Happy Agent Anniversary to me! And free books to a good home!

On this day of June 1st in history…

* Superman, the world’s first super hero, appeared in the first issue of Action Comics.

* Author C.E. Murphy was born! (Wish her a happy birthday at @ce_murphy)

* In the Peanuts comic strip, Linus’ security blanket made its debut.

* In Britain, “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” was released by the Beatles. It was released June 2 in the U.S.

* The James Bond movie “Live and Let Die” opened.

* The Phoenix Mars Lander became the first NASA spacecraft to scoop Martian soil.

* Jennifer Jackson started her career at the Donald Maass Literary Agency.

To celebrate, I’ll be giving away some books. Here’s how to enter:

Post a comment on this entry and tell me what you would give me as a gift for an agent anniversary. (No actual gift giving required to enter.)

Two winners will be chosen. The first winner will be chosen at random and will have first choice of available books (see below). The second winner will be chosen based on which gift suggestion in my sole judgement is the “awesomest” and most clever, and will get to choose from the remaining available books.

Contest runs from now until Sunday, June 3rd, 5pm Eastern. International entries accepted. One comment entry per person.

Available books:
- Bridge of Dreams by Anne Bishop (hardcover)
- Ghost Story by Jim Butcher (hardcover)
- Drowning City by Amanda Downum (pb)
- Dead Harvest by Chris F. Holm (pb)
- God’s War by Kameron Hurley (trade)
- Truthseeker by C.E. Murphy (trade)
- Clementine by Cherie Priest (trade)
- Heart of Iron by Ekaterina Sedia (trade)
- The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells (trade)

winner, tea for two

Congratulations to C.L. Polk as the winner of my tea for two and two books for you book giveaway. Your masala chai sounds amazing.

And thanks to everyone else for the wonderful comments about tea. I have some new flavors to seek out now.

tea for two and two books for you

Curling up with a good book and a strong, fragrant cup of tea sounds like a great way to spend some time… It’s probably not a coincidence that tea shows up in several of my clients’ books. In fact the following passage was one of many evocative scenes in Saladin Ahmed’s Throne of the Crescent Moon that kept me reading:

Tea.

Adoulla leaned his face farther over the small bowl and inhaled deeply, needing its aromatic cure for the fatigue of life. The spicy-sweet cardamom steam enveloped him, moistening his face and his beard, and for the first time that groggy morning he felt truly alive.

And, courtesy of M.K. Hutchin’s blog, here’s a recipe: Cardamon Tea from Throne of the Crescent Moon

Tea makes a decided showing in Elizabeth Bear’s Range of Ghosts (coming out next week!) as well. Considering her well-known admiration for the beverage, this is not surprising.

Samarkar took the celadon porcelain tea bowl Payma placed in her hands and bowed her head over it. She could see at a glance the two or three wilted, translucent flower petals that rolled in the depths of the clear greeny-amber fluid. Sweetened with rose jam, in just the idiosyncratic manner Samarkar preferred when it was not served as a meal.

So, in celebration of tea, I am giving away a hardcover copy of Saladin’s Throne of the Crescent Moon and an ARC of Elizabeth Bear’s Range of Ghosts to one lucky tea devotee.

To enter: comment here about your most memorable cup of tea or visit to a tea house or favorite flavor of tea (please share details!)…

Contest runs from now until Friday, March 23rd, 5pm Eastern. One comment entry per person.

winner, lucky Irish book giveaway

Congratulations to Cait Dean, whose name is spelled correctly, as the winner of my lucky Irish book giveaway.

And thanks to everyone else for the wonderful comments about all things Irish.

Stay tuned for another contest coming soon…

lucky Irish book giveaway

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day…

In C.E. Murphy’s Raven Calls, book 7 of the Walker Papers, which came out last month, Joanne heads off to Ireland. What happens there may or may not be lucky for her in the end.

But perhaps Joanne can bring a little luck to someone else. On offer today, winner’s choice of:

* Package One, to catch up on the series: Walking Dead (Book 4), Demon Hunts (Book 5), Spirit Dances (Book 6) of the Walker Papers

-or-

* Package Two, if said winner is already a Walker Papers devotee: The Negotiator Trilogy: Heart of Stone, House of Cards, Hands of Flame

* Winner may also elect to receive with either package Truth Seeker (bonus from her other series)

On behalf of the winner, I will also donate an additional copy of Truth Seeker to the library of their choice.

To enter, comment here and tell me something you love about Ireland, the Irish, or about something really lucky in your life.

One entry per person. Contest runs from now until Midnight (Eastern Time) tomorrow.