blooming

Wanna know something super fun?? I KNOW SOMEONE WHO JUST PUBLISHED A REAL LIVE BOOK. Like a for real book that you can like...find in a bookstore! Or a library! Or Amazon!

Not gonna lie, it makes me feel pretty special. One degree of separation to a legit author! Woo!

My friend Colleen just released her first novel, Elly in Bloom!!!

Now seriously-- who else judges books by their covers? I know I'm not the only one. And the cover of this book? I mean, even if I didn't already know Colleen and want to read the book just 'cause she wrote it-- I would definitely pick this book by its cover. How pretty is it??! (Relatedly, back in June (months before the book was published) Colleen shared the inside scoop on just how the cover art came to be. It is so interesting!!)

So you can imagine how excited I was a few weeks ago when Colleen contacted me and was like "hey, I'm going to mail you my book!" Because I was planning on buying it anyway, so basically she just saved me a little wad of cash, which is always nice. Plus it meant I got something in the mail, which is also something I'm a fan of. And yesterday the book came!

Look!! I'm holding her book(s) in my VERY OWN HANDS!! Surreal, I tell you. She even wrote on the front page for me (which is my personal love language: book inscriptions. True story.)

Erika, Thank you for being the most wonderful internet discovery since Pinterest! I am so glad we found each other in the internet stratosphere, my skinny soulmate. I hope someday we can meet in person and sing Les Mis from beginning to end. Keep on blooming! Love, Colleen Oakes

If that doesn't prove we're BFFs, I don't know what would. She calls me the "best thing since Pinterest" (HIGH PRAISE), "skinny" (HIGHEST PRAISE), and wants to sing through my favorite musical ever with me? Soulmates indeed.

But wait! Did you catch something 2 pictures ago? There are TWO books there. Guess why?

'Cause I'm giving one away!!!!!

I know, I can barely contain my excitement! My very first giveaway!!

First, let me tell you a tiny bit about the book (if you need more info, you can check out the synopsis/reviews on Amazon). This summary is stolen directly from Colleen's blog, btw: 

Surrounded by lush flowers and neurotic brides, chubby 32-year old Elly Jordan has carved out a sweet little life for herself as the owner of Posies, a boutique wedding florist in St. Louis. It’s not bad for a woman who drove away from her entire life just two years ago when she found her husband entwined with a red-headed artist.

Sure, Elly has an embarrassingly beautiful best friend, a terribly behaved sheepdog and a sarcastic assistant who she simply calls “Snarky Teenager”, but overall her days are pleasantly uneventful. As a bonus, her new next door neighbor just happens to be an unnervingly handsome musician who has an eye for curvy Elly.

Just when she feels that she is finally moving on from her past, she discovers that an extravagant wedding contract, one that could change her financial future, is more than she bargained for.

With the help of her friends, staff and the occasional well-made sandwich, Elly bravely agrees to take on the event that threatens to merge her painful history with her bright new life, and finds herself blooming in a direction she never imagined.

I read the whole entire book yesterday and let me tell you-- it was fabulous. I actually laughed out loud (literally!) a few times. And I lusted over the descriptions of flowers (and sandwiches). Yall know I've been reading like crazy lately, and this book is definitely one of the most enjoyable I've come across. Elly is easy to relate to and impossible not to root for. I was very sad to see the book end.

And now YOU can have the pleasure of Elly in Bloom, too!! Because Colleen's going to give one of YOU your very own SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR copy! All you have to do is...

...basically nothing. I'm a newbie giveaway girl, okay? I can't see myself doing all that "follow me and friend me and look at my Etsy shop and do a backflip and some long division" stuff that Serious Giveaway Bloggers do. I'm makin my OWN rules here, okay? So if you WANT to do any of the above (especially a backflip, but be sure to record yourself trying!), feel free. Otherwise, just leave a comment on this post. Here are some suggestions for things you can say in the comment:

-"Erika, MAKE ME A WINNER!!!!!!!!!!"
-"Erika, you are so cool and awesome and I am so jealous you know a famous author." 
-tell me your favorite book
-tell me your favorite kind of cookie
-tell me about how poor and bored you are and how you really really need this book to get you through the weekend
-tell me what TV show you're loving right now

And so on and so forth. Just leave a comment (be sure to include your email address or some way I can get in touch with you if I don't have it already) and then I'll figure out how to do that random number picker thingy and pick a winner! I also might (if the Spirit leads me) decide to pick a non-random SECOND WINNER based on my personal favorite comment. So may that be your incentive. And may the Force be with you! And may the odds be ever in your favor!

Giveaway ends Monday-ish! So start commenting!!

And if you can't wait that long to read Elly, you can go buy it now on Amazon-- yes, it's released on Kindle as well!