Kai Strand's Blog, page 11

Building Character with Alexia Dumont from Timeless by Crystal Collier

Yay – it’s Friday! Friday’s begin the weekend and weekends offer all sorts of READING time! So to help you make your reading decisions, I’d like to introduce you to Alexia Dumont from her newly released book Timeless by Crystal Collier.

Alexia & her author Crystal are on tour promoting Timeless (Maiden of Time #3) and they have AWESOME giveaways going on, so be sure to spin the wheel at the bottom of this interview.
Welcome to Strands of Thoughts, Alexia. Can you tell us a little about you...

Cover Reveal: Inhuman by Kama Falzoi Post

Today, I have the distinct pleasure of revealing the cover for InHuman, a sci-fi thriller by Kama Falzoi Post! Without further ado, here's the amazing cover!


Title: InHumanAuthor: Kama Falzoi PostGenre: YA Sci-FiRelease date: December 13, 2016Publisher: BookFish Books
Cover Artist: Anita Carroll at Race-Point

About InHuman

Mira’s mother sizes up bodies at the morgue like she’s rifling through the sales rack: this one’s too big… this one’s too small… ah, here it is. Just right....

Monday Stress Relief

It strikes me that we have two things going against us (at least in the U.S.) today. An intense political climate and the fact that it's Monday. So to help you relax a little, here are a few pictures of my cats. They are siblings born almost a year ago on Friday the 13th, making their all black fur extra fun! They've been a part of our family since January when they were old enough to leave their mama.

Whisper (who is actually really loud)
Jett (who we refer to as parkour kitty)
Jett is big with...

My International Classroom Visit

There are certain decisions that become more important when you know they will be on display. Which travel mug to use? The ceramic Starbucks hot air balloon. Lip color? Nothing too dark. The shadows can make you look like you’re going for the goth look. Pants or skirt? Pajama bottoms – it’s Skype, headshot only.
If you’re on my social media, you know I had the amazing opportunity to visit with a class of tenth grade literature students from Lycée International Nelson Mandela, Académie de Nant...

Cover Reveal for The Next Best Thing by Wendi Nunnery

Don't forget I've got a fun/easy giveaway running through Sunday. See this post for details and then hop on over to my Facebook and Twitter to share all the messages to enter to win. 
The Next Best Thing Blurb:
Four years ago, Emma Fraser’s first love took his own life. Now, twenty years old and in college, Emma and her best friend, Andy, are still mourning the loss of a friend and brother. Nothing is the same as it once was…and things are about to change even more.
Too heartbroken to...

Word of Mouth #Giveaway

Let’s have some fun! Help introduce me and my work to fellow readers and you might win one of two fun big mouth key chains.

Bright and early each morning during the week of October 10 – 16, I’ll put a post on my Facebook page and Twitter that you can share. You’ll know which post because it will include the hashtag #BigMouth. Each time you share them, you’ll be entered for a chance to win one of two fun key chains. The winners will be chosen randomly (week of October 17th) from a pool of all t...

Back on Submission Again

Have I ever told you how much I love spreadsheets? Yeah. *Sighs* I’ve got a spreadsheet for everything. Henceforth, I know the last three things I submitted were novels to my current publishers – two years ago. They were all accepted – so yippee for that!
There are points in your career when you stop and re-evaluate the direction you want to go, the opportunities you have, and if your goals have changed. I’m sitting smack dab in the middle of that point right now. It’s like a huge, deserted cr...

October #InkRipples – Masks

I love Andrew Lloyd Weber’s, Phantom of the Opera, and this is one of my favorite moments of the production. Beside the epic choreography, the scene—the lyrics—are so relatable. Look around. There’s another mask behind you We’ve all known people who wear a mask whenever they are in public.
Most people aren’t as obvious as the Mayor from Halloween Town, but if we look really, really close, we might be more aware of when their head spins between a frowny face and a smiling face.
[image error] We also know pe...

Cover Reveal for Motley Education by S.A. Larsen

I'm SO excited to share the cover reveal for S.A. Larsen's upcoming middle grade book Motley Education. I read an early version of this book and you're gonna want to put this bad boy...er girl...on your reading list! 
First let's hear about the book:
Forget having a lively after school social life, Ebony Charmed is fighting to keep the entire Afterlife alive.
Ebony’s less-than-average spirit tracking abilities are ruining more than sixth grade at Motley Junior High: School for the Psychical...

Three Times A Charm with Kathy Coatney

Welcome to Three Times A Charm. I love to introduce readers to the people involved in children’s publishing. Today we welcome children’s non-fiction author and photographer, Kathy Coatney. Kathy, we’d love for you to tell us a little about you.
California native Kathy Coatney has spent long hours behind the lens of a camera, wading through rice paddies, dairies and orchards over her twenty-year career as a photojournalist specializing in agriculture. With her roots in agriculture running four...