Friday, August 31, 2012

Review: VAMPIRES RULE

Note: Because this is one of my books, I am not going to review it myself.  I will copy and paste reviews below that other people left on Goodreads, Amazon, or their blogs.

Summery (from Amazon): 
They don't call him Jackpot for nothing.

Jack has always beat the odds... until now. When a werewolf tried to kill him, vampires saved him. When he got tired of life as a vampire, another attack gave him back his mortality. Now Jack just wants to live a normal life, but what's normal about having a hunter for a girlfriend, a brother who wants to stake him to be on the safe side, and a werewolf building an army to rule the world?

Because this is my book, I will post some reviews from Goodreads but will not review it myself.  I am also not changing anything about the reviews, not even the misspelled words. 
 
Reviews:  I'm disappointed this book isn't more popular. After reading this book, I'm craving for more. I was hesitant that it revolved around a guy main character, but this book definitely pushed away my fears. I loved hearing Jack's thoughts on going from a human to a vampire to a human. It was intriguing to hear about a vampire going back to being mortal, especially when he turned mortal because he was scratched by a werewolf.-- from Black Nailed Reviews
 
Vampires Rule took me by surprise. I was not expecting this book to have the awesome story line that it did. K.C.Blake has written a winner with this series.-- I Heart YA Books
 
I would like to congretulate K C Blake on an amazing book. This was my first time reading a self- published book and I was not left disappointed.
This book is great for YA Paranormal junkies, filled with vampires, werewolves and others.--Tabatha, from Goodreads

 I downloaded Vampires Rule by K.C. Blake from Smashwords and I am glad that I did.-- Stephen Perigo, Goodreads



I enjoyed reading this book, it gave a new spin on Vampires
and Werewoves. I loved the Silver character, and the romance
element. I am excited to read the second book to see how they
fare when facing the head werewolf. The suspense
in the book is great, with lots of different enemies to face.
There are many original ideas that make this series very interesting.
--Deb, Goodreads

Vampires Rule (Rule Series)
 

Review: RUMBLE FISH

Summary (taken from Amazon): Rusty-James knows he is a tough teen, but he wants to be even tougher, just like his older brother, the Motorcycle Boy. He wants to stay calm and laugh when things get dangerous, to be the strongest streetfighter and the most respected guy this side of the river.

My Review:  This book was assigned to my entire English class when I was in my first year of high school.  I remember other students thinking it was cool that we got to read about gangs.  I know I was surprised. 

This is the book that made me fall in love with S.E. Hinton's novels.  Hinton also made me fall in love with writing.  The beginning of this book is awesome.  An older Rusty-James meets an old friend on the beach but doesn't recognize him at first.  The memories start flooding back and we find out that Rusty-James has had a difficult life.  He always wanted to be like his older brother.  His best friend (and others) scoff and tell him he'll never be like the Motorcycle Boy.  The sad thing is that he gets his wish. 

The cover: It has been changed many times over the years, but this is the cover that I remember.

 
 
I am giving it a A+, because it is a classic and I can read this book again and again and still enjoy it to this day.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Marketing 101: J is for Jungle Marketing

Okay, this is actually called Gorilla Marketing, but I needed a 'J'. 

What is Jungle Marketing?  It is trying something risky that might gain some notoriety (sell some books) or maybe not.  It is risky.  Sometimes it is borderline illegal.  Here are some examples of thinking outside of the box:

1.  Leave your book at the mall or at a park or school for someone to 'steal.'

2.  Dress up in a costume and show up at an event that goes with what you wrote.  You might wind up on the news.

3.  Go to the taping of a show, something like Good Morning America, and hold up a sign or the book itself.

4.  Stand up in front of others and read something from your book.

Check in later for Marketing 101: K

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Crushed: A Review

For those of you to yet read Crushed, here is an awesome review by A Sprinkle of Books.  What caught my eye is the adorable kitten pic she used to illustrate how the romance made her feel.  You have to check it out for the cat if nothing else. 

http://sprinklesofbooks.blogspot.tw/2012/08/review-crushed-by-k-c-blake.html#more

Monday, August 20, 2012

Marketing 101: I is for Interview

This is another great way to get your name and titles of your books out there.  Look for blogs willing to interview authors.  There are tons of them.  Even blogs that will not review your book if it is an ebook or if you are Indie, will usually agree to interview you.  In fact, I have found most of these people to be more than willing.  They are excited to do it.

What should you say in an interview?  Try to think of interesting things to say about your books and about you personally.  Have you done something that not many others have?  Do you have a special skill or talent?  Have you met someone famous?  These are all great topics.

One other piece of advice when interviewing: Think of some awesome quotes.

I actually heard this from a famous writer.  He said we should all work on quotes for interviewers that are so great they will be quoted again and again.  He actually claims to have seen his quotes on other blogs months later.  Sounds good to me.

Check back for Marketing 101. 

Friday, August 17, 2012

YA Indie Carnival: Most Memorable Appearances

This week at the Carnival we are sharing our favorite experiences from book signings or other public appearances.  So be sure to check out the other Carnis below.  As for me, I have only done one book signing so far.  It was unforgettable.  The one thing that I will never forget about it is when I gave a free copy of Crushed to this young girl who didn't have the money to buy a copy.  I could tell she was very interested in reading it, so I gave her one that had been slightly damaged.  (My mother spilt coffee on the edge of it).  She held it between both hands and stared down at it in awe as if I'd handed her the most precious of gifts.  That look is the reason I write.  Hopefully she enjoyed reading it as much as she enjoyed receiving it. 

There were a few other interesting things that happened during that signing.

1.  My aunt and uncle showed up to surprise me, driving in from another state.
2.  A few people sneered at my book and told me they don't read.
3.  Two people wanted me to autograph the book, then realized they didn't have the money to pay for it.
4.  People like free candy.  The free candy drew them to the table, but a lot of them just took the candy and ran without glancing at my book.
5.  Two little boys asked for my autograph.  (One of them brought his mom back later and she bought a book).

Join me in a few days when I post Marketing 101: I is for Interveiw.  Only then... check out the other Carnis.

1. Laura A. H. Elliott 2. Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3. Heather Self 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

Friday, August 10, 2012

YA Indie Carnival: Hot Summer Reads!!!

This week at the Carnival we are discussing the best books of summer.  When you go to the beach or take a trip somewhere, what book do you take with you?  Have you discovered new books this summer or re-discovered some great reads?

At the moment I am re-reading the Mortal Instruments.  Why?  Two reasons.  I love them and I just bought City of Lost Souls.  Before I get into that book I need to refresh my memory.  Cassandra Clare is my favorite writer.  I love how she paints a picture.  Her characters are awesome and she's the best (in my opinion) at giving you a visual read.  It's like watching a movie.

City of Bones:  This is the first of the series.  Clary meets and falls in love with Jack, a Shadowhunter.  If you haven't read it, you really should.  For more on this book, check out the review that I did on it.

City of Ashes/City of Glass:  Okay, I honestly don't remember which of these comes second.  I can't remember the name of the one I'm reading right now.  That's pretty bad. 

Anyway, by the time I finish these books the summer will be long over.

Check out the other Carnies to see what Summer Reads they are loving.

Laura A. H. Elliott 2. Bryna Butler, author Midnight Guardian series
3. Heather Self 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