Putman Oakes

eBook Goodie Bag #2 (1 winner):

Untraceable by SR Johannes
On the Bright Side by SR Johannes
Running Wide Open by Lisa Nowak
Destined by Jessie Harrell
Beautiful Demons by Sarra Cannon
Clockwise by Elle Strauss
Watched by Cindy Hogan

eBook Goodie Bag #3 (1 winner):

Exiled by RaShelle Workman
The Book of Lost Souls by Michelle Muto
Bound by C.k. Bryant
The Soulkeepers by G.P. Ching
Become by Ali Cross
Loramendi's Story by Angela Carlie


* please note that some of the ebooks are Amazon exclusive titles and can only be given through an Amazon egift. Kindle apps are available for most smart phones as well as a free download on your computer.

Want to enter? Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below! No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Open internationally for paperback shipping - not all ebooks are available internationally. Contest begins Wednesday, February 1st and runs through midnight CST Saturday, February 4th. Must be fifteen to enter or have parent's permission.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Win an ebook copy of the ENTIRE Cloud Prophet Trilogy!

Haven't had a chance to get all three books in the Cloud Prophet Trilogy yet? Now's your chance to win them! The winner will choose from a Kindle (mobi), Nook (epub) or PDF copy of the wildly popular bestselling Cloud Prophet Trilogy!

Just enter below!!!!

Ask Me Anything!

Okay, so I decided to make one of my Severed blog tour stops a Q & A. But I need you guys to ask me the questions! Ask me a question about my personal life or something about writing. Whatever!

Comment below with a question (no more than three per person) and I will choose 5 - 10 to answer on a vlog tour stop. I'll be giving you credit for the question too (either by first name or user id, whatever you leave in the comment).

Oh - and one lucky commenter below will win an e-ARC of Severed!!!!!! (Winner chosen by random.org)

Contest starts now and ends November 10th at midnight CST.

Winner of the Naming Contest!

I chose a winner for the naming contest tonight. I made a list of the top five names on Tuesday. Then I spent the rest of this week staring at that green sticky note. All but two names remained today. For hours I agonized over which name to choose - it was totally ridiculous! I even considered hosting a secondary contest and letting my readers decide because I did not think I could do it.

Then I worried that wouldn't be fair. After all, I had promised to choose a name. I hate going back on a promise. After a few more torturous hours, I finally settled on the name Zuri.

Why? Well, obviously I already loved it. Plus, I have a thing for the letter Z. I think it will fit the character perfectly too. The winner is Stephanie Overton. She won an enticing sneak-peek paragraph from Severed, 10 bookmarks, being thanked in the acknowledgments, and an eARC of Severed (which will be delivered in November). She also got an email from my personal account (this is what I get for prepping an email while I'm also getting my kids ready for bed). As most of you know, Megg Jensen is a pen name. It's not like I'm trying to live a super-secret life. I'm readily found on the web as a parenting journalist. It's my intention to keep journalism and publishing my novels totally separate. What if you wanted to look up my books under my real name? Well, a web search could result in an article on baby poop or the death of a pet. If you're curious about my pen name, read more here.

Some of you may have seen Stephanie's name pop up a lot around me. She's a reader and one of the sweetest people I've met on the web. She's pretty damn funny too. If you're wondering what the second name was ... well ... I'm not going to say. I don't want to make anyone feel bad because no one likes to come in second place.

I do want to thank all of you who took the time to enter. I don't know if you realize how much I appreciate your interest. I really, really, really do. Tons. Thank you.

Name a Character & Win a Prize!!!!

It's that time again. I'm stumped on a character name and I need your help!!!!

It's a minor character in Severed, but she's important. She's evil (probably). She's huge (definitely). She's ugly (seriously).

Her name cannot end in an 'a' or have an 'l' in it. Weird, I know, but there's a reason in my crazy little brain.

