End of the Year Contest

So 2010 is drawing to a close and 2011 looms large with all sorts of awesome craziness bearing down on us all – namely the long-awaited release of my 5th Lawson vampire novel, THE KENSEI. As part of the gazillion things I’m doing for promotion around this title (and Lordy am I doing a LOT of stuff to promote it – check out the schedule late next week here and on Facebook if you don’t believe me…) I’m launching a brand new version of Boston Nocturne complete with graphics, free content, exclusive freebies, and much more. MISSION: MALTA, a brand new Lawson adventure debuts in the first issue of the newsletter next week and will run in serial format throughout the year – 100% FREE just because you guys are the best fans an author could ever hope for.

Anyway, I want to get a TON of subscribers for this newsletter. Thousands, in fact. And I’ve been pimping the hell out of the newsletter. Right now, I’ve got several hundred subscribers.

I want more.

So, here’s the contest part: get all your friends and family to sign up for the newsletter by going here: http://bit.ly/hBHz7t. You can use that link to pass along to your friends. Repost this on facebook, Twitter, any bulletin boards, email it out to your friends and family and colleagues. And then keep track of who among your contacts signs up. I get a notification every time someone new subscribes, so it’s simply a matter of you letting me know who was your referral. Easy, yeah?

Whoever sends the most new subscribers to Boston Nocturne gets the following:

  • 1. A signed ARC of THE KENSEI
  • 2. A signed cover flat of THE KENSEI book
  • 3. A signed copy of the actual book THE KENSEI when I receive my copies in a week or so.

Pretty cool, right?

There’s no time to waste. I’d like as many new subscribers as possible before the first issue of Boston Nocturne ships late next week. Go forth and strong-arm, cajole, persuade, seduce, extort, bribe, sweet-talk, whatever – just get more subscribers for my newsletter and the one who delivers the most wins that cool KENSEI prize pack.

Contest begins now and ends Wednesday, January 5th at 11:59PM.

🙂

Updates on stuff…

We’re just 38 days away from the launch of THE KENSEI and I couldn’t be more pleased with how things are looking. Back in 2002, I was excited about seeing The Fixer eventually come out in mass market paperback, only to have the series dropped by Kensington after four installments. A lot of nastiness went into that decision by the publisher, and I’ve never stopped believing they made a huge mistake in letting it go. That said, I couldn’t be happier than I am knowing that THE KENSEI is being released by St. Martin’s Press. Not only is SMP a far superior publishing house, but I have the editor I’ve always dreamed of having and the in-house support has been extremely gratifying. Additionally, I’d like to say a huge thank you to the good people at Barnes & Noble, who have really stepped up to get behind the book as well. I hope you’ll give them your support in return by purchasing THE KENSEI either at one of their stores or online here (you can preorder it now). In fact, next Friday, Barnes & Noble will be doing a little something special for folks to get them rev’d up for THE KENSEI. Details next week as it approaches, so stay tuned!

Obviously, my goal with THE KENSEI is nothing short of selling hundreds of thousands of copies. Seriously. I want the rebirth of Lawson to be so spectacular, they every person who has grown weary of the sparkly, glitzy vamp angst that has plagued both books and TV/film, to read THE KENSEI and become excited all over again. A groundswell of support from my fans and friends will really help make that a reality. So I’m pulling out all the stops to make sure everyone gets a copy and then tells their friends to get a copy as well. Let’s sell this thing out of its first print run in a week!

To that end, I’ll be doing a lot over the next five weeks or so. Today, I created the Official Facebook Book Launch Event and would love for everyone to click over and attend. It happens everywhere on the 18th of January, so you don’t have to do anything special, except buy a copy of THE KENSEI on that day (or preorder it now). I’d also like to ask that you all invite all of your Facebook friends to attend the event as well. Let’s see if this social media phenomenon can really turn this thing into a bestseller. The more people who attend and make the commitment to buy THE KENSEI, the better. There are instructions on the event page about how to easily invite all your friends without needing to click every single one of them.

I’ll be posting more as the days dwindle toward launch, but please remember that without your support, none of this would be possible. I’m indebted to each of you and can’t thank you enough for your support through the years it took to find Lawson a new home.

Have a great day!

Custom US Postage Stamps Featuring THE KENSEI

Here’s a cool way to get your holiday mailing done and help spread the word about THE KENSEI’s release in just about six weeks: customized US postage featuring cover art from the book along with a tag line. These are first class 44 cent stamps that you can use on any piece of mail – holiday cards, packages, bill payments, whatever. And if you order today and use the code JINGLESALE46 you get an additional $5 (five bucks) off your order. So one sheet of twenty stamps costs only $13.55. Click on the image to order or GO HERE TO GET STAMPS.

Thanks for helping spread the word about THE KENSEI. January 18th is just around the corner!

A Little Contest…

It’s the Tuesday before a holiday and I know you’re not really working, right? After all you’re reading this, thinking about how in a few days you’ll be feasting on the Thanksgiving fare and enjoying some days off with friends and family. Good times, good times…

So, let’s have some fun. I’ve got a brand new never-before-seen Lawson Vampire short story coming out from St. Martin’s in advance of THE KENSEI in January, but I want a few of you to have a chance to read this before my editor does. This is an exclusive chance to read something brand new in the Lawson Vampire universe.

All you’ve got to do is copy & post this snippet


<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kensei-Lawson-Vampire-Novel/dp/0312662238">
<img src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51d9dFSHMaL._SL500_AA300_.jpg">
</a>I cannot wait for my friend Jon F. Merz's newest hardboiled Lawson Vampire
novel to hit shelves in January 2011!  This is a great urban fantasy series
that is like James Bond with fangs! These are not your typical
vampires; Lawson is a serious badass and this time he
heads to Japan for some ninjutsu training when things
go really wrong.  If you like great supernatural action
and bone-crunching realistic fight scenes, this is
definitely for you.  Check it out!

on your Facebook page or blog or message board and then comment out here on my Facebook Fan Page with a link to where you posted the snippet.  I’m trying to get a lot more notice for THE KENSEI and by posting this snippet or a modified equivalent online, it boosts the number of hits on Google and other search engines.

Five people who do this will be randomly selected to read through DEAD DROP before anyone else!  This is a quick contest, so get cracking and I’ll pick the winners later on.  Have fun!  The more places you post the snippet, the more chances you have to win!

A Unique Gift Idea

So here’s a little experiment I thought I’d try this year. If you’ve got someone hard to shop for on your list, how about giving them the gift of immortality?

Well, it’s immortality as in being featured in the pages of a customized Lawson Vampire short story. Here’s the scoop: I’ll write a custom Lawson Vampire short story featuring the person of your choice (presumably the receiver of the gift) and we’ll correspond so I get their particulars, description, including whether you’d like them to be a good guy or a bad guy and if you have any thoughts on anything else you’d like to see in the story. The story will be about 2,000 words long and I will print it out, bind it with a nice cover, sign and personalize it, and make sure you have it in your hands to give them in time for the holidays.

Obviously, this is a limited offer, since I can only agree to take on a few of these. But I thought it would be fun to see if there’s any interest and also provide you with a unique way to give a fun gift this season.

Just $99 bucks for this fun gift idea. If you’re interested, click the Buy Button below to use Paypal or simply email me at jonfmerz AT verizon DOT net if you’d prefer to pay another way. The sooner, the better since time is ticking away!