The Monday Morning Round Up (for a couple of months)

I’ve been very irratic with the auld blogging these past few months. Life has been chaotic, there’s been so much going on, and I’ve been so busy.  I’ve not really had a chance to give you guys updates.  So since it’s Monday, and I’d usually do a weekend round up, I’m going to give you a round up scaling a few months. 

Actually I was supposed to do this post last night, but after I heard the devastaing news that Once Upon A Time was actually a repeat, I couldn't summon the enthusiasim to write. Don’t these TV producers know how their stupid decisions effect us so?

Anyhow, moving on.  So what have I been up to?  Well, loitering mostly.  I’ve been doing a little writing too. I’m involved in this very exciting project with a bunch of other aweseome authors.  I’ll devote a blog post to it next week. But let me just tell you, it will be fantastic. Woohoo!

I met up with some awesome people recently too.  I had a gorgeous chocolate fest with the lovely Colleen Houck a while back after I met in in Boston.  Nothing like having a girlie writer chat in a semi dark enviroment with just the light of the flame that is toasting your marshmallow to see each other by.  She is super fab by the way. And did you hear her amazing news? Tigers Curse was picked up by Paramount, so we will see all her pretty kitties up on the big screen soon.

I also met with the lovely Kim Harrington. She rocks. Enough said. Oh and check out all her new books. They are fab.

I did a reading in Cambridge Public Library with Joe Luniveick and Amalie Howard. It was nerve wracking to say the least, but Joe and Amalie got me through it, they were fantastic.  We had a gorgeous dinner and chat fest after the reading and signing. Such fun hearing other authors stories. It doesn’t matter where you’re from people, at our very core, we are similar beasts.

Oh I also had a couple of book signings.  They were awesome, and we sold out in both locations. Huge thanks to Barnes and Noble in Bellingham. They were just awesome, and still are. I <3 them lots.

So between writing and stuffing my face, I’ve been trying to hammer out a new book that I’ve been working on. Progress is slow, but that’s because my brain is still on Carrier 2. I’m expecting my edits back any day now. So I think I’ll have to shelve my other beloved book until I can get my revisions done on Carrier 2. It’s like I’ve got writers bulimia, It’s all gorge and purge. 

So that’s everything from me for know.  I’m off to Ireland on Wednesday to spend time with the family.  I will be doing signings in Ireland, starting on the 22nd with Easons O’Connell Street at 1pm, then I’m going to be signing stock in Waterstones & Hughes and Hughes in the City, Blanchardstown, Liffey Valley, and Dundrum Shopping Centre.  Then, in Cork on the 23rd I’ll be in Waterstones Cork City at 3pm, Easons 4pm, and Bookstor, Kinsale on Christmas eve for a special signing with the locals. Phew! Somewhere in between all that, I’ll be meeting up with friends and family that I haven’t seen in over a year. But don’t worry, I will find time to get festive and stuff my face in all the chaos.

Okay, so time to sign off. Have a beautiful holiday, people. Enjoy yourselves and talk to you on the other side.

All the best and talk soon.

Leigh

Release day in Ireland, UK, Australia and New Zealand

If there was ever a reason to be pining for home, well this is it.  Carrier of the Mark is hitting the shelves all over the UK and Ireland, and I wish I was there to see it.  I've dreamed of seeing my book on the shelves in Easons or Waterstones, or one of the cute little indie stores that are dotted around the smaller towns, but I'm bogged down in work and chained to my desk at the moment, so alas, I must watch from a distance.

Since I can't hide in dark corners of Irish bookstores to watch people buy my book, my sister has been out there bringing a little bit of the Irish bookstore to me, so at least I can pretend to be a little bit closer to home.  So Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce you to the proprietor's of the two cutest indie bookshops in the gorgeous town of Kinsale!

This is the lovely owner and manager of the Kinsale Bookshop, Matthew Geddin! He's pictured outside his pretty little shop in the village with his very own copy of Carrier of the Mark! *waves at Matt* Hi Matt! See you in December. If you're ever in Kinsale, be sure to pop in and say hi, and stock up on your favorite Irish authors while you're there.

This is Bookstor, another cute indie store that has a lovely light contemporary vibe. They have a wonderful vintage book section which is always worth a mooch through.  And standing outside, with her copy of Carrier of the Mark, is owner and Manager, Ceri Chaney. *Waves at Ceri* I'll be seeing you in December too, Ceri.

