BlogFest - Win Signed Copies of My Books

I'm participating in BlogFest 2010 which is a kind of treasure hunt for book lovers, encouraging readers to discover new book blogs and maybe even pick up some prizes along the way. I'm giving away signed copies of my books, Alison Wonderland and Being Light.

When Alison joins Mrs Fitzgerald’s Bureau of Investigation as a private detective, her new job takes her on a series of loosely linked adventures involving an abandoned baby, a transgenic animal and secret tunnels under The Thames. She travels from London to the seaside town of Weymouth and back again with her new best friend Taron, a girl with a hundred candle smile. But someone is betraying her. Is it Taron? Is it Jeff, the sweet-natured inventor who writes her poetry? Or are there darker forces at play?

Only occasionally does a piece of fiction leap out and demand immediate cult status. Alison Wonderland is one. The Times
Made me sigh and throw it to the floor in a fit of envious pique. Julie Burchill, Guardian
A fantastical Thelma and Louise meets Agatha Christie adventure story. The dialogue is smart and the deadpan humour is perfectly judged. The List

Roy Travers is swept away by a freak gust of wind while trying to install a bouncy castle in Brockwell Park, south London. Sheila, his wife, can’t understand why he hasn’t found his way back home. She begins to suspect that Roy has been abducted by aliens and enlists the help of Mrs Fitzgerald’s Bureau of Investigation to find him. Sheila travels to Kent with Alison, a private detective. Together they build a missing persons advertisement out of pebbles on a beach, hoping it will be seen by the aliens who have taken Roy. But Roy was not taken by aliens. The truth is far stranger.

Smith has a keen eye for material details, but her prose is lucid and uncluttered by heavy description. Imagine a satire on Cool Britannia made by the Coen Brothers… very funny. Times Literary Supplement
This is a novel in which the ordinary and the unusual are constantly juxtaposed in various idiosyncratic characters… Its airy quirkiness is a delight. The Times
A screwball comedy that really works. The Independent
Smith’s world is as wacky as Nicola Barker’s, but much funnier, less disquieting. Perhaps the Evelyn Waugh of Decline and Fall comes closer… She is a great snapper-up of unconsidered trifles… Wicked! Time Out

If you'd like to win a signed copy of both books, please email me at blogfest@btinternet.com before midnight on Sunday 12th September. The winners will be picked at random from the people who email me.

The aim is to gain more readers for this blog and one way to check the success of this endeavour is to monitor the followers box on the right hand side of this page. Prizes will be allocated accordingly:

100+ followers = One lucky winner will get a signed copy of both books.
200+ followers = Two lucky winners will get a signed copy of both books.
300+ followers = Three lucky winners will get a signed copy of both books.
400+ followers = Four lucky winners will get a signed copy of both books.



Questions:

• How do I follow this blog? Click the 'follow' button on the right hand side of this page.
• Do I have to 'follow' the blog to be eligible for a prize? No. You can just send me an email.
• Do I have to be a participant in the 'BlogFest', whatever that is? No. Just send me an email.
• If I already follow the blog, do I have to send you an email? Yes, if you want the chance to win.
• Do I have to send you my address? No, if you win I'll be in touch to ask for it.
• I don't live in England. Does it matter? No, I can send the books abroad.
  
• I have a Kindle/some other ereader. Can I get ebooks instead? Yes.
  
• How do I win other prizes? Click this link and visit the blogs listed there.

Now please hop in to the next blog on the list: Smash Attack Reads

Check in to Journey of Books for more blogs and more prizes.
There's a tracking site: log in to make sure you visit every blog - and you could be in with a chance of winning the 'Grand Giveaway'.