Angela V. Cook's Blog, page 3

Sneak Peek at the Release-week Giveaway of Greatness!

One of the benefits to taking the long road to publication is that I've gotten to meet and become friends with some amazingly talented and supportive writers over the years. This little fact benefits you all, because several of them have donated signed copies of their books and/or swag for my Release-week Giveaway of Greatness! And even though you can't enter the giveaway until next week, I'm offering you all a sneak peek at the fabulous prizes up for grabs!

The grand prize includes the following:
(all book descriptions and cover photos taken from Goodreads).
Signed Copy of SUMMER ON THE SHORT BUS by Bethany Crandell, along with two signed bookmarks Spoiled, Versace-clad Cricket Montgomery has seventeen years of pampering under her belt. So when her father decides to ship her off to a summer camp for disabled teens to help her learn some accountability, Cricket resigns herself to three weeks of handicapped hell.

Her sentence takes a bearable turn as she discovers the humor and likeability of the campers and grows close to fellow counselors. Now, if she can just convince a certain Zac Efron look-alike with amazing blue eyes that she finally realizes there's life after Gucci, this summer could turn out to be the best she's ever had.

Summer on the Short Bus is a very non-P.C., contemporary YA with a lot of attitude, tons of laughs, and a little life lesson along the way. 


Signed Copy of PRESS PLAY by Eric Devine  
Greg Dunsmore, a.k.a. Dun the Ton, is focused on one thing: making a documentary that will guarantee his admission into the film school of his choice. Every day, Greg films his intense weight-loss focused workouts as well as the nonstop bullying that comes from his classmates. But when he captures footage of violent, extreme hazing by his high school’s championship-winning lacrosse team in the presence of his principal, Greg’s field of view is in for a readjustment.

Greg knows there is a story to be told, but it is not clear exactly what. And his attempts to find out the truth only create more obstacles, not to mention physical harm upon himself. Yet if Greg wants to make his exposé his ticket out of town rather than a veritable death sentence, he will have to learn to play the game and find a team to help him.

Combine the underbelly of Friday Night Lights with the unflinching honesty of Walter Dean Myers, and you will find yourself with Eric Devine’s novel of debatable truths, consequences, and realities.

Signed Copy of ESSENCE by Lisa Ann O’Kane, along with two ESSENCE buttons
Autumn escaped a cult, but now she realizes she's fallen into another.

Growing up in San Francisco’s Centrist Movement, sixteen year-old Autumn Grace has always believed emotions—adrenaline, endorphins, even happiness—drain your Essence and lead to an early death. But her younger brother’s passing and a run-in with a group of Outsiders casts her faith into question.

Ryder Stone, the sexy, rebellious leader of the Outsiders, claims Essence drain is nothing more than a Centrist scare tactic -- and he can prove it.

Autumn follows Ryder to his Community of adrenaline junkies and free spirits in Yosemite National Park, and they introduce her to a life of adventure, romance, sex, drugs and freedom. But as she discovers dark secrets beneath the Community’s perfect exterior, she realizes the more she risks in search of the perfect rush, the further she has to fall.  
 
Signed Copy of THE HUNDRED: FALL OF THE WENTS by Jennifer Prescott
Millions of years in the Earth's future, humans have long vanished from the planet. Evolution has produced a host of wondrous and intelligent beings: shape-shifting Fantastic Grouts with globes of light atop their skulls; creatures descended from flowers; and massive swarms of bees that can bore perfect holes through metal or bone. But some seek a way to bring the humans back into the world-a world filled with creatures like twelve-year-old Tully, a young, amphibious Eft who imagines humans as nothing more than old bones and fairy stories. When his beloved guardian is stolen by a menacing black shadow, Tully must embark on a journey to a cruel, northern land to save her and his entire species. In an adventure that blends time travel, magic, and science, Tully learns whom he can trust, and who will betray him-for the price of reawakening the Hundred.  




8x10 ENSNARED art print by Nathalia Suellen, signed by New York Times Bestselling Author, A.G. Howard. Nathalia Suellen is the designer behind the beautiful covers of A.G. Howard’s Splintered series. This particular print is the design for her third and final book in the series, ENSNARED.

Gallery quality Giclée print on natural white, matte, ultra smooth, 100% cotton rag, acid and lignin free archival paper using Epson K3 archival inks. Custom trimmed with 1" border for framing. (Description taken from here)
 




Signed INTO A MILLION PIECES bookmark
There will also be two runner-up prizes! Each will include a $10 Amazon gift card and a signed INTO A MILLION PIECES bookmark.

The giveaway will open next Tuesday, January 27th, and run through February 3rd. The winners will be selected and notified February 4th.

Book Blitz Info!

