Winners, Writers and More - Oh My!

Winners . . . 

The past few weeks have been chuck full of amazing and fun stuff. My blog tour response was beyond incredible. Thank you to everyone who purchased my book, left reviews and entered the blog tour giveaway. The giveaway ended with over 4,000 entries! So, let's kick this blog post off with the winners. Congrats to . . .

$25 iTunes GC - Ali F.

$20 Sports Authority GC - Hai K.

Awakening Avery by Laurie Lewis - Rachael S.

Fallen Angel by Lisa Swinton - Jessica H.

Choice of 1 DiCarlo Brides book by Heather Tullis - Laurie G.

Fortune Cookie by Josi S. Kilpack - Victoria A.

Chocolate Roses by Joan Sowards - Lyza Jo

Rebound by Heather Justesen - Loretta B.

Gated by Amy Christine Parker (audiobook) - Diana D.

Winners - watch for an email. You will have 48 hours to accept your prize or another will be drawn.  =)


Writers . . . 

I spent last weekend surrounded by 700 writers at the Utah Storymakers Writers Conference. There was so much excitement, brainstorming, new friendships being forged - the list could go on. It was inspiring. As part of the conference organization committee, I was a tad busy running registration and other stuff, but I did get to attend a 2 hour intensive workshop taught by Elana Johnson and Ali Cross on story structure based off the Save the Cat series. It was awesomesauce! (an Elana term).  I loved their combined teaching style and how they used both a movie and a book to show the different beats a novel should have. I plan to pull out my Save the Cat book and add in all the notes I took during the class.

Here are some of my fave conference pictures (thank you to those who took pics and posted them on FB for me!):

 2014 Storymakers Conference Book Signing

with authors (L to R) - Jordan McCollum, Rachelle Christensen,

Danyelle Ferguson, Connie Sokol, Stephanie Black, and Lisa Mangum.

Author J. Scott Savage won the 2013 Whitney Award

for Best Speculative Fiction - then totally made me

tear up when he took his wife on stage with him and talked about

how he couldn't have accomplished all he did with out the support

and encouragement his wife gave. Jeff & Jennifer are such a great example

of a couple taking care of each other and reaching for their dreams together.

My hubby (John Waverly) and I were honored to present

the 2013 Whitney Award for Best Middle Grade Fiction

to Jennifer A. Nielsen for her novel, The Runaway King.

A totally fun moment after the Whitney Gala when

Stephanie Black grabbed me for a photo and we were joined

by some incredible awesome chicks. (L to R)

Donna Hatch, Stephanie Black, Danyelle Ferguson, 

Janette Rallison (aka CJ Hill), Heather Justsen (aka Heather Tullis),

Traci Hunter Abramson, and Julie Wright. 

I adore these ladies!

And More - Oh My!

The next two weeks are going to be busy ones for my family. It's the end of the school year and we're moving as well. I'm going to do my best to continue posting on my blog, but just in case you see a week go by with no posts - you'll know why.  =)

Also, today is the last day to enter the Goodreads Giveaway for Sweet Confections. Enjoy!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Sweet Confections

by Danyelle Ferguson

Giveaway ends May 01, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win
 

It's Book Release Day - and So Much Awesomeness!

The big day is finally here! Sweet Confections is celebrating it's official book birthday with lots of giveaways and great reviews.

But first, I want to wish a happy book birthday to Synchrony by Cindy Ray Hale! Find out more about her fabulous book series on her website. (PS - she has a fabulous giveaway going on, too!)


To kick off the Sweet Confections blog tour, I hit the amazing Down Under. Thank you to the Australian Romance Readers Association for spotlighting my book! It's an absolutely delicious feeling as an author to know you have readers all around the globe.

Today, there are also two reviewers. Laurie Lewis was my first stop this morning. She's known for being brutally honest about everything from characterization to plot holes to grammar issues. As I chewed on my fingernails (my hair is too short to twist around my fingers!), I clicked on her website and quickly read her review. Then reread it . . . and smiled.  =)  Here's a short blurb from Laurie:

Ferguson's characters were thoughtful and real, making it easy for readers to invest fully in the challenges and hiccups in their budding relationship. I especially enjoyed the heroine. Rachel Marconi is not a Barbie doll. Nearing thirty, and a few pounds above svelte from all that delicious baking, she proves that real women eat, laugh, love, work, and drive men crazy--even perfect 10's like Graydon Green. - Read Laurie Lewis' full review here.

The second review for today was over on Heather Justesen's blog. Heather is my partner-in-crime for my book series. My series is Indulgence Row and her book series is In the Garden - but we are sharing a town (Crystal Creek) and we use each other's characters in our books. It's been so much fun to brain storm and create Crystal Creek together.  So, what did Heather have to say about Sweet Confections?

Great characters that made me laugh out loud and fall in love--as any good romance should. -  Read Heather Justesen's full review on her blog.

And, of course, with everything I do, there's an awesome giveaway! Simply click here to enter to win an iTunes gift card, Sports Authority gift card, or a fabulous book.

Looking for purchase links? Check out the sidebar!

Sweet Confections Chapter Five and Upcoming Awesomeness

Only five days to go until the Sweet Confections blog tour kicks off. Which means you get something fun! The final preview for Sweet Confections is up. Check out Chapter Five here.


There's so much awesomeness going on and coming up. Let me update you.

First, if you read my previous blog post, you saw that our house went up for sale and sold super fast. Fortunately, our agent helped us find a wonderful house for our next home. It was a busy, busy weekend, but the hubs and I survived. This week is full of inspections. Next week appraisals. Then we close and move. Oh the joys of a growing family and real estate! Honestly, it's been a blessing. The new couple purchasing our house is so sweet & expecting their first baby. They're super excited about their first home. They'll be such a great addition to our neighborhood.

Second, a shout out to my musically talented daughter. She performed at a Sole & Ensemble Festival this week. She performed a beautiful Jane Austen-esque solo on her flute, and even though there were a few squeaky high notes, she didn't let it bother her. She nailed all the difficult rhythms, did a great job on the flow and emotion of the piece, and nailed a #1 rating. Not an easy thing to nab!

Lesson I learned: Do your best and handle the hard stuff with grace.  (Aren't kids amazing?)

And last, watch for next week's blog tour awesomeness. Week 1 takes us to Australia, the U.S. and England. Week 2 will be stops in the U.S., Canada, and Norway. You can find all the reviewers and their blogs on the nifty blog tour & giveaway link on my menu bar. Or just click here.

Speaking of prizes - 9 lucky people will win something awesome, from gift cards to fabulous books. Keep up with the tour by following my Facebook author page.

Have a fabulous weekend, everyone!