Look! I got a book in the mail!

This book came in the mail yesterday:

And I didn't have to pay for it.

Here's what happened. Jason Sanford, who wrote The Ships Like Clouds, Risen By Their Rain that is included in this collection, had a contest on his website. He was submitting a story to a magazine and he asked people to guess how long it would take to get a rejection. I thought that was an interesting contest, so I submitted my guess and, obviously, I won. I never win anything. Also, Jason was nice enough to sign it for me. Somehow I forgot to ask him if he would sign it, though I did remember after I knew that it was in the mail.

So now I have some new stuff to read, which is good since I'm almost done with the book I'm currently reading. Also, since Jason was nice enough to give the book away, I'll be sure to read his first. It looks like a good batch of stories.

I like these kind of contests. I think they are a great idea. To be honest, I didn't follow him before, I think I saw the contest on SF Signal, but now I do and I'll be more open to buying something from him in the future. It's all about good Internet karma. I know a lot of authors do this, and I hope they keep it up. It's an easy way to get more readers who will buy your stuff.

By the way, I seem to be more lucky on these kind of things then things like the lottery. It's nice to get some free books, but a few hundred million dollars would allow me to buy any book I want.

Anyway, go and check out Jason Sanford's site. Pointing you over there is the least I can do.