It's getting down to the wire! Hard to believe release day is less than two weeks away! Needless to say, I've been CRAZY busy (yeah, because apparently, kids don't give a rats arse about book releases and still demand your attention and food--always FOOD--when you're trying to email, post, or tweet something book related), but I wanted to take a minute to let you guys all know that the fabulous YA Bound Book Tours will be hosting my release-week book blitz! Check out the purdy banner...




If you're interested in participating, you can go here to sign up :)

OH! One other thing. INTO A MILLION PIECES (e-book version) will have a special release-day price of only $2.99!! DUUUUUDE!! That's, like, cheaper than a trip to Starbucks.

Okay. I think that's it for now. I'll be back next week with giveaway deets!! (mwahahaha!)

JANUARY 27th OR BUST!!!

Something VERY exciting is happening on January 27th... Care to take a guess? If you're not into guessing, feel free to take a little gander at the countdown to your right.

Yep, that's right--my book... my baby... my labor-o-love... is being released into the wild on January 27th! I'm a whole-lotta excited mixed with a smidge of terrified. It's hard to believe that this time of year, four years ago, I was just plotting this bad boy out. And now, (after 1,785 rounds of edits--give or take), it's going to be out there for the whole world to read. I'm not going to lie; it's all a bit bizarre, the idea that people all around the world are going to be privy to the inner workings of my crazy, and sometimes twisted, imagination. I'm not really sure what to expect. I don't think I'll move people with my beautiful prose (I'm not that kind of writer) or deep, complicated themes, but I do hope I entertain them. I want readers to be able to forget about the world around them, even if for just a little bit, and get lost in my story. If I can do that, I'll consider myself a success.

And now for the good stuff. There will be a HUGE release-week giveaway!! We're talking several signed copies of YA books, an ENSNARED print signed by author A.G. Howard, Amazon gift cards, and more! So please make sure you stop by on January 27th for all the deets!

Here's to a Messy Year!

I love that quote. It's from the movie version of "If I Stay," and I think it sums up my year perfectly. This year has felt... messy. And no, I'm not talking about the "science experiments" growing in my fridge, or the fact that the dust bunnies under my bed have probably mutated into dust zombunnies from endless inbreeding. I'm referring to those moments of sheer happiness mixed with those of  deepest despair, and there's been a lot of those this year. Yup. Like I said. Messy. But as the quote goes on to say, "That's the beauty of it, too." And it's true. It's those moments that lead to growth. I've learned so much about myself and others this year.

I've always known I wasn't perfect, but I'm finally starting to accept this fact and not beat myself up about it. For example, my kids didn't get to go anywhere "exciting" over Christmas break (apparently, three-day weekends at their grandparent's house in rural Ohio doesn't constitute "exciting"), and they've probably spent most of their break sitting in front of a screen. That doesn't make me a bad mom, just a busy one, who's also trying to save money so she can move her family to a better/safer area (when shootings in your neighborhood don't even make you bat an eyelid anymore, you know it's time to get the hell out of dodge). 

Along those lines, I've started to see people for who they really are and not the image they put forth on social networks or in every-day conversation. Friends and family might look like they've got it made, with all their quality-family-time photos on Facebook, and their I'm-blissfully-spending-time-with-the-love-of-my-life status updates, but more than likely, they're fighting their own battles; they're just different from mine.

Other things I've learned:

It takes a lot of energy to be angry and bitter; it's much easier just to let that sh*t go. It doesn't mean you forgive, just that person/situation isn't worth exerting that much energy over.
Pay people compliments. If you like a photo of them on Facebook or if you like the shirt they're wearing at work, let them know. Never underestimate the power of saying something nice to someone. So many of my days have gone from "eh" to amazing simply by someone complimenting my writing or appreciating the fact that I "went the extra mile" to try and help them at work.
Don't be afraid to try something new. I traveled by myself for the first time this year to Chicago to meet up with some writer friends, and it ended up being one of the most memorable trips of my life.
I'm sure there are other things this incredibly messy year has taught me, but I think those are the biggies. I have no clue what kind of year this new one will be, but I'm looking forward it and all it has to offer. Happy New Year!

Dream Movie Cast!!

Sooo... just in case you have nothing else better to do, you know, three days before Christmas, I'm over at The YA Club today, talking about which celebrities I would want to portray the main characters in INTO A MILLION PIECES. (Okay, so maybe you have better things to do, but you deserve to take a break, so have a seat, pour yourself a drink, and pay THE YA Club a visit :)

Book Trailer for INTO A MILLION PIECES!

Some of you might remember this from a few years back (a little "for fun" project I put together before my publishing contract). Since publication is right around the corner (*dies*),  I decided to take it out of storage and revamp it (prettied it up, shortened the length, etc.). I hope you guys like it!