Here's what you'll win:

(1) My undying thanks in the form of a mention in the Acknowledgements in Severed.
(2) Ten Sleepers bookmarks to do with as you please.
(3) A one-paragraph sneak peak at Severed. It could come from anywhere in the novel, but it's sure to entice!
(4) An ARC of Severed....to be delivered sometime before November 25th, the official release date.

I will choose the name I like best by October 7th and notify the winner!

The contest will run now through October 4th, midnight CST. You may enter as many times as you like by commenting below. Please leave a way for me to contact you!!!! Must be older than 15 to enter, must have parent's permission to accept prize if you are younger than 18.

Psst...Wanna Win a $50 Amazon.com Giftcard?

Yeah, you read that right. $50 Amazon.com giftcard. But you have to work for it.

When I released Sleepers, I was kinda lazy. I just announced it on Facebook and Twitter and sent out some review copies. No fireworks. No cigars. Nothing.

That all changes today.




You have two weeks to enter. Here's how:

1. Download and print out the sketch of the Sleepers cover to the right. Then color it any way you want! Post it for the world to see, wherever you want - FB, Twitter, your blog, tramp stamp tattoo, whatevs. 1 entry.

2. Take a pic of yourself holding a sign that says, "It's time to wake up. Sleepers by Megg Jensen." Post it wherever you want - FB, Twitter, your blog, a sign stuck on a nerd's back, whatevs. 1 entry

3. Make a video of yourself waking someone up and then telling them about my book. This one would be hilarious, but I can't imagine anyone would do it. So, if you do, you get 5 entries just for doing it.

Make sure you tag me on these entries (on FB or Twitter) because if I don't see 'em, they don't count! Then fill out the form below. You can do each of these things once, for a total of 7 entries to win.

Blah, blah, blah - Must be 13 to enter or have parent's permission. Valid anywhere that can receive an Amazon.com gift card through email. Winner will be chosen through Random.com. Only for the sexy people. Contest ends Tuesday, August 23rd at 7pmCST (cuz I like to go bed early, none of that midnight crap here). Void where prohibited (whatever that means).

Oubliette Contest Winner

So hopefully everyone read my post about breaking the rules. I made a lot of poor assumptions when I set up the contest and based it off rankings. My advice? Don't follow this model! LOL! I sold FAR MORE copies on Barnes & Noble than I thought I would, which I think skewed where my Amazon rankings would go. What's even funnier is that sales of Anathema picked up - and Anathema hit TWO lists on Amazon. Ironic? Sure, but I'll take it!!!

As I said yesterday, I'm going to base the prize off what I projected my sales would be, versus the ranking they hit.

My big winner is Stephanie Overton, a reader who's been a HUGE supporter of mine. I think she's entered every contest I've run, so I was so happy when Random.org chose her number this morning! She's won:

EXCELLENT PRIZE:

A $25 Amazon.com gift card, signed Oubliette paperback, and a signed Oubliette bookmark, PLUS a SIGG water bottle with Oubliette's cover on it!
(and an additional $25 donation to Friends of the Fountaindale Library)

I'm so excited to send the goodies to Stephanie and send a check to my local Friends group for $125!!!!

Thank you to each & every person who entered and contest and/or purchased a copy of Oubliette!!!

The cover for the third, and final, book in the Cloud Prophet Trilogy was released yesterday. In case you didn't see it I'm posting it below. Severed will drop sometime in the fall. I'm currently writing the first major draft.

Before Severed, I have at least one other release planned. More details to come next week....

Breaking the Rules ... There WILL be Prizes!

Tomorrow is the last day for Oubliette's blog tour. It's been a whirlwind! I didn't know what any of these ladies would say about Oubliette until I read the posted review. I'll be honest, there were a couple I was scared to see. I'm always convinced people will hate my work and always stunned when they love it. I hope you'll comb through each blog because all of these women are true book lovers and have so many great things to share!

