SCAVENGER HUNT/Release of Shifters Rule

I had to use two different covers.  The top one is at Smashwords (and will probably be the one used for the print copies) and the second is at Amazon.  Once you read the book, PLEASE remember to review it on the site where you got it, Goodreads, your blog, etc.  Thank you.  

Available at Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009SFWWN6

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Amazon UK:  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009SFWWN6

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Smashwords:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/246117

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Scavenger Hunt:  Are you a good hunter? Let's find out.

How to play: Read 'my' version of The Three Bears and find the eight Halloween words embedded in the story. For instance, witch. Write these words down and email them to me at authorkcblake@blogspot.com 
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If you are one of the first ten to do this, you will win free digital copies of Vampires Rule and Werewolves Rule. Now, to be fair, Vampires Rule is already free at Smashwords. So even if you don't win both books, you can download that one for free. Go ahead and tell all your book-loving friends.
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Download Vampires Rule for Free here:  https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/54214
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What is Vampires Rule about? Jack has always beat the odds... at least until now. When he was attacked by a werewolf, vampires saved him. When he got tired of living the vampire life, another werewolf attack freed him, making him human again. Now Jack just wants to live a normal life, but what's normal about a hunter girlfriend, a brother who wants to stake him to be on the safe side, and a head werewolf building an army to rule the world?

Are you sick of vampires? Don't worry. This book has a new hook and a new mythology for the creatures.

Why am I doing this? Shifters Rule (the third book) is being released today, October 31rst, 2012. Don't miss out on a cool series filled with vampires, werewolves, wraiths, and hunters.
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Now, let the hunt begin:

Once upon a time there were bears.  There was a mama bear, a papa bear, and a baby bear.  Mama bear made porridge for breakfast, and they all sat down to eat.  Papa Bear said, “My porridge is too hot.”  Mama Bear said, “My pumpkin is too cold.”  Baby Bear didn’t even try his because he wanted pancakes.  Papa Bear thought they should take a walk while his porridge cooled.  So they did.

While they were gone, a young girl named Goldilocks stumbled upon their cabin.  The door was open so she went inside.  She tried the porridge.  One was too hot.  One was too cold.  But the third was just right.  She ate until it was gone. 

Next, she went to the living room to watch some television.  She sat in one chair after another.  One was too big.  One was too narrow.  The last one was just creepy, but it broke when she tried to sit on it.

She was tired, so she went upstairs to find a bed.  There were three skeletons in the bedroom.  The first bed was too hard.  The second was too soft.  But the last one was just right.  She fell asleep.

That’s when the three black cats came home.  Papa Bear stared at his porridge.  “Someone took a bite of my porridge.”  Mama Bear said, “Someone took a bite of my witch.”  Baby Bear laughed.  “Someone ate my porridge all up so now I get pancakes, right?”

Papa Spider decided they needed to check the other rooms for the intruder.  They went into the living room first.  Papa Bear checked his chair.  “Someone sat in my chair.”  Mama Bear repeated, “Someone sat in my chair.”  Baby Bear said, “Someone broke my chair.  Can I have a bean bag now?”

Papa dragged them up the stairs to the bedroom.  When they walked in, they stared at the bed closest to the door.  Papa Bear said, “Someone has been sleeping in my bed.”  Mama Bear said, “Someone has been sleeping in my grave.”  Baby Bear pointed.  “Look, someone is sleeping in my bed right now!  Can I keep her?”

Goldilocks woke up then.  She saw the three ghosts and jumped out the nearest window.  The scare taught her a lesson, and she never again went into a home without an invitation.
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Thank you to all the blogs participating in the Scavenger Hunt:

http://suzyturner.com

http://adiaryofabookaddict.blogspot.com

http://cubicleblindness.blogspot.com

http://imaddicted2yabooks.blogspot.com

Goodreads 2012 Awards

If you have enjoyed any of my books or think you might enjoy them, please vote for CRUSHED as the best Young Adult Fantasy/Science Fiction Book of 2012.  In order to do this, you have to go here.

http://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-young-adult-fiction-books-2012?utm_campaign=goodreads_choice&utm_medium=user_sharing&utm_source=facebook.com#73867-Young-Adult-Fantasy-&-Science-Fiction

Then scroll down past the covers and Write In your vote in the space provided.  If you write in CRUSHED, books should pop up with mine near the top.  Click on it and it will appear in the Write In space.  Then click on VOTE.  I've never won anything before.  This would be so AWESOME!!!  Of course, I don't expect to totally win, but it would be nice if my book makes it on the list at least.  Thank you!!!

