Somewhere Over the Sun

I’ve been doing a terrible job of promoting the contest I have going on, so I’m extending the deadline. I’m giving out three autographed copies of my debut novel, Somewhere Over the Sun. So, if you’d like to get a free book that the Midwest Book Review called, “…an excellent read that shouldn’t be put down, highly recommended,” and Girls Just Reading called, “Malted milkshake good,” check out the rules below:

• Send a tweet with the hashtag #SomewhereOvertheSun and a link to either this site, my Amazon page, my B&N page, my Facebook page or my Goodreads page = 1 point
• Tweet/post a link with the hashtag #SomewhereOvertheSun and a link to your favorite blog entry of mine = 2 points
• Recommend Somewhere Over the Sun to your Goodreads friends = 1/2 point per friend
• Get your friends to visit my site and e-mail me your name = 1 point per friend
• Get your friends to visit my site and e-mail me your name and what is their favorite blog entry of mine = 2 points per friend
• Mention my Facebook author page in your Facebook status = 2 points
• Reblog this or any other of my blog entries on Tumblr, adding that you are doing so for the sake of this contest = 2 points per reblog (1 additional point for every reblog stemming from your reblog)
  
• Tweet/blog a picture of you doing something awesome along with the hashtag #SomewhereOvertheSun = Sliding scale from 1 point to 300 points, depending on awesomeness
• Get a celebrity to tweet #SomewhereOvertheSun = Sliding scale from 1 to 1,000 points, depending awesomeness of celebrity 
  
• Get a celebrity to add Somewhere Over the Sun to their Goodreads reading pile =  400 points
• Other publicity efforts I have not thought of will be rewarded points according to, of course, a sliding scale of awesomeness.
• Top three point-earners will receive a free, autographed copy ofSomewhere Over the Sun.
• Contest ends 10/3 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.

Good luck! And remember, you must tag my Facebook author page, my twitter, or use the hashtag #SomewhereOvertheSun so I can track your efforts. So far, Jenna is in the lead! Yay, Jenna. 

Hi there! Isn’t it silly how little there is standing between a stranger and an acquaintance? Just silence, really. You are a conversation away from meeting someone. Many of you have been following me for a while and know tons about me (Mexican, recent uncle, star of the most ridiculous basketball picture ever taken). But for those of you I haven’t conversed with, let me tell you why I’m here.

I started this blog a little over a year ago to help promote my debut novel, Somewhere Over the Sun. I wanted to tell people about my book, share reviews, share some writing tips, and hopefully use your readership to become a best-selling author. That hasn’t happened quite yet. So I’ve updated this site’s purposes to include giving away the occasional free copy of my book and luring you in with some original short stories.

Because I have a few more copies of Somewhere Over the Sun than I can foresee needing anytime soon, I’m going to have another giveaway/contest! I want more people to read my book, so here’s your chance to do so for free. If you’d like to see if this book is right for you, please check out the synopsis and customer reviews on Amazon.

Here are the guidelines:

• Send a tweet with the hashtag #SomewhereOvertheSun and a link to either this site, my Amazon page, my B&N page, my Facebook page or my Goodreads page = 1 point
• Tweet/post a link with the hashtag #SomewhereOvertheSun and a link to your favorite blog entry of mine = 2 points
• Recommend Somewhere Over the Sun to your Goodreads friends = 1/2 point per friend
• Get your friends to visit my site and e-mail me your name = 1 point per friend
• Get your friends to visit my site and e-mail me your name and what is their favorite blog entry of mine = 2 points per friend
• Mention my Facebook author page in your Facebook status = 2 points
• Reblog this or any other of my blog entries on Tumblr, adding that you are doing so for the sake of this contest = 2 points per reblog (1 additional point for every reblog stemming from your reblog)
  
• Tweet/blog a picture of you doing something awesome along with the hashtag #SomewhereOvertheSun = Sliding scale from 1 point to 300 points, depending on awesomeness
• Get a celebrity to tweet #SomewhereOvertheSun = Sliding scale from 1 to 1,000 points, depending awesomeness of celebrity 
  
• Get a celebrity to add Somewhere Over the Sun to their Goodreads reading pile =  400 points
• Other publicity efforts I have not thought of will be rewarded points according to, of course, a sliding scale of awesomeness.
• Top three point-earners will receive a free, autographed copy of Somewhere Over the Sun.
• Contest ends 9/29 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.

Good luck. 

And by all means, swing by and say hello.

