Posts Tagged With: giveaway

Bumper Sticker Giveaway — Haikus + Winner!

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Michelle Proulx

Huzzah for spring!

This past weekend, I ran a haiku contest, where the best haiku-ist would win an awesome Imminent Danger bumper sticker featuring Varrin looking super sassy. The haikus are all in, and it’s time to announce the winner!

But first, the runners up …

Spring has come at last
Flowers and leaves are waking
Sneezes are coming

— Charles Yallowitz

By some lucky stroke of fate, I don’t actually have seasonal allergies–but I know plenty of people who do, so I know how much it sucks. Still, what’s a little sneezing when it means lovely sunshine and tweeting birds and all sorts of other Spring goodness?

My friend Michelle Proulx
Soon we’ll meet Camos again
As our half elf pair

— Denise Gow-Morse

This is, of course, in reference to the Pathfinder campaign I’m playing with Denise and her husband. Camos is the hilariously standoffish half-orc who has a serious chip on his shoulder and likes to say “That is acceptable” to basically any question posed. Also, I’m pretty sure he’s going to murder us in our sleep at some point. But I still love him.

Here is my exit
But it’s under construction
Welcome to Memphis

— Misha Burnett

This haiku reminds me of “Last Exit to Eden” by Amanda Marshall. I feel like getting into an old muscle car and driving off into the sunset.

Blowing a gale here
A spaceship would be useful
Off to build an Ark

— Paula Acton

Oh dear! I suspect the lovely Paula Acton was suffering through some icky weather when she wrote this haiku. I hope you got that Ark built in time!

And now, the winning haiku …

All is dark and still.
The humans are now sleeping.
Soon, I must make noise.

— Thomas Weaver

This haiku ended up being the winner because I currently live with two dogs and three cats, and it just really spoke to me on an emotional level. Of my roommates’ five animals …

  1. Dog #1 likes to lick every inch of the kitchen floor and freak out at literally everything
  2. Dog #2 (puppy) likes to walk onto the pee pad, then scoot backwards juuuust enough to completely miss the pee pad while doing her thing
  3. Cat #1 likes to sit outside my roommates’ door at 7am and meow meow meow meow meow until they feed him
  4. Cat #2 likes to get locked in rooms, panic, and pee on the bed/couch/whatever soft and difficult-to-clean surface he can find
  5. Cat #3 likes to wait until I open my bedroom door, dart past me, run under my bed, and refuse to leave no matter what I do — oh, and he also likes to up-end garbage cans, shred toilet paper, taunt the dogs …

For the record, they are all very cute and generally quite pleasant and amusing to live with.

Anyhoo, Thomas Weaver is the big winner! His bumper sticker will be in the mail and on its way just as soon as I get his address and figure out how to package a bumper sticker that’s precisely one inch too long for an envelope.

***

Unrelated media of the day:

He just looks like a super chill dude …

Source: http://imgur.com/gallery/GxKbBGF

Categories: Random | Tags: , , , , | 14 Comments

It’s Spring! Time for a Bumper Sticker Giveaway!

Posted on April 11, 2015 by Michelle Proulx

After the longest winter of my life, I am ridiculously happy to announce that spring has OFFICIALLY HIT HALIFAX, CANADA!

Phew. Honestly, you cannot imagine my relief. Things were getting pretty grim for a while there. I’m looking at pictures from Celeste DeWolfe over in South Korea, who seems to spend all her time going to Cherry Blossom festivals and eating giant cotton candy balls, and then I look out my window, see seven-foot-high snowbanks, and think “Aw man.”

But today it was above zero and the snow’s finally melting and everything is glorious! Therefore, I have been inspired to run a …

Imminent Danger bumper sticker giveaway!

***

The prize: 

1 bumper sticker, as follows …

bumper sticker 1I have one on my car, and it’s super fly. You will be literally the coolest person in the galaxy if you have this bumper sticker on your car.