My Contest of All Awesomeness ends tomorrow. If you've been following along, you might notice that I didn't hit any of the rankings I used as criteria for the prize packages. Here's the deal - when coming up with this contest, I wanted to do something unique. I brainstormed for a month, finally came up with the greatest idea and then BAM! Facebook clarified their contest rules and suddenly I had to come up with a new contest in the space of two weeks. It's not as easy as it sounds - especially because I was on a road trip for nine days and my husband & kids had to listen to me whine & moan in the car about this.

I'm one of those people who hates doing the same thing as everyone else. Hates, hates, hates. I'd rather stay home and stare at a blank wall than go along with the crowd. So as you can imagine, I spent every waking moment coming up with a new contest. When the idea for this ranking contest sprang to mind, the hubby (who has a masters in Electrical Engineering and is kind of a genius) and I sat down to figure out how many sales it would take to hit those precious rankings.

We thought we had it.

We were wrong.

Although I made most of the sales I predicted (though not all the sales I hoped for), I didn't hit the rankings. I didn't come even close. That just proves Amazon's ranking algorithms are totally not what we thought they were....and we were basing our calculations off of past experience.

So when I close the contest tomorrow, the prize package will be based off of the sales I projected for each ranking - not the ranking itself. I absolutely refuse to not give away anything. That would be totally lame. I want to give stuff away and if I have to change the rules for it to happen, then I will. Ha! Take that rules! :p

(Okay, so I guess it's not too dangerous for me to change my own rules in your favor....but, that's how I roll...)

I hope you've entered - I hope you've told your friends to enter - because there WILL be prizes!!!! :)

Public Libraries & the Contest of All Awesomeness!!!!!!

I'm not one of those writers who recently learned to love books. I like to tell people I was raised in the wild by a bookshelf of librarians. My mom is a book lover and library aide. I spent nearly every morning and every afternoon in the elementary school library from 2nd grade through high school graduation because I rode with my mom to school. In college at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, I worked in a university library and spent more time than anyone I knew trolling through the stacks (one of the largest collections of books in the world).


When I grew up & had my own family, I wanted to volunteer at my local library so on a whim I attended a Friends of the Library meeting. That night I met some of the most amazing people I've ever met in my town. These people were pulled together by their love of books and libraries. I'd finally found my tribe.

I've been an active member now for nearly nine years, but every year I've paid the little $5 fee for membership. To celebrate the launch of Oubliette, I'm going to join Friends of the Fountaindale Library as a Lifetime Member, a $100 donation.

And before any of you call me a hypocrite - an e-publisher promoting libraries might seem contrary to some of you - I'm excited that my library has e-books in circulation. Libraries are not only a depository for the paper books we love so much, but also a resource in our ever-changing digital world!

On to the Contest of All Awesomeness!!!!!

Oubliette launches TODAY!!!!! Hurray! *glitter* *sparkles* *fireworks*

To celebrate I want to give away prizes. You know about my BIG winner, Friends of the Fountaindale Library - but I'm not leaving you out!!!

You can enter to win a prize pack, but the prizes are determined by my Kindle ranking between now and June 30th. I am so, so sorry I have to limit this to Amazon.com rankings. Barnes & Noble rankings are, well, inconsistent, rarely updated, and wonky. Amazon.com has the most clear-cut ranking system.

Only ONE LUCKY PERSON will win one of these packs, and the prize pack is determined by overall Kindle rankings by June 30th.