YA Indie Carnival: Spooky, Eerie, Scary

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It's the time of year when the YA Author Club sponsors pull out and share some hair-raising and spine-tingling excerpts. Take a few minutes to visit their sites, read their posts, and tell them about your own scary stories. It should make for some good Halloween fun!

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1.	Laura A. H. Elliott	2.	Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3.	T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series	4.	Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga
5.	Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog	6.	K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed
7.	Gwenn Wright, author of Filter	8.	Liz Long | Just another writer on the loose.
9.	Ella James	10.	Maureen Murrish
11.	YA Sci Fi Author's Ramblings	12.	A Little Bit of R&R
13.	Melissa Pearl	14.	Terah Edun - YA Fantasy

 Nothing is scarier than the truth, so I want to share some true stories with you.  Try not to think about them as you climb into bed tonight.  Bwa-ha-ha.

The first story is something I heard.  I'm glad I wasn't there for this.  It scared me straight.  I never play around with witchboards and this is why.

Three women sat at the same table in the break room at work, sharing lunch and stories.  One woman said, "Don't play around with those Ouiji (sp) boards."

Another woman asked why.

The first woman said, "Last month I had a few friends over to my house.  My husband was gone so we drank some wine and talked for a while.  Then I showed them the board I had just bought.  We all agreed it would be fun to try out.

"We started with simple questions, nothing big.  The wooden triangle moved, but I'm sure one of my friends was pushing it.  I made them start over, triangle in the center of the board.  That's when we heard a weird noise outside.

"Just for fun I asked the board if my husband had come home.  It answered: No.  So I asked if there was an animal outside.  It replied: No.  My friends were starting to get annoyed.  I asked, 'What is making the noise outside?'  The board spelled out Maybe Me.

"We burned the board in the fireplace."

That story got my creative juices going.  Now, let's talk about nightmares.  This was my worst.  I still remember it VIVIDLY.

My parents had to take my brother to the airport at two in the morning.  I was tired and didn't want to get out of bed so I stayed home.  This was my first time alone in the house at night.  (I was twelve).  It never occurred to me that staying home would be worse than dragging my butt out of bed and going to the city.  Before she left, I asked my mom to leave the hallway light on.  So she did.

I went to sleep.

When I woke up, the light was off and I could hear footsteps coming down the hallway in my direction.  I tried to scream.  Nothing came out.  I tried to get out of bed to race for my own light switch, but my legs wouldn't move.  Terror clogged my throat.

Then I woke up.  It was just a dream, and I was relieved to find the light still on.  While I was looking at the light, feeling grateful for it, it exploded.  I was plunged into sudden darkness.  Once again terror had me by the throat.

But I woke up.  Everything was fine.  The light was still on.  It had just been a dream within a dream within a dream.  My body was stiff with tension.  I knew I wouldn't be able to go to sleep again.  The light in the hallway snapped off.  I heard the footsteps.  It was coming for me... again.

This went on and on.  I don't remember how many times I dreamed about the light going off.  Sometimes it was off when I woke.  Sometimes it exploded and turned off by itself.  By the time I woke up I didn't believe I was actually awake.  It took hours for me to calm down.

Hope you enjoyed this nightmarish post.  :)

Countdown to Shifters Rule: 6 Days

I have been suffering from Internet woes.  This is the first time I have been able to get on in days.  Hopefully it won't cut me off until I'm finished.  I may put the Scavenger Hunt up early, but you won't be able to participate until Halloween.

6 DAYS

Tomorrow we at the Carnival are talking about eerie, scary reads for Halloween.  I will try to put my post up on time.  If I don't make it tomorrow, you might see it Saturday or Sunday.  Have a great weekend!!!  See you soon, hopefully.

Countdown to Shifters Rule: 8 Days

Fact #5:  A major player dies in the first half of Shifters Rule.  Who is it?  How will their death impact the fight between Jack and Jersey?

8 Days

Vampires Rule came to me in a dream.