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How to enter:

Since I’m feeling whimsical today, in order to enter I want you to write me a haiku. Post it in the comments on this blog post, or post it on my Facebook page, or, heck, even tweet it to me (@michellishelli).

The haiku can be about anything you want — my book, sheep, the dichotomy of good and evil, whatever floats your boat. I’ll pick my favorite, and the winner gets an awesome bumper sticker!

In case you don’t know, a haiku is three lines, with the syllable scheme 5/7/5. Here’s an example:

Holy cow, it’s a

super awesome giveaway

I sure hope I win

Terrible? Yes. Technically correct? Also yes! Haiku me, people!

***

The deadline:

Let’s make it … 9 am EST on April 13. So that gives you the weekend to think up an awesome haiku and send it my way.

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Happy haiku-ing, everyone!

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Unrelated media of the day:

http://imgur.com/gallery/TUMXA

Categories: My Works, Self Publishing | Tags: , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Stealth Giveaway + Vacation Photos

Posted on March 12, 2015 by Michelle Proulx

About a month ago, I did a free giveaway weekend for Imminent Danger. For that giveaway, I went all out, leveraging all my social media sites to promote the free giveaway as much as possible. The grand total was 2800+ downloads.

Last Sunday, I did a 1-day stealth giveaway. No social media mentions, no promoting the book anywhere. I didn’t even tell my own mother about it. The grand total was 118 downloads.

What does this tell us?

  1. Telling people about your giveaway is a good idea (duh)
  2. Two day giveaways are (probably) better than one day
  3. People will still stumble across and download your book by random chance

That’s pretty much all I’ve got to report. Stay warm, everyone!

Unrelated media of the day:

As you may know, I recently went on vacation with my mother and brother, and I thought I’d share a couple of pictures. View and enjoy!

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Jesse and I at the gates to the new Fantasyland addition in the Magic Kingdom. I believe I’m supposed to be flapping my arms like wings, although with us, it’s hard to be sure.

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Mom and Jesse inside the Beast’s castle. Note Jesse’s “Family Reunion” badge.

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Mother tries the “grey stuff”. It’s delicious.

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Mother attempts to stop the hose from unraveling while Jesse fills up the tires of our rental car.

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Jesse contemplates tire filling.

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Myself on the cruise ship, attempting to schedule our days so we hit every single trivia game. Eating and sleeping be damned!

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Mom and Jesse on their way to snorkeling off the coast of Cozumel.

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A fisherman in Nassau showing us his catch of the day.

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Selfie in Nassau!

Categories: Self Publishing | Tags: , , , , , | 7 Comments

Giveaway time! My short story hit 500 downloads!

Posted on September 29, 2014 by Michelle Proulx

I’m psyched to announce my silly little short story, The Coin Collector, has officially hit 500 downloads on Smashwords! Woo!

To commemorate this glorious occasion, I’m going to hold a little giveaway. It’s super easy, and the prizes are super cute. Remember how a few months ago I mentioned I’d printed out my short story in booklets to give away at street festivals?

Pretty booklets all in a row

Pretty booklets all in a row

The prizes for this giveaway are the left-over short story booklets! That’s right, folks — for the low, low price of leaving a comment on this post (in which you can say literally anything you want), you will be entered into the running to win a super exclusive print copy of The Coin Collector, signed by yours truly! I’m going to give away at least three booklets, and possibly more if I get a lot of comments (come on, guys, you can do it!), so get commenting!

So, to summarize:

How do I enter this super-awesome giveaway? Leave a comment on this post — anything at all will do! (extra points if it’s a haiku)

What can I win? An exclusive print copy of The Coin Collector, a hilarious short story signed by the author herself!

That’s all for today, folks. Good luck!

 

Unrelated media of the day:

Source: http://imgur.com/gallery/AF2IwMC

 

Categories: Blog-related, Random | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 44 Comments

And the winners are …!

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Michelle Proulx

Remember that giveaway I started a month ago? Well, it’s finally finished, and it’s time to reveal the winners!