If Oubliette hits the top 10,000 overall on Amazon.com, ONE LUCKY PERSON could win:

PRIZE THAT ISN'T AS AWESOME AS THE OTHERS, BUT STILL COOL TO WIN:

A $10 Amazon.com gift card, signed Oubliette paperback, and a signed Oubliette bookmark
(and an additional $10 donation to Friends of the Fountaindale Library)

If Oubliette hits the top 5,000 overall on Amazon.com, ONE LUCKY PERSON could win:

EXCELLENT PRIZE:

A $25 Amazon.com gift card, signed Oubliette paperback, and a signed Oubliette bookmark, PLUS a SIGG water bottle with Oubliette's cover on it!
(and an additional $25 donation to Friends of the Fountaindale Library)

If Oubliette hits the top 1,000 overall on Amazon.com, ONE LUCKY PERSON could win:

MOST EXCELLENT PRIZE:

A $50 Amazon.com gift card, signed Oubliette paperback, a signed Oubliette bookmark, a SIGG water bottle with Oubliette's cover on it!
(and an additional $50 donation to Friends of the Fountaindale Library)

If Oubliette hits the top 100 overall on Amazon.com, ONE LUCKY PERSON could win:

GRAND PRIZE:

A $100 Amazon.com gift card, signed Oubliette paperback, a signed bookmark, a SIGG water bottle with Oubliette's cover on it, PLUS a FIRST EDITION SIGNED PAPERBACK OF ANATHEMA (less than 60 first edition copies are in existence).
(and an additional $100 donation to Friends of the Fountaindale Library)

How do you enter? Easy! Just fill out the form below. You're not required to do anything - however, if you want the prize pack to increase you might want to tell some people about Oubliette. The more Kindle sales I have, the bigger the prize pack. There will only be ONE winner and as Amazon.com rankings update, I will update this post to show which prize pack you'll be eligible to win.

Want to earn additional entries? No problem!

- Take a screen shot of Oubliette's rankings on Amazon and post it on your choice of social network (please tag me or I may not see it) - +1 entry

- Post a picture of yourself with your copy of Oubliette on your choice of social network (please tag me or I may not see it) - +1 entry

- Post fan art from Anathema or Oubliette on your choice of social network (please tag me or I may not see it) - +1 entry

- Change your pic on your social network to Oubliette's cover for 24 hours - +1 entry

(no more than FOUR additional entries - you cannot post screen shots every ten seconds) ;)

Want to buy a copy of Anathema or Oubliette? - click here or on the covers to your right and you'll be sent to a page with all the available purchase options!

Not ready to buy yet? Mark my books "To Read" on Goodreads!

Anathema         Oubliette

Terms: Open internationally, not available where prohibited by law. If you are under 18 years old, you must have your parents permission. No purchase is necessary to win. Winners will be contacted via email on July 1st, 2011. Winners will be chosen at random. Winners must respond to claim their prize within 24 hours or they forfeit their prize.  For items being mailed: We are not responsible for items lost or damaged during shipping.  We are not responsible for shipping delays or acts of God that interfere with delivery.  The item will ONLY be shipped to the shipping address provided.  Prizes are non-transferable. No cash value.  Contact us for full giveaway details. Thank you.

Oubliette e-ARC Contest!!!!

Oubliette launches on June 20th, but I know quite a few people have been anxiously waiting to read it. Since you're all so awesome I'm hosting a contest to win an e-ARC (Kindle, Nook, or PDF formats only) of Oubliette three days before the official launch.

Entering is easy. Fill out the form below.

*GASP*

Is that all? No promotion? No liking or following?


Um, yeah, just comment below before 5pm CST on Thursday, June 16th.

Wait a sec - how about those of you who HAVEN'T read Anathema yet? I know there must be one or two out there. ;) So if you haven't read it, then I'll give you an e-copy of that too. It would suck to read Oubliette before Anathema, trust me!

Oh, and just so you know, I'll be running the Contest of all Awesomeness starting on Oubliette's launch day, June 20th. I'll give you all the details on Friday, June 17th.

Terms: Open internationally, not available where prohibited by law. If you are under 18 years old, you must have your parents permission. No purchase is necessary to win. Winners will be contacted via email on June 16th, 2011. Winners will be chosen at random.  Winners must respond to claim their prize within 24 hours or they forfeit their prize. Prizes are non-transferable. No cash value. Contact us for full giveaway details. Thank you. 

