My new author site is LIVE

Two sites diverged in cyberspace and I took the one more user friendly.

In other words, I have a new website that is officially up and running. I've been working on combining my website and this blog into one single place, so that I don't have to update each one separately.

Stop by and visit my new  DIGITAL HOME.

My old website, and this blog, will eventually be taken down. If you follow either of them by email, please follow my current site.

Thanks. Peace out. ~Katie

WORDS

Wordstock was AMAZING. It was my utopia: books, book lovers, book writers, booths promoting books, book nerds and book sellers. Did I mention there were lots of books?

I was on three panels, one with Daniel H. Wilson and Peter Heller, (featured in the photo above) both promoting apocalyptic sci-fi novels. We argued the state of the environment and technology and it was awesome. I also got to be on a panel with David Levithan (yes, seriously) and Lisa Burstein, moderated by author Jen Violi who rocks. Lisa and I bonded in the VIP room, Suite D. I spent all of my Los Angeles years trying to sneak into VIP rooms, so it was a luxury to actually be on the list. And eat all the free cookies. And steal pens. I’m a pen klepto.

The highlight of Wordstock? For me, it was listening to David Levithan read out loud. If you've never been to one of his readings, you are missing out. This man is an amazing reader. He makes love to his words. Seriously, it's hot.

MIDDLE GROUND, is out in one month. Huzzah! Did you order a copy yet, slacker? Here are few places to do so:

Barnes and Noble
Powell’s
Amazon

Meanwhile...there are two questions I am getting from fans about Second Chance:

1) When will the third and final book in the Gray and Dylan Saga be available?

I humbly ask you to be patient with me. I have a two year old and I’m having a baby next month which will squeeze my free time down to…um…none. The book is completely written in my head, I just need to get it down on paper. I'm aiming to have Finally, Forever out by fall, 2013.

2) When will Second Chance be available in print?

SOON! Hopefully by next month, but I promise before Christmas. I’m working with a graphic designer to clean up the cover a bit. Second Chance will also be available on B&N’s Nook soon as well. I gave Amazon 90 day exclusive rights to this book, but that contract is up on December 7th, so I can upload it to Smashwords and then you all can read it from whatever place/format you prefer. Cool? Cool.

ON THE AGENDA

Last night I went out for coffee at the amazing Imagine Coffee House in Corvallis, Oregon, with my lady friend, Leslie. She’s one of those technical savvy people majoring in digital media and communication. She likes to tutor me on my “online presence” and “social media platform.” She’s the one that decorated my twitter page. Anyway, she is helping me combine my current blog and website into one awesome space, so I don’t have to waste time updating both of them which is pretty redundant and I hate redundancy.

Leslie is currently working on the new and hopefully vastly improved blog that will be my new digital home.  I will slowly be dissolving my current website and blog, but I promise not to abandon you. I’m just preparing you, since change can be a little scary if it happens too quickly. I do have to add that I will miss my current website, which was designed three years ago by a high school student in Corvallis. Thanks again for all of your hard work, Damian! Sorry you had to witness me getting pulled over by the cops and receiving a $200 ticket and swearing and punching the dashboard. I honestly try to be a good role model.

EVENTS:
 

 

A blog tour for MIDDLE GROUND is currently underway. This book is the long-awaited sequel to Awaken (which came out in spring 2011), and it is coming out NEXT MONTH. For the full blog schedule, go here.  There are a ton of giveaways going on, so look out for them. If you haven’t seen my intro video to kick off this tour, be sure to check it out. It’s pretty ridiculous: video.

The SECOND CHANCE blog tour will begin the first full week of November. I’m so stoked for this! There are a ton of bloggers participating. I’ll list a schedule soon.

  

Finally, I am participating at Wordstock Book Festival this weekend, in Portland, Oregon. I listed my panel discussions and times on my website. I hope to see you there! Other things I will definitely be doing while I'm in Portland are:  1. Shopping at Powell's Books. 2. Getting a doughnut at Voodoo Doughnuts. 3. Buying socks at The Red Light District. 4. Getting coffee at Stumptown. 5.Schmoozing with fabulous authors while I pretend to be in their league.

 

Random Thoughts Outside My CO OP

I watched a man on the sidewalk downtown yesterday. He had a hand-made wagon attached to his bike. The wagon was just four sheets of plywood, held together by bungee cords. He was filthy and skinny and was painstakingly tying down bags and crates and bins stuffed inside the wagon. He reminded me of a turtle, carrying everything he owned on his back and instead of feeling sorry for him, I found myself a little jealous of how simple he had it.

