Fury of the Phoenix Contest!!!!!

When you are friends with an author, there are a few things you have to worry about. First you worry that you won't like your friend's book. Then you worry that people will think you're just saying you like your friend's book because it's your friend's book. Then you worry about what other people will think of your friend's book.

These are the thoughts that went through my head when I got a copy of Fury of the Phoenix. I was anxious to read it and worried all at the same time. But I can't even tell you how ecstatic I was when I finished reading Fury. I've always known Cindy is a wonderful story teller and writer, but in Fury, Cindy has blown me away. It is an incredibly powerful, moving and exciting story. I absolutely loved it and I believe that anyone who reads it will see exactly what I'm talking about. She did something really hard to do, take an evil character and nuance him so that we actually come to care for him.

And while I think a reader could read Fury without having read the first book, I firmly believe you have to read Silver Phoenix to truly enjoy Fury. Silver Phoenix is an excellent read, but Fury, in my mind, is my favorite book - it's intense, emotional, deep, rich and utterly satisfying. I couldn't stop thinking about Fury for days after reading it. I was so proud of Cindy after reading Silver Phoenix, but I can't even begin to express how much I admire her now. So many writers suffer from the sophomore slump. Not Cindy. Her second book is an absolute triumph and I can't recommend it enough!

Not only is Fury coming out on March 29th, but today is the release of the paperback version of Silver Phoenix and with a beautiful brand new cover!

Yes I know there has been controversy over the cover. But I don't have a problem with this cover. Do you know why? Not as many bookstores carried Silver Phoenix in the first go around. But Cindy's publisher believes in her books so much that they were willing to do a cover redesign for the paperback to help give her books a second life. That makes me so happy because it means a new chance for more people to read Cindy's books. It's a beautiful cover and I love how the jade necklace gives it an Asian feel. After the cover controversy, I showed the girls the new covers of Silver Phoenix and Fury and asked them what they thought of the covers. They loved them and immediately said that the girl on both covers must be Asian. I asked why and they said because the necklace and the dagger look Asian. And that was good enough for me.

So in honor of the paperback release of Silver Phoenix, Cindy has been gracious enough to donate a copy of a highly prized Fury ARC and 2 copies of the new Silver Phoenix paperback! I'm adding to the fun by donating 2 gift cards to either Barnes and Nobles or Amazon (winners choice). That's right - 2 prizes to try for:

1. Grand prize includes Fury ARC, Silver Phoenix paperback and 1 $50 gift card.
2. Second prize includes Silver Phoenix paperback and 1 $25 gift card.

To win prize,

All you gotta do

Is Haiku.

That's right, a haiku contest. If you have a twitter account, and you want to win one of these fabulous prizes, just tweet your haiku to @elloecho and you will be included in the contest. You can do 3/5/3 or 5/7/5 - the haiku must contain the word Fury or Phoenix in it. And you also need to tweet a link to this post as follows - (Haiku contest for Fury of the Phoenix ARC, Silver Phoenix paperback and $50 gift card @elloecho http://bit.ly/hNEKIN). How are you going to do this all on twitter? Just split it up into 2 back to back tweets and it will count as one entry, tweet the haiku first and then the contest info second (both to @elloecho). You may enter as many haikus as you want. Cindy will choose the winning haikus so dazzle us with your haiku powers! This contest is open to everyone and prizes will be sent wherever the US mail will deliver to, so spread the word and help Cindy's book find tons of new readers!

For those of you who don't have a twitter account, you may also post your entry here in the comments. Just link your blog or your facebook account to this post and you will be entered into the contest. The twitter contest will end at midnight EST but you can continue to enter entries on this blog post until this Friday at 9PM.

Oh and as an added bonus, Cindy will also include these beautiful post cards of the main characters, Silver Phoenix and Zhong Ye from Fury of the Phoenix in the winning packages. Aren't they lovely?