Advance Reader Copy Giveaway

of When the Forest Dreams

Something About My Journey

In my last newsletter, I shared the opening of the box of ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) of my book, When the Forest Dreams. Now, I want to give away three signed copies of the ARC. If you want to be entered into the drawing, please respond with a Yes in the comments, and I will put names in a hat and pick three lucky winners.

I held my very first giveaway drawing this past weekend during the Hebron Maple Festival—and it was such fun. I had a table set up with the ARC of When the Forest Dreams, the drawing, and a newsletter sign-up, and by the end of the weekend, 20 people had joined (which felt like a win in itself!).

When I got home Sunday afternoon, I asked my husband to pick a number between 1 and 20—without telling him why. He chose 14, and they are the lucky recipient of my first book giveaway.

Now, here’s a little aside you might find interesting: when people are asked to pick a number between 1 and 20, 17 is among the most commonly chosen. I saw this play out firsthand during a webinar I attended, where the presenter was giving away a $2,500 marketing bundle. She asked the attendees to choose a number between 1 and 20, and she would award the prize to whoever picked closest to her pre-selected number.

At first, I thought, don’t pick 17—it’ll be too obvious. But then I reconsidered and thought, Wait… that’s exactly why I should pick 17. So I did.

When she revealed her number, it was 17—and two of us had chosen it. She ended up awarding two prizes.

Back to my own drawing—I was so excited to reach out to lucky 14, Nasya, the winner of my very first ARC giveaway! I’m looking forward to doing this three more times in the coming weeks.

And a warm welcome to all my new subscribers from the Hebron Maple Festival—I’m so glad you’re here. If you didn’t win this time, feel free to enter again here for another chance.

Here’s a little more about When the Forest Dreams:

What if the life you were meant to live was waiting just outside your door?

New York City, 2013. Emma Jablonski’s life is as dry as the day-old bread at her family’s bakery. Living with her parents and grandmother, she clings to the only escape she knows: a recurring dream that feels more real than her waking world. But when Emma’s eyes are open, she’s reminded of what’s out of reach—Jake, the enigmatic boy-next-door.

After a life-changing diagnosis forces her to face her fears, Emma decides it’s time to truly live—before it’s too late. With Jake and his vibrant friend Vee, she dives into a whirlwind of experiences: a fake engagement, dazzling parties, and an obsession with the elusive ivory-billed woodpecker, a bird that may not even exist.

But as her daring adventure is coming to an end, Emma begins to embrace a future she never thought possible. Dreams and reality aren’t supposed to mix…are they?

A modern retelling of L.M. Montgomery’s The Blue Castle, this gentle story of love, resilience, and the beauty of the unknown reminds us to seek joy in the most unexpected places.

Good luck to everyone. Here is the comment button again to enter or send me an email at Andreaezerins@gmail.com:

Here’s a fun little milestone I wanted to share. I was so excited to see my Amazon review count hit 130! It had been holding steady at 129 for a while, so this felt especially rewarding. Of course, I couldn’t resist taking a look—and I thought I’d share what my 130th reviewer had to say:

Clearly, this review wasn’t about the book, but five stars is five stars, so thank you, Suzi!