I wondered, if I could only carry a wagon full of stuff, what would I pack? What things do I really need? What is so important that I can’t live without it? So much of what we own weighs us down, and gathers dust. I loved seeing how this guy could travel light. It made me need less and suddenly want less. It’s strange what small observations can teach you if you pay attention.

MIDDLE GROUND BLOG TOUR

MIDDLE GROUND, the sequel to AWAKEN, is coming out on NOVEMBER 20th!

To get the buzz going, there will be a blog tour beginning next week, October 8th. I'll kick it off with a video introduction on I am a Reader, Not a Writer. Eleven different blogs will be hosting author interviews, character interviews, playlists, and giveaways for Middle Ground throughout the month. I need to thank the fabulous Heidi Bennet from The Readiacs for organizing this! I know it's a ton of work, so thanks to EVERYONE who is participating. Stop by these blogs to see what's in store. Here is the tour schedule:

Monday, October 8th – I am a Reader, Not a Writer and Steph the Book Worm
Tuesday, October 9th – Good Choice Reading
Wednesday, October 10th – Steph the Bookworm
Thursday, October 11th – Smash Attack Reads
Friday, October 12th – Paranormal Indulgence

Tuesday, October 16th – Good Choice Reading
Wednesday, October 17th – Bittersweet Enchantment
Thursday, October 18th – Smash Attack Reads
Friday, October 19th – Book Em Adventures

Monday, October 22nd – Paranormal Indulgence
Tuesday, October 23rd – Book Em Adventures
Wednesday, October 24th – RexRobot Reviews
Friday, October 26th – A Dream within a Dream

Monday, October 29th – RexRobot Reviews
Tuesday, October 30th – Bittersweet Enchantment
Wednesday, October 31st – A Dream Within a Dream
Thursday, November 1st – Confessions of a Bookaholic
  Friday, November 2nd – Book Em Adventures

Second Chance Playlist

Here are 15 songs that I listened to over, and over, and over while writing Second Chance. Some are more Dylan-esque, others definitely inspired Gray. Here's the playlist (I also added the music links below, if you want to listen):

1. You Don’t Know How It Feels—Tom Petty
2. Kamera—Wilco
3. Give You Hell—The All-American Rejects
4. Mr. Brightside—The Killers
5. Can You Tell—Ra Ra Riots
6. Shot in the Dark—Augustana
7. Kick Some Ass—Stroke 9
8. Missed the Boat—Modest Mouse
9. Airstream Driver—Gomez
10. You Always Make Me Smile—Kyle Andrews
11. Do it Again—Stroke 9
12. Chinese—Lily Allen
13. Desire—Ryan Adams
14. Wildflowers—Tom Petty
15. Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright—Bobby Dylan

Okay, That Was Terrifying

Self publishing has become one ongoing experiment. It’s strange to step back from the traditional publishing house and do this all myself, but it’s also a great learning lesson.

I experimented with a few free promotions the past two weeks. I gave free copies of Second Chance away on Friday, September 14^th, but I didn’t really publicize it. I just posted a quick comment on Twitter, then I turned off my computer and tried not to think about it. I drove out to Crater Lake, Oregon, where there is zero cell phone service or Internet. Here are a few pictures from the trip. Not a bad getaway destination...

 

When I got back on Sunday night, I noticed 250 people had downloaded my book during the promotion. I felt pretty good about it, but then I started poking around other sites and realized that number is pathetically low for a free giveaway.

So, I tried it again, and gave away free copies of Second Chance for two days. This time, I publicized the event. I contacted a couple of sites, like Pixel of Ink, Ereader News Today, and Free eBooks Daily (there are a TON of sites out there that do free marketing; I got dizzy just looking at the lists). I contacted about twenty bloggers, my agent, and even Houghton Mifflin Harcourt was kind enough to tweet about it.

In just the first day of this promotion, 4,000 copies were downloaded, it made the top fifty books in Kindle, and made a number one spot in a Kindle category. I stared at the number—4,000 free books! Instead of feeling ecstatic, I wanted to ball my eyes out. Seriously, I'm such a drama queen. It felt so strange to give so many copies of my book away for free, but people keep reminding me it’s great publicity. Well, here’s hoping.

I guess the point of all of this isn’t to hit high rankings or make a bestseller list. I’m just proud of this book and I think it deserves a spot on people’s bookshelves. I’m trying to prove to my publisher that it’s worth picking up. I want to hold this book in my hands, so I hope this will create the buzz I need to make that happen. I also LOVE GRAY AND DYLAN. I have never had so much fun spending time with characters.

If you do download it, tell your friends about it, or write a positive review for me. 

Finally, and most importantly, thank you thank you thank you to all of my friends and fans who helped to spread the word about my promotion. I wish I could take every single one of you out for a glass of wine. Maybe someday.

~Katie