Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Semi-Finalist!

Out of 5,000 world-wide entrants, my historical novel "Children of Light" is among fewer than 1,000 semi-finalists as judged by Publisher's Weekly! The farther along I move in the contest, the more professional feedback I get. Of course, if I actually win first place, my novel will be published by Penguin Books. But the exposure and feedback will be very valuable for me. You can help me by reading and reviewing a 5,000 word excerpt of my novel at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00124COPM.

PLEASE HELP ME BY PASSING THIS ALONG TO YOUR FRIENDS!

You'll need an Amazon account (free) before you download the excerpt (for free).

Here are a few points to remember:

* When you read excerpts from the semifinalists and post reviews, you’ll be in the running to win a prize package (including an Amazon Kindle, a $2,000 Amazon.com gift certificate, and an HP photo printer) for providing the most--and the most high-quality--reviews.

* Read and review by mid-February so I can make it to the next round.

* On the link above, my novel is listed as "Romance" but can be found elsewhere as "Historical." I'm not going to squabble over the mixed labeling issue. :)

(Tips for reviewers from Amazon:)

• Be persuasive. Experts at Penguin will be relying on customer reviews as they prepare to select the finalists, so don't hesitate to tell us what you really think. The reviews that provide the most thorough, thoughtful feedback are the ones that will help Penguin choose the Top Ten.

• Quantity and quality help. The more reviews you write, and the more helpful each review is, the more likely you are to win one of our three prize packages.

• Discuss. As with customer reviews for all our products, you can comment on others' excerpt reviews and rate them. Any discussion and activity we see around specific titles will only keep us coming back for more, so feel free to speak up and banter with your peers.

• One quick heads-up: Per the contest rules, every excerpt is a maximum of 5,000 words in length. As a result, you may find that excerpts vary in length or end unexpectedly. Consider yourself warned--and happy reading!

Thanks friends! Caron