A Contest!

In order to promote Beyond the Reflection's Edge, I am starting a contest on this blog. The prize? Books for life! The grand prize winner will receive one autographed copy of every new book I publish for as long as we both shall live. He or she will also have the option of being a character in a future book, that is, I will create a character who will be a fictionalized representation of the winner, using a name and characteristics that we will agree upon.

Since contestants will accumulate points in this contest, I will be able to award prizes to others who do well. The second place finisher will receive the next five books I publish. Third place will win the next three books, and all of the top ten finishers will receive a free copy of Eternity's Edge, book two in the Echoes from the Edge series, when it comes out.

Here are the guidelines. First, post a comment here to let me know you are participating. You will also have to send me an email with your real name and address to verify your participation. I will keep your personal information private. Please send the information to bryan (at) dragonsinourmidst (dot) com. Of course, replace "at" with the @ sign and "dot" with a period.

Here is how you gain points:
1. Recommend Beyond the Reflection's Edge to someone. If that person buys it, send me a scanned photocopy of the receipt by email. The receipt must show the store name and the date, and the date must be on or later than today's date, May 6, 2008. Every bookstore receipt is worth twenty points.
If you have a receipt from an online store, I have to be able to verify that it's real. Since I'm trying to promote buying at bookstores, online receipts will be worth only five points, but that's better than nothing.Buying the book for someone else counts as a referral.

If you are unable to scan a receipt, you may mail a photocopy to me at P.O. Box 512, Middleton, TN 38052.

2. Email a digital photo of you posing with a store employee in a bookstore where the book is shelved. In the photo, I must be able to see the book on the shelf. Every photo you send is worth ten points, but each photo must be from a different store, and with each photo, include the name and address of the store as well as the name of the employee. Please let me know if I am allowed to post the photo on the blog.

Because some people live in small towns without any bookstores, I will allow you to ask friends to get photos for you. The friend must be in the photo along with the store employee.

3. Write an online review dated after the contest begins. Each new review is worth three points. The review must be on a public site such as Amazon.com or Christianbook.com, and the review must be positive. If you post a negative review, that doesn't help promote the book, right? I realize that many people have already posted reviews. Let me know where they are, and I will award two points for each.

If you want to post a review on someone else's blog, ask permission first. Don't assume that the blogger wants your review on his or her blog.

4. As the contest continues, at random times, I will post a quiz or a puzzle related to Beyond the Reflection's Edge. These puzzles will require possession of the book and knowledge of the story. Correct answers will be awarded points based on the difficulty. You will email me your answers. These questions might pop up here at any time, so keep checking back. The first person with the correct answer will get more points than others will.

5. Get someone else to participate in this contest. It's true that the new contestant will be in competition with you, but if you do well, you won't have to worry about that. When your referred contestant signs up through email, make sure he or she mentions you as the one who referred him or her. For each referral you will be awarded three points, but there will be a bonus. For every ten points your referred person accumulates, you will get another point. Does that sound like multi-level marketing? Yup!

If you get someone to participate, you won't get your three points until that person gets at least some points through reviews, photos, etc.

6. Make a video supporting Beyond the Reflection's Edge and post it on Youtube or Godtube. You can interview people, use music or artwork, or even recruit people to join the contest. If you don't mind, I would like you to include a positive comment or two about the book. Make it imaginative, funny, insightful, anything (within reason) to attract attention.

Posting a video will be worth twenty points, but only one video per person will count. As the contest draws to a close, I will award an additional twenty points to the person who makes the best video (in the opinion of the judges).

As an added benefit, I will send an autographed Beyond the Reflection's Edge poster to everyone who posts a video.

7. Make a poster about Beyond the Reflection's Edge and put it on a school, church, or store bulletin board. The poster has to be at least eight and a half by eleven inches, which is the sized of standard paper, and it must have an image of the book cover.

You can get the book cover image by clicking here. A poster needs to include where a person can purchase the book locally, or if there is no local place to get it, mention that it can be purchased online at Christianbook.com, Amazon.com, or another online bookseller.

A poster is worth five points, but you won't get extra points for more than one poster at the same school. You may put the poster up in many different places, but only one credit per establishment. To get credit for a poster, please send me a digital photo of you at the place where you placed it.

8. If you make a T-shirt and wear it while handing out fliers that tell about Beyond the Reflection's Edge, send me a photo of you doing that, and you'll get twenty points (only one twenty-point award per person). Remember to put on your flier where a person can get a copy of the book, whether locally or on the Internet, and suggest that they let you know they bought it so you can get referral points. There is no limit to the number of referrals you can earn.

9. I might also add new ways to add points, so keep checking my blog.

This contest will last until the end of June, and the decisions of the judges will be final. If you have any questions, please post a comment. Questions that are already answered in this post will be deleted.

I hope this competition stays loving and friendly. Although I hope you want to win the books, I also hope you want to share with others the benefit of reading Beyond the Reflection's Edge. As the series progresses, the spiritual value of the story will become clearer. Since the book doesn't overtly preach, it's a great opportunity to introduce your friends to a story that will lead them on a spiritual journey.

I will post regular updates with contestants and their point totals. My thanks to Wayne Thomas Batson. I got the idea from a similar contest he ran to promote Isle of Swords.

By the way, the photo above is from my visit to Nixon Elementary School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Why is it relevant? With the students' raising their hands, it made me think of participation. I hope we get many participants.