And Another Thing...Well, 2, Other Things, Actually

The Another Thing:

For all of you Halloween junkies who just can't get enough of having the bejeebuzz scared out of you and wish it was October 31st every day, just an FYI that I've extended the deadline of the "Spooktacular" Baroness Book Giveaway until midnight on Friday, November 7th. I'm having a hard time keeping up with the entries... Click here to see how to enter now!

And for those of you out there who think that you get all 10 titles (and you know who you are)(Countess of YY), let me just clarify that I have 5 copies each of 10 titles to give away - one title per person. It is a Halloween giveaway, after all - not Christmas. Sheesh!

The Second Other Thing:
I know full well that I'm not American.

But I'm North American.

And I also know full well that an imaginary border is the only thing separating us from Amurrakah, and whatever is going to happen economically or sociologically will have some effect on us. Which is why I found this PSA so cool.

I sure hope it works. (I implore you to watch until the very end when Borat tells you one of the most important aspects of voter privacy...)



Dig it?

Then send it.

Why limit it to 5 friends? Hell, even Borat has 7!

Wordsmith Wednesday

Felicitations, Congratulations, and a Huzzah, Huzzah to the Countess of YickYack, Countess Crystal, Mental P. Mama and Dale.

They are the lucky recipients of a copy of "Trunk Music" by Michael Connelly, the second selection from The Baroness Book Giveaway. Thanks to the lovelies at Hachette Book Group , too, for taking care of all of the administrative mumbo-jumbo. Been there, done that, dragged the inebriated boss out the local bar for her 4:00 pm meeting (silly cow)(her,not me), bought the designer t-shirt.

Believe me when I say that this is best left in the hands of professionals...

Also.

Believe me when I say, "But Wait! There's More!"

And I ain't talking no ginzu knives, people.

I have been advised that I am able to give away 50 - count 'em- 50 more books.

All at once. 10 titles; 5 copies each.

In time for Halloween - this shall be called:

The Baroness' "Spooktacular*" Book Giveaway
[DEAD-line:(hah!)(I kill myself)(hah again!!) is Friday October 31st, 2008, when the rooster crows at midnight]

(* I wish I could take credit for this particularly punny bon mot; sadly, I cannot)

Prepared to get your ghoul on - here they are, in their frightening fabulosity:
1. The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent (*also available as an audiobook)
2. Isolation by Travis Thrasher
3. The 13 Best Horror Stories of All Time by Leslie Pockell
4. The Monsters: Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein by Dorothy Hoobler
5. The Myrtles Plantation: The True Story of America's Most Haunted House by Frances Kermeen
6. Ghostly Encounters: True Stories of America's Haunted Inns and Hotels by Frances Kermeen
7. The Terror by Dan Simmons (*also available as an audiobook)
8. Dracula by Bram Stoker (*also available as an audiobook)
9. When Ghosts Speak: Understanding the World of Earthbound Spirits by Mary Ann Winkowski
10. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (*also available as an audiobook)

Easy contest question - favorite Halloween costume EVER?

Maybe you never did Halloween. Maybe, though, you've seen a costume that you would have like to have rocked.

This will do.

Usual Rules:

1. Contest entries go to my private Bat-computer (which I keep under glass, just like the BatPhone): Baronessvonb@gmail.com

2. Please include a mailing address (no p.o. boxes, please)

3. Contestants must live in either the US or Canada. No Transylvanians - cheaters!

4. Indicate, if applicable, whether you want the book or the audiobook.

LOVE the game, AND the Playah

EEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I'm so freakin' excited!!

I've said it before and I'll say it again - oh, how the Baroness loves it when a plan comes together.

You people - you really are a creative lot. You can been a little timid, but with some Belgian chocolate and a warm mug of mulled apple cider (I'm all about the cider)(ok, more the mulling), I might coax y'all out of your shells yet.

I've received my first "Option A" entry for the Baroness Book Giveaway (which ends tonight at midnight) - and it is has been embraced the challenge with enthusiastic delight. You are most certainly a winner, Countess of Yick Yack - you can throw that in the trunk and take it to the bank, sistah girl.

Pack, Unpack

"The Countess of YY woke up with a sense of dread. Not because it was forecasted to have flurries that day but the for the fact she knew she had to pack for yet another trade show. LA was known for it's for glitz and glam. For the Countess who is neither glitzy or glamorous she was truly in a funk. Packing was something if she wasn't Jewish she would have given up for lent. Now she needed to decide does she pack her overnight bag, her 36" or 72" suitcase or just screw it and throw everything in her trunk and just drive to LA.

Hearing the voice of the Baroness in her head she defers to the overnight bag because whatever you don't have you can buy. What must she pack? Since the Countess of YY wants to be sure to get to Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles, she must pack a GPS device.....oh that's right, she doesn't own one. Okay we will just trust a cab driver to get there.

Okay truth time here, if the Countess of YY were to list everything she were going to pack it would really be a snore fest as she tends to over pack and is thinking of forming a club called Overpackers Anonymous. The things she always has on her is a good book. That way if she is kept waiting on the tarmac, the airport, or whereever, she won't mind waiting. Number two her medication. Countess YY's philosophy - "Better living through Chemistry". A night light so she doesn't break her neck when she gets up in the middle of the night to ....well, you know. Oh yes, her make up. Heaven forbid she should leave home without it. Snacks, many both sweet and salty, Countess of YY has the metabolism of a hummingbird according to those her know her. These are things she carries with her no matter where she goes. Hence her 35 lb purse. She has recently seen a chiropractor, since her favorite massage therapist lives in another country.

Her sense of dread lifts as she sits down on the plane, fastens her seat belt, shoves her bag with both feet under the seat in front of her. She says a prayer of thanks to the travel G-ds for getting the free upgrade then turns to see who she is going to be sharing her flight with and it takes her breath away when she realizes it is..."

OK Baroness, that is it. I want to win the book as I love books. I have moved a million times and I bet I move 1000lbs of books each time I move. I always told my kids don't ever marry someone who doesn't read. what more can I say, there is nothing better than a good book except a best friend. The best thing is when the best friend reads and can suggest good books to you and visa versa.

There is nothing like the smell and feel of book..............................

The Countess of Yick Yack

There Be Some Junk in the Trunk

Did I, perhaps, overstep?

Did I, perhaps, make too forward an assumption?

If so, I profusely apologize.

I was only having fun.

Perhaps it was a bridge (or a trunk) too far.

This past Wednesday, I did my Baroness Book Review (lots of babble, a vague glimmer of insight) on Michael Connelly's "Trunk Music".

I also introduced the book giveaway (5 copies up for grab), and suggested an entry:

What would you pack in a trunk (car or Louis Vuitton),

if you were going to travel to Los Angeles, and why?

Tell me in the style of a mystery novel.

The deadline is supposed to be tomorrow at midnight.

I have yet to receive one entry. Huh.

So how about this?

Option A:
What would you pack in a trunk (car or Louis Vuitton),

if you were going to travel to Los Angeles, and why?

(If you'd like - tell me in the style of a mystery novel)

Option B:

Name

Mailing Address

Send either to my email addy:

Baronessvonb@gmail.com

Other rules and such:
1. You must live in either the U.S. or Canada

2. Mailing addresses can not be a P.O. Box. Street addresses only, please.

3. 5 copies are up for grabs. Free of charge.

4. Only one entry per person, please.

5. Contest deadline is midnight on Monday, October 27th, 2008 - winners announced on the 29th.