Wow, y’all!  I’m bowled over!  Thanks for all the entries and comments!  I totally wish I could send books to all of y’all.  I have to say, it’s not only really cool to see so many new names but also to see the names of people that I feel like have gone through this whole process with me.  I was going to use a random generator to choose the winners but didn’t know how to make that work with the double entries for posting about the contest.  So I did it the old fashioned way – writing them all out by hand.  And let me tell you, I’m glad I did because it really was fun getting to write down each name and feel a little burst of excitement every time that there are people out there waiting for The Forest of Hands and Teeth to come out.

So anyway, this will be a post in pictures because really, this is a blog about procrastination and what’s better than procrastinating visually?  Some of y’all may remember my office mates (I blogged about them here).  Well, I decided they’ve been slack long enough and brought them into the whole process.

I tried to get my co-worker to help with the name writing, but he reminded me that he has no opposable thumbs.  This upset him greatly, because he does not like to be reminded of said deficiency.  After writing out all the names myself and dumping them into the only hat that I could find, I went off in search of The Boss.  He… was not interested in helping.  So I sweetened the deal a bit with some treats.

He… was more amenable to helping at this point.  He chose Willowe as his winner!  Yay!

Next I asked my co-worker to choose a name.  He was less hesitant than The Boss.  Really, he’s kind of a brown-noser that way – a dive right in to any project kind of guy.  He happily and with great gusto chose authorwithin as his winner!

At this point, it was time to hunt down that darn mail-clerk.  Which, let me tell you, was not easy.  It involved a flashlight.  Which in turn got the co-worker and The Boss involved because, really, there wasn’t much else going on around the office.  So yes, The Boss and the co-worker followed me around as I checked under beds, under couches, under tables.  And then I’m just standing by the edge of the couch and I move my foot a bit and hear a muffled “Mrrwrr.”  And realize that the slip cover feels a little warm, a little bulbous.

Let me tell you, she really is suited for the job of runner.  But I tracked her down, and with The Boss and co-worker at my back, I persuaded her to pick a name.  Which she did.  Grudgingly.  VERY grudgingly.    Congrats Indigo!

Yay for winners!  So Willowe, Authorwithin, and Indigo, email me at carrie AT carrieryan.com and let me know how you’d like the book personalized and where I should send it!  I really hope y’all like it!

And again, thanks to everyone for entering — it means so much to me!  Also… would any of y’all be interested in bookplates once the book comes out?  If so, I can figure out a way to make it work but just want to see if there’s actual interest first…