I’ve been practicing with a basketball team while here in Mexico and the other day, after a verbal scuffle between two teammates, the coach gave a worried speech about how one thing can go wrong and mess everything up. That goes generally for life, he said. You do one stupid thing and your whole life is ruined.

While I know about the irreversibility of things (for a great, jarring and nightmarish example, watch Gaspar Noel’s Irreversible, just make sure you have cartoons ready for afterward), I can’t agree with the idea that everything can get ruined.

Back before I became a career writer and I was being interviewed for corporate jobs, I was often asked to name a few of my strengths, and somewhere in my answer, I always included adaptability. Life’s a series of moments (surprise, surprise, this is a quotation), and if you can adapt to the circumstances of the moment you’re in, life can never be ruined.

This topic calls for more of an expansion, but as you may have heard, I finished writing my second book, and have been taking a very welcome vacation from thinking. I have a lot of revising to do and a short story I’m working on that I’ll be submitting to literary magazines (look for my name in The New Yorker any day now…), but a couple days off from insight and the internet might be beneficial.

Oh, and the deadline hasn’t quite passed yet, but, barring any late-night efforts by other would-be contestants, Taylor Nugent won in a landslide, so congratulations, Taylor! She’s already read the book and enjoyed it so much that she wanted another copy to lend out or give away to friends.

Okay, here’s a chance for you to take advantage of me being generous and giving away a free copy of Somewhere Over the Sun for the somewhat selfish reason of looking to get more publicity for this site and my book.

I’m going to come up with a points-system for a number of things you can do to help my publicity and get a free copy of my book in your hands. This contest will close on Sunday, March 27th at 11:59 p.m (Mexico City time…which I’m not sure what it translates to in U.S time anymore because you guys decided to change clocks).

• Send a tweet with the hashtag #SomewhereOvertheSun and a link to either this site, my Amazon page, my B&N page, my Facebook page or my Goodreads page = 1 point
• Tweet a link with the hashtag #SomewhereOvertheSun and a link to your favorite blog entry of mine = 2 points
• Recommend Somewhere Over the Sun to your Goodreads friends = 1/2 point per friend
• Get your friends to visit my site and e-mail me your name = 1 point per friend
• Get your friends to visit my site and e-mail me your name and what is their favorite blog entry of mine = 2 points per friend
• Mention my Facebook author page in your Facebook status = 2 points
• Reblog this or any other of my blog entries on Tumblr, adding that you are doing so for the sake of this contest = 2 points per reblog
• Tweet a picture of you doing something awesome along with the hashtag #SomewhereOvertheSun = Sliding scale from 1 point to 300 points, depending on awesomeness
• Get a celebrity to tweet #SomewhereOvertheSun = Sliding scale from 1 to 1,000 points, depending awesomeness of celebrity (Morgan Freeman being 1,000)
• Other publicity efforts I have not thought of will be rewarded points according to, of course, a sliding scale of awesomeness.

Good luck.

I will tally up the points and announce the winner, possibly by Monday the 28th, unless I’m too busy finishing (!!!) book number two.

I’m re-posting this (slightly edited) to remind you that you only have around two weeks until the book is out, and thus the giveaway will end. You can e-mail me your entry at adi.alsaid@gmail.com or submit it through the link at the bottom of this post.

As of now, I have received 12 story entries and 5 name entries into my Somewhere Over the Sun giveaway. In order to be entered into the giveaway, you need only send me your name! That’s it. Tell me your name, and I’ll give you an entry for the chance to win an autographed copy of my debut novel.

However, I still want to reward those who have taken the time and the energy to give me a story by giving them three entries into the contest. I’ll keep this true for everyone from now on who submits a story along with their name.

So, if you’re interested in a free autographed book, just submit your name here. Check back in the next coming week or two, as I’ll be posting a video where I pick the two lucky winners from a hat.

As of now, I have only received 7 entries into my Somewhere Over the Sun giveaway. I’m thinking this is because I have asked you, dear readers, to take a little more action than you’re fully willing to. So, I’ve changed the rules a little bit. In order to be entered into the giveaway, you need only send me your name! That’s it. Tell me your name, and I’ll give you an entry for the chance to win an autographed copy of my debut novel.

However, I still want to reward those who have taken the time and the energy to give me a story by giving them three entries into the contest. I’ll keep this true for everyone from now on who submits a story along with their name.

So, if you’re interested in a free autographed book, just submit your name here.