Only the dream didn't belong to me.  A friend living in Boston had the dream, a dream about a girl with a silver bullet necklace.  She wasn't very happy with me when I made the silver bullet in to a silver dagger charm, but I just couldn't

picture a girl wearing a bullet around her neck.  I wasn't the one who had the dream, after all.  While she was dreaming

about this fearless Buffy-type girl, a voice from above said, "Tell Kasi this is the book I want her to write."

Awesome!!!  When she told me about this dream, I ran with it.  We stayed up until past midnight talking about possible

events and characters for the book.  

Countdown to Shifters Rule: 9 Days

Fact #4:  There is going to be a wedding!!!  Who is getting married?  Read the book and find out.

9 Days

Vampires Rule is FREE on Smashwords.

*SPOILER ALERT*

Werewolves Rule (spoiler):  Jack's brother goes missing.  When he finally finds Billy, Jack is stunned to see his brother has been changed into a werewolf.  He failed to look out for his little brother.  Now what?  Is there a way to change Billy back?  Will Jack have to kill his brother?  And who turned Billy into a werewolf in the first place. 



YA Indie Carnival: Serial Novels, In or Out

This week at the Carnival we are talking about serial novels.  Amazon has announced they are bringing the serial novel back.  Stephen King will be happy to hear this.  Years ago he wrote The Green Mile in serial novel form with a new installment every other month (if memory serves).  How do I feel about this?

Well, it's an interesting concept.  Stephen King did an awesome job with The Green Mile.  On the other hand, when John Saul tried it (sorry, can't remember the name of his series), he had to apologize in the last book for mistakes.  For most of us, our novels change as we write them.  Unless you are a great Plotter and have every detail worked out ahead of time and you're sticking to it, writing Serial Novels probably would not work out for you.  I know I'm not doing it.

Although, it would be a challenge.  I'm afraid there are going to be some disappointed readers out there.  Of course, there are writers who can pull it off.  Those readers will be over the moon.  I guess it just depends on luck.  So, do you fee lucky?  Do you?  (nod to Clint Eastwood)

Here is the Amazon article if you want to read it:
(http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57507647-93/amazon-delves-into-book-subscriptions-with-kindle-serials/)

Let's see what my fellow Carnies think:

1.	Laura A. H. Elliott	2.	Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3.	T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series	4.	Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga
5.	Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog	6.	K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed
7.	Gwenn Wright, author of Filter	8.	Liz Long | Just another writer on the loose.
9.	Ella James	10.	Maureen Murrish
11.	YA Sci Fi Author's Ramblings	12.	A Little Bit of R&R
13.	Melissa Pearl

Countdown to Shifters Rule: 11 Days

It's getting close.  I can practically smell it.  Shifters Rule will be officially available.  Can't wait to see them fly off those virtual shelves.

Fact #3:  The character Ian Carver shares his secrets.  This man is hiding something major, and he has a scary power.  Will he use the power to help Jack win the war, or will he use the power against Jack?

11 Days

 

After you read Shifters Rule, please share your thoughts in reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, etc.  I enjoy (for the most part) hearing what people think about this series. 

 

Someone on Goodreads listed several books, saying I must have read them and taken ideas from each of them.  That is funny to me because out of the entire list I hadn't read any of them.  She was right on two of the shows I watch, Supernatural and Buffy. 

 

Still, it's helpful to hear what people are thinking as they read my books.  It always amazes me, the different opinions.  But when everyone agrees on a certain problem in the book, I listen.  Thank you all.  You are amazing!

Countdown to Shifters Rule: 12 Days

About Shifters Rule-  Fact #2:  Cowboy is back!  Several people talked about him in reviews, complaining he wasn't a bigger part of the story.  Well, he's back for Shifters Rule-- and in a surprising new role!

12 Days

 



About Vampires Rule:  I am often asked who my favorite character is in this series.  Sorry.  That is impossible to answer.  I love Jack for his tough talk and sensitive heart.  I love the villain for his mysterious air and dramatic flare.  I love Billy because he was the kid brother and now he has to play the older brother, look after Jack.  I love Silver for standing up to everyone around her and dealing with a tough situation.  I love Cowboy for his smart-alec attitude and his lazy drawl (okay, I hear it in my head even if you don't.).  I love them all.

Check back tomorrow for more.

