Valentine's Day Love My Followers Giveaway!

So I'm taking part in the Follower Love Giveaway Hop (Feb 8-13), which will be fun...watch out for that...

BUT!!!

I'm hosting another Love My Followers giveaway!
Yes, I really want to show my appreciation to all my followers, so I made you guys (well, one of you) a fleece-lap-blanket.
:)
I absolutely LOVE these - pretty much because there's not a lot that can make me feel crafty - and they're so soft and warm, but not hot or anything.
Here's what you can win:It's a yard-long, with red & white hearts on a pink fleece background on one side, and a solid soft white on the other side.

Sound fun?
The contest will end FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4th - so that I can mail out the blanket in time for Valentine's Day :)

Entries -
- This contest is to show appreciation to all my followers, so it is a followers-contest
- To enter, just leave a comment with your email address

Extra entry - not required, but avaiable
+1 for "liking" my Imagination in Focus facebook page (link on the right-hand sidebar)

Again, thank you all so much for a fabulous year! I love each and every one of you :)

HAVEN Cover Contest UPDATE!

**If you have entered or are planning to enter the Haven Cover Contest, this is for you!**

In just a week, we've already had several great entries, both on the Linky and from email submissions. There's still plenty of time to get your entry in!

PRIZES Update:
1st Place winner will receive a preordered copy of Haven and also an Aidan Effect T-shirt designed by Kristi herself! See the design HERE.

2nd Place winner will receive an Aidan Effect T-shirt

Guys, you have seriously got to check out those shirts. They are absolutely incredible!

ENTRIES
- You are welcome to design as many entries as you'd like, but please submit ONLY ONE entry for judging. If you've already made your submissions, let me know which one you'd like entered.

Thanks, and we're looking forward to seeing some more great designs!

ENTER HERE.

Any writers in the house?

Before this year, I hadn't considered using writing books. I was pretty much under the impression, If you're a natural writer, everything should fall into place on its own, right?
But I'm starting to reevaluate that mindset. I think college has made me a wee bit rusty around the edges, so I'd like to know, from the prospective authors out there -

Do you use writers' manuals or writing guide books? Have you found them particularly helpful?
And are there any that you might recommend?