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    Blogs and books and signings, oh my!

    Today, I’m guest blogging about my first sale over at Dear Author. The gals over there are also doing a review and a video review today since Karma Girl was their book club pick for May. Thank you, Jane and Jayne!

    In related news, I’ll be doing three booksignings Saturday. I’ll try to post some pictures to the blog next week.

    From 10 a.m.-noon, I’ll be at the Thomas Memorial Branch Library in Bluff City, Tenn.

    From 1-3 p.m., I’ll be at Barnes & Noble in Johnson City, Tenn.

    From 4-6 p.m., I’ll be at Mountain Empire Comics in Bristol, Tenn.

    Hope to see you there! 😎

  • Better than a cover model, baby …

    Romance writers sometimes get accused of writing about unrealistic men. Of making up guys who do and say things no mortal man ever would. I frequently accuse my significant other of crushing romance under his shoe like a bug.

    And then, he goes and does something totally sweet and unexpected.

    On Saturday, he surprised me with a silver necklace in honor of Karma Girl’s release. The necklace was nice enough in and of itself.

    But wait, there’s more.

    Because on the end of this necklace dangled … wait for it … wait for it … a book charm!

    A silver rectangular book charm with a teeny diamond set in the center. (Actually, the book was a Bible, but he had the jewelers grind the words off so it would just look like a book. I don’t think God will mind … too much.) I admit it — I melted a little. All right, a whole lot.

    But wait, there’s more.

    Because I’ve also been told by my significant other — hypothetically of course — that I might be receiving some Karma Girl T-shirts in the near future. Again, this is just hypothetical. But stiil. Melting a little more.

    My mom and grandma also gave me congrats cards and yummy chocolate cake yesterday too. 😎

    What about you? What have you or others done to mark the release of your first book? Inquiring minds want to know …

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    Karma Girl is here! Karma Girl is here!

    karma-girl-cover.jpgKarma Girl has been officially released! Hooray!

    It’s been a long, hard road to get to this point. There are so many people out there who have helped me along the way, from my significant other and family, to friends, to my editor and agent, to everyone who read and critiqued the book, to all the other writers who have answered my never-ending questions. Thank you all. Book lovers are some of the best people in the world.

    And for all you folks out there who haven’t sold yet, keep this in mind: I wrote six books over a period of about seven years before Karma Girl sold. In other words, don’t give up. Keep writing and keep getting better, and it’ll happen for you one day too.

    And don’t let anyone tell you that you are wasting your time. Even if your work never sells, writing still feeds your soul — and that really is the most important thing. If it makes you happy, do it — no matter what anyone else thinks. To quote Galaxy QuestNever give up, never surrender!

    If anyone out there sees Karma Girl on their bookstore shelves, I’d love to hear about it. I’d also love to hear what you guys think of it — what you liked, what you didn’t like. Give me some feedback! Send me an e-mail at jennifer@jenniferestep.com.

    Happy reading!

    Jennifer 😎

  • Contest winners! Contest winners!

    May 1 is finally here, which means that Karma Girl has been officially released. Hooray! 😎

    May 1 means it’s also time to announce the winners of my newsletter contest. Congrats to these folks, who each won a $20 Barnes & Noble gift card:

    Cathy MacDonald

    Beth Caudill

    Christine Enta

    Amy Adams

    Kim Westgaard

    Congrats also go to these folks, who each won a gold Rubik’s Cube, provided by David Hedley Jones of Seven Towns:

    Deborah Brent

    Tracy Broyles

    Greg Johnson

    Laure Estep (no relation to me!)

    Skylar Massey

    Carol Thompson

    Winners, please send your snail mail address to jennifer@jenniferestep.com so I can mail you your prizes.

    I’ll be doing more contests in coming months to promote Karma Girl and Hot Mama. All you have to do to enter is sign up for my newsletter. The form is on the home page.

    Until next time … happy reading! 😎