Inspiration for the Cover

     The inspiration for the Phoenix cover was from the London Olympics. If you watched it, I think it was the opening ceremony that had a fiery flaming phoenix. Check out the picture below.

     Take away the stadium and add the mountains:

 

 

K.K. Cook

Trial Cover Revealed!

     Trial cover is going to be revealed! Now what I mean by trial cover is a cover that will most likely change as we make the final touches. So excited! Check it out below:

 

     It's the byline that is most likely to change since I don't like how it is at the moment. The colors and fonts don't match, but that should be a quick fix.
     The cover isn't how I originally pictured it. I just wanted a phoenix feather on fire drifting down to the ground with trees and mountains. But I like this just as much, if not better. Mainly because it's special and unique and... mine!
     Tell all your friends about Phoenix and like Phoenix on Facebook or join the group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/phoenixandmythic/#!/groups/phoenixandmythic/ search for me on Twitter and read on!

K.K. Cook

Cover Soon To Be Revealed!

     I've recently gotten word that the cover for phoenix will be revealed within the next few weeks! I'm so excited! I had hoped to get it last month, but it is what it is.
     Since I'm still waiting on the cover the release date of Phoenix has been pushed back to sometime in October. Patience has never been one of my virtues, so I'm a little impatient to get this going. There's not a lot I can do, but I try.
     The school year is up and running again as well. Joy. This year will be my first year of home schooling. All of my friends are already in school. Ah well, at least the school has a system so I can go to homecoming.
     I'll give you a little peek of Phoenix. In Phoenix Rakel is a social outcast with no friends. In a little twist she ends up being at the top of the food chain instead of the bottom. Now how does that happen...? Sorry, can't say.
     I hope everyone had a wonderful summer! I'll be keeping you posted on Phoenix. ;)

K.K. Cook

Onyx Trailer

Sooo excited for Onyx! Check it out!

Summer Buzz

     How is everyone else's summer going? Hopefully good. I know I always look forward to the summer. A nice time to just chill and relax. And attempt to get a tan (Irish heritage makes it hard to be anything but snow white). But really summer is just about taking a break and having fun.
     Most people back home probably go to the beach or the pool for their summer. Sometimes I wish my summer was that laid back. Not that I don't like my summers, they just usually end up... rushed. I have the majority of my family living in England, so I usually go there to visit them.
     One of my brothers also lives there and he's still in school. English schools get out end of July-ish, whereas schools back home get out early June. That in between time I normally end up writing and reading. Then we get to the family visits and the small vacation time.
     In just a few days I'm going back home to America. I haven't seen my baby brother in over two months so I can't to get back! School's starting back up again at the end of August. I'm going to be home schooled this year so I have no idea when I'll be restarting school.It should be fun though. My awesome cousin Patrick is going to be home schooled with me (he was home schooled last year as well). Patrick's only eight, but he is freaking awesome. If you met him you'd understand.

 He does talk a lot as well, as you might be able to imagine from this photo.

 He's going to be a heart breaker when he's older. Only he's too sweet and kind to hurt any girls.

See more pictures of Patrick at http://agencyprotalent.com/patrickdonovan#patrick And yes, he is a model/actor.

Hope everyone has been having a wonderful summer!

K.K. Cook

Synopsis

     I was supposed to be adding the final touches today to some of the chapters I've been editing. But you've seen how my mind gets easily distracted. So I tried writing a synopsis. I have never done one before and I know it looks like it needs work but this is one thing that I've never bothered with in the past. I mean, why would I? I've mainly written my stories in notebooks or on USB memory stick things.
     So anyway, this was my first one. I really have to work on my blog too--it's incomplete. I do not like leaving things incomplete. It nags at the back of my consciousness, telling me to fix the imperfection. Like the cover for Phoenix. I've had a friend start on it and then recently they told me they couldn't do it because of some home life issue. I didn't ask, but really? I've been waiting months for the cover. Now I have to wait longer.
     Luckily I have an awesome grandfather who happens to paint. I just hope my idea isn't to confusing for him to get a grasp on. He's done some sweet paintings before. My favorite was this one of a jester walking down an old lane or street or something. He did it for my mom who used to do Mardi Gras charity balls. She wanted it so bad, but she had asked him to do it for the auction she had. A friend bought it and gave it to her as a present latter on. Nice ending to that story.
     I'm sure he'll do a great cover. I'd do it myself, but I cannot for the life of me draw even a straight line. The only art I am actually good at is Op Art (optical illusions, its wicked cool) but I can use rulers for that. SO I'm interested to see how that turns out. I can't wait to see it. Almost everything else is in place for the story to be published. Wow, who knew it took so much time and effort to get this stuff done?
     I have been sidetracked yet again. When the cover is ready I will post it on here. But until then maybe I can entice your anticipation with my (very amateur) synopsis of Phoenix:

Everyday we pull the sun around the Earth.
Everyday we work and strive for glory.
We are the mightiest.
We are the strongest.
The smartest.
The fastest.
Other creatures bask in our excellence.
Other creatures envy us.
We are creatures of war and beauty and salvation.
We are the phoenix.

