Do you guys remember back in March when I introduced you all to the wonderful members of my Rusk University Street Team?
Well, the time has come to start promoting the next book in the Rusk University series, All Broke Down.

And my publicity peeps and I think it's time to add some new readers to the mix! And we want YOU! Yes, you!

A street team is the ultimate set of super readers. I'm looking for people who've read all my books, and love my characters, and are eager for my next fictional journey! A street team helps spread the word about an author's books-- online, in person, and IN SPACE.   
The Rusk University Street Team (aka "The Carmcats") was absolutely invaluable to me during the lead up and release week of All Lined Up. They made graphics, designed the Rusk logo, hosted giveaways, helped brainstorm marketing ideas, and spread the word about ALU like a plague (a plague of AWESOMENESS). They went above and beyond to host the Spirit Week party during release week, and basically kept me from losing my mind during a (very exciting, but still very) stressful time.  And they are some of the funniest, kindest, most generous, most encouraging people I have ever met - I want to carry each and everyone one of them with me everywhere I go. Seriously... I cannot sing this team's praises enough. But now we're looking to expand and add new faces and new skills and new ideas! 
One of the many wonderful Rusk graphics created by the Street Team.
I'm seriously still in awe of how talented these people are.


Interested? Here's some more details. It's a big time commitment to be part of this street team (not just because you'll be helping me, but also because our exclusive street team Facebook group is an incredibly fun place to hang out and ignore the rest of the world). Here's what's in for you: Exclusive giveaways ONLY for street team members. ARCs, Swag, Signed copies, and other special stuff. Your odds of winning are MUCH better than when competing with the masses. Exclusive content and news. When a new book is releasing or I'm writing a new project, you guys will be the first to hear about it! You'll also be the first people I torture tease with excerpts! Swag for you! Swag for your friends! Swag for strangers you bombard on the street! You shall be the swag queens (or kings... I'm looking at you, rare and exotic male fan. We've already got one dude reader on the team, here's hoping for more).Every active street team member's name will appear in the acknowledgments of my books. Show all your friends how important and beloved you are! Plus, I sometimes steal street team members names when I'm creating characters. Just saying. :) Membership in the exclusive street team Facebook group! Here you can chat with other team members, brainstorm promotional ideas, and hang out with me! I'll pop in for exclusive street team chats and hang outs (and by pop in, I mean I spend entirely too much time procrastinating there). Not to mention I might pick your brain about books and characters you'd like to see. ;) **One extra lucky Street Team member will get to join me as my assistant at an upcoming signing in 2015! I'll take care of your flight and hotel, and we'll just hang out, meet book people, bask in our awkward goodness. Carmcat Stephanie from SmartSavvySteph won for ALU's team, and she'll be joining me at Chapter by Chapter Bookrave in NY! As a street team member, there's lots of things you can do to help my books succeed. You don't have to do them all...at least not at the same time. And this is far from an all-inclusive list, but rather some suggestions to give you an idea of how we might need you to promote All Broke Down.In person you can...
Talk the books up and share promo material with friends, family, co-workers, and book clubs. You can even drop off promo materials at bookstores, libraries, coffee shops, etc. Buy my books the first week of release, which helps it get more visibility, thereby selling more booksAsk your local library to order my books. Give the librarians the title, name and publisher of each book. In the same vein, ask your local bookstore to stock my books if they don't already. Online you can... Share your (honest) review/rating of the book via Amazon, iBooks, BN.com, and Goodreads. I can't even begin to express how big a deal this is in terms of discoverability for new books. Share interviews, reviews, cover reveals, and other promotional events across your social media and online platforms (Blogs, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, etc)Spread the word about my books to your online friends and followers. “Like” my books and me on Amazon.com & BN.comLike, Retweet, and Share whenever/whatever you can!Recommend the books on Goodreads and elsewhere. As readers, you wield so much influence. And every little bit helps! Participate in online Publicity and Marketing campaigns (Blog tours, FB parties, cover reveals, etc). 
So if you love my books and are looking forward to All Broke Down (see the cover and read the description here) , I'd love to have you on the team! I'm so very excited for this book. For one, Silas is... well, Silas. He's a sexy bad boy, but still has a sense of honor and determination. It's also the longest book I've written to date because... well, I had a lot of fun. ;) 

Keep in mind-- we're looking for readers who have the time and enthusiasm needed to help make this book a success. If you have a busy life (like I do), this might not be the right way for you to participate. We're looking for readers who are part of the book world in some form or fashion. That means you might have a blog or a twitter or Facebook or goodreads where you interact with other readers. Or it might mean you work in a bookstore or are part of a book club or something else. 

When it comes time to pick the team, we won't just be picking whoever has the biggest online following. That's not how we work. While online following is great, we're also looking for people who will be strong additions to the team. In putting together the first team, we looked for variety. Some members had a strong blog, others were active on twitter or instagram or youtube. A few worked in bookstores or had experience in PR and graphic design. And a few were just really enthusiastic readers. We also did our best to accept street team members from a variety of places so that we could have the most impact. Since the first team was a wild success, we'll be using the same method as we choose our new team. It will have a combination of old and new members, and together I think we could create something really fabulous! 

To apply to be on the team, fill out the information below. Because team members will receive goodies and extras, there's a limited number of spots available. So, make your applications count! We're looking for the most excited fans who are eager to help out! And if there's something in particular you think you could contribute to the team, please do tell us! 



The DEADLINE TO APPLY is 6PM ET on WEDNESDAY, JULY 16TH!

We'll be announcing the final team a few days after that once we've had the chance to read and consider all the applications.

Fill out the information below, and I CANNOT wait to meet you guys and have some of you join to Rusk Team! 

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