Monday, July 15, 2013

Get Phoenix 50% Off!

I have recently become an author on Smashwords, an indie ebook publishing website. It also sells books. And right now for the month of July they're having a Summer/Winter promotion.

What that means is that you can get tons of ebooks on Smashwords for 25%, 50%, 75%, and for FREE during the entire month of July. So what are you waiting for? Go get the books you want at discount prices! Note that the promotion is only on Smashwords. You won't find it anywhere else.

Interested in checking out Phoenix half off? Click here! Or use code SSW50 at checkout.

K.K. Cook

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

What to Do for Summer

A lot of young adults and college kids get jobs in the summer. Other people go to the beach or hang out at the mall or the movie theater. There are some people who have regular old jobs, too. There are people who go on vacation to the Bahamas or Paris or Hawaii or something.

In the past I would have fallen into that last category. Just last year I went to Greece, England, and a trip up the West Coast of the U.S. I've looked at jobs to have for the summer, but they want either full-time or they want me to work after the summer is over. Sorry, but I need my schooling right now more than I need a job.

Here is what I plan to do for my summer: relax. I've spent the whole year with my nose in several textbooks; I think it's time to chill. But really? With tons of free time I get bored. So I decided to do something fun that also helps the community. I'm volunteering at the local animal shelter.

I LOVE animals. Cats are my favorite, dogs my second favorite. And so I'm going to work with cats. It's something for me to do over the summer, and it's good for the animals. Win-win situation there. So I'll put up a page on here for adopting animals from the shelter, though I won't update it necessarily every day. I'm working on a story that I think is the best thing I've ever written and I plan to keep up with it and make it the best that I can.

Now here are some ideas for you guys if you're bored this summer:

If you're an aspiring writer, there is this awesome site called NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, which is in November, and they also do a young adult program called the Young Writers Program) that does a summer camp called Camp NaNoWriMo. You basically try to write a novel in a month and track your progress and set goals for yourself, etc. It may be fun for any writers out there.

Another idea is get a summer job. You can work at Starbucks or the cinema or a FroYo stand. I don't think it really matters--as long as your doing something with your time and getting money for it. Maybe you're trying to save up for a new camera or a car; I'm trying to save up for a MacBook Pro, though it would help if I got a job.

Say you don't find a job that works for you, like with me, then you can volunteer. There are tons of volunteer jobs out there. You just have to looks for them. I like animals so it made sense for me to volunteer at the animal shelter. You may hate animals (you should know, however, that a lot of animal shelters have jobs that have nothing to do with animals, like an administrative volunteer, or a photographer, or someone who helps find lost pets) then try something else. If you live in the U.S. then this website may be able to help you find your volunteering job match: http://www.volunteermatch.org/

I love to cook and bake. There's a ban on baking in my house right now, but no matter. If you're in to cooking and baking go online and Google interesting recipes, buy the ingredients you need and set to work. If you've never cooked in your life you can start now. And if you like making everything from scratch like me, or you're weary of store-bought food or you're health conscious, then here's another amazing site that gives recipes for making most basic things that you eat all the time in your house like peanut butter: http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/ I found them trying to make homemade granola bars, and they were delicious. And here's a tip if you've mastered every recipe out there: mix it up. They have peanut-butter granola bars on that site. I put cocoa powder and chopped up bits of Reese's in the granola bars instead of just raisins and boring peanut butter. Experiment.

Maybe you're crafty. If so, check out your local craft store. Sometimes they'll do weekly projects where you learn all sorts of new things. I've made scrapbooks, posters, bracelets, paintings, collages, etc. You can find so much in craft stores. I make my own soap and candles after learning how to do it from a box from a craft store.

Now I'm going to assume here, but if you're reading then you probably like books. Unless someone forced you to read my book. I hope not. I prefer the idea of you willing reading my book. Not using it as a torture device. Anyways, if you like books, then logically the best place to be is the library. It's another place that they sometimes accept volunteers and summer jobs. I used to hate the library because they were always a year behind and they didn't have all of the new books that just came out that I wanted to read. But I've been reading the Mrs. Pollifax series lately, and those books are like 40 years old or something. I know they didn't have cell phones and you didn't need a passport to travel to Mexico or Canada then. And I have fallen in love with those books. So just because a book is new, does not mean that the old ones are bad.