Teeny Tiny Twitter Contest

So I said on Twitter yesterday that if I had 650 followers by noon today I'd run a contest. Um, yeah, that was a little over-ambitious. Not to worry, though, I still want to give away copies of Anathema!

Over the next three days I'll give away three ebooks of Anathema to lucky Tweeters. I'll give away any electronic format the winner chooses. If you already own Anathema, you can win for a friend. I'll also be happy to send Oubliette bookmarks to any who enters if you DM me your mailing address via Twitter.

How do you enter? Easy. Tweet this:

I want to win an e-copy of Anathema by @meggjensen1 http://www.meggjensen.com #kindle #nook #ebook #giveaway

Retweets do not always show up in my feed. The BEST way to enter is to copy and paste the message and then tweet it.

On Friday at 5pm CST the contest will end, I'll randomly choose three winners, and contact them by Monday. Easy peasy!

GOOD LUCK!

Fine print: You may enter as many times as you like. You must be 18 to enter or have your parent's permission. Only entries that show up in my Twitter feed will be counted. Entrants will be assigned a number and winners will be randomly chosen through Random.com.

Winner & What's Coming Next!!!!

There is a black hole in my brain where names are concerned, especially for important characters. I have so much trouble naming them and I'm thrilled people are willing to help me out!

Eighteen names were suggested for the prophet. If you've read Anathema, you know who he is. If you haven't, then you should go out and buy a copy. (Links to the right.) He plays a more prominent role in Oubliette and I couldn't get away anymore without a name.

I had a hard time choosing and I narrowed it down to seven favorites. Then my eight-year-old and I had a powwow. We discussed the merits of each name and quickly narrowed it down to two names. Then she told me it was too hard and I had to choose. So I went with my gut an chose:

ZELOR

I love Zelor. Just like my character it's creepy, old-fashioned, and a little insane.

A big congrats to LunaMoth, reader and book blogger with the most gorgeous website! Definitely check it out.

So what's coming up on the blog? On Tuesdays I'm starting a new feature called Trailer Tuesday. I happen to adore book trailers and I want to share some with my readers. It won't be only indies, I'll definitely feature some traditionally published books too.

On Thursdays I'm going to make an honest attempt to blog....about something....hopefully something interesting. I'm also open to suggestions if there's anything anyone wants to hear about self-publishing, or writing, or bats (which I know a lot about too).

Contest! Name a Character in Oubliette & Win a Prize!

Back in January I held a contest to name the main character in Anathema. It went so well I've decided to do it again!

This time it's not my main character, but a character vital to the story. So vital I've been afraid of naming him.

Here's where you come in. Anyone can guess, but I want you to promote Anathema through either your FB, Twitter, or blog. Just once. You don't have to do it all the time. You can tell people to read it because it's the best book ever written, you can direct then to the contest, point them to Goodreads, whatever, as long as it mentions Anathema!!! Everyone who promotes gets one guess - that's it - so make it a good one! (Make sure you link to your post in your comment, please!!!!)

The character is the prophet who predicted Reychel's coming. He's been dead for six hundred years. His life is well-documented in his journals, but one journal is missing - the one that just might help Reychel unlock the key to understanding, and using, her gift. He's wily, cunning, and quite possibly a madman. Just a first name.

So.....wanna win something?! Of course I'll give something away!

You'll be thanked in Oubliette's acknowledgments, you'll win 5 of my Oubliette bookmarks, and you can win a second edition paperback of Anathema or you can wait and get a free copy of Oubliette (coming late spring/early summer).

The contest runs through Friday, April 1st, midnight CST. The winner will be announced on Monday, April 4th. Happy guessing! :D

Small print:
If I don't know you, please leave contact information or send me an email using the link to the right. You aren't required to follow me on Blogger, FB or Twitter, but it's always appreciated. If the same name is submitted twice, I will go with the person who suggested it first. The same name spelled differently is counted as a different entry. I also have the right not to choose a name if I don't see one I like. This contest is open only to U.S. residents.