***

Rakel grew up in the middle of the blistering hot Arizona desert. No civilization for miles around. She lived in a gated city for others like her. Others who can turn into giant war birds by mere will. Others who are phoenix.

Rakel soon discovers she has a rare ability, one that was thought to have died out millennia ago. She is one of the Vanished, someone who has the power to teleport and travel through time. Rakel is pulled from her quiet life of being invisible to being the center of every phoenixes attention. Her entire future is now in the hands of her alpha. Her alpha chooses Casey as her mate.

With emotions running high and powers out of control, Rakel ends up in the clutches of the werewolf alpha Ethan. A forbidden romance blooms and grows until it consumes Rakel and Ethan. Rakel has a choice that could change history. But who is her heart loyal to?

Read on as Rakel battles her inner demons and fights for her choice in life.
Phoenix is out fall 2012

     Hopefully that wasn't too bad for a to-be author. I've read others that are better, way better, but I think it's alright. I had others that were worse, which makes me feel better. And yes, I did read dozens of other author's book synopsis' as examples. This might be the hardest thing for me. I've always been one of those writers who writes in first person and has an easier time setting the scene that way. Writing about it like this, summing it up, it reminds me of essays and other horrid things.
     I'll keep you posted (if you're even reading) and post the cover when it is done. I will update my blog and figure out how to make new pages and all that stuff that will take time and patience. Patience has never really been my virtue. I got a Kindle so I could get books the second they came out instead of waiting for them to come in the mail or driving to the nearest book shop and praying that they have the book I want in stock. Yeah, patience is definitely not my strongest virtue.

Adieu!

K.K. Cook

First Post! Yeah!

     Well hello there! Right now there is probably no one reading this. Maybe later there will be? One can only hope. So this is my first post. Well, not in history. I have had many blogs throughout the past, but this is my first post on this blog. Hopefully it has spellcheck, because my spelling can be terrible at times.
     My first book (novella really) published (self-published) is called Phoenix, and it will come out sometime in fall. Trust me, I thought this would be a lot faster than it actually is. I wanted to be done with editing in May, but with homework, school, exams, recitals... oh boy, there was barely any time for me to edit and revise and rewrite. I'm still doing that, though I'm more or less done with the rewriting.
     I haven't come up with a synopsis of my story yet. Every time I try the words just don't come out right. Usually I'm a far better writer than a talker because writing is like writing done my imagination, my thoughts, whereas speaking requires thinking about what your going to say. It's no wonder I'm two completely different people when I write and when I talk. When I talk, I say like every sentence or two (a bad habit I've picked up since moving to the U.S.), whereas my problem with writing is I say though every few sentences. I suppose no one can live without flaws to be fixed.
     I am ashamed to say I can't remember where my idea for Phoenix originated. Almost every author has a story behind the story. I'm sure I did, but I've forgotten it. Lovely. Classic really. A writer without a story. It's almost comical.
     I do, however, have an idea of where my story came from. See I've always appreciated original stories to those pesky cliches. Of course my story has werewolves in it so it's not wholly original. And my main character is a creature of a myth seen in many countries. But the creature itself has hardly any stories that are well known. Harry Potter comes to mind, but the phoenix in that story and the phoenix in my story are very different.
     And now I'm off track again. My thoughts tend to jump from one thing to another like that. Anyways, my idea of where my story comes from happens to be a little figurine of a phoenix I was given years ago for Christmas by my uncle, I think. Even the figurine is different from my vision of a phoenix, but it is the closet.  Now you must think 'Her idea came from a plastic toy? What the fudge buckets?'
     Well, you might not use those particular words, but I am refraining from using cuss words. My friends have converted me from the bad-mouther I once was into a creative person who likes making up random words and phrases instead. It's amusing. I find it's more fun using others anyway. The originals were so... unoriginal. And people look at you weird when you curse ketchup and vegetables and use random words that have no meaning.
     I practically live to be looked at weird. If I had a shirt that said 'What? You have a problem with weirdos?' on it I think I'd wear it everyday. I'd wash it during the night, of course. I don't want to smell icky. I hate smelling and feeling icky.
    And now I'm off track again. Sidetracked would be an understatement. This has to be the most... random first post I have ever written. It is so copying my thoughts. My thoughts ramble a lot. My mouth does not. My mouth just drags out words and is usually plagued with monosyllabism. I usually don't talk much. Not because I'm shy or anti-social, just because I don't usually have anything to say. I prefer the quiet.
     Now I believe it is time to go back to working on the final touches of my book. This post, which I doubt anyone will read for the next few months at least, has finally come to a close. Goodbye my to-be friends, foes, readers, and random people who happened to stumble upon my blog.

K.K. Cook

p.s. Sweet! There is spellcheck. apparently monosyllabism is not a word (Google says otherwise) and mouther is not a word which I already knew but couldn't find an appropriate substitute for. I. Love. Spellcheck. Just because I read/write 24/7 does not mean my spelling is totally right. It's not bad, but it's definitely not perfect.