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Saturday, August 11, 2012

Guest Post with Author Hailey Edwards and Giveaway

Today I would like to welcome author Hailey Edwards back to the blog. Hailey is celebrating the release of her newest book, Soul Weaver and has stopped by to chat, but before I give the floor over to Hailey, lets get to know her a bit.

Hailey is a wife turned mother turned writer, who loves her husband, her daughter and alone time with her computer. Whenever southern living strikes her as too ordinary, she can be found squinting at her monitor as she writes her next happily-ever-after or with her nose glued to her Kindle’s screen. Wings and/or cupcakes are usually involved…

Places to find Hailey:


Friendship in the Digital Age

The world is a different place than it was even a decade ago. We’re all connected not just by phone and email, but through Twitter and Facebook and a hundred other social networks and social apps. That sort of near-limitless access to people does have its drawbacks. Our society is “on” twenty-four/seven. But I think the benefits outweigh the risks, at least for now.

The greatest benefit, to me, has been the friendships that spring up from that connectivity.

I have local friends (mostly other moms) that I hang out with. But my dearest friends are all ladies I met online. There are about a half dozen of us that have been friends for about five years now, and we’re so emotionally close that the physical miles don’t matter.

We come from all over: Scotland, Georgia, D.C., Michigan, Alabama, New York.

All those miles add up fast, but you know what? When I held my first ever book signing, each of those ladies flew in to support me. I can’t express how great it felt to actually hug them. I knew what they looked like from pictures, knew the sounds of their voices and their senses of humor, but know I’ve seen the whole picture. We clicked in person the same as we clicked online.

It makes me wonder, though, if that would have been the case if we had met in person before getting to know each other. I doubt you’ll find a more diverse group in age, taste, and temperament. I like to think if we had met say, in a bookstore, that we would have recommended titles or authors to each other and maybe, just maybe, passed over an email address so we could chat about books sometime.

It can be difficult to find likeminded people living near you. The digital age has made it possible to ignore the distance (for the most part) and embrace people who enrich and improve your life through their friendship. I’ve heard it said multiple times that online or digital-based friendships aren’t real, and that’s just not true. They’re as real as the people sitting at their keyboards, typing away as they laugh with you about your day or lean on your shoulder when they need it.

Where do you fall on the digital divide? Have you made friends online? Have you gone on to meet those friends in real life? Was the experience as great as you always hoped it would be?

Tell me your thoughts and you’ll be entered to win a $5 Amazon gift card and your choice of any title (excluding Soul Weaver) from my backlist in any digital format.


Since the accident that nearly took her life, Chloe suffers from acute agoraphobia. Living alone above her family’s bookstore, she spends restless nights terrified by strange visions . . . until a mysterious stranger appears and offers her salvation. Chloe is drawn to the ethereal, gorgeous Nathaniel—but her haunted soul warns her there is more to him than meets the eye.

An archangel who roams Earth collecting souls of the newly departed, Nathanial is the sole witness to the accident that should have taken Chloe’s life. Seduced by the purity of her soul, he defies Providence by saving her life. But his attempt at kindness marks Chloe for damnation, and makes her an unwitting pawn in a game of unholy ambition. Now together they must fight the demons of Hell itself—for a love that defies the boundaries of Heaven and Earth.

Places to Purchase:

Want to win some goodies from Hailey? Check out whats up for grabs

Up For Grabs:
  • 1 lucky commenter will win a $5 Amazon Gift Card along with their choice of eBook from Hailey's back-list (Soul Weaver) 

To Enter:
  • Leave a comment answering the question: Where do you fall on the digital divide? Have you made friends online? Have you gone on to meet those friends in real life? Was the experience as great as you always hoped it would be?
  • Fill out the Rafflecopter form below.  

Good Luck =)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

22 comments :

  1. I have meet people online, but have never been to meet anyone from online. Thx for giveaway.

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  2. Once, I tried meeting some people that I knew from a listserve. It was okay, but we didn't have enough in common to do it again. I've never tried since then. I think it would be fun to meet some of the book bloggers that I follow, because we could then sit around and talk books, something I can't really do with my friends since they don't read the same things I do.

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  3. I love this digital age, I have more "cyber" friends that I love every day. I have met several of them IRL Thanks Carin
    mawmom(at)gmail(dot)com

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  4. I have met people online but never met them in person.

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  5. I have made many friends online but have never met them in person. Who knows what the rest of the year holds.

    e.balinski(at)att(dot)net

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  6. I have made friends online and I have met some of them. Thanks for the chance to win!

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  7. I have made some great friends online, but have yet to actually meet them. I would love to though if costs weren't so bad.

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  8. Hi
    I've met friends online, but I haven't met them in person yet.

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  9. I still read print books more than e-books, but having them on my iPhone has encouraged me to read more of them. I haven't made any friends on line but have a lot of acquaintances. I was at the RWA Literacy signing and met a number of authors who recognized me from our interactions on line, that was a thrill.

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  10. Ive made a few online friends who share my love of reading I have not and do mot plan to meet any of them in person .Now if I ever get to go to a reader convention and meet those ladies that would be cool

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  11. I have made a few friends on line, but I have not yet met them in person. Although I do plan on meeting up with an author friend of mine in the future at RT! I can't wait to finally meet her in person. Thanks for the awesome giveaway!

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  12. I've made some writer friends online and gone on to meet a few of them face to face at a writer's conference. I like the "immediacy" of getting conversation and feed back from being online.

    Good luck with Soul Weaver.

    Christy McKee

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  13. Yes, I've met people online and have also met them at conferences. It's always great to finally meet someone you've talked with online. All the meetings have been everything I've expected and more.
    luvfuzzzeeefaces at yahoo dot com

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  14. I have made friends online, but have never met them offline. Opposite sides of the world.

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  15. I've met people online & renewed old friendships from ppl i'd lost touch with who live in other countries but I've not met anyone in person.

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  16. I don't really meet people online and am not sure I would want to meet them in real life.

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  17. As one of the friends that went to Hailey's book signing this year, I will say that the friendships I've made on line have been some of the best in my life! Not only have I become friends with wonderful, caring people but I've been able to experience wonderful things that I don't know if I would have otherwise. I've been traveling to Scotland with them, did a half marathon in Seattle and am celebrating my 40th birthday with them in Savannah. They mean the world to me and I love them!
    Love you H!!!

    Jenn

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  18. You know, I've blogged about it before but didn't think to mention it in this post. What brought me and my friends together was a mutual love of Karen Moning's work. (Um, maybe obsession is a better word...?) We met on her forum, talking books and kilts. ;)

    ((hugs)) Love you too, Jenn!

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  19. I have meet people online and made a couple of friends along the way :)

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  20. I've meet some of the people that's I've chatted with online and I hope to meet more of them at conventions and other events :)

    authorleighsavage@gmail.com

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  21. I've never really made a friend online. I think if I did I would definitely be up for meeting them up.

    Thanks for the giveaway!

    Megan G.

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  22. my four best friends i have all met online. i do have learning disabilities and after years of bullying in real life it has been hard to make friends in RL but online it's so much easier to make friends.

    parisfan_ca@yahoo.com

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