The Life and Times of Rona Shively...Issue 4

***Special Announcement***

The Life and Times of Rona Shively

You can get your Rona Shively banner by going to my Myspace page at
http://www.myspace.com/rebeccabenston and copying the codes there!
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<-----Fiesty, Fearless and Fabulous----->

Vol. 1, Iss. 4 January 10, 2008
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In this issue...

What's new!
Upcoming Events
Fun Facts
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What's new!

Happy New Year! I hope everyone came through the holidays feeling energized and ready for a whole new year of laughs and craziness with Rona Shively! Right now, I’m working on the short story, “I Thought I Heard You Laughing.” In the last newsletter, I promised a teaser and here it is:

Garrett Shaw meets his client…

I looked over my shoulder and found a balding, overweight man wearing a pink, feather boa over a strapless evening gown that was a less than flattering way to cover his rotund physique. For a moment, I was sure I had drifted off to sleep and was having that recurring nightmare where I went to bed with a beautiful woman and woke up next to Paul Sorvino.

Hope you enjoyed that little blurb from my very first Garrett Shaw short! Keep watching for more good stuff. In addition to this short, I’m in the middle of Rona 3! As promised in the last issue of the newsletter, I’m finally ready to tell you the title of the next Rona Shively Story. Choosing a title is extremely important to me and I often come up with the title before I start writing the book. I’m weird that way. Well, without further delay…drum roll, please…here it is:

Keeping the Faith: The Rona Shively Stories

Once you read it, you’ll understand why this title captures the essence of what Rona is experiencing and hopefully, it’ll be inspirational! Surprisingly, it’s been kind of a tearjerker so I’ve been stopping more frequently to dry my eyes than with the previous two stories. I think you’re going to really enjoy the changes Rona’s going through. Soon, I’ll be launching a cool, new book trailer that gives a little preview of what’s to come. Keep watching!
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I’m still reaching out to book clubs and libraries to try and introduce more readers to the Rona Shively series. Hopefully, my goal of reaching 50 States in 2008 will be accomplished by this time next year. I’ve got five already!

This little bit is a repeat from last issue:

If you belong to a book club or know someone who does, ask them to check out the Rona Shively series! In addition to meeting with book groups who read the series, I’m offering a special 25% discount on In the Wash and Under Lock and Key for clubs who order through my website. Just drop me an e-mail at lonestoryteller@yahoo.com if your club is interested. For more information visit my website at http://www.theronashivelystories.com/.

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Don't forget to visit my blog at http://www.wordsiview.blogspot.com/. You never know what I’ll say over there! You’ll want to subscribe so you don’t miss the contests and other announcements that I post every week. Right now, I’m running a great contest called BB’s Mini-Mystery Challenge. You can win a $10 gift card and be entered into a drawing for a fabulous Grand Prize! All you have to do is take a guess at whodunit. Each week between now and February 9th, I’m posting a mystery that I want you to solve. I’m drawing winners from the correct guesses for the $10 cards and at the end of the contest; I’ll pool all of the entries (right or wrong) to select a Grand Prize winner! The big prize will be announced on February 9th! So what are you waiting for? Get over there and put in your two cents.
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Would you like to read an excerpt of In the Wash or Under Lock and Key? For free? You can do so by going to my website at http://www.theronashivelystories.com/!

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Upcoming Events

January 12-Borders, Sawmill Rd., Columbus, OH 2-4 p.m.
February 23-Waldenbooks, Aurora, IL 2-4 p.m.
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Fun Facts

In every issue of this newsletter, I'm going to include some bit of trivia about Rona Shively and/or some of the characters in her book. Pay attention to these tidbits because they will be on the test later! Actually, a few months down the line, I'll be giving away a big prize to the person who can plug the correct answers into a Pop Quiz!

This month's tidbit-Rona Shively has applied for a position at a local insurance company. She’s actually just being nosy, it’s not like she’d really work there. She talks with a receptionist who might know more than she realizes about the case at hand. The receptionist is part of the key to this whole mess. Remember her name.

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As always, I appreciate your support and hope you will continue to enjoy the Rona Shively Stories!

Until next time...

Rebecca Benston