Contest Winner & My Sales - You Might Be Surprised....

First, I want to thank everyone who entered the contest, everyone who helped spread the word about Anathema, and everyone who purchased a copy. You've all helped in making my dreams come true.

Now let's choose our winner! Two of my entrants tied for the closest guess to the number of books I sold from February 10th through March 11th. To keep things fair, my spastic miniature schnauzer, Ace, will choose the winner!



CONGRATS ERIN, our Grand Prize Winner - Kindle or Nook or $150 gift card & a free copy of Anathema!

1st Runner-Up, Terah wins $25 gift card and a free copy of Anathema

2nd Runner-Up, Tony wins a DarkSide prize pack!


Wait! I announced the winners - but NOT the winning number. Yeah, this is where things get interesting.

If you've been following me on Facebook, you know I made the Barnes & Noble Teen ebook bestseller list. I cracked the top 100:

See my book at #98, just above Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver at #99? This was March 8th.

And here I am at #96, just above Lauren Kate's Fallen on March 11th

March 12th, #93.










You must be thinking ... OMG, Megg has sold hundreds, even thousands of books in her first month to hit that list!

You're wrong. Here are my totals:

February 10th - 28th: 62 ebooks; 20 paperbacks
March 1st - 11th: 55 ebooks; 15 paperbacks
Grand total: 152

90 of those ebooks were sold through Barnes& Noble. 90. I sold 90 and hit the bestseller list.

I have no idea how they calculate placement on the list. My colleague at DarkSide Publishing, Karly Kirkpatrick, has sold hundreds more than me since she debuted in November. She's on the list, for sure, but she hasn't cracked the top 100. So why have I?

The consensus is that it has something to do with how quickly my books sold and that I had a few days with pretty high numbers of sales.

This also tells me the teen ebook market is WIDE OPEN. If I can achieve this on my first book in a month, imagine what you can do!

Am I disappointed with my sales? Hell NO! I'm thrilled someone other than my mom bought my book. I'm thrilled people are enjoying Anathema. I'm thrilled strangers have found it and embraced it. Isn't that what every writer wants? And let's remember, this is only the beginning. I have the two other books in my Cloud Prophet trilogy dropping this year. In addition to that I have multiple completed novels begging me for final edits so they too can see the light of day. People who've read my upcoming books have remarked that my writing is better, the plots are tighter, and the issues I deal with go much deeper. And then there's my contemporary YA novel about a ninja-fighting teenage girl. But that's a story for another post....

Now, do me a HUGE favor and head over to G.P. Ching's blog to read the first chapter of her novel The Soulkeepers. I promise, you'll be begging for more!!!

Anathema Launch Contest!!!!!

You've got to be wondering, What's up with the jelly beans?

You know those contests where you have to guess how many jelly beans are in a jar? Well, in honor of my release of Anathema I'm going to let you guys guess how many copies I'll sell of my book through March 11th!!!! (Hint - I've already sold 50!)

The prizes are listed below - keep reading because you'll want to win this contest!!!


You have to earn your chances to guess the total I sell.

Here's how to earn guesses: (You can pick & choose, you DO NOT have to do all of them.)

• Buy a copy of Anathema (links to everywhere it's sold at the bottom of this post) - 2 guesses

(must prove by emailing me a pic of you with the book or with your e-reader on Chapter Ten of Anathema - your picture may end up on my blog!!!! I cannot guarantee how fast Amazon will ship your book. If the contest is nearly over and your copy hasn't arrived, drop me an email.)

