This past week I was able to participate in the big Readers Coffeehouse Great Big Book Giveaway. If you’re not familiar with Readers Coffeehouse, you can check out all their fabulous reader and reading posts on their Facebook page. With over 13,000 members and founded by a powerhouse group of authors (including Laura Drake, Kimberly Belle, and Catherine Ryan Hyde), it’s a meeting place online for anyone who loves books, loves talking about books, and loves to talk to other people about the books they’re loving right now (sounds like a perfect fit for the likes of you and me, right?)!

When I found out the Readers Coffeehouse was offering authors a chance to participate in their annual Giveaway, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to interact with so many passionate readers. All the instructions offered to authors mentioned the importance of turning OFF your Facebook notifications for the day, as the response to the Giveaway is so strong that you’d be driven crazy by the constant pinging of likes and comments flooding in. Even with this reminder, though, I wasn’t prepared for the overwhelming (and awesome!) response offered by Readers Coffeehouse members to the Giveaways posted by myself and many other authors.

I decided to offer two giveaways: One for my first novel (A Flash of Red), and a second for my upcoming thriller out in November with Bloodhound Books (It Was Always You). For both, I received several hundred comments and likes, which was just incredible. Seeing them stream in over the day was such an affirming experience. Anyone who writes knows that it can often be a lonely and defeating slog, so having a day where I was able to interact with hundreds of readers who were excited about my novels was an absolute joy. Readers Coffeehouse is truly a special group of book lovers!

After contacting the winners (chosen randomly) at the end of the day, I prepped my packages to send out to the lucky five readers. For my debut thriller, A Flash of Red, I’ve included a signed copy of the novel, a bookmark, and a personalized note for each winner. Is there anything more fun than getting book mail ready to send?

I’m off to the post office to send them on their merry ways, heading out to Minnesota, Pennsylvania, New York, and North Carolina (even South Africa for one excited winner). I want to give a big thank you to Readers Coffeehouse for this opportunity to connect with readers–what a treat it has been!

I’ll definitely see you next year for the Big Book Giveaway…until then, Happy Reading!