Follower Love Giveaway Results!!!

here is the official name-drawing bucket

(as you can see we are very official here in the palmer house...)

here are ALL the names!

here is our cute little name-drawer.

he's going in...

he has the winner!!!  (drum roll please)

and the winner is...

Congratulations Zombie Girl!!!

I'll be contacting you shortly.

Thanks so much to everyone for participating.

i LOVED reading about all your Second Kiss's.

And just for fun...

my second kiss was on a cold december night

on the street in front of my house

leaning against his car.

i was so nervous

and he had a lot more experience

and i was giddy for the rest of the night.

Happy Valentines Day!

Follower Love Giveaway Hop

This hop was organized by I Am A Reader, Not a Writer.  I am truly excited about participating in this blog hop because its my FIRST blog hop and because i love valentines day!

How the blog hop works: Over 200 participating blogs are offering a book related giveaway and we are all linked up together so you can easily hop from one giveaway to another.  (see the linky list at the bottom of this post.) The hop runs from Tuesday, February 8th through Sunday, February 13th.  

What I'm giving away: Second Kiss Valentine's Day Package which includes a signed copy of Second Kiss and an exclusive "Second Kiss" charm baracelet. 

I absolutely LOVE the charm bracelet that Sara from SimpleSerendipity created for this package.  It is simple, stylish and looks just like the bracelet i imagine jess tyler giving gemma in the book.  As a special treat for this blog hop i got the chance to interview Sara. she is such a great girl and i would love for all of you participating in this Love Hop to be able to get to know her a little bit better:

npbooks: Who taught you how to make jewelry and how long have you been doing it?

simple: I started making jewelry 4 years ago when a friend invited me over to a girls night out at her house.   My friend Shannon introduced me to the wonderful world of beads.   I walked into the office in her home and sat in amazement at the beautiful, variety of beads she had tucked in little organized containers.   I grew to love the nights out at Shannon's place, making something with my hands and chatting with the women folk. When Shannon moved, I wanted to carry on the tradition.   So, that's when my own personal bead collection began to grow.    It hasn't stopped growing since.

npbooks: If you could only wear one form of jewelry (earrings, bracelet, necklace, ring, etc.) for the rest of your life which would you choose?

simple: Of course, I would pick my wedding ring, for sentimental reasons.   But, if I'm not being sentimental, I would say earrings.   Definitely earrings.   Sometimes you'll see me without makeup on, but still wearing a pair of earrings.   Go figure.  I love that wearing earrings with a t-shirt instantly makes me feel less frumpy, stay at home, sweat pants, mom-ish.    My only problem, as of late, is my 16 month old also has a love for my earrings.   That's ok,  some women put up with way more pain to wear high heel shoes on a daily basis.  I can deal with the occasional little tug from a tiny hand. 

npbooks: You're a full time wife and mother of three.  When do you find the time to make all this jewelry?

simple: Last year, when my husband found out he was getting a pay cut from work, I knew I wanted to do something to help out.    I  wanted to figure out something I could do after the kids went to bed.   That's when I remembered my huge Rubbermaid tub full of beads sitting in the closet.   I knew that would be something I could do to help add a little extra to our budget.    When I opened up my Etsy shop, I wasn't prepared for the overwhelming response.   Some nights I would stay up until 1 or 2 in the morning just trying to make and fill all the orders that were coming in.    Beads and kids don't really mix, so evenings are really the only feasible time to make jewelry,

npbooks: Do you prefer silver or gold or something else?

simple: Silver, definitely silver.   I also really like antiqued bronze metal.   It has that vintage look.   I don't have anything against gold, I just like the look of silver better on me, so that's why I make more products with silver.   But, I'm happy to customize an order for a customer who prefers gold.

npbooks: And since you are the creator of the exclusive "Second Kiss" charm bracelet, how old were you and where were you at when you had your SECOND kiss? 

simple: If I'm counting the truth or dare kiss I had in 6th grade as my "first kiss", then my "second kiss" was when I was 18 and in my first year of college.   It was a really good kiss, to a really self absorbed,  narcissistic  guy.   Fortunately, I found someone else later on in life who knew how to give a really good kiss and was also a genuine good human being.   I am lucky to be married to him. 