I hope that gives you guys some ideas. I'll try and put up pictures of the animals up for adoption tomorrow, but I've got to warn you, some animals get adopted fast and I won't have updated in time for you guys to get a shot at them.

Happy summer!

K.K. Cook

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Last Day to get Phoenix for FREE!

Today is the last day Phoenix is enrolled in the KDP Select program, which means today is my last free promotion day. It also means that in the next week or so (if I remember, I'm actually just coming back from a holiday on safari in Africa, so I may be a little distracted) I'll be putting Phoenix on the Nook and iBookstore. Get Phoenix now! Link is below:

Phoenix by K.K. Cook on Amazon

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Phoenix Giveaway

I'm teaming up with Sarah's Reviews to promote Phoenix and some other books by self-published authors through giveaways. So, here is the Phoenix giveaway, and if you want to see the other giveaways go to my book blog to check them out.

Phoenix (Ancient Elements, #1)

Publisher: CreateSpace
Date Published: March 4th 2013
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Romance

Synopsis:
We are born from the sun in the sky and the people that roam the earth.
We are creatures of war and beauty and salvation.
We are the phoenix.
***
They are born from the tide that turns to follow the moon.
They are hunters of the night and people of the day.
They are the wolves.
***
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. And her alpha chooses his son 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.



Author Bio:
K.K. Cook is a vegetarian with an attitude. She's also a writer, a reader, and recently a book blogger. She likes listening to Imagine Dragons while surfing the Net. Cooking is her stress reliever, and her favorite type of bread is pumpkin. She’s likely to hit you with something if you disturb her while she’s in the middle of a good book, oh, and she has issues with authority. Makes a right old mess that last one does. She lives in her own little world. Sometimes she gets lost there and doesn't want to come out. It's a good place to be. 

Facebook / Twitter / Goodreads / Pinterest / Amazon / Website

Giveaway:
5 people will win a PDF copy of Phoenix

a Rafflecopter giveaway




K.K. Cook

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Armed Forces Day - Phoenix is FREE





Yup, another free day for Phoenix to celebrate the people who keep our freedom alive, people who are underappreciated and we should be more grateful for.  Thanks for serving our country. Click on the link to get Phoenix by K.K. Cook on Amazon for FREE.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Happy Mother's Day!



In celebration of Mother's Day, I'm giving away Phoenix all day today. Happy Mother's Day! Phoenix by K.K. Cook on Amazon FREE

Monday, April 22, 2013

PHOENIX IS FREE TODAY ONLY!

Since today is Earth Day I wanted to be positive and celebrate by giving away free copies of Phoenix on Amazon for your Kindle! Note that today is also the last day for both of giveaways! So if you haven't already enter, do so now.







Remember, the best thing you can do to help an author is review their book! Go on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, Books-A-Million, or wherever it is you bought Phoenix or you like to share your reviews and write a review! Thank you!
K.K. Cook

Sunday, April 14, 2013

News

It's been a while since I've posted, yeah? I wanted my last post to stay at the top for as long as possible. Otherwise people wouldn't see the giveaways. Well here's a link to the post in case you want to get to it ASAP: http://booksbykkcook.blogspot.com/2013/03/published-phoenix-release-celebration.html

Now, I have a handful of things to update you guys on. First is my book of poetry, Tangling With Words, will probably come out in June/July. You can get more info on the page I have for it up at the top of the page. Or you can click here. It was originally going to be published in April, but I had too much work to do and not enough time. So I've moved the publishing day to sometime in June or July.

I celebrate a ton of what I call 'special days.' I know, not the coolest of names, but there you have it. Now as Phoenix is enrolled in the KDP Select program, part of Amazon's self-publishing service, I can have up to 5 days of free books. I want people to read my books. Therefore, I am going to use those days when I find an opportune moment for them. Here are the two days I've selected so far.

Earth Day - April 22nd 2013
Mother's Day - May 12th 2013

So mark your calendars, because those two days Phoenix will be available for FREE! Yeah, that's right. Free. Phoenix isn't that pricey as it is, but it's going to be free, and that's about as much as you can ask for, right? So spread the word! I want people to check out my book, and if it has to be free for me to do it, then lets go!

