Plenty o’ Pretties (and Some Fun to Come)

I've been getting a few things in place for a bookiversary celebration on November 18th - the one-year anniversary of the release of How a Star Falls! Woot!

Let's start with a teaser of the giveaway. :) I've been in contact with a few of my favorite Etsy shops, and I'm so excited to partner with them and feature an item from each store for the prizes! I won't tell you what the items are yet (gotta have some surprises, right?), but here's a look at the stores the prizes are from:

Baubles, Beads and Stuff is a brand-new Etsy shop run by blogger extraordinaire Rissi (Dreaming Under the Same Moon) and her mom, and the pieces are so classy! You can find a lovely variety of necklaces and earrings there - big, bold, and colorful. Allow me to show off the necklace I recently received from their store...

You can browse the pretties at: Etsy.com/shop/BaublesBeadsandStuff

Cindy Lindgren is always a pleasure to work with, and her designs are so sweet and whimsical! You can find cards, prints, fabric, and posters at her shop. Aren't you gonna have fun guessing which card design I'm offering for the giveaway? ;) Check out Cindy's store at: Etsy.com/shop/CindyLindgren

Jaye L. Knight is someone many of you already know and love. She's the author of the new-adult Christian fantasy series called the Ilyon Chronicles. But she also runs this Etsy shop on the side and offers a wide array of lovely and clever jewelry pieces and bookmarks. See what's available at: Etsy.com/shop/JayeLKnight

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Goodness, there's so much awesomeness to explore on Etsy, am I right? Feel free to send a shout-out to your favorite shops in the comments section. :)

As for what else is in store for the anniversary celebration, I'm very excited to announce that we'll be unveiling a new cover for How a Star Falls! While I still very much love the original, my contemporary romances will now be branded with couple covers. Who else is psyched to have Derrick join Brielle on the cover of the novella?? This couple holds a special place in my heart. ♥

I also thought of something tonight...

You see, I really want to draw attention to the audiobook version of How a Star Falls. It's my first audiobook, and I really, really loved how the narrator interpreted Derrick's voice and brought the story to life. :) It would tickle me pink (like the shirt I'm wearing in the pics above!) to see the audiobook get a little extra love during the anniversary celebration.

To that end, I wondered if any of you would be interested in doing a listen-along? Kinda like a read-along, but with an audiobook? Since the book is only two hours long when read aloud, I imagine a week of less than 20 minutes of listening per day would do the trick. You could listen on the way to work/school, while eating a meal, right before bed...pretty quick and hopefully fun. :) We could chat about the little snippet of story each day, our thoughts on the narration, our own dreams and memories the scenes bring to mind, whether or not we agree with Derrick's taste in music, what we like/don't like about the beach, etc.

And here's the thing: I have extra promo codes for downloading a free copy of the audiobook, so if you're interested in joining a listen-along, I'll be happy to send you a code! (Email me at amberstokes@corban.edu to request a code.) I'd just ask for a quick and honest review on Audible and Amazon when you're done listening. :)

What do you guys think? I could see this starting around the 15th or 16th maybe, and lasting for a week?

Looking forward to celebrating the bookiversary with you in a couple of weeks!

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P.S. Fellow bloggers, have you heard about the new Book Blogger's Planner? It's available for pre-order now, and it sounds just fab! (I've already got my copy secured. ;)) Learn more about the planner HERE and about Jamie's new Shoppe opening in December HERE. It sounds like such an awesome endeavor!