January book winner!

Congrats to Amber, who won the copy of LUCKY CHICA in my January contest. I'll contact you by email, Amber. Stay tuned for my February contest!

Lucky Chica is in stores now!

Hooray for release day! I'm going to cruise on over to the bookstore later to see if I can spot Lucky Chica on the shelves. This is one of the sweet moments in an author's working life. Even sweeter is to catch someone actually reading your book. Someone other than your mother or best friend, that is.

When my second book was published (All of Me, way back in 2000) I was passing through the Barnes and Noble at Union Station in Washington, DC and saw a woman leafing through a copy of it. I had to force myself to move on and not frighten her, because my first impulse was to hug her and declare, "I wrote that, yes I did!" If you're ever in a bookstore browsing, and find that someone is staring at you intently, don't assume it's the author. Chances are it really is a creepy person. Act accordingly. Of course, there's always the possibility... Maybe that's why publishers print author photos on the backs of books. Or not.

The January Contest!

I've got TWO contests for January!

1. A drawing for an autographed copy of LUCKY CHICA. Comment here - what you would do with five million dollars. In the book Rosie wins $600 million. Holy cow, what couldn't you do with that? Five million is a little more restricted. For instance, you could make five people millionaires. Or rather, four others. You wouldn't want to exclude yourself, would you? I have five autographed copies of LUCKY CHICA to give away, and if you're outside of the continental US, I'll send it via Amazon gift certificate with a signed bookplate. Drawings will be held February 1.

2. A "grow my email list" contest. Ask friends to send their email address as well as yours (or who referred them) to berta@bertaplatas.com, and both names will be entered to win a $10 Amazon gift certificate.

And if you include mailing addresses, I'll send an autographed bookplate to everyone who replies. One drawing for the contest will be held February 1. For security's sake, please do not post your email and mailing addresses here!

Check out the LUCKY CHICA widget!

St. Martins made this cool widget for LUCKY CHICA - go to the MacMillan site to check it out and get it for yourself.

Almost done updating my website, so you'll soon be able to enter my new contests. Besides books and other goodies, I'll be giving away a $10 gift certificate to online bookstores, starting in January with an Amazon gift certificate. Know of teachers and librarians who could use the $10 credit? Tell them to sign up at www.bertaplatas.com and www.gilliansummers.com - two chances a month to win!

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. I've been baking cookies and mixing bath salts and sugar scrubs. It's so much fun! What do you do to make your Christmas special? With fewer gifts under the tree, spending family time together is more important to us than ever.

$75,000 a year?

I'm hard at work on a short story for the New Year's Chica Lit Blog Tour. If you haven't joined the fun of skipping from blog to blog, reading fresh new stories from your favorite authors, you're in for a treat. If you've joined our past tours, you know that the stories are all different - long, short, romantic, shocking, tender, and all as varied as their writers. 

I'll be writing about Rosie Caballero, the protagonist of my new book, LUCKY CHICA (January 6th - squee!). Before Rosie wins $600 million dollars in the Mega Bucks lottery, she has a pretty tough life. Afterwards, her life is just plain crazy.

I've often wondered how much money it would take to make life easy, or easier, or bearable. For some, $145 is all that stands between sleeping at night and chewing yourself up with worry, wondering how to get the cash to keep the lights turned on. For others, $145 is a week's lunch money. Seriously.

When I was researching for LUCKY CHICA, I read lots of white papers and articles on finance, and was impressed by this factoid: $75,000 a year is what it takes to be happy. Based on living in an average-sized home in a place like Atlanta, or Harrisburg, PA, where home prices are not insane, and having no debt, that is the yearly amount that would allow a family to travel a little in the summer, have a decent holiday, and keep the bills paid. Frankly, I think the figure is a little random, but it makes you think, doesn't it?

Lucky Chica review in Publishers Weekly

Son married off, check. New book almost finished, check. Gassed up the PT Cruiser for only $2.32, check. Nice review of Lucky Chica in PW - oh yeah, baby!! It's also my wedding anniversary tonight, so I'm off to listen to Gary mix a most excellent martini.

Here's what PW said about LUCKY CHICA:

Lucky Chica Berta Platas. St. Martin’s Griffin, $14.95 paper (336p) ISBN 978-0-312-34174-9

Platas’s second wish fulfillment fantasy chica-lit novel (after Cinderella Lopez) follows the craziness that ensues as Cuban-American Rosie Caballero’s humdrum world undergoes an extreme makeover after she wins $600 million in the lottery. Rosie shares her megabucks with her grandmother and her lovable cousin Cheeto, and begins plotting how to best spend her riches, gradually transforming her dumpy self into a smart, curvy J-Lo celebrity sort, pursued by the tabloids—much like heartthrob actor Brad Merritt, who, in a magical twist of fate, becomes her boyfriend. But Rosie’s newfound status also attracts envious schemers, ex-boyfriends and the glaring media spotlight. Platas depicts Rosie and crew’s gilded ascension with a giddiness that’s pure escapist fun. (Jan.)