The grand prize winner of a signed copy of Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It (plus related swag) is …

Celeste DeWolfe

Congratulations!!! Send me your address, and I’ll send you your prize!

We also have two runners-up, who can choose their prize from the list below:

  • Imminent Danger fridge magnet + swag
  • Short story (written by me) featuring yourself and an Imminent Danger character of your choice
  • Digital artwork — one scene from the book (your choice) drawn by me (probably in Paint)

And these winners are …

Danielle E. Shipley

Francis Guenette

I’ll be contacting the winners individually, but if you’re a winner and you happen to read this post, feel free to email me at michellishelli@gmail.com with your preferred prize.

Thanks to everyone for participating!!!

Unrelated media of the day:

Categories: Blog-related | Tags: , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Settlers of Catan Song

Posted on May 25, 2014 by Michelle Proulx

I love Settlers of Catan. It’s one of my favourite board games, I’ll play it anytime, and I actually win a fair amount, which is of course a plus. During some random Catan game a few years ago, I apparently penned a song about Catan, which I recently re-discovered in an old notebook. Thus I present it to you (in slightly re-touched glory) …

* * * * *

Rolling in the Sheep

(to the tune of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep“)

* * * * *

(1st verse)

I just placed my second settlement on the board

I’m rolling wood, sheep, and brick, these resources I will hoard

You may ask me what I’m planning to do

Without no ore or wheat, you think I’m pretty much screwed

* * * * *

Furthermore, you say, why didn’t you build on eight?

If we only roll that number I won’t envy you your fate

But there’s a higher power in which I trust

Catan is mine to claim, and I’ll leave you in the dust

* * * * *

The dice are rolling, my hand is growing

I can’t help thinking that I’m gonna win this game

But a trend emerges, my horror surges,

I’ve got a bad feeling …

* * * * *

(Chorus)

Oh god it’s all my fault!

I’m rolling in the sheep!

And no one wants to trade, ’cause they’re worthless

Call me the Shepherd of Defeat

* * * * *

(2nd verse)

Why won’t you trade with me, can’t you hear me sigh?

I even gave my flock some names to entice you to buy

This one’s Fluffy, here’s Buffy and Puffy too

Look at how sad they are, they wanna go home with you

* * * * *

My sheep are crying, my hopes are dying

I try to stack them, but they all come tumbling down

They’re just too squishy to build a city

I’ve got a bad feeling …

* * * * *

(Chorus)

Oh god it’s all my fault!

I’m rolling in the sheep!

And no one wants to trade, ’cause they’re worthless

Call me the Shepherd of Defeat

* * * * *

Thank you kindly for your attention. Feel free to sing this at every opportunity, including on crowded trains and subways.

Mega-Giveaway ending tomorrow!

There’s still time to enter and win a free, signed copy of my debut novel, Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It! Click here to check out the guidelines, and don’t forget that you’re welcome to enter as many times as you like.

Unrelated media of the day:

So this is apparently taken out of  a psychology textbook …

Source: http://imgur.com/gallery/HfZ84Zs

Categories: Blog-related, Writing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

May 2014 Writing Update + Mega-Giveaway Ends Soon!

Posted on May 24, 2014 by Michelle Proulx

Happy Saturday, fellow bloggers!

Just thought I’d do a quick writing update for anyone interested in how my assorted projects are going. In no particular order …

Chasing Nonconformity (sequel to Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It)

The manuscript is currently in the hands of my mother/editor/life coach. She’s reading it through right now, and has promised to return it to me by the end of May. We’re actually meeting up for my friend’s wedding, so I’ve kindly informed my mother that she’s not allowed to attend the wedding unless she brings me the edited manuscript as tribute. Muahahahahaha.

Assuming she doesn’t suggest any crazy, sweeping changes to the story, I’m hoping to have this book out and published by the fall. Fingers crossed!

