Kristie Cook's Blog, page 44

It's time to party!Purpose Virtual Release Party Kick Off!


From 12/6-12/18, we'll be celebrating the 12/15 release of Purpose, Book #2 in the Soul Savers Series. Taking a Random-Acts-of-Kindness approach, prizes will be awarded randomly every day here, on Facebook and on Twitter. And in the spirit of Pay It Forward, I'll be highlighting others' books and their authors, blogs and their writers, and charities and causes.

Join me on 12/14 at 8 p.m. EST for a TWITTER PARTY!!
Start the party by entering for the Grand Prize: a Florida Beach Bag packed full with Promise and Purpose; a beach towel; flip-flops; Purple with a Purpose OPI nail polish; Promise, Purpose and Soul Savers swag; beach stuff; Florida souvenirs; and more. Bring the beach to your living room and brighten up your winter!

Simply fill out the form below to enter. Spread the word to earn more entries. Open to US residents only (sorry, but this is too big to ship internationally*). Entries close at midnight 12/17. Winner announced 12/18.

*Other prizes throughout the party will be open internationally. To maximize your chances of winning these, be sure you follow here, the Promise site, the Purpose site, my Facebook author page, my Twitter account, Alexis's Twitter account and Tristan's Twitter account.

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I promised on Tuesday that I'd post on Wednesday more about the Purpose Virtual Release Party. Yeah, didn't happen. Sorry. I'm still nailing down some details...besides that thing called "life" kind of got in the way, too.

But I'm really, really excited about this party. Because I'm turning the idea of a virtual release party upside down. In other words, it's not going to be all about Purpose and me and the Soul Savers Series. As described in Teaser Tuesday, my characters celebrate Christmas a little differently than most of us and I'm taking their lead.

Since the release party is virtual, I can't exactly go out on the streets to do random acts of kindness. Instead, I'll be out on the interwebz, "purpose"-fully looking for opportunities to help people out. And to give stuff away. Like books. And swag. And not just mine. I have all kinds of fun stuff to give away and can't wait to do it!

Here on the blog, I'll be randomly featuring blogs and their writers, books and their authors, and charities and causes. And I'll be giving away more stuff. Tis the season for giving, right?

Sooooo...what does it mean for you? Well, as the term "random" means "without aim, reason or pattern," you never know what will be going on, who will be visiting or where I'll be giving stuff away. It might be here at any given time. Or maybe Facebook or Twitter. Or maybe on your blog. And it might be from Alexis or Tristan.

To maximize your chances of winning, be sure you follow here, the Promise site, the Purpose site, my Facebook author page, my Twitter account, Alexis's Twitter account and Tristan's Twitter account.

We'll also be doing a standard giveaway for the grand prize, which I'll announce on Sunday. I "promise." I have to - that's the kickoff day. So be sure to come back to start gathering entries for that one, too. 

If you like the idea of paying it forward and helping others out, feel free to use it. Of course, it's not my idea. But I'm pretty sure the originators wouldn't mind if you borrowed it, being that's the point and all. And if you've heard a great story or have your own example to share, I'd love to hear it!

P.S. If you'd like to be part of the virtual tour and host a guest post or an interview of me or any of the characters, there's still space. Just drop me a line at kristie (at) kristiecook (dot) com.

This week's Teaser Tuesday comes from Promise. It's not a particularly exciting passage, but there's a reason I'm sharing it. See, Alexis and Sophia, her mother, don't celebrate Christmas like most people. Sophia started these traditions when she herself was young and alone for the holidays. Here's a couple paragraphs about it, then I'll explain why I'm sharing it. You'll want to know. Trust me.

Christmas Day was the best Mom and I ever had. After delivering the cakes to a homeless shelter and nursing homes, we drove around, scoping out opportunities for random acts of kindness. The first one came when we saw a lady and four small children clambering out of a car. She tried to unload gifts from her old station wagon, while keeping the kids out of the street. Tristan and I carried the gifts to the house for her while Mom helped her with the kids. Tristan slipped her something as we left and she stared after us, her mouth hanging open with shock. He did the same thing each time we helped someone. I didn't ask about it because that was the point of the day, but I knew when we stopped at a convenience store.

We'd just bought drinks and the man behind us argued with the clerk about why his credit card didn't work at the pump. He carried on about how he needed to get to Miami to see his kids for Christmas. Tristan tucked something into my hand, nodded at the man and strode out of the store. I looked at the folded one-hundred-dollar bill in my hand, smiled and stepped over to the man at the counter.

"Here, go see your kids," I whispered. I placed the bill in his hand and hurried out the door before he could stop me. We took off as soon as I was in the car. When I looked back, both the man and the clerk stood outside, watching after us.

