Birthday contest and giveaways!

January is my birthday month! Now a gentleman wouldn't ask my age, and I sure ain't tellin'. LOL

But to celebrate it, I want to give away goodies! A swag bag a day. Super easy stuff, right? At the end of the month, I'll be drawing a name for a Kobo Ereader and case. Just in case Santa wasn't listening when you sent in your Christmas list....

Here's how you can win AKA Da' Rulz:

1. Must be a member of Diana's Sizzlers List. (A low volume Newsletter/announcement list) http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Dianas_Sizzlers_List/
2. One name will be drawn via Random.org every day from January 1st through January 31st. The name will be announced on the loop and direct contact, and the winner will have 48 hours from the timestamp of the sent email to claim their prize or it will be forfeit. All claims need to be made direct via email, not through the Loop or Facebook, or any other extraneous means. Email will be included in the winner's announcement and notification.
3. All registered emails on Diana's Sizzlers List must be able to receive email, as these are the only means all winners will be contacted.
4. Replies must have BIRTHDAY CONTEST in the subject to ensure it is spotted and not dumped as spam.
5. At the end of the giveaway month, a name will be drawn via Random.org from all names registered with Diana's Sizzlers List. The chosen winner will have 48 hours to respond and claim or a new winner will be chosen. 
6. Each person is eligible to win one goodie/swag bag. All persons are eligible for the Kobo giveaway.
7. Due to legal issues and book rights, Contest is open to United States and Canadian residents only.
8. Postage is paid by the supplier for all prizes. All winners must have a valid mailing address to receive any and all prizes.
9. Supplier is not responsible for damaged, lost or misdirected prizes. All efforts will be made to ensure you receive any winnings. 

So now that the legal junk is out of the way, we're going to have a great time come January!
And don't forget, for every twenty readers on the loop, I'm giving away a backlist of any PDF copy of either name to a lucky winner. When we get to 100, I'm drawing for a print book! (Not a part of the Birthday Contest, but heck, who doesn't like free books?)

Authors After Dark 2012

Hey everyone! I know it's still almost a year away, but I wanted to drop a bug in your ear. Authors After Dark 2012 is going to be in NEW ORLEANS!! I know! I'm so excited to be going again next year. I'll be attending, along with 80 other fabulous featured authors! Some New York, some indie, and some small press, so you're going to get a wide mix of what you want, both to read and to learn about.

This con is a great way to rub elbows and just hang out, not only with the authors, but with other readers who share your interests and industry professionals who can give you a behind the scenes low-down on what really happens. Kind of like having the Hollywood backstage pass, this is THE place to be.

There will be panels, and parties and of course the Masquerade Ball. But... BUT!!! It's in New Orleans! The home of Mardi Gras! Can you tell I'm excited? I've never been (driving through and plane changes do NOT count LOL).

So you want more info? Want to know what the 411 is on all of this and more? Check out the website. But don't delay if you want to go. Word is it's already more than 50% sold out. Registration hasn't even been open a full 60 days and we're well on our way to tapping the hell out of this one.

Want to know who else is going? The list is growing! Want to know what kind of panels there will be? There's an app for that! No seriously! Check out the forum for the details. (If it's not up yet, it will be. It's Guidebook.com) The forum is free and open to the public, not just attendees or authors, though authors have been known to lurk.

So who do you wish you could meet? What kind of costume are you bringing? And what books are you reading to get in groove for AAD? Spill.....

I'm in bad shape

I won't go into details, but life sure does like kicking hard when a girl is down. A lot of people know that my family was affected by the Texas wildfires in September. They're doing well, getting things in motion to rebuild. I'm thankful every day that they are here (Not literally, just that they are well. Can you imagine? My parents here too? Eeep! :) ) and can do this when so many are struggling.
Well, three weeks ago, we had another kick in the teeth happen. This one is personal to just myself and my family and let me tell you, it sucks huge. I've been hiding in my bedroom for three days just because, well, I can. I have my laptop, though for the most part, I haven't been very visible online. I know we'll come out of this spiral. I am not looking forward to the upset stomachs, headaches and uncertainty that is sure to come with it all.

I've dealt with depression before, and I know things will improve, so I'm doing my best to not let it overwhelm me and get worse and make things for me and my family worse all the way around. But I think for the moment, I'm going to stay tucked into bed.

I'm going to end this with an upbeat note because I need some happy. The Texas Rangers are going to World Series for the second year in a row! I have my fingers crossed (When they're not typing. LOL) and I'll  be rooting for the home team!

Go RANGERS!!

We hit our inaugural twenty!

Thank you to all of you for being the first to join! As promised, I'm giving away an ebook to a lucky winner.

And by Random.org our first winner is...... *drumroll*

pommawolf

Congrats Darcy! Email me direct for your choice.

Ask your friends to join. Another 20 and we'll have a new winner!

Want a chance a free books, contests and announcments for releases? Join Diana's Sizzlers List!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Dianas_Sizzlers_List/

Want a Kindle autograph?

Thanks to all the apps and programs out there, there is now the Kindlegraph, a digital page signing program for ebooks. If you have Kindle ebooks and would like an autograph, or a sentiment page, or a momento... You get it *wink*, then hit this link --> http://kindlegraph.com/authors/DianaCastilleja
It'll take you to all my books. It shouldn't take more than 24 hours for a respone. I'm pretty quick to get these out. And I'd love to get one to you!

Diana