March 13, 2007

Gazing in a crystal ball & contest to win a signed book

At about three this morning, a chunk of ice the size of a coffee table and six inches thick released itself from our upper roof and crashed into the roof of the sunporch, right outside my bedroom window. The impact put a sizable dent in the two layers of steel roofing. It also woke me up. Nearly gave me a heart attack, in fact.

I think this is going to be a long day.

I leave on the book tour in one week, exactly. First stop will be Arkansas and Mississippi. I have not been to either state yet and am very stoked. The Mississippi event is open to the public. It is actually more of a Tennessee/Mississippi event. The store, Books-A-Million, is in Southaven, MS, which is a suburb of Memphis, TN.

Do you know anyone who lives near Memphis? If so, would you consider begging them to go to my signing on Wednesday, March 22? How about Oxford, MS? I’ll be there on Thursday, March 26th. The bookstore is Square Books, Jr. and the event starts at 3:30pm. Author Karen Hesse (whom I adore) will be there, too, so please, please, grab the dog and the kids and join us!

One of the nice things about having the first part of the tour set in the South is that the chances of sheets of ice crashing in the middle of the night are slim.

It’s time for a contest!!!! Guess when the last bit of snow is going to melt in my yard. Step right up, folks! Declare your guess for the the date and time in the Comments. Guesses must be posted by one week from today, Tuesday, March 20th. The person who comes closest will win a signed copy of TWISTED.

Let the game begin!

81 comments

81 Replies to “Gazing in a crystal ball & contest to win a signed book”

  2. Ice Dancing with the Stars ;}

    It’s time for a contest!!!! Guess when the last bit of snow is going to melt in my yard. Step right up, folks! Declare your guess for the the date and time in the Comments. Guesses must be posted by one week from today, Tuesday, March 20th. The person who comes closest will win a signed copy of TWISTED.

    You heard it here first, Laurie:
    APRIL 13, 2007
    4:13 PM

    (although for your sake I pray I am wrong and the right answer is … today; please be careful Up There as the only thing we want TWISTED is your new novel– not your heart.)

    Love,
    Pamela

  4. I’ll take a wild stab. Living in the desert for the past 13 years, I don’t remember a lot about when snow melts. So, I’ll say March 26, 2007 at 2:16pm.

    You gonna sit out on the lawn and watch the last bit sink into the ground so you can get the exact time? 😉
    ~Julie

  12. Good lord. I live in Texas. How’m I supposed to know anything about snow and ice? 😉

    Eh…. April 2, 2:00 p.m. Because that is my cat’s birthday.

  13. I googled Maine weather and this one site said that April is known as ‘mud’ month so thats how I came to my guess-timation.

    And even if I dont win I’ll buy a copy anyway (smile)

    I’m looking forward to it.

  21. Snow melt

    Based on your latitude, the current depth of snow, the amount of ice pack, the average ground temperature, my guess is noon on Mother’s Day. Who could ask for a nicer gift?

    Jerry

    PS: Be sure to look under the trees…

  29. Given what I’ve seen over the years regarding large piles of snow in this region, I’m going to be less than optimistic and guess June 3, 3 p.m.

  38. That’s pretty scary that it was so close to your bedroom.

    I know a girl that I believe is near Memphis.. I’ll mention this to her!

    As for this contest, my vote is April 3rd, 2007

  40. My dad says every year that the snow is always gone by his birthday – April 20th – but maybe that only works up north in Saskatchewan. On the other hand, you’ve got a lot of snow to get rid of… So, April 20 at, um, noon.

  41. I am going to go with April 19th. I have also been pimping the arrival of the new book to anyone who will listen at the library I work at. Looking forward to it!

  42. Since I live in CNY I would hope it would be soon since the temp are rising I might say April 1 2:00 pm. Hopefully! Hope you have a Great trip in I’m guessing warming then we’ve been having around here.

  43. I’m thinking April 19th if you’re lucky 🙂 oh lets jsut say..at 4:19 PM just for kicks. (knowing my luck, watch it rain that day….or snow some more)

  51. Guess!

    I am going to be optimistic here and predict that April will bring warmer temps than usual! So… I predict April 29th at 5:00p.m.

    ~Julia

  63. I will be out of town for much of the next two months. I am going to put my husband on Snow Melt Duty, armed with a camera.

  64. Almost all of our snow melted today, and it poured rain. It’s strange – our cities aren’t THAT far apart (and we’re further north!), yet the climates are quite different!

    Anyways, I guess … April 11th at 1pm.

    🙂 Sarah (from Kingston)

  69. Never. See, one small section of your land is run by an angry troup of gnomes with hay fever. They’ve recently discovered a way to stop time in that area, so that it is winter all the time and so they don’t have to spend lots of money on allergy medicine that doesn’t work half the time and puts them to sleep the other half. You won’t be able to see this part of your land, because these gnomes like to keep things all to themselves. They also think humans have the power to melt snow with their eyes, because people are always giving a mean eye to the snow right around the time it finally melts. So they keep that part of the yard hidden.
    However, just in case their magical snow-keeping powers are no match for the summer sun, I will guess April 19th will be the downfall of the gnomes’ winter wonderland.

  75. guess

    Let’s say May 1st at 11:00 am EST. Can’t wait to see you in Houston Texas!!!

  77. Guess

    Laurie,
    Since I heard on the news that snow has plagued the northeastern part of the US again, I believe the snow on your yard will melt on May 31 at 11:59 am.

    I can’t wait to read your new book!
    John Scovill

  78. How will you know
    it’s the last bit of snow
    if it has lost its whiteness
    from all the sun’s brightness
    but the crystal remains
    as the cold wanes?
    How do you know
    when it’s no longer snow?

  80. i’m going to guess April 2nd at 3:30 because I recently found out I have a murmur in my heart that may not be “innocent” so they say and that is the day im off to my first cardiologist appointment that i am very frightened about… so i need something to help me look forward to that day. sounds like a weird reason… but it’s the only one i got.

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