Another chance to win a book and some swag!

I’m kicking off my April giveaway for an advance copy of All the Ugly and Wonderful Things and a piece of book swag.

This month I’m keeping it simple. To enter to win, all you have to do is sign up for my newsletter. That’s it. I’m going to choose one winner from everybody who is signed up for my newsletter by April 25th, so if you already signed up, you’re entered. (All 7 of you. Seriously, the odds are in your favor for this drawing.)

If you haven’t signed up yet, just click here to do so.

About All the Ugly and Wonderful Things:

As the daughter of a meth dealer, Wavy knows not to trust people, not even her own parents. Struggling to raise her little brother, eight-year-old Wavy is the only responsible “adult” around. She finds peace in the starry Midwestern night sky above the fields behind her house. One night everything changes when she witnesses one of her father’s thugs, Kellen, a tattooed ex-con with a heart of gold, wreck his motorcycle. What follows is a powerful and shocking love story between two unlikely people that asks tough questions, reminding us of all the ugly and wonderful things that life has to offer.

 

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The importance of being blurbed

One of the more esoteric aspects of the publishing industry is the cover blurb. Basically, your publisher sends out copies of your book to ask far more talented and famous writers to read the book and say nice things about it. In some ways, it’s almost the only time in life that it’s acceptable to ask people to compliment you.

Blurbs are considered very important when you are, as I am, a debut author in traditional publishing. A good blurb is like a celebrity endorsement. The perennial question is whether they work. I don’t know. I can’t think of a time when I’ve bought a book, just because a famous writer I like said, “This book is great!” One the other hand, if a writer I like has blurbed a book, I’m more likely to consider it than I might otherwise.

No matter how much importance you place on blurbs, it’s still really nice to get them. It makes me feel like I’ve arrived. It helps me feel a bit more confident that readers will like my book. So this week has definitely been a boost to my confidence, as I got TWO really nice blurbs.

“An emotionally resonant novel with an unlikely cast of characters you won’t soon forget. Bryn Greenwood’s unique voice and her understanding of human nature offer an amazing tale of family, loss, and love that’s as unpredictable and inspiring as love itself.”

–Brunonia Barry, New York Times bestselling author of The Lace Reader

 

“Written in lyrical and searingly honest prose,  Bryn Greenwood tells a powerful story of love and resilience against the bleakest of backdrops. Like the best fiction, this is a novel that means to disturb and challenge as it forces to look with compassion on every last one of its flawed, memorable characters. I was captivated from the first page to the last.”

–Patry Francis, author of The Orphans of Race Point

 

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