And of course, while I'm reaching for the sick bag to deal with all my home sickness, we can't forget Australia and New Zealand! I've got friends and family in both countries, and they'll be flying the Carrier flag for me for the release date down under. Woohoo!

As with all my other releases, the first ten people from each country to send me a photo of themselves with their copy of Carrier of the Mark, or of Carrier in your country, will win signed bookplates, bookmarks, and other fun stuff. Just tweet to @leighfallon or Facebook Thecarrierofthemark the picture and message me, or if you can just email it to me at leigh@leighfallon.com and I'll do the necessary.  Don't forget to email me your address for me to send you your signed swag.

So yay!! Go buy your copy of Carrier. Make me the happiest bunny alive.
Leigh

Carrier of the Mark Blog Tour No. 2

Yes! It's blog tour no. 2 time.

This blog tour is going to take you on a journey behind the scenes of Carrier of the Mark, right to the heart of the locations that feature in the book. You'll get a little taste of what they're like, where the inspiration came from, and some odd and creepy fun facts too.  Make sure you join us for every stop and discover the world behind the world of Carrier of the Mark!

Stop 1 The Marina 26th September  www.bookscompleteme.com  

Stop 2 Equestrian Ctr 28th September http://starryskybooks.blogspot.com
Stop 3 The School 30th September http://loveyalit.com
Stop 4 Adam's house 3rd October www.alisoncanread.com
Stop 5 James Fort 5th October www.abookwormshaven.com 

Stop 6 Cork City 7th October www.readingwithtequila.com 

Stop 7 Dublin City 10th October www.wellreadwife.com 

Stop 8 Trinity College 12th October www.theresabook.com 

Stop 9 The Crypt 14th October www.parajunkee.com 

I'd love if you guys could spread the word of the blog tour.  I'm putting 20 signed BOOKMARKS and BOOKPLATES up for grabs! To enter all you have to do is TWEET or FB this link and leave a comment for me including your email address or Twitter/Facebook name, so I can contact you.

Thanks a million, guys, and talk soon. Leigh

Monday Morning Bits and Bobs Roundup - Ireland Pics! Vote for your winner

Ezmerelda - Charles Fort

I'm back from Ireland and in one piece (sort of... it's a long story).  I got all your pictures, well most of them.  The Old Head is cut off by a big golf course so I couldn't get to it, and the boat shots were not that great, so I'm posting them seperately as a vlog, should be fun as my iphone was upside down for most of it (yeah I know duh... but with the iphone you never know if its upsidedown or not.) anyway, that should be a bit of fun, I'll let you guys know when I post it.

Julia - Desmond Castle Door

So now it's time to vote for your favorite photos. Get voting guys, just mention it in a comment below and I'll announce the winner on Friday. 

I think I've got you all entered, but if I've missed anyone, please let me know, I have loads of other photos of various locations that I can assign to you.

All the best guys and happy voting.

Leigh

Jenny Conroy - James Fort

Courtney Moran – The Equestrian Center

Mary Lynn McReynolds - Hill view of Kinsale

Diamond Pits - Kinsale pottery

Brynne - Kinsale Steps

Tina Hayes - Kinsale Town Hall

Marisa Kanter - Kinsale Yacht Club

Trisa Wolfe - Kinsale Market House (3 leaf clover in hand... I swear!)

Brendon Bowe - Kinsale Town Centre

Julia - St Multose Cemetary (Carmelite already taken)

Dottie - Creepy Lanes in Castlepark

Ezmirelda - Summer Cove

Betty Bowe - The Boat Graveyard

KrisSummers – A flowery meadow in Kinsale
No hot guys were around that day! Swear!

Grace - Cool Kinsale Lampost

Crystal Chen - Kinsale Harbor (not sailing unfortnuately)

EmSwee - Body of water (Bandon Estuary)

Shannon the book stalker - Bookstor

Sasha Switz - The Almshouses

CD - Road to the Priory (couldnt get to Glebe House)

PMarie - Tunnels at James Fort

RJ - Couldnt get to Old Head so I got you a Fish Head!

Fishy Fishy Cafe

Writingjewels - Carmelite Cemetery

Vivian - Desmond Castle

Aurora - Main Steet, Kinsale

Jpetroroy - Ringfinnan Garden of Remembrance

Morgan - SuperValu with POTATO (cost me 36cent!)

The Monday Morning Bits and Bobs Round Up

Hello all!  I hope you had a marvelous weekend and that Monday sees you well rested and in fighting form. 

