Step Right Up … and Try Your Luck
By Jeff Salter
Colleagues and friends: The ole Hound is giving it away today! This is Day # 4 of our five-day Hot Summer Nights Giveaway at Four Foxes and a Hound.
Yep, it’s a contest … and the person with most ‘points’ or ‘entries’ stands to win a $75 gift card plus several autographed books by our own Foxes … AND other prizes. Total value exceeds $150.
Why are we so generous? Beats the heck out of me. I’ve never done this before. I’ve been the one jumping on blogs which offer free books and have – in the course of about 14 months – already won an impressive number of books and two small gift certificates! Heck, I’ve even won a tee-shirt and a cap from Sarah Ballance!
But back to Foxes and Hound business.
On Monday, our newest fox Micki Gibson published her particulars. On Tuesday, our founding fox Jillian Chantal spelled out ways to accumulate numerous entries in the contest. And Wednesday … Cajun fox Danica Avet provided additional ways to enter.
I’ll admit there are some variations so you have to read carefully. Tough. We don’t exactly fit in a standard mold.
Entering Today
Anyway, here’s the specs on how to enter TODAY … while the Hound blogs:
1 point/entry if you leave a comment
3 points/entries if you refer our blog to a friend who also leaves a comment (and mentions that you sent her)
5 points/entries if you subscribe to our blog (instructions somewhere on the home page).
Detective Work
Now, here’s where it turns into a bit of detective work. Not only do we want subscribers to our group blog, but I want y’all to read some of the stuff I’ve already written.
I give points to readers who are willing to go back over the Hound’s archives – don’t worry, it’s only since the first full week of February – to find the following (and include it in your comment here):
1 point/entry for the name of a Guest Fox (on my Thursdays) and the date when she blogged. Hint: there have been FOUR Guest Foxes and you can’t use a name which has already been entered … so jump on this part quickly.
2 points/entries for the name of a poem (on my Thursdays) and the date when it appeared. Hint: there have been FIVE poems and you can’t use a poem title which has already been entered … so jump on this part quickly also.
Okay, just for anybody who’s slow on the uptake: here’s the rundown for TODAY (only): Maximum points/entries possible = 12. To achieve this, you’d have to:
* enter a comment here (1)
* refer our blog to a friend who also leaves a comment here (and mentions that you sent her) (3)
* subscribe to our blog (5)
* find (& enter) the name of a Guest Fox and the day when she blogged (1)
* find the title of one of my poems and the day when it appeared (2)
Now, that’s 12 points possible for MY day — today. [Well, technically: if you’re able to refer more than one friend who also comments and mentions that you sent her here … you’d get 3 points/entries for each instance of same. So, if you have lots of friends with time on their hands, you might get lucky!]
Plus, if you go to the other Foxes/Hound blogs this week, you can earn bocoodles of additional points by following their instructions.
No, it’s not too late to go back to any of the blogs for Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday to add a comment … and rack up more points/entries. And be sure to check tomorrow (Friday) for Lynn Rush’s blog. Frankly, I think entrants need to post something on every day this week to even stand a chance of winning … but I’m not doing the counting.
And these prizes are terrific. Think what you could buy for $75 in an on-line bookstore! Think of reading several books by Fox authors!
Contest runs to 10pm (Pacific time) Friday June 24th 2011. It’s restricted to US residents. The winner will be announced on Saturday June 25th, so be sure to check back to see if you’re the winner!
I would be majorly pleased if one of the regulars to my Thursday ravings were to win the grand prize!
Step right up and try your luck! We’re ‘giving it away’ on Hot Summer Nights!
Angela Schroeder
Patricia Kiyono
Elaine Cantrell
Jeff Salter
Joselyn
Tonette Joyce
Four Foxes, One Hound 
Good Morning Jeff,
so i hope i did not miss anything except that i am not sure if my friend will be leaving a comment.
i am having a lot of fun with this this week thanks for having such a great blog!
trvlagnt1t (at) yahoo (dot) com
1) the name of a Guest Fox (on my Thursdays) and the date when she blogged:she blogged was Tonya Kappes and was on 2/24/11
2) the name of a poem (on my Thursdays) and the date when it appeared: this poem was listed in the blog a few words in irish and the poem is “Colleen Remembers posted on 3/17/11
3) refered the blog to my friend and waiting to see if she will leave a comment. (won’t count until i see her post)
4)i am subscribed to the blog.
total points today :8 (possibly 3 more if friend comes to post for me.)
