The party will go from 2pm – 6pm PST/5pm-9pm EDT on Monday August 26th. Everyone has a 1/2 hour time slot. You will find the schedule of events below.

I wanted to send out a set of guidelines for the party, because I know not everyone has participated in one before, and each party I’ve been in has done things slightly differently. So if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. We want this to be a fun and productive event for everyone!

BEFORE THE PARTY…

1. Please make sure you have accepted the party invitation on Facebook. If you can’t find the invitation, the link to the party is https://www.facebook.com/events/274331952759232/

2. Feel free to invite anyone you’d like either through the invite button on the page or by posting the above link to your own page/wall.

3. Decide ahead of time what question you want to post to the party wall and what giveaway you will contribute. I find it is best if I have all of my posts already created so I just have to cut and paste it onto the wall without creating a lag during the actual party.

4. We are encouraging our party attendees to post what they will be wearing. It is a ball after all! We encourage you to the same. There is no time period. Pick out what you would like to wear and have with it. I have attached a picture to give you a general idea. (Also feel free to post your “dream date”…celebrity, model, or you name it!)

JUST BEFORE THE PARTY (re – your time slot)…

1. Please make an announcement on your Facebook page/wall that you are headed over to the release party for The Black Rose Grand Ball and share the link, inviting your friends/readers to join you over there.

THE PARTY…

1. Either Renee or Lindsey R. will introduce you on the event page before your time slot and tag you in the post. If there is something specific you want us to say when introducing you, please let me know ahead of time so I can get it added to our master script.

2. You will have 3 posts on the wall of the event page during your time slot.

The FIRST post should be at the start of your time. Introduce yourself and what you write and the prize you will be giving away. I always have this written before hand in word and then cut and paste to the wall as soon as you are introduced to keep things moving at a spritely pace.

In the SECOND post, pose a question for the party guests. Again, have this prepared in advance so you only have to cut and paste it onto the event page. It’s also a good idea to post photos – of your prize, your cover, something that will illustrate the question you’re asking, etc. Have these photos chosen ahead of time and ready to upload. Parties can get crazy, and having things ready to post and upload will make things easier on you and give you more time to interact with the party guests/readers. Then – and this is important – ask them to LIKE, SHARE, and COMMENT on your post to be entered to win your prize.

At the end of your 1/2 hour slot – your THIRD post allows you to say farewell and thank people for stopping by. Feel free to post a link to your website/FB page/twitter handle and invite the guests to find you there.

3. Even though your time slot may be over, your post will continue to get likes/comments/etc. throughout the party. You do *not* have to come back after your time slot has ended, but you may want to check in once or twice to interact with a new set of party guests/readers.

AFTER THE PARTY ( re – your time slot)…

1. Prizes! After your time slot has ended, look back over the comments you received and pick a winner for your prize. Do NOT announce that winner on Facebook. Send Renee the name of the winner, as she will keep a master list that we will reveal all at once. I have been involved with parties before where one or two people will win several times, and I’d like to prevent that from happening. If you pick a winner who has already been chosen, I’ll ask you to select again. I think the more people who are able to win, the better it is for everyone.

2. At the end of the night, we will post one large announcement with each winner’s name, prize, and author. I will ask the winners to contact me and I will send out their contact information to each of you for prize distribution.

If any of that sounds complicated or convoluted, please let me know.

Without further ado – the schedule…

2:00 Pacific/5:00 Eastern: Maire Clairmont/Eva Devon

2:30 Pacific/5:30 Eastern: Erin Knightley

3:00 Pacific/6:00 Eastern: Heather Snow

3:30 Pacific/6:30 Eastern: Sandra Owens

4:00 Pacific/7:00 Eastern: Delilah Marvelle

4:30 Pacific/7:30 Eastern: Danelle Harmon

5:00 Pacific/8:00 Eastern: Victoria Alexander

5:30 Pacific/ 8:30 Eastern: Sabrina Jefferies