• Already a follower on my FB fan page - 2 guesses

• New follower on my FB fan page - 1 guess

• Promote & link to this contest on your Facebook page - 1 guess

(if we're not FB friends, take a screenshot & email it to me or send me a friend request & tag me in the post)

• Promote this contest on Twitter with a link to the contest - 1 guess

(tag me, @meggjensen1, so I can see the tweet for verification)

• Blog about this contest with a link to the contest - 1 guess

(link to your post in your comment below)

No purchase is necessary to play. There are plenty of options above to play for free!

Add up your total and post a comment below, telling me how you earned your chances to guess & leave your email address so I can contact you if you win. Don't forget to guess how many copies you think I'll sell!!! You can enter as many times as you. Want to Tweet about this every day? No problem - just leave a new comment each time. I will be checking to make sure they are valid!!!

Comment example (for those of you new to this type of contest):
Bought Kindle copy = 2 guesses (sending you my pic!)
Already FB fan = 2 guesses
Promote on FB (we're friends & you can see it) = 1 guess
5 guesses = 0; 343; 29,845; 1,243,984; 1 billion
contact: (your email address here)


Family & friends are allowed to guess because let's face it, I have no clue how many books I'll sell by March 11th. It could be one (thanks, Mom!). It could be a million. No one has an advantage over anyone else!

So, I'm sure you're wondering, What will I win?

I'm glad you asked!!!


GRAND PRIZE
One (1) Barnes & Noble nook. $149 WiFi b&w ereader or one (1) $139 amazon.com WiFi only Kindle - YOUR CHOICE!!!! And a free e-copy of Anathema!
(If you already own an e-reader, you can opt for one (1) $150 gift card to Barnes & Noble or amazon.com)
(International winners will receive an international amazon.com e-gift card equivalent to $150 U.S.)

First Runner-Up
$25 Barnes & Noble or amazon.com gift card and a free copy of Anathema (an e-copy or a signed paperback, your choice)


Second Runner-Up
DarkSide Publishing gift pack: a free copy of both Anathema and Into the Shadows by Karly Kirkpatrick (your choice of e-copies or signed paperbacks)

If no one hits the number on the nose, the closest person will win. In the event of a tie, I will let my daughter choose names out of a hat.


Ready? Set! GO!

(links in case you want to purchase Anathema)
Buy Anathema on Barnes&Noble - $2.99
Buy Anathema on Amazon.com, UK - £2.17
Buy Anathema on Amazon.com, ebook - $2.99
Buy Anathema on Amazon.com, paperback - $11.00 + s/h
Buy Anathema on Barnes&Noble, paperback - $11.00 + s/h 
Buy a signed & personalized paperback copy  of Anathema directly from Megg - $11.00 + shipping

Contest Ends: March 11th
Winner Announced: March 15th

Must be at least 18 years old to enter & win. Under 18? You need your parent's permission to claim the prize if you win.

Not Twiddling My Thumbs - REALLY!

I have been on edge for the last two weeks. I want to officially launch my book, but there was a holdup with my paperback. Unfortunately something happened that was beyond my control and everything had to be resubmitted. I don't want to go into it or complain about any particular company, mainly because they were so good about correcting the problem. Unfortunately these things take time and here I am, eagerly awaiting my book launch.

If the e-books are out, why am I waiting? I want everyone to be able to participate in my contest, and that includes people who want a paperback. There is an element of my contest that involves people who purchase a copy of my book and it's not fair to leave anyone out.

The great news is that since I unofficially launched my e-books last week, I've sold 44 copies (28 e-books and 14 paperback pre-orders). I think that's fantastic considering I've done almost nothing in the way of promotion. Heck, I'm thrilled that someone other than my mom bought a copy!

My hope is that the contest will launch Friday, but depending on the paperback's time frame, it might be Monday. Thanks so much for sticking with me - I really appreciate it!!!! I PROMISE you, this contest will be ah-may-zing!

Hint - anyone who is a fan of my Facebook page before the contest starts has a slight advantage. I want to reward everyone who's been sticking with me since the beginning. If you haven't followed me on FB yet, you can do so with the widget to the right.