How about a giveaway?

Greetings! I promised a giveaway, didn't I? I have two brand-spanking-new copies of Going Home, Again all ready to sign and mail to two lucky winners. Of course, I'll expect you to work for it!

I'm sure I've mentioned that there are a couple books being written right now and another "on deck." One of the things on my writing to-do list is to start character sketches for the next book. I have some of the general ideas of the main characters and the time period figured out. What I need to do next is work out the details, to make them real people (in my head anyway!). I find it easiest to start from the name fill in the details from there. I think I'll let you help me with some character names.

The main part of the story starts in 1941, when Dover Air Force Base was being built. There are flashbacks to the 30's and the main part of the story will end around 1946, although loose ends will be tied up in "today" time. I'm taking bits and pieces of the lives of some of my favorite grandparents and weaving them into the tale.

General information about the four most important characters:

• A 19 year-old girl from Kent County Delaware who grew up on a farm. She has brothers, no sisters, her parents are both alive, and she just finished high school.
• A 22 year-old man from Wicomico County Maryland. He was raised by his aunt and uncle who ran a sort of general store - hardware and dry goods - in Sharptown, MD. He's in the Army Corps of Engineers.
• The man's aunt. She grew up in Delmar and met her husband at a church picnic when she was 16. Her husband died in 1939. She and her youngest daughter are trying to keep the store going.
• The man's best friend in his Army unit. He's from a small town in a big state (bonus entry if you can tell me where he's from, although it's not important to the story).

Two names are off-limits: June and Beatrice. They've already been slated for some other characters. Everything else is fair game. You can be silly if you want, but if you're serious and I choose the name(s) you suggest, you'll definitely get a mention in the acknowledgements.

So what do I want from you? First and last names, and which character you think the name goes with. For example:

Vaughan Peterson - best friend

Simple, right? You can post your suggestions in the comments here (I have comment approval enabled so it won't show up right away), email them to me, post them to the Going Home, Again Facebook fan page, send them to me in a Facebook message, call me and tell me - I don't care!

Every suggestion will get entered on a spreadsheet. On August first, I will use a random number generator to select two people and contact you for shipping information and name(s) for the signature. I'll post reminders on Facebook up until August first.

After the contest ends, I may share some of the more interesting names. And, of course, I'll post a big old public THANK YOU if you name any of the characters!

Confronting issues with self-promotion

It's been a month since I talked about marketing and I have not done any of it. I blamed the fact that my son was staying with us and adding to my stress but he's gone and I still haven't made a move. What's the deal with that?

I could use some encouragement. I get suggestions from time to time - keep the Kindle price low, push it on social media (Reddit, Facebook, Instagram - what else?), talk to the manager at the local Barnes and Noble, do some giveaways. Maybe I should take some time this weekend to sort of map things out with timelines and deadlines.

And I need to push past my fear. So far, everyone who has read Going Home, Again liked it - this tells me I've done a good thing and I should be proudly pushing it, not shying away from the exposure or possible (but definitely not probable) rejection. Since when am I shy?