To see more of Sara's simple yet stylish jewelry check her website out here.

To enter this Giveaway:

Become a follower of this blog and leave a comment about your own second kiss (please keep it clean. :))  Also give me a way to contact you.  

(Last day to enter is Sunday, February 13th)

Optional Extra Entries:

+1 Post something about my blog or book on Facebook/Myspace/etc.

+1 Post a little something about my book, Second Kiss, on your blog

(additional entries will only be given if you leave the link to your posts in your comment!)

Thanks for stopping by everyone and Happy Valentines Day!!!

 

Buzz of Luv Contest !!!

Wow! Between my baby being due in 4 weeks (from today) and Valentine's Day approaching there is a LOT going on in my house, in my head and on my blog!  Starting tomorrow I am hosting a very cool contest with a very cool prize.  Check out the details below!

Welcome to my

1st annual 

Buzz of Luv Contest

What is the Buzz of Luv Contest?

The Buzz of Luv Contest is a way to get buzz out (or in other words - people talking) about my new book, Second Kiss. 

And since Second Kiss is a teen romance novel, what better time to hold the contest than right before Valentine's Day?

Who can participate in the Buzz of Luv Contest?

Girl Teens, Boy Teens, Parents of Teens, Siblings of Teens, Pets of Teens

and anyone else who wants a really cool prize!

Do I have to register?
Yep, but its easy.  Just leave me a comment with your name
(first and at least your last initial)
and your score goal.
You can register anytime in the two week contest period.

What are the Buzz of Luv Contest dates?

The Buzz of Luv Contest will run for two weeks beginning Wednesday, January 26

and ending at Midnight (Pacific Time) on Wednesday, February 9, 2011.

I am ending the contest 5 days before Valentine's Day

so that the winner can have their Buzz of Luv prize by the 14th!

What do I need to do in order to win the Buzz of Luv Contest?

In order to win the Buzz of Luv Contest you need to create some major Second Kiss BUZZ!  
Share the link to my blog (http://www.nataliepalmerbooks.blogspot.com/)
 and tell everyone you know about my book.

Talk it,

Tweet it,

Facebook it,
Blog it,

E-mail it,

Sing it

and

Dance it. 

And then let me know your final score!

How do I keep score?

However you want. 

But here's how to get points:

10 points for every person you Tell about it

20 points for Tweeting about it

20 points for posting it on your Facebook Wall

20 points for each of your friends that also post about it on their walls

(go ahead, ask them to do it.)

10 points for every personal message you send about it (be it Facebook, e-mail, etc.)
20 points for posting it on your blog

20 points for becoming a follower of my blog

50 points for asking your local library to stock Second Kiss

10 points for your own ideas of buzzing about it

(as long as i approve it.)

Keep track of your points and leave your final score as a comment on

this blog by Midnight of February 9, 2011.

 along with your name and a way i can reach you.

(I have no doubts that everyone will give me an honest score.)

When will you announce the winner?

 February 10, 2011
(my husband and i had our first kiss on february 10, 2006. aaaw...)

What do I get if I win?

Are you ready for it? 

Because this is awesome!

The person who scores the most points wins:

The 1st annual Buzz of Luv

Second Kiss Valentine Package!

which includes:

A signed copy of Second Kiss

and

This very cute bracelet designed and created by

Simple Serendipity

and

A few other Valentine's Day goodies that will remain a surprise!

PLUS!

The person who scores the most points will also win a

$20 Gift Card to Amazon.com!!!

(I'm not joking, you really do get all of that!)

So get out there and create some Buzz of Luv!!!

(have questions? just leave me a comment or email me at natapalmer (at) yahoo (dot) com)

Addendums to Contest Rules

Addendum 1:

vicki from iowa asked if it is okay that she and her daughter play as a team. to make it fair i'm opening this option up to everyone but i only have the one prize so you'll have to share. :)

Addendum 2:

okay in response to donna's comment - if you've done anything online on the BUZZ point list in the past few months you can count it. the only thing you can't count is "telling people about it" because that is more time consuming and you can't count everyone you've ever mentioned the book to in the past few months. but everything else can be counted because you can actually look at your facebook/email/blog accounts and see if you've already sent out messages about Second Kiss. And if you have, go ahead and count it. Make sense?