Diana Gardner (VA) is the winner of Mississippi Nights by D M Webb.
Scott (FL) of Twin Hearts by JoAnn Durgin.
Anna W (GA) is the winner of Twang by Julie L Cannon.
Stephanie (NY) is the winner of Love Finds You in Mackinac Island, Michigan by Melanie Dobson.
Merry (TX) is the winner of The Ride of Her Life by Lorna Sielstad.
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Nora Stlaurent’s Bio: Nora is
the CEO of The Book Club Network Incorporated. Nora and her husband run The
Book Club Network www.bookfun.org
She runs two book clubs near Atlanta ,
Ga.
What inspired you start TBCN?
The
Book Club Network was born out of a desire to share Christian Fiction authors
with other book clubs, share book club ideas with other leaders and to
encourage the authors who are writing such amazing books. The economy has been
really tough for a few years and people are not parting with money like they
used to. Through TBCN they can take their time and find the right book or win
it. We have give away opportunities each month. ALL of our contests are from
the 19th – 21st of the month.
I run
two face-to-face book clubs, one at the Christian Book Store I work at and the
other at the church I attend. It’s a position I never imagined I’d be in since
I didn’t read for pleasure much before I started working in a Christian book
store 11 years ago.
But
since I love talking with people and the main thing to talk about in a book
store is books I started reading Christian Fiction (publishers sent ARC copies
to our store and I started checking them out) The first book that rocked my
world and got me hooked in Christian Fiction was a book by Linda Nichols called
Not a Sparrow Falls her next book did
me in and I couldn’t stop talking about it, At
the Scent of Water was her next book that prompted me to contact the author
and let her know how much her book touched my spirit.
After
reading these two books and telling customers about these reads I had a reason
to read. These books spoke to me because
I wasn’t expecting it. It reminded me of the stories in the bible. Jesus is the
greatest story teller and He knew a story could change a life or prick our
spirit and move us in a direction we never thought we’d be in.
I
tell you all that to say I’m dyslexic and I have not been a fan of reading.
Movies were more my thing. I could watch a movie of a book and have a lot more
fun. Reading Christian Fiction changed my life in more ways than one. I wanted to tell everyone about the greatest
book I read, and I’d do that at the book store. It was possible to talk about the new book I
read and loved for about a month or more but when At the Scent of Water and Not a Sparrow Falls were not on the shelf
anymore, I had to find some other books to talk about at work. I’m not a very fast reader so; discovering the
next new book was a challenge. Would I get the book read before it disappeared
from the shelf? How long do books live
on a book shelf? The shelf life of a book was a mystery to me and still is.
I was
whining to my husband Fred about my problem. How can I get the word out about
great books for a very long period of time??? Being a man who likes to face
challenges head we began to talk about how we could do this and the fact that I
can’t read books fast enough to keep up with it’s shelf life at the store.
I
also told him as a book club leader I wanted to promote great books and share
them with other groups. Not everyone has the advantage of working at a book
store and see what new books hit the shelves each week. Another struggle I had
was if I had an author speaking at my book club I wanted to share them with
other book clubs in the area. How could I do that? Where are book clubs
meeting?
Our
answer to many of these questions and more was the birth of The Book Club
Network - TBCN. Connecting authors to book clubs and readers to their books;
it’s also a network of book clubs as they post what they’ve read and how the
meeting turned out.
It’s
a place to find where a book club is located. We have a member map where you
can find a book club near you. Message them and see if they are accepting new
members. I envision it to be similar to be similar to the Weight Watchers
program (don’t laugh Grin) you can go to a meeting anywhere in the country
right? All you have to do is look on line and get connected. This is my hope
for the future of TBCN.
Have there been any surprises for you @TBCN?
What benefits have you seen by bringing readers and authors together?
I’ve
been encouraged and fascinated by our growth. I can see there were other people
out there like me wanting to connect with other book club members.
I’ll
tell you what has surprised me is the author/reader interaction each month.
This is something I didn’t foresee as I’ve watch the authors are having a blast
interacting with the readers and visa/versa. The beauty of this discussion is
it’s there forever for all to read no matter when you join TBCN.