Other parts of the chapter explain it more, but basically, Sophia and Alexis make Christmas a birthday celebration and spend the day doing what they believe the Birthday Boy would do - random acts of kindness in the spirit of paying it forward. Tristan just takes it another step, since he has the means and all.
The Purpose virtual release party will be taking this pay-it-forward and random-acts-of-kindness approach. I'll tell you more about it tomorrow, including the prizes. And there will be lots! For now, be sure you're "with" me all over the interwebz, because you'll never know where and how winners will be chosen (it's random, peeps!).
Follow here, the Promise site, the Purpose site, my Facebook author page, my Twitter account, Alexis's Twitter account and Tristan's Twitter account. Then stay tuned and pay attention! How's that for a tease? :-)

Two VIP members of my publishing team and I spent a long weekend in Miami at the Miami Book Fair International a couple weeks ago. They were long days, but we had fun, ate great, met lots of people and learned a lot. I share what we learned from an author's perspective over at my other blog.

The "Before" picture of our half-booth - the ugliness we were given at 9 a.m. Friday morning. Notice the two venti SB cups - we couldn't have made it without them!
An "After" picture of me and Chrissi, the greatest business partner evah. Except for the parking garage in the background, our booth turned out quite pretty , if I must say so myself. :)
Me and Lisa, the other VIP of my publishing team, with our newly created sign.
Me and my new writer-friend, Tracy. It was the last day, so yeah, we look a little wiped. At least, I do. We met a ton of people, some who were real, uh, characters. Like Madeline, an old favorite from my youth.
I also met Ellen Hopkins and she signed my copy of Fallout. Still deciding whether to keep it or give it away... Hmm...

Guess you'll find out in the upcoming Purpose virtual release tour, launching this week. So check back because we have lots of fun stuff planned and all kinds of goodies to give away!

Be safe, all you crazy Black Friday shoppers. You wouldn't catch me out there, except maybe at the Christmas tree stand. Although, that requires me to accept that Christmas season truly is here. What happened to 2010???

I do have some deals for you and any readers on your list:

Promise ebook is FREE this weekend only at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/19238 . All formats, including Kindle. Only good through Monday night.

Promise and Purpose together make a great gift! Buy them together and get FREE shipping. They'll both be signed and delivered before Christmas if ordered by 12/15. http://www.readourwrites.com/shop/ 

Of course, if you've already read Promise and are ready for Purpose, don't forget to pre-order a copy for yourself. :-) http://www.readourwrites.com/item/Purpose-Soul-Savers-2-Paperback-3

Enjoy the rest of the long weekend! When we come back, we'll be gearing up for Purpose's release, including contests, giveaways and lots of prizes. In the meantime, if you see any good fights at the store, take a picture!

Just a quick note to wish you a great Thanksgiving with good food...  ...Family...





...and Friends!

I'm thankful for every one of you! Have a blessed day!

Had a great time at the Miami Book Fair. Met some new friends and fans, but also came back with the beginnings of a head cold and not feeling so hot right now. I'll post pics as soon as I can.

Real quick, though, because December 15 still approaches and I still need to finish planning the blog tour for Purpose's release. Would you be interested in joining the fun? Can I hang out at your place for a day? Or maybe you'd like Alexis or Tristan...or Sophia or Owen...or maybe even a villain instead? We can do a guest post or interview or whatever else you'd like. Fun and unique ideas greatly welcomed!

Let me know by sending an email to kristie (at) kristiecook (dot) com. Thanks!


P.S. Prayers and health vibes greatly appreciated.

While I'm at the Miami Book Fair International, I'm also hanging out over at Elizabeth Mueller's place . I won a contest a while back and part of my prize was a drawing of one of my characters by the very talented Elizabeth. She drew me this beauty:


Isn't she beautiful??? If you've read Promise, you might know what she is, though she doesn't really appear in the book. What is she? Find out here .

I just have to say I'm jealous of all you who get to see Part 1 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this weekend. I'm at the Miami Book Fair, having all kinds of fun, and the theater show times just don't work for us to get to see it. Waaahhhh!!!!

It's the first time I haven't seen the movie opening weekend. It's the first time since Prisoner of Azkaban, I think, that we haven't gone to the midnight showing. And, saddest of all, it's the first time I won't get to see it with my kids. Because I'm sure they'll be going while I'm gone. *le sigh*

Enjoy it! And keep your reactions to yourselves, please. :-)

Today we head out to the Miami Book Fair International , which doesn't start until tomorrow, but we have to check in today. It's a 3-day street fair, open to the public. Lots of authors, publishers and booksellers AND readers! My favorite kind of people. :-) Oh, and LOADS of books!!!

It's supposed to be a big one with tons of traffic. I hope so! I also hope we're appropriately prepared. I guess the worse thing that can happen is we sell out of books and we have to ship some. Not a bad problem at all.

Confirmed authors include Ellen Hopkins, Dave Barry, Laurie Halse Anderson, Pat Conroy, Jonathan Franzen, Scott Turow, Scott Westfeld and many, many more . I now wish I'd purchased some of those books I meant to, in case I get a chance to have them signed!

I'm not a "confirmed author" - I don't know why - but I WILL be there. Our booth is in section E, the purple one (must be a good sign), so if you're going, please come visit!