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Wyndwhisper, wonderful to have you participate today.
The way I count the points, you have 9 right now (not counting a possible 3 if a friend joins in).
My figures are 5 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 9.
Perhaps you didn’t count the 1 point for making a comment.
Anyhow, hope your friend shows up and gets you 3 more. No telling how many points you’ll get from the Foxes on their days.
Good luck!
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Ok, hopefully I do this right.
1. Guest fox – Runere McLain on May 26th
2. Poem – In This Pour on April 21st
3. I’ll try to get my friend to stop by
4. I subscribe via email.
So I think with this comment that is 9 entries for now. Now I have to go back and catch up.
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Great to have you visit today, JoAnna.
Yes, your arithmetic is correct: 9 entries/points, presently, for today’s blog (not counting potential cooperation from a friend).
And if you head over to the previous three days, you could garner a bushell of points.
Good luck. This is a terrific Grand Prize.
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I think I can take 2 points here. One for commenting and one for knowing Tonya Kappes was the guest Fox Blogger on Feb. 24. Fun contest.
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Hi, Darlene. Glad to have you join in today. Yes, one point for commenting, but Tonya’s name was already listed (above) nearly five hours previously.
However, it’s not too late to check my Hound archives and find another guest fox or a poem title which hasn’t already been entered.
Good luck and thanks for playing.
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How about Jennifer Bray-Weber on March 10, 2011 for a point =) Guess I should have paid more attention to the other comments (grinning sheepishly).
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Yes! Jenn on Mar. 10 is the third guest fox to be listed and entitles you to the additional entry/point.
Thanks for checking back in, Darlene.
Your sub-total for today’s blog is 2 pts. And if you’ll go back to the previous days this week (particularly TUES) you can prob. collect many more. We’ll tally the sub-totals from each day so all your points will count for the grand drawing.
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Great ideas for points, Jeff! I like the “scavenger hunt” feel to this one.
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Thanks, Jillian. Hope it generates some excitement. With the outstanding Grand Prize we’re offering, it’d be nice for the winner to have so many points/entries that they’re difficult to count.
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Mais, I’m the Cajun Fox! I like that better than the Hump Day Fox! LOL I’m with Jillian, you’ve given folks a great way to earn points. I’m almost jealous I can’t enter the contest!
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Ha. Well “hump day fox’ has a certain ambience. LOL.
But Cajun Fox has a bit more mystery.
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Enjoyed your Father’s Day poem, “Simple Things” on June 16. This is a fun contest! Thanks! 🙂
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Glad your comment finally appeared, Deborah.
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Two more things: 1) You hosted Runére McLain on May 26. I enjoyed her post on multiple POV.
2) I subscribed to the blog!
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Glad you subscribed, Deborah. That’s 5 pts. Your comment is 1 pt. and listing a poem title / date correctly is another point. So that’s 7. However, Runere’s name was prev. listed, so you’ll need to find another guest fox to get those two points. Sorry .. rules is rules.
There’s two guest foxes which have not been mentioned yet — one in March and one in April.
Plus, you can get a BUNCH of points on the other days of this week (Mon-Wed).
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Oops, I credited wrongly. The poem title and date was worth TWO points/entries, so Deborah currently has EIGHT (rather than seven).
If you identify the other guest fox — not yet mentioned — and the date she blogged, that’s another point/entry.
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Bocoodles? Never heard that word. 🙂 Being a bit of a weather junkie, I like the first poem you blogged about, In This Pour, back on April 21st.
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Thanks, Laurie. That’s one of my favorites also. However, it ain’t worth a point anymore because somebody else included that poem/date in a previous post today. But there are two other poems — one in May and one in Feb. if you feel up to more scanning.
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I messed up with your’s, also, Laurie. The poem title & date was supposed to be worth TWO points/entries. So if you can find the one in May or Feb., that would secure those two entry chances.
Plus, of course, you have one entry/point for making a comment.