D.Y.S.C. (working title)

This is a post-apocalyptic, dystopian YA trilogy I’ve been working on for a while now. I actually wrote half a first draft a few years back, scrapped it, re-wrote it, and scrapped it again. Now that the weather’s nice again, I’ve started going on daily walks with my little brother, and we’ve been planning out the full trilogy. We’ve got the first book pretty much planned, the second one’s in fairly good shape, and the third one’s a mess. But we’re making good progress!

In terms of actual plot, the story will follow Victoria, a teenage girl who lives on an asteroid colony out in the belt (the Earth was destroyed about a century earlier, so this is the last outpost of humanity). Crime runs rampant on the asteroid colonies, and she lives in a poor sector, so she joins a street gang. An arms deal goes horribly wrong, and she ends up getting arrested. In this world there are crazy rules for what happens if you’re a criminal, and Victoria ends up being drafted to a DYSC team (DYSC is the sport that everyone follows — it’s sort of like a gladiatorial arena, except with more sport-like elements [scoring systems, teams, branding, sponsors, etc.].) So she joins a team, has to risk her life in the arena, has to deal with her psychopathic teammates (who are also criminals), has to deal with the team owner lusting after her, etc. Fun!

Those are the big two I’m working on right now. I have a couple of other projects off to the side, but they’re sort of on hold while I play around with these two projects.

In Imminent Danger news, I’ll be attending the “Gathering on the Green” festival in London, Ontario next month and selling my book. I’ll have my prize wheel out and ready for kids to spin, I’ll have a bazillion bookmarks and stickers to give away — and, of course, a big box of books to sell. If for whatever reason you happen to be in London, Ontario on June 7, stop by and say hi!

 

Mega Giveaway Ends Soon!

My mega giveaway for Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It ends on Monday! It’s really easy to enter (almost too easy) — just do something (literally anything) to promote my book. Tweet a link to it, Facebook share it, buy it, write a review, write some fanfiction and post it in the comments, draw some fanart … sky’s the limit! And you can enter multiple times — if you want to tweet about my book every day for the next three days, that’s 3 entries! Wow!

Ahem. Check out the original giveaway post for details. Prizes include a signed copy of my book, plus possibly more awesome prizes if I get enough entrants. Now go forth and conquer!

 

Unrelated media of the day:

 

Categories: Blog-related, My Works, Writing | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

New Imminent Danger Fanfiction!

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Michelle Proulx

As you may or may not know, I’m currently holding a mega giveaway for my novel, Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It. One of the ways you can enter is by writing up a bit of fanfiction for the book. Now, the esteemed Misha Burnett sent me a tiny little fanfiction piece for funsies, but I think it’s awesome and I’m therefore sharing it with you all!

Here it is, in untouched glory (for reference, Grashk is a six-armed lizard man):

Varrin buried his face in Grashk’s scaly chest, breathing in the musky reptilian odor.

“If loving you is wrong, I don’t want to be right …” the Raskorsian husked.

“What about Eris,” Grashk asked. “Have you told her?”

“Her?” Varrin sniffed. “I am so over the whole human thing. Once you go Ssrisk, you’ll never go back!”

That’s all for today! Have a glorious weekend, and don’t forget to enter the giveaway! Oh, and if you decide to write me some fanfiction, yes, you will 100% be featured on this blog whether you like it or not. Ahahahahahahaha.

 

Unrelated media of the day:

Categories: Blog-related, My Works | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

8 Storytelling Wisdoms

Posted on May 7, 2014 by Michelle Proulx

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Today, I’d like to share with you some wisdoms about storytelling that I found in an old notebook on my bookshelf. I’m pretty sure I wrote most of them down whilst playing through Kingdom Hearts, although a couple are potentially from elsewhere.

Do with these wisdoms what you will!