INTO A MILLION PIECES is now on Goodreads

Does a book about a soul-sucking teenage girl sound like your cup of tea? (I swear it's not an autobiography, though my husband may disagree.) If so, you can now add INTO A MILLION PIECES to your "To Read" list on Goodreads :)

psst...when you go to the page, you'll notice the expected publication date is listed as January 2015! *dies* That's right around the corner!

Cover Reveal for INTO A MILLION PIECES!!

I have been waiting so long for this day!! I always get so excited about my friends' cover reveals, and now here I am, revealing my own!



So without further adieu...



Drum roll please...



The cover for INTO A MILLION PIECES...




I am absolutely THRILLED with how it turned out!! So much hard work went into it (Red Adept Publishing ROCKS!).

So what's this book about, you might ask? Well, well, well...just take a gander at the official book description below.

Allison McKready is a succubus. So is her twin sister. But while Allison spends her summer break hiding in the library behind her Goth makeup, Jade fools around as often as she can. Allison can’t believe Jade would ignore their mother’s fatal example so recklessly, but concealing a cursed bloodline and its dangerous effects is far from Allison’s only problem. Mean girl Julie’s snob mob is determined to ruin her summer, and Aunt Sarah’s Bible thumping is getting louder. Only her new friend, Ren Fisher, offers safe haven from the chaos of her life.

When one of Jade’s risky dates leads to humiliation and sudden tragedy, Allison reels, and Ren catches her. But as her feelings for him grow, so does her fear that she’ll hurt him—or worse—in an unguarded moment. The choice is coming—love him or save him—but Allison might not live to make it. One way or another, the curse will have its due.

Coming Winter of 2015!!

SPARK has a new title AND I'm now on Facebook!

For me, coming up with a title sucks. Finding one you like and then realizing two years later that you have to change it really sucks.

That's what happened with SPARK. When trying to come up with a title three years ago, I knew I wanted something simple that encompassed the story's premise. SPARK was perfect. Fast forward three years later, and the title has been stamped on the cover of a slew of books, including several YA novels.

Before I even signed with my publisher, I was told I'd have to change the title, because the last thing they want is someone to go on Amazon looking for my book and end up purchasing something by a different author. I get it and totally agree, but I have to admit, the idea of changing the title of my book made me a wee bit sad and a whole lot anxious (I have to think of another title!?!?!). For three years, SPARK was the title of my story, and it felt a little bit like renaming your kid after realizing there are five other kids with the same name in his/her Kindergarten class. It might make sense...but...but...that's my baby's name :-(

However, I am happy to say that I found a title I'm THRILLED with. And the best part is, I got to come up with it myself (small press perk #896)! So without further adieu, Spark is now.....

Into a Million Pieces
It actually comes from a line in the book, and I feel like it encompasses a major theme in the story (and that's all I can say about that without giving too much away).

Onto other news...

I am now on Facebook!! Let me rephrase that, I now have an author page on Facebook. I'd love it if you "liked" it. I'll be posting fun stuff on there, like my cover reveal (no details yet, but I know it's being worked on) and release dates. Once my book is out in the wild, I'll post links to interviews, guest posts, and reviews (and the good stuff--GIVEAWAYS!!). Here's the link to it https://www.facebook.com/AngelaVCook. Hope to see you over there! 

Goats in the Windy City!

On July 16th, I traveled to Chicago to meet up with a bunch of writer friends whom I've known for about three years (some of them longer). We had all met through various social networks (QueryTracker, Twitter, Blogs), and eventually about a dozen of us congregated in a private group on Facebook. We call ourselves "The Goat Posse" (needless to say, there's a long, strange, complicated story behind the name). The group has gained some members over the years, but wanting to keep the group close and tight-knit, we decided to close the pasture gates when the group reached eighteen--super cool, super talented--members. Most of them are listed here.

This year, eight of us were able to meet up in Chicago for three days of fun, laughter, and writing (okay, half of us did some writing, the other half decided to tour the city, and seeing as how I'd just finished my content edits and needed a break from writing, I was in the latter group :) ). These girls are some of the most amazing people I've ever met. We're all different ages, come from different parts of the country, have different styles of writing, and different personalities, but somehow we got along amazingly well. Maybe it's our love of writing that ties us all together or our understanding of what each other is going through as we find our way through the publishing world. Either way, getting to hang out with these ladies was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

Here we are in the limo (goats travel in style, yo), on our way to the book signing (see the next picture).

At Anderson's Bookshop, where authors (and fellow goats) Bethany Crandell, A.G. Howard, and A. Lynden Rolland participated in a Q&A and book signing.
One of my favorite pictures, taken at Navy Pier. Hard to believe, but the background is REAL! So beautiful :)
Here we are, crammed into an elevator (LOVE THESE FACES!)