Good morning, Blog Babes! (Where is the voice of John Forsythe when you need it?)

Big doin’s this Friday, April 28th out in the lovely Civil War town of Boonsboro, Maryland. Pack the car, make the trek, you won’t be sorry you did.

Every spring my writers group, Washington Romance Writers has a writers retreat in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia held in the lovely Hilltop House, with stunning views of the Blue Ridge mountains and the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. It’s relaxing and rejuvenating and I look forward to it every year.

But before we kick off our retreat, we have a Mega Author Booksigning at Turn The Page Bookstore and Cafe in nearby Boonsboro, Maryland. Turn the Page is run by Bruce Wilder and his daughter-in-law Stacy, who both happen to be related to a certain redhead I know and love. You might have heard of her, Nora something or other. She’s written a few books.

This year we’re kicking off the signing at 11:30 and they claim we’ll be done by 2pm but it has run until at least 4pm the past few years. Hundreds of readers and fans will flock to the event, many having their own mini-annual reunions as well. So come and come early. Tickets are handed out in groups by letters (25 A’s, then 25 B’s, etc.) so you can head off and enjoy the town, grab a bite at Asaro’s (owned and run by Nora’s eldest, Dan) and make an absolute must pitstop at The Creamery for some of the best custard in the known world, then hike back around the corner when your letter group is called. It’s a pretty good system.

So, who, might you ask, will be signing this year? Besides me and The Redhead, you mean? Well…how about…Sabrina Jeffries, Mary Janice Davidson, Carly Phillips, Ruth Ryan Langan, Mary Blayney, Mary Kay McComas, Patricia McLinn, Diane Gaston/Diane Perkins, Karen Rose, Tracy Anne Warren, Heidi Betts, Kathleen Gilles Seidel, Gail Barrett, and Sally MacKenzie? You know, just to name a few. Okay, just to name them all. But anymore than that and we’d have to sign outside on the curb.

Come one, come all. I’d love to see you all there!

But see, here’s the really cool thing! If you can’t make it out to Boonsboro, Turn the Page sponsors an on-line “Virtual Booksigning!” This means if you hit their website and order any of the books being signed on Friday, Bruce and Stacy will make sure they are signed by the appropriate author before they’re mailed to you. Voila! (And no waiting in line….but no Creamery custard either. So it’s a trade off there.) The link for Turn The Page Bookstore is in the column to your right. Or go to www.ttpbooks.com and check it out!!

Okay….now for the second most important announcement this fine Monday Morning…

Friday Giveaway Scavenger Hunt Question of the Week! Wow, you know, this contest title thing is getting pretty unwieldy….maybe it needs it’s own MAC-like acronym. Except FGSHQW looks very Jabberwocky to me. How about we call it SHaQ (For Scavenger Hunt Question.) After all, it’s big, it’s bad, and it plays really good defense on the down low. Wait, wrong Shaq…. But! We can have our own SHaQ Attack, right?

So, I hereby christen today SHaQ Attack Monday! Your mission, Blog Babes, should you choose to accept it, (channeling Peter Graves now…) is to track down this vital piece of information: You see, I’ve been enjoying the final weeks of West Wing and am really sad that the series is coming to an end, especially after one of, I think, their strongest seasons yet. I have lived in the DC area my whole life and so the setting and storylines feel personal. And I got to thinking…you know, one of my stories featured the daughter of a former U.S. president.

Your mission? Name the story. Winner will be chosen at random from all correct entries and announced Friday morning. The prize? Your pick from my bookshelf. Is there a bonus question you ask? Of course there is! For some serious extra credit (since, to my knowledge, the answer to the extra credit question is surprisingly not on my website anywhere…) tell me her name, and you get your pick of a second book if you win. Send your answers to donna@donnakauffman.com with Rock My Vote! in the subject line.

Good luck and happy sleuthing!

Tags: Writing //