St. Patrick's Day Facebook Hop

Welcome to the St. Patrick’s Day Facebook Hop, hosted by @Boxed Romance Bargains!

With tons of prizes from over 100 authors and bloggers, including Amazon gift cards, it's a great way to spend Thanksgiving Weekend!

In case of a broken link, visit the website for a complete list of participants: http://lovekissedbooks.com/2017/03/15/join-the-st-patricks-day-hop/ ‎

Today I'm giving away this deck of playing cards with the cover to my sweet romance novella Searching for Lady Luck. Please read the instructions below carefully so you’re not disqualified!!!

1. Like my Facebook page (if you haven't already done so): https://www.facebook.com/Patricia-Kiyono-149294485148710/

2. Follow this blog: (Look for the white rectangle labeled "Networked Blogs" and click "follow this blog"

3. Comment on my Facebook page saying Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Winners will be chosen at random. Giveaway is open from 12pm EST on 3/17 until 12pm EST on 3/19.

The next stop on the hop is Piper Rayne To enter to win his/her prize, please visit his/her page here https://www.facebook.com/PiperRayne/

Don't forget to visit:http://lovekissedbooks.com/2017/03/15/join-the-st-patricks-day-hop/ ‎

Enter the Grand Prize Giveaway! Win a Kindle or Amazon Gift Cards!
Good luck and I hope everyone has a Happy St. Patrick’s Day weekend!

Facebook giveaways are in NO way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. Information collected is NOT collected by Facebook. In signing up for this promotion, participants release and indemnify Facebook from all liability.
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Got Some Paper Handy?

Authors need to be creative, and when it comes to promoting our work we need to turn up our creativity in order to stand out among millions of other authors writing the same kinds of books. Joselyn Vaughn is an author who, like me, loves to sew. When we appeared at a book event a few years ago I noticed she had a pile of cute handmade notebooks. She let me copy her idea and I’ve made several to give away as thank yous to readers and winners of my contests. I asked her to share her instructions for making them, and she referred me to her blog post, which I’ve copied here:

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My swag pile was depleted so I needed to make some more notebooks to give away. I feared that this would require a trip to Wal-mart with all three kids on a snow day. (Our last trip to the store required everyone to sit in timeout when we got home. I probably needed it the most. yikes. So I was not looking forward to another trip.) So you can imagine my excitement and relief when I discovered the paper I thought I had used up was not gone. Whew!

I thought I’d share the instructions for making these little notebooks because they are fun, easy, and cute.

What you’ll need:
Fun paper
5 sheets of plain white paper
Cutting device (paper cutter, rotary cutter, or scissors, if you are awesome.)
Sewing machine with a leather or denim needle.


1. Cut the fun paper into a rectangle – 5 5/8″ x 8 5/8″. Fold in half.

2. Cut the white paper in half. 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″. Put half sheets in one pile. Fold in half.

3. Insert white paper inside fun paper.

4. Sew down the fold. Refold the notebook and Tada! a notebook.

For promotional purposes, I put a sticker on the front with my name, website, and tagline on it. I figure this is something that people will keep around for a little while.

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Aren't these clever? Joselyn's list of books can be found on her Amazon author page. You can also find Joselyn on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. She's also getting ready to release her brand new novella, Seeing You Again! Here's the awesome cover, and we hear the book will be available for pre-order sometime this month!

Sticky Note Fever

Goodness! It’s been over a week since I last posted, and I want to get back into the habit of returning here weekly. I’ve been working on sewing more bags, but I want to share some of the goodies I’ve sent out in some of them. These are little post-it note folders, made from scrapbooking cardstock. A friend of mind had one and showed it to us at our Crazy Crop scrapbooking club. I’m always on the lookout for unique promo items so I asked if I could make a pattern from hers and then I went home and copied it, using materials I had sitting around the house. I had stickers with my name and website, so I added those. I’m pretty happy with the way they turned out! 

Materials needed: scrapbooking cardstock, 3 inch by 3 inch sticky notes

Directions: cut cardstock into strips 3.25 inches by 8.5 inches. Place the sticky note pad on the center of the strip, but don't attach yet. Trace around the note pad, remove, and then fold on the lines. Place the pad on the strip again and make another crease to make the top cover. Attach the pad to the cardstock strip (I like to use double-sided tape). Attach a velcro dot for the closure. 

It's still my plan to fill a few goodie bags and send them out, but I'll need more stuff to put in them.  Guess I'll have to keep working on swag!

May Day Book Party

It's Time to Party!

hosted by Marketing for Romance Writers (#MFRWorg)

JOIN ME & over a dozen other authors as we share excerpts from our contemporary romances. Get ideas for some new books to enjoy this spring. With all heat levels represented, there's something for everyone. Join in on the hourly contests and win prizes. This is a party you do not want to miss and it's going on all day on May 1st.

I AM HOSTING at two times, so I hope to see you from 2 to 3 pm and/or 9 to 10 pm!

Confirmed Participating Authors INCLUDE:

Victoria Barbour - Vicki Batman - Paloma Beck - Gemma Brocato - Candy Caine - Lisa Carlisle - Carly Carson - Margie Church - Karen Cino - Wendy Lynn Clark - Margo Bond Collins - Kandie Delley - Emerald - Candace Gold - Lily Harlem - Susan Jaymes - Mona Karel - Patricia Kiyono - Adriana Kraft - Jan Meredith - Siobhan Muir - Martha O'Sullivan - Skylin O'Thomas - Victoria Pinder - Irene Preston - Jana Richards - Christi Williams - Sabrina York

CLICK HERE to Attend!

A Kindle Fire for your Summer Reading

A very energetic pair of young authors at Astraea Press has organized a wonderful Fan Fest event on Facebook. Over 40 authors are participating in a virtual party and mass giveaway on Wednesday July 16 from 9 am to 9 pm. Most of us have donated our books, and we'll be available throughout the day for author chats and to answer any questions you might have for us about our books, our writing lives and whatever else you want to ask us. Astraea Press is giving away a Kindle Fire!

To be a part of this fabulous summer celebration, just go to https://www.facebook.com/events/370292336405909/ and indicate that you're "going" to the party. The more you stop in that day, the more chances you'll have to win some of the prizes donated by the AP authors.

To enter the drawing for the Kindle Fire, scroll down to the Rafflecopter (the white rectangle below) and sign in either using your facebook account or your email.  I'd be thrilled if one of you would win it!

a Rafflecopter giveaway