And I've been looking into having a special edition cover for my eBook editions of Phoenix. I don't know if I'll go through with it, it really depends on cost and quality, but once that's settled everything will be all good.

K.K. Cook

Monday, March 4, 2013

Published! Phoenix Release Celebration Giveaway(s)

     Isn't it amazing? All that waiting, and now it's ready! Ahhhhhhhhh! So cool! Jumping up and down! Partying! Whoop! Whoop! Oh yeah, this rocks! Whoop-dee-do! Yay! Dance party! Party dance!
     Okay, dance party aside. I have some exciting news! Besides the fact that I published both the paperback and the Kindle edition of Phoenix today. I have a giveaway for you! Yay! It starts officially today and ends on April 23rd (it was a Tuesday, and it started on a Tuesday. I didn't think it really mattered beyond that). Check it out below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

     Well, technically I have two giveaways. That's the first one. The second is on Goodreads, but it's pending approval. God, I hate all of these approval waiting. First with the review of the print copy, and now this. Waiting sucks. But you can check it out below, even if it doesn't work. It may not work until I get approval for the giveaway. I don't know.


Goodreads Book Giveaway

Phoenix by K.K. Cook

Phoenix

by K.K. Cook

Giveaway ends April 23, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
Enter to win

     Let's get the scoop on these awesome books I just published today. They kind of rock, at least in my opinion they do.
     Okay, so the print book can be found here: https://www.createspace.com/4194742 Now that's the book's personal eStore from CreateSpace. In 5-8 days Phoenix will be up on Amazon and Amazon Europe. But it looks like I found it on Amazon already. See below.
     Now the Kindle edition is below! Yay! It's on the right, and the paperback edition is on the left. Awesome!

 

You guys kick butt so well. I'd love it if you could review my book on your blog, Goodreads, and wherever you bought my book. Thanks so much!

K.K. Cook

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Final Stages

     Ugh. It has been months! Nearly a year since I said I was going to start the publishing process. Now I'm done with the editing. I've got the cover. I've got the copyrights, the ISBN, I've settled everything. Now I have to wait.

     Now you'd think that wouldn't be a problem, considering all of the waiting I've done already. I want to hurry up and publish it now. But I have to wait 24 hours for CreateSpace to review it before I can publish it. And that's only in print form. I hope you all like paperbacks! I hate hardcovers, and I love paperbacks, so that's all good for me.

     But any of you who have been awaiting the ebook version are going to have to wait an even longer time than the rest of us. Once the print version has gone through I can do the Kindle version through CreateSpace. But I'm enrolling in the KPD Select program, so everyone who has a Nook will have to wait three more months before I publish Phoenix at Barnes & Noble.

     Anyways, I wanted to give you some images expressing my feelings on this whole 'waiting' matter:

dmv

 
 
irritated
 
Jimmy McNulty kicking his desk in anger
 
insulted
 
stressed
 
How badly I want Phoenix to be published now:
 
FEED MEE!!
 
swooning
 
best lep time
 
woo hoo yippie
 
colbert
 
EOD
 
I think you get the picture. Haha, get the picture, because GIF's are pictures... yeah. Not funny. I know, I should stop trying to be a comedian. Maybe I will stop... eventually.
 
K.K. Cook

Friday, January 11, 2013

Drawbacks

     Okay, I'm not going to lie. The date for Phoenix to be published keeps getting pulled back. Why? Because I am continuing to edit Phoenix. I want it to be perfect, or as close as I can get, and it keeps getting me screwed up. Sometimes I think of just scrapping big parts of it and re-writing it altogether. That tells you that I still need to do some work on this.
     Now I've recently learned of a competition for writing that has a huge prize. I'm nearly done editing, but do I want to wait longer to do this competition? Or should I just publish it as soon as it's ready?
     I'm still working on an answer for that. But in the meantime you should check out my book blog called The Kooky Bookworm. When I need a break from the writing and re-writing and editing I end up reading. And then the reviews go onto my book blog. I have my badge for my other blog on the right panel on the side of the blog. Rocks my world, that does. I'm still learning about HTML and stuff. Total rookie. And I kind of suck at it. But it's interesting, nevertheless.
     Anyway, I just wanted to keep you posted since I haven't had a chance to update in a while.

K.K. Cook (Kacii)