The
authors have done a great job coming up with questions for reader to answer
that give them a peek into their book – create interest and then the discussion
helps book club leaders connect with the author. I’ve been pleasantly surprised
at the amount of authors that want to be featured @The Book Club Network. It’s
been a great thing.
The
interaction with the authors is almost like having a book club meeting on line.
It’s a huge benefit for both the authors who’ve wanted to ask clubs questions
and readers who want to get to know authors. The authors are catching on. Our
sponsors have loved the interaction as well.
Members have told me that they
love the author interaction from the 19th-21st as much as
having a chance to win all these books. It’s hard to know if a book will be a
fit for your group so these interaction times are helpful for that and so much
more. Another thing I love about TBCN members is the fact they are not afraid
to share what they think in a good way. I’ve learned so much and laughed out
loud in some discussion where the questions lead to sharing funny moments.
My
hope is that book club leaders and/or members participate in the discussions and
make that book connection with the author and their book. I want TBCN to be a
tool for them in picking out their books. Maybe invite the author to speak to
their book club on the phone. It’s my hope. The discussion will be there
forever. No worries about a books shelf live here @TBCN. So, everyone has time
to get to know each other!! It’s a beautiful thing!
How can readers join in the anniversary
celebrations?
It’s
easy to sign up to be a member of TBCN.
We ask a few questions for you to answer and for other information that
helps us keep spammers and other information seekers out of the network. It’s
also FREE. You have opportunities to win lots of books. For our BIRTHDAY BASH
we are giving away 10 books a day and announcing winners once a week. You’ll
have all week to enter the daily featured contests.
Do you have any other comments for my
readers?
If
you are avid reader this is the place for you to learn about the latest in
Christian Fiction and interact with the author each month.
Are
you a book club leader? Well this is the place for you to find your next book
club pick. We’d also love for you to set up your Book club page at our site for
others to see. It’s a place to share your latest featured book. Post pictures
of your club and the field trips you’ve taken. The authors you’ve met and the
book fun you’ve had. Learn from other book clubs that have already set up their
pages.
Want
to start a book club but felt it was too overwhelming? You can learn from other
experienced book club leaders, and you can start right away making your book
club list!
Do
you like to win books? This is the place for you. You’ll have a chance to get
to know the authors and their books and read genre’s you normally wouldn’t.
We’ve been giving away about 100 books a month and for our birthday bash it’s
going to be 10 books every day; starting August first. Winners are picked
weekly and announced each weekly.
THANK YOU! You’ve been a grand host to have me here and let me
talk about The Book Club Network and our Birthday Bash!! I hope to see you
there @TBCN www.bookfun.org
You are a Blessing!!
Nora :o)
The Book Club Network CEO
THANKS SO MUCH for having me here today Lena!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe are very excited about celebrating our Second Birthday Party in a big way, thanks to Wynn Wynn Media, Bethany House Publishers, and Revell for making our birthday party possible!
Everyone will have a chance to enter our contests everyday. FIRST you’ll have to join The Book Club Network – it’s free. Then you’ll answer one of the questions that the authors have come up with to be entered into the drawing. Winners will be picked once a week and announced once a week.
We have so many great books being given away. You'll have a chance to enter drawings for different Christian Fiction books every day. The winners will be picked once a week and announced once a week.
We are also THRILLED to announce that we'll be publishing our FIRST BOOK FUN MAGAZINE SEPT 1st. It's a digital Magazine about Book Clubs, Book Clubs, Events, Food, reviews and so so much more!!
Our Birthday Bash is well under way and there is lots of reader and author interaction. You can still enter to win SERPENT OF MOSES by Don Hoesel, To Love and Cherish by Judith Miller and Tracie Peterson, The Haven by Suzanne Woods Fisher and tomorrow you’ll have a chance at winning Irene Hannon’s new book Lethal Legacy!! We have new book giveaways every day. I’m Thrilled to say that many of the authors will be interacting with readers as much as their schedule allows!! What’s has been GREAT fun to read!! The beauty of that is the discussion will be discovered by book club leaders and readers long after this month is gone!!
HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!
Nora St.Laurent
The Book Club Network CEO
www.bookfun.org