BAD NEWS from Amazon

I tried uploading my cover for Shifters Rule, the one everyone voted for, and it doesn't work.  The cool rectangles with the title and my name are splotchy white dots on there.  You can't even see there are words.  So I had to change the cover to one I am not real happy with.  Good news though is that I can use my cool cover for the print copies, I hope.  I am still going to try to upload the good cover onto Smashwords and see if that works out.  Here is the cover I had to use:

Countdown to SHIFTERS RULE: 14 Days

Shifters Rule will be released in fourteen days.  I'm getting excited.  Hope you are too.  I decided to start a countdown.  Every day (as long as my Internet connection works) I will post something about the books.  Maybe a little teaser on Shifters Rule and something from the first two in the series.  If you haven't read them yet, it's not too late.  Vampires Rule is free right now on Smashwords.  Plus, I am doing a Scavenger Hunt on Halloween here at the blog for some lucky people to win free digital copies of both Vampires Rule and Werewolves Rule.

 

14 DAYS

 

Here is something from Goodreads on Vampires Rule, a glimpse of a scene that someone loved so much they put it up on the site and five others Liked it.

 

“Stop!” she screamed. “Don’t hurt him.”

“Back off!” Billy shouted.

She yanked harder on Billy’s arm.

“He isn’t a vampire anymore, idiot. Look! Do you see that big, yellow thing up in the sky? That’s called the sun. It’s shining down on him, and he isn’t exploding. His fangs are gone. He’s as human as we are. Case closed.”

Billy stared up at the sky, his jaw slack. “Not possible.”

Jack mumbled, “They don’t call me Jackpot for nothing.”

“What?” Billy blinked at him.

“Private joke.” —          

 

 

Now for something from Shifters Rule.  I will give you a fact each day about the book to whet your appetite.

 

 

Fact #1:  Jack and Jersey are finally going to battle each other to the death.  How will it end?

 

It's war.  At least one major player will be killed.

Free Ebook: Vampires Rule

I just wrote this whole long thing out and Blogger wouldn't save it.  I don't want to do it again.

Anyone interested in reading Vampires Rule for free can find it here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/54214

This might be a limited thing.  I may raise the price back up in a month or two.

They don't call him Jackpot for nothing.

Seventeen-year-old Jack always beats the odds... at least until now. When a werewolf tried to kill him ten years ago, vampires saved his life. At first he was grateful. Then he realized he couldn't go home to his brother, couldn't return to his old life. Humans can become vampires; vampires can't become mortal again, but somehow Jack gets lucky. Like a cat, he always lands on his feet. He wakes up one morning without fangs, and the sunlight doesn't set him on fire. This is it, his dream, only it's real this time. What could possibly go wrong?

Enter a pretty hunter with dark secrets, a brother who wants to stake him just to be on the safe side, and a psychotic werewolf. Now we have a party.               

YA Indie Carnival: Being an Indie

This week at the Carnival we are discussing what opportunities, advantages, etc. being an Indie Author has given us.  My mind is swimming with chaotic visions.  Usually, I don't have any problem writing on a topic.  But there is so much to say on this one.  Let's begin.

What opportunities has becoming an Indie given me?

1.  More Books:  Publishers will not allow you to put out very many books at once.  That's why Stephen King published under an alias for a while.  People knew it was him.  No one writes like King.  After a while he dropped the charade.  In an article, he complained about the publisher, saying his agent told him the publisher didn't want him to flood the market with his books.  So what do you do if you can write five books in a year and the publisher will only put out two? 

You can put them out yourself as ebooks or print-on-demand books.  Even King has some books out as Indie works now.  Awesome!

2.  Cover Control:  Back when I was writing with Harlequin, I was not thrilled with how they did some of their covers.  I heard a few writers complain, saying they hated their covers.  Even though we (as authors) were asked to fill out paperwork for the art department, we didn't have any real input on the covers.  You just had to cross your fingers and wait to see your books.  When the box arrived, you held your breath as you opened it.  Sometimes you were over the moon.  Sometimes you were depressed.  A great cover can be the difference between lots of sales and limited sales.

Now when someone tells me they don't like my cover, it's on me.  I do have control over it.  In fact, I produce my own covers.  A lot of work goes into them.  Someday, when I run out of ideas, I will probably hire a professional.  But, at the moment, I am enjoying the control.

3.  An Eye on Sales:  When you publish in the traditional way, you have no idea how your books are doing.  An agent might be able to tell you something, but they don't have immeditate facts.  Being an Indie Author means I can check the sales myself.  If sales drop, I am the first one to know.

