With some help from this darling who appropriately matched our entry slips today, we’ve picked two winners of the $25 Gift Certificates, which will buy an armful of romance novels.  Congratulations Dee and Danielle!  Your gift certificates are here waiting for you.

And the results you have all been waiting for, the most popular romance cover from our selection of Bad Boy titles is….. The Seduction of Scandal!

In second place by a narrow margin, Savage Thunder, starring our hero Colt Thunder with the dramatic hair…

There you have it, and thanks for playing!

We’ve blown the cobwebs off some of our vintage treasures to fill the shelves at Cobwebs Antiques Shop!  We are grateful to Cathy and crew for the space to show off, and sell, these wonderful books that sometimes get lost in our stacks.  So by all  means, visit their lovely shop at 307 S. Main, Bishop, the old Inyo County Jail, for antiques of all sorts, including great books!  I’ll put pictures up soon!

It really seems I had too many choices for potential covers this year, and what theme should I choose?  Pirates?  Cowboys?  Highlanders?  Another theme became apparent when  the possibilities were laid  out in front of me, clearly the Bad Boys were winners this year!

If you are new to the contest,  the loyal and patient customers of East Side Books vote on their favorite Romance Cover from the choices we’ve saved from our shelves during the year. Voters earn a  chance to win a $25 gift certificate if their name is drawn from the pot at the end of the month.  In honor of February the Love Month, of course.  And in honor of our $2 Romance Paperback sale, too.  And to laugh with all of you over the choices and tally up the  favorite cover winner.

You really only have to pick your favorite COVER, with consideration for the title if you want, but you DO NOT have to READ the book or KNOW anything about the book or author!  Or you can PRETEND NOT TO KNOW if that makes you more comfortable.  These covers make us smile, and sometimes laugh out loud, so we just want to share the amusement with all of you!

For a new twist, we will offer the winner his or her favorite in case they do want to read it!

Here are the contenders for 2014.  You may vote once per day, and you may vote with a comment here or on the Facebook page if you would like.  Good Luck!

#1   Seduced by a Rogue by Amanda Scott.  I’m starting off with this one for all of you who either a) Can’t vote for too much skin, or b) Think these eyes are sexy, which of course they are, or c) Just like plaid.

#2  After Dark with a Scoundrel by Alexandra Hawkins is choice number two.  Clearly a Regency era romance judging by that high waisted dress that is almost at her waist,  it is just appealling  in color and layout.  Also the choice for those who appreciate confident heroines.

#3  The Seduction of Scandal  by Cathy Maxwell is our third offering.  Do I have to say anything about this heroine in virginal white with the worshipful  bad boy?  I probably can’t in any case!

#4  Savage Thunder by Johanna Lindsey is a vintage classic!  Fabio syle hair  on this potentially Native American hero, (exotic AND a bad boy), whose name is, wait for it, Colt Thunder!!   Stallion in the back ground, swooning red head, okay, enough said.

#5   Pleasures of a Notorious Gentleman by Lorraine Heath is our final choice of the year.  Don’t you love this sweep of dress and hair?  In case you are wondering, the notorious gentleman is the black sheep second son of an Earl, who is ALSO a returning wounded warrior.  Again, we have multiple themes going on here, complicated by the heroine’s own deceptions….(sometimes you have to read the back cover to better appreciate the front cover, right?)

Have fun, and Happy Love Month!

P.S.  If you think this is a lot of skin, I’ve been getting advertising and promotion ideas from another book store, Old Renton Book Exchange.  Mild in comparison to her Reading is Sexy promotions, but hers look like more fun!

I am not very enthusiastic about wind. While it makes a great subject for poetry, I always face windy days and nights with a sense of dread and foreboding.  Something bad is going to blow in with the wind, trees are going to fall on the house, barns are going to blow over , tanks are going to roll away (oh yes, those have already happened, maybe I’m safe), and at a minimum, my house will fill with dirt.  I don’t really do that much better with life changes,  but I have learned to cope like we all do.  So with some trepidation, and truthfully, an equal amount of excitement, I have to face the fact that significant changes must be made at East Side Books this year to remain a viable business.  Those blustery days do blow in the storms we need, and conveniently store the tumbleweeds at fencelines.  so I’m looking for the positive potential in necessary changes here.  And I am looking for your help and opinions.

So with the premise that I want to continue selling books, primarily the used treasures that turn up daily, and to sell them primarily in Bishop, I am looking for input on the aspects of the store that you  all value most and would not like to see changed.  Asking the question sets up the scenario that I can’t please everyone when I do institute changes, but you are thoughtful (and well read!) people, and I’m sure you will be understanding.   If you have ideas on the changes or improvements you think would help, I would love to hear those as well.  Please send me an email, call the store, or drop a note in the soon to be constructed suggestion box.   I believe I have an amazingly kind and thoughtful group of loyal customers, and will value all suggestions, even if I can’t ultimately act on all of them!  I sincerely thank you all, and look forward to your creativity.

Our basket was stuffed with entries, all naming at least 10 children’s books that related to the ornaments on our Storybook Tree!  The lucky winners of $25 Gift Certicates were Ashley and Arissa, must have been the “A” name luck or maybe that they both used blue ink….not really, our eyes were closed.  Arissa is the only person so far to have used the 1000 Paper Cranes for our little origami crane. and one of the few who used Julie of the Wolves.  Ashley came up with Goodnight Moon, a definite favorite.  Obviously both are well read women.