Beth Fehlbaum, YA fiction author

UPDATE: 3/9/12!

HEY! I shook the jar and drew a name and the winner is.....

Dbas92, a.k.a. Deborah S.!

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED!

Dbas92/Deborah S., e-mail me at beth@bethfehlbaum.com--give me your shipping address! I'll mail your prize today (Friday, 3/9)!

I am so excited about this contest! I hope you'll enter & help me celebrate my birthday! Having a giveaway contest for my birthday is a tradition I started since becoming an author...but giving gifts on MY birthday is a tradition I started after I made it through 2 VERY DARK YEARS--the first two years of therapy for recovery from childhood sexual abuse. Let's just say there were some times I thought about NOT having birthdays anymore. (Here's a blog post about that...)

I'm an incredibly blessed person to be surrounded by love--I don't forget that-- but birthdays are especially poignant for me. Whether you enter the contest or not, I hope you'll reach out to someone who may be struggling through dark days and let them know they are NOT alone. It can make a real difference, trust me.

I'm thrilled to tell you that my agent, the fabulous Gina Panettieri, is currently shopping THE PATIENCE TRILOGY. For those of you familiar with my publishing journey, you know what a trip this has been so far. 

I'm a very persistent person, and I totally believe in the power of hard work + positive thinking-- so I've made up my mind that by the time my birthday gets here, my agent is going to have an offer of publication to talk to me about. 

Sounds like a FABULOUS birthday present to me!

You guys have been doing a GREAT JOB of helping spread the word that THE PATIENCE TRILOGY IS AVAILABLE FOR ACQUISITION!  I want to keep the momentum going, because I want every single YA fiction editor to be aware that THE PATIENCE TRILOGY IS AVAILABLE FOR ACQUISITION! (Hmmm, I'm seeing a bit of a pattern here...are you?)

I'm giving away the grand prize on--you guessed it--MY BIRTHDAY, March 8!

The contest runs through Thursday, March 8 at 11:59 P.M. Contest open to U.S. residents only. 

The prize package, valued at roughly 100.00,  includes: a $25 Amazon gift card; a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card; a signed copy of COURAGE IN PATIENCE (2008 Edition, Book 1);  a signed copy of HOPE IN PATIENCE (2010 Edition, Book 2); and a box of cake mix, a can of icing, and a package of birthday candles, since mailing you my birthday cake would be a little too messy.  Oh-- and, of course, you'll receive your very own raccoon in a little bitty party hat. *See note at bottom of page.

Here's how to win gift cards, books, the stuff to make a birthday cake, and a BONA FIDE (imitation)East Texas raccoon!

You may enter multiple times, and you may tweet and post multiple times a day for multiple entries. (YES, contestants who entered the Valentine's Day contest are also eligible to enter this contest). Each action below gets your name entered once:

1. Follow me, @BethFehlbaum, on Twitter.

2. Simply tweet the following: YA Editors: check this out! http://tinyurl.com/7uhpucj #thepatiencetrilogy  

(Be sure to include the hashtag! Entries without the hashtag will NOT be counted!)

3. Post the link ( http://tinyurl.com/7uhpucj ) to my Publisher's Marketplace page on your Facebook page. 

4. Post the link ( http://tinyurl.com/7uhpucj ) to my Publisher's Marketplace page on your website, along with a note about the contest. 

5. Sign up as a member on my website (See the comment box? Click  "Sign In". It will take you to a page where you can sign up if you're not a member yet. Choose "Register", then I'll approve your membership).  

Comment below & give me an idea of what you're doing so I can take a look! Thank you, and Happy Birthday to me! (And to everybody with a March 8 birthday!)

***NOTE: the offer of a BONA FIDE(!) East Texas raccoon as part of this prize package was for purely humorous purposes and as much as I appreciate your participation in my whimsical contest, I'm not actually going to try to catch a raccoon for you. That's why I bought a stuffed one instead...:P*

Enter by March 8, 2012 to win!

Just think...the day I find a new publisher, raccoons all over the world will rejoice!