Save Shrinking Violet & Win Ballads of Suburbia

I was saddened to get an email from my fellow MTV Books author Danielle Joseph last week and find out that her amazing book, Shrinking Violet was about to go on backorder and the demand would have to increase for more copies to be printed. It's particularly upsetting because Shrinking Violet is *such* an amazing book and I think it's a very important one. If you know me at all, the books I like best are the ones that give voice to the types of people who are overlooked or don't have a voice. Shrinking Violet is actually about a shy girl finding her voice. I called it "a Cinderella story for anyone who felt shy or like they didn't fit in at high school." It's very important that more readers who need her be able to discover the incredible character of Tere.

Fortunately, Danielle is not taking this lying down. She is fighting for Tere and urging people to spread the word about Shrinking Violet, buy the book, etc. She even started a contest. I'm going to post the details below with Danielle's words about her book. But I'd also like to do a contest of my own.

I'm putting a signed copy of my own book, Ballads of Suburbia, up for grabs and this is how you get entries:

+1 for each tweet about the campaign to save Shrinking Violet. You can link to this blog or to Danielle's blog

+2 for posting about Danielle's contest on your blog's sidebar

+2 for posting about my contest on your blog's sidebar

+3 for writing a blog entry about the campaign to save Shrinking Violet

+10 for buying a copy of Shrinking Violet for yourself or someone else.

You can leave your list of entries in the comments of this blog, but proof of purchase (scanned/photographed receipt or forwarded online order confirmation) of Shrinking Violet should be sent to me at stephanie at stephaniekuehnert dot com.

My contest like Danielle's will end on October 15th.

Okay, now here is Danielle's contest and campaign for saving Shrinking Violet:

SAVE SHRINKING VIOLET!
Help Tere keep her voice!

Shrinking Violet is about an extremely shy high school senior trying to find her voice and reach her dream of becoming a DJ, despite the obstacles that stand in her way.

The book is about to go on back order and in order for more copies to be printed, more people have to place orders for the book.

Read more about Shrinking Violet:
High school senior Teresa Adams is so painfully shy that she dreads speaking to anyone in the hallways or getting called on in class. But in the privacy of her bedroom with her iPod in hand, she rocks out doing mock broadcasts for Miami's hottest FM radio station, which happens to be owned by her stepfather. When a slot opens up at The SLAM, Tere surprises herself by blossoming behind the mike into confident, sexy Sweet T to everyone's shock, she's a hit! Even Gavin, the only guy in school who she dares to talk to, raves about the mysterious DJ's awesome taste in music. But when The SLAM announces a songwriting contest, and a prom date with Sweet T is the grand prize, Sweet T's dream could turn into Tere's worst nightmare. . . .

Praise for Shrinking Violet:
"Bella, eat your heart out. Tere is the girl every young woman truly wants to be. . . . Brilliant work, Danielle Joseph." -Ellen Hopkins, New York Times bestselling author of Identical

"Danielle Joseph takes readers into the glamorous world of Top 40 radio, with a character who is both funny and relatable. Readers will cheer when Tere finds her voice!" -Alex Flinn, author of Breathing Underwater and A Kiss in Time

"A funny, romantic, and truly inspirational Cinderella tale for any teen who's ever been shy, loved music, or dreamed of going to the ball. Wait, that's pretty much everybody." -Gaby Triana, author of The Temptress Four


So here's how you can help:
Please tell anyone that you think might be interested to place an order now before it's too late. Guys, girls, grandmas. grandpas, you're never too old to read humorous teen fiction!

http://www.amazon. com/Shrinking- Violet-Danielle- Joseph/dp/ 1416596968/ ref=ed_oe_ p

http://www.indiebound.org/book/ 9781416596967

I'm also running a contest for those that want to have some fun! There will be four winners, each receiving a $25 gift certificate to iTunes or the bookstore of their choice.

So how can you win?
1. Post a review of Shrinking Violet on Amazon.com or B & N.com 2 points
2 Blog, Tweet or Facebook about the Save Shrinking Violet Campaign 1 point for each mention
3. Take a picture of yourself wearing a sweater and mimicking the book's cover (you must have the book in the photo too). 2 points

Contest begins at 11pm on Thursday, September 24, 2009 and ends at 11pm on Thurday, October 15, 2009.
After you enter, you can either email me at danielle at daniellejoseph dot com or leave me a comment on my blog at
http://daniellejoseph.livejournal. com/ under the entry, Save Shrinking Violet!