There’s a few things going on this week that are worthy of a spot on the Monday Morning Bits & Bobs Round Up.  Firstly, my first every super-duper ARC comp is up and running.  There have been some amazing entries submitted.  Props range from potatoes to sparkly vampires, and the locations are getting more and more beautiful.  If you haven’t entered yet, what on earth is stopping you? Don’t you know you can win one of the first EVER ARC’s of The Carrier of the Mark?  AND I’ll even sign it for you!!  There will be a gorgeous silver Celtic necklace included in the prize (stay posted to twitter for details), and you’ll also get a copy of your winning picture!!  So get your delicious bootie over to the competition post and enter… NOW.

Tina

Secondly, I’m doing a live chat on Wednesday over on inkpop.  The live chat is with my agent, Tina Wexler and we are accepting questions now on this tread.  By all means, please pop in at 5pm EST and ask us a couple of questions.  This is your opportunity to get the low down on snagging a top quality agent, or to chat to Tina about cute little things like kittens and puppies (Tina has a soft spot for fluffy things). 

This weekend I’m off to the book launch of Clarity by Kim Harrington.  It’s at Tatnuck Booksellers, Westborough, MA on Saturday, March 5 from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm, if you in the area, pop in and say hi. 

Then on Sunday I’m off to Ireland to say hi to my new nephew/niece, and enjoy a five day whirlwind visit filled with fun and frolics, on the emerald isle.  So that means next week’s blog posts will be coming to you from across the Atlantic, so the times might be a little skewie.

So that’s it, for now.  Talk to you Wednesday for some whinging.

Leigh

Fact Meets Fiction Friday – ARC comp and other fun stuff!

This week I commissioned a new website for myself.  Woo! I so deserved a little treat like that.  It’s being designed by Xuni.  They have been designing and managing author websites with skill and panache for a good while know, and you can see some of their fabulous work at Maggie Stiefvater, The Shiver Series , Kimberly Derting, and Carrie Ryan.  I can’t wait to see what they come up with for me, but I know one thing for sure, based on the, The Carrier of the Mark holding page they’ve designed for me, it’s going to be GORGEOUS!!

In other news, The Carrier of the Mark is on 615 shelves on Goodreads and has 656 likes on its Facebook page.  Woohoo! I’m so on a mission to get both of these to 1000, I won’t rest until I’ve reached the golden 1K.

How am I going to achieve 1K?  Hell I don’t know, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let the illusive 1K beat me! 

And even more other news, I’m off to Ireland next week.  In honor of my return home to Ireland, I’m going to run the first ever, The Carrier of the Mark ARC giveaway! This is such a momentous occasion and it deserves something a little bit special.  So, we are going transatlantic in our mission to mark this moment. (Mark... get it? *titter*)

Over on the Facebook page, we’ve been mulling over ideas, and we have hit the jackpot.

Without further ado, I introduce to you;

The Carrier of the Mark, first ever, transatlantic photo competition for a 'so elusive there are none in existence yet' ARC! (Yeah, I could do with shorting the title… leave it with me).

To enter, all you need do is pick a location in Kinsale for me to visit while I’m there.  I will go to this location and get a photo of that exact spot. 

On my return to the US I will post all the photos on the blog and voting for the best photograph will commence.  Now, here’s the science bit, so pay attention.

There will be bonus votes for picking a location that is featured in The Carrier of the Mark, being a follower of my blog or a 'liker' of Carriers Facebook page, and for tweeting this comp.

What do you think? Fun?

Well I think so, though getting to all the locations with be tricky, especially as I’m only in Ireland for five days, but I’m willing to accept this challenge.

What do you win?

1. You will win one of the first ever ARC’s of The Carrier of the Mark.  They won’t be available until Mid-March or so, and the winner will have one winging it’s way to them before even the book bloggers get their paws on them!

2. You will also win your winning photograph of me at your selected location, and I’ll deface both photo and ARC for you if you so wish.

3.I'm also going to include a beautiful Irish necklace, that will be bought in a Kinsale Silversmiths, and will involve you guys in the picking of the design while I'm there!!

Admit it... you sooooo want to win don't you?

The good news is the competition starts NOW!

The bad news is some of the locations have already been snagged (see comments below for Kinsale locations already taken!).

Need ideas?  Well google Kinsale! There are castles, churches, quirky shops, art galleries, schools, beaches, caves, and so much more!

Get googling and submit your photo request in the comments. Closing date for entries is Friday 4th March.

Don’t you just love an ARC giveaway where the Author has to do all the work? Hey… who came up with this niffty idea anyway?