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I’m such a sucker for seeing my name in print! LOL. Thanks for the mention! I’m knee deep in kids, chaos, and dinner prep right now so I can’t rack up points, but good luck to everyone else! (Unless anyone wants to sit with six kids ages one-12 for a while? No? Sigh.)
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Sarah, you deserve bonus points/entries for dealing with the six kids … BUT I ain’t the boss of this outfit. LOL.
Thanks for commenting … which gets you ONE entry anyhow. Who knows? A person with 20 entries had 20 more chances to win, but the winning ‘draw’ could still come from someone with fewer entries.
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LOL! And I’m good for going against the odds. My husband and I did have another baby after my tubes were tied, after all!
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What’s the youngest child’s name? Chance?
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Jeff, this is a hoot!
Guest fox – Leigh Verrell-Rhys, April 28
Poem – Questions on Mother’s Day, May 5
I subscribe via email.
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Fantastic, Dianne!
FIVE points/entries for your subscription
TWO for the a correct poem title and date
ONE for the final (of four) guest foxes and date
ONE for commenting
Total entries/points = NINE!
Nice chances to have your name drawn. Awesome. Hope you win.
Thanks for visiting today.
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Best wishes with your contest, Jeff. You don’t have to enter me, I’m just here to give you support because I know how involved blog contests can get. Hope one of your regular wins (that would be really cool for you). .Take care of yourself and best wishes with your writing 🙂
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Thanks for visiting, Bethany. And despite your willingness to pass on the contest, your comment earned ONE entry/point.
Wouldn’t it be something if your single entry were to be drawn by Random?
LOL.
Besides, you’ve visited here … fairly often. Right?
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Jeff,
Um, I’m not sure WHEN I started coming, but I come every Thursday to read and comment on your post. I’ve read a few of the other posts, and while I respect the other contributors to this blog, I really come for the hound (despite the fact that I prefer cats).
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Delighted that you check-in on Thursdays, Bethany. I hope my blogs are sufficiently interesting to warrant your returns.
I’ve visited yours several times also … and enjoyed them.
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Mr. Hound,
I think you should give Lauire and Deborah their points for listing guest bloggers and poems. The rules don’t say you have to be the first one to list someone. It says
“* find (& enter) the name of a Guest Fox and the day when she blogged (1)
* find the title of one of my poems and the day when it appeared (2)”
I say give them the points. Not only were they nice enough to come by and visit they took the time to look back and comment on other blog posts. Just my opinion as a guest and a blogger myself.
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Darlene, I admire your sense of justice and it pained me to tentatively disqualify those couple of points. However, the rules (above) DID clearly state:
“… you can’t use a name which has already been entered … so jump on this part quickly.”
for the guest fox, and
“… you can’t use a poem title which has already been entered … so jump on this part quickly also.”
That said, if the Four Foxes agree, I’d gladly waive that little rule and add the points to Laurie and Deborah.
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I think you need to add the points, the whole reason for the contest was to get more traffic to the blog and have fun with our readers and it seems only right to give the points. If we make readers feel unwelcome, they might not come back.
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Unless the other three Foxes put the ka-bosh on this, I’ll cheerfully “refund” the points/entries to Laurie and Deborah. The more entries in the Random drawing, the better … as far as I’m concerned.
Marquis of Queensbury Rules.
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I want to thank everyone who visited our group site yesterday (Thur.) and those who read my column. And the sub-set of those who commented … and the sub-sub-set of those who traipsed through my Hound archive to find Guest Foxes and Poem Titles.
I enjoyed the day. More points are still possible — both HERE, if anybody you referred makes a comment (and says you sent them) — and on the other four days of this week. Somebody with enough dilligence — and the right gizmos (like Twitters) — could rack up DOZENS of entries for this grand prize.
Quite selfishly, I hope one of the EIGHT kind souls who responded to my blog this week will have the lucky entry which is drawn tomorrow. The multiple points we’ve devised will give you more chances to be drawn, but — as the lottery folks say — it only takes one ticket to win.
Regardless of who wins the grand prize, I hope the friends, writers, & authors who visit “Four Foxes and a Hound” are entertained and/or enlightened. And I hope you’ll re-visit often. Especially on the Hound Day (Thursdays).
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