Home Surgery & Self-Publishing

I was doing a bit of home surgery last night when it dawned on me that I really am a do-it-yourselfer*.  I've had 3 major surgical procedures in my life and they've all been conducted by professionals but every minor surgery has been an "at home" deal.  I've never had an infection or complication from minor home surgery either. And the scar from my home stitches is tiny...and hidden by my hair.
I like being able to do things for myself.  It’s satisfying to cut my own hair, make my own household cleaners, grow my own herbs and learn new self-sufficiency skills whenever an opportunity presents itself. 

I've given all sorts of rational answers when people have asked me why I chose self-publishing.   All of those answers are true but at the core of my decision is something less rational.  Self-sufficiency is intrinsic to my personality.  I'm an Alaskan.  I grew up as a dock urchin and a bush kid.  Independence and self-sufficiency are  values deeply ingrained in my psyche and that’s the real reason that I self-published Magic All Around.  That’s also the reason I designed my own book covers and bookmarks and it’s the reason that I’m handling all of my own marketing and promotion.

Speaking of marketing and promotion, I’m holding two give-aways for autographed copies of Magic All Around this week!  My GoodReads give-away will be held July 3-5 and my Twitter give-away will be held on July 3^rd.  In case you’re wondering how I might arrange the Twitter give-away, here are the details!

At 12:01am (Alaska Time, of course!) Wednesday, July 3^rd I will tweet about #MagicAllAround and the give-away.  Everyone who retweets THAT TWEET (and any others like it that I might send out) during the 24 hour period from midnight to midnight will have his/her name placed in my give-away jar.  Then, very early in the morning on Thursday, July 4^th (in other words, whenever the Juneau fireworks get over…usually around 12:40a.m.) I will pull two slips of paper out of the give-away jar and offer them, simultaneously, to my dog Jeb* (he loves paper).  Whichever one Jeb chooses WILL RECEIVE THE AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF MAGIC ALL AROUND.  I’ll tweet an @ message to the give-away winner and make  shipping arrangements on the 5^th.

* I’m a DYI kinda gal except when I can arrange for my dog Jeb to do the work!

BTW, if you are interested in purchasing a copy of Magic All Around, it's available in digital and paperback formats!
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CQQH9EG
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1490384448/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1371774661&sr=1-2&pi=SL75