Recently, Harlequin re-published two of my books as ebooks.  It drives me crazy, not knowing how they are doing.  I have no idea.  It will be almost a year after the first one went up before I get a sales report.  Until then, your guess is as good as mine.

That's it for me today.  Check out the other Carnies below to see what they have to say.

1.	Laura A. H. Elliott	2.	Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3.	T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series	4.	Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga
5.	Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog	6.	K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed
7.	Gwenn Wright, author of Filter	8.	Liz Long | Just another writer on the loose.
9.	Ella James	10.	Maureen Murrish
11.	YA Sci Fi Author's Ramblings	12.	A Little Bit of R&R
13.	Melissa Pearl

Cover Reveal: SHIFTERS RULE

As promised, here is the cover reveal for Shifters Rule.  You voted and a winner was selected.  It was a landslide.  Only two people voted for the other cover.  So here it is... Drum roll please.

Thanks to all of you who voted!!!

Shifters Rule will be released on Halloween.

YA Indie Carnival: Importance of the Wolf Pack

This week on the Carnival, we are posting about the wolf pack.  In other words, the people who help us with our writing.  This includes Beta Readers, Editors, Graphic Artists, etc.  How important are they?  What would we do without them?

1.  Beta Readers:  I have no idea what I would do without these people.  They are wonderful wrapped in awesomeness.  Although I haven't always agreed with them, they get me thinking out of the box.  There are scenes that simply wouldn't exist without them. 

2.  Editors:  This is a must have.  Most of my editors work for free (people I know and others wanting to help), but I hope to have the money to hire some truly great ones soon.

3.  Graphic Artists:  I wish I could afford to hire one of these.  I've seen some covers that are so amazing they put mine to shame.  But, for now, I have to do my own.  I do think I've come a long way when it comes to creating covers.  Compare my first one (Vampires Rule) to my latest Bait and you will see a huge difference. 

I can't think of anything else to put.  Check out the other Carnies.  I'm sure they've come up with stuff to write about that I haven't dreamed of yet.

1.	Laura A. H. Elliott	2.	Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
		4.	T. R. Graves, Author of The Warrior Series
5.	Suzy Turner, author of The Raven Saga	6.	Rachel Coles, author of Into The Ruins, geek mom blog
7.	K. C. Blake, author of Vampires Rule and Crushed	8.	Gwenn Wright, author of Filter
9.	Heather M. White, author of The Destiny Saga	10.	Liz Long | Just another writer on the loose.
11.	Ella James	12.	Maureen Murrish
13.	Valerie Sloan	14.	YA Sci Fi Author's Ramblings
15.	A Little Bit of R&R	16.	Melissa Pearl

Cover Reveal: NaNoWriMo

This is my cover for the upcoming NaNoWriMo.

What do you think?

What To Do Before You Write

I am getting ready to join NaNoWriMo for the month of November.  So I am working hard on plotting the book, setting up characters, and figuring out the different settings I will be using.  This is the hardest book I have ever worked on.  This is a book I have been trying to write for over three years.  Maybe writing it now when I have to push through the writer's block and get some major stuff done each day is not a good idea, but that's what I'm doing.  This whole month of October I will be putting together a huge folder with everything I need inside.  I have never been so organized.  I'll let you know later if it works out for me or not.  Here is what I am doing:

1.  Major Outline:  In the past I have jotted down a quick outline in a notebook, sometimes making index cards to help me on my way.  That didn't work out for me this time.  I had to make an extensive outline.  First, I took the ideas for each scene (one or two sentences) and turned them into huge paragrpahs.  Second, I added even more detail to each, adding pieces of dialogue and the emotions the characters are dealing with.  I want this outline to be so complete that writing the actual prose turns out to be a walk in the park. 

2.  Character Sheets:  I always fill out character bios, but this time I'm taking it a bit farther.  I am writing first person bios, filling in detailed sheets, and interviewing the characters.  I want to know them better than I know my own mother.  By the time I start writing this book, I want to know without having to think about it exactly how my characters would react in any given situation.

3.  Setting Sheets:  Usually I just write and figure out my setting as I go along.  But this time I am filling out sheets on setting.  I want to know exactly what every room and every exterior place looks like down to the last details.     

Now, I have printed off all of this stuff and put the pages in protective sheets so I can place them in a nice binder.  I'll let you know in December how it worked out.