 

Storytelling wisdoms found in my old notebook

(possibly inspired by Kingdom Hearts) 

  1. Things with wings that don’t traditionally have wings are awesome!
  2. Insightful, strong, and silent guys are hot.
  3. Permanent reminders of childhood memories and friendships are sweet.
  4. Best friends who turn evil for good reasons are tragically appealing — but only if the hero believes they can be redeemed.
  5. Evil best friends who appear out of nowhere, taunt you, and then disappear, rock.
  6. It’s really annoying when bad guys withhold vital information.
  7. Obscenely over-powered fathers are awesome, especially when protecting their children.
  8. It’s extremely tragic when someone with ultimate power loses their power.
  9. Tanning works better if you aren’t fully dressed.

 

That last one was written in red ink, while the rest were written in blue ink, so I think I might have tacked it on as a more general life wisdom. Anyhoo, hope you enjoyed the wisdoms!

 

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Imminent Danger Giveaway!

Remember, my mega-giveaway for my debut novel, Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It runs until May 26! Entering is really easy — just share the giveaway, or a link to the book, or draw some fan art, or write a short fanfiction piece, or … basically anything you want that even slightly relates to my book in some capacity! The grand prize is a signed hardcover copy of the book, and then there are potentially secondary prizes if enough people enter. Click here to learn more.

Unrelated media of the day:

Kind of a fun little musical compilation. Guy sings Katy Perry’s Dark Horse song in 20 different musical styles.

Categories: My Works, Writing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 30 Comments

MEGA GIVEAWAY for my book! Check it out!

Posted on April 26, 2014 by Michelle Proulx

What up, internet friends? In honor of my 300th WordPress post, I’ve decided to hold a mega giveaway for my debut novel, Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It.

The rules are simple. I’m going to list various ways you can enter. Then you do them … and you’re entered! Prizes are listed below. Woo!

The giveaway will run from the now until May 26.

 

How to enter:

Complete any of the following activities, and send me some sort of evidence that you completed them. You can email me (michellishelli@gmail.com), write it in the comments, write it on my Facebook page, tweet me (@michellishelli), send the evidence to me by messenger dragon … literally whatever you want, so long as I actually receive it.

You get +1 entry into the giveaway for each activity completed. The activities are:

  • Buy a copy of Imminent Danger. Send me some sort of evidence of your purchase — anything works, including a picture of you holding the book! If you already bought it, awesome! Send your evidence and you’re in!
  • Write a review for Imminent Danger. Send me a link to the review, or a screencap of the review, or whatever. If you’ve already written a review, that totally counts! Send that shizzle my way, friend.
  • Share this giveaway on social media. On your blog, on your Twitter, etc. Send appropriate evidence of your awesomeness. +1 for each place you share the giveaway.
  • Share Imminent Danger on social media. Same rules as for sharing the giveaway. Here’s a link to the book … http://amzn.to/1lytZwB
  • Draw some Imminent Danger fan art. As long as it vaguely resembles something from the book, it works for me! Oh, and this obviously goes without saying, but any fan art you send me will be showcased on this blog.
  • Write an Imminent Danger fanfiction. Sky’s the limit with this one! Pick a character, come up with a silly situation, and have some fun! Like with the fan art, all fanfiction will be showcased on this blog.
  • Make your own activity! Thought of a different way to show support for my book? Awesome! As long as it’s related to Imminent Danger and promoting/supporting it, or promoting/supporting me, in some capacity, it counts.

So that’s how you enter! Now for the …

 

Prizes:

How many prizes I dish out depends on how many people enter, obviously. The more entrants, the more awesome the prizes!

Confirmed prizes:

  • Signed copy of Imminent Danger And How to Fly Straight into It, plus related swag!

Possible other prizes:

  • More signed copies!
  • Imminent Danger fridge magnet!
  • Short story written by me, featuring you and an Imminent Danger character of your choice!
  • Scene from the book, drawn by me! I’m a terrible artist! You’ll love it!
  • Assorted Imminent Danger swag!
  • Whatever else I can think of! If you have a suggestion, let me know!

 

That’s all she wrote! Thanks in advance to everyone who participates. And now, for some totally related media to get you in the giveaway mood …

 

Totally related media:

Categories: My Works, Self Publishing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

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