Weekly Round-Up: Book Cover Contest Winner, Reviews, and Adria J. Cimino

It's the first day of spring - yippee! I'm still stuck on my couch on bed rest but the floor-to-ceiling French windows in our living room allow in lots of bright light and fresh spring air so I'm hangin' in there. Plus let's be real, I love hanging out on the computer all day so this is actually the best of both worlds! Without further ado, here's my Weekly Round-Up.

1. Gold Star for "Confessions of a Paris Party Girl" Book Cover

Always the teacher's pet, gold stars are like crack to me. So imagine my excitement when I found out my book cover won a gold star in The Book Designer's monthly contest! To give a little perspective, The Book Designer is pretty much THE resource for self-published books and if you Google anything related to self-publishing or even publishing/writing/author stuff in general (which I do all day), you'll find an article from Joel Friedlander (who runs the site) in the top 10 results, usually the first spot. This guy knows what he's talking about.

This month there were about 100 entries, with 2 winners (one fiction, one non-fiction) who I admit are better than mine. However, there were 10 gold star winners and I'm honored to be included among them! If you're considering publishing a book or even just have a few minutes to spare, I recommend checking out the article because his comments are priceless (both the praise and the brutally honest critiques).

More Posts About Book Covers:
Behind the Scenes: Book Cover Design
Book Cover Face-Off: United States vs. France

2. Two More 5-Star Reviews

As if a gold star wasn't enough, I scored two more 5-star reviews on Amazon this week! My favorite part of both reviews is that they say they want to be my friend. When writing "Confessions of a Paris Party Girl" I really wanted to convey the sense that the reader was right there with me, experiencing my ups and downs. So it seems that is coming across!

3. Rubbing Shoulders with Adria J. Cimino

Can you tell it's been a big week for my book? On Tuesday I posted a joint interview with Adria J. Cimino, author of Paris, Rue des Martyrs. She's a Paris-based author like me and it was a blast to meet her. She's fun, she's real, and she totally gets what it's like to live here! Her book is a strong character-driven story that takes place in Paris. The setting plays a big part, so if you like Paris you'll love this book, and the story really draws you in.

But it gets better--if you're in the Paris area, you can meet Adria today, tomorrow or Monday at the Salon du Livre. She'll be at the U.S. Embassy stand on March 21 from 3-4 pm, March 22 from 1-2 pm, and March 24 from 2-3 pm.

4. Really? More Books?

If you're in the Paris area and are looking for an inexpensive way to stock up on books, head over to the SOS Help Book Sale on Sunday! Paperbacks are only 1 euro and hard covers are 2 euros. There will also be a bake sale with all sorts of goodies! All proceeds benefit SOS Help.

Sunday, March 23
12 pm to 4 pm
Orrick Law Offices
31, avenue Pierre 1er de Serbie
75016 Paris

Visit SOS Help's website for more info!

Have a great weekend, everyone!