LIES Bloghop

I'm so proud and happy to participate in the LIES Bloghop to celebrate the release of The Inferiors, the second book in the From the Ashes Trilogy by my daughter, Jessica McKendry!!

She published her first book when she was 16 and despite all the trials and tribulations of the teen years as well as battling a life threatening health condition, she managed to keep writing and pull herself through. So this last week as she turned 21 and she released The Inferiors to the world, I couldn't be happier.  I probably don't tell her this enough, because as a mom it's my job to keep pushing her farther than even she thinks she can go, but despite all the things she sometimes forgets or slips up on she's an amazing woman and I'm so proud that she's my daughter!!


The Inferiors description:  After winning the Trials, Jaina Indera is accepted into the Crystal City. She has finally achieved her dream; she has proven herself worthy of being Superior. Yet four months after arriving in her new home, Jaina receives a message that changes her life forever. As her future starts to crumble before her, the beauty of the Crystal City disappears. There is no escape from the terrible perfection of the City.

When Jaina is kidnapped by her former teammates, her life is shattered. Kavi doesn't trust her, Liam won't listen, and Dragon is part of a secret resistance. Jaina must choose between a comfortable life in the Alliance, or face a terrible reality; every day of her life has been a lie. The dark veracity of who she really is remains hidden away. Only one person can help her discover the truth, but time is running out.

2 LIES and a TRUTH... why?

Because in The Inferiors, Jaina is confronted with a number of things that she doesn't want to believe are true and some which she has always believed that now she finds out were lies.  Is her whole life a lie?  You'll have to read it to find out! :)

Okay so let's play 2 Lies and a Truth!  I'll give you 2 lies from my life and 1 truth, see if you can guess what is true!  If you've read enough of my blog posts, I think you'll be fine!  Whoever guesses correctly will be put in a drawing to win either a copy of From the Ashes or the Inferiors, your choice!


1. I've lived in Ohio all my life
2. I don't like heavy metal or rap music
3. I have an irrational fear of sharks even in fresh water

See if you can figure out which one is true!


The Inferiors ebook, paperback on Amazon!
From the Ashes on Amazon which is on sale now for .99 as an ebook!


And thanks again to Alex J. Cavanaugh for hosting Jessica yesterday!

Have a wonderful day!

Kathy :)

First Kisses and Zombies

Today, I have just a few book announcements!  

First off, a non-fiction guide to getting your first kiss!

How to Get a Guy to Kiss You by Jessica McKendry

"You’re in one of those once-in-a-lifetime situations and you’re sitting next to your crush. You’re not sure if he notices you until you look over and your eyes meet for just a moment. You want him to kiss you, but you’re not sure how to go about it, and before you know it…he’s gone. This book is a short guide for young women coming of age on how to make sure Mr. Right doesn’t walk away, and more importantly, how to get a guy to kiss you!"

This is a short informal guide for teen girls who are thinking about dating and dreaming about their first kiss.  There is a lot more than just kissing in this book too.  The author talks a lot about having confidence in yourself and whether you're really ready for a kiss at all and if not that's perfectly okay! I loved this short book, but I have to admit I'm a tad biased seeing the author is my teen daughter! :)

Available on Amazon as an e-book for $2.99:http://www.amazon.com

About the Author:

Jessica McKendry is a 19 year old author who was born in Michigan, yet grew up all over the Northeastern United States.  She has been writing since she could read, but didn't write much more than poetry until she was 14 when she accidentally began writing what would become her debut novel, From the Ashes. Check out her website jessicamckendry.com, blog, or follow her on Twitter (@JessicaMcKendry) for more information.

Now on to Zombies!

I'm a little late in posting this as the big release was in January!

The Undead Road by David Powers King

Nothing brings the family together like a zombie apocalypse …

Fifteen-year-old Jeremy Barnes would rather watch a zombie movie than shoot a real one, but he has no choice if his family wants to survive the end of the world. Their plan? Drive across the infected United States to a cabin in the Colorado Rockies without a scratch, but their trip takes a complicated detour in the middle of Nebraska when they find Kaylynn, a girl who can handle a baseball bat better than Jeremy can hold a .45 Berretta. And when they stumble into a sanctuary, Jeremy soon learns that Kaylynn is stronger than she looks—a deadly secret lies inside her.

After the radio picks up a distress call from Kansas City about a possible cure, Jeremy’s parents go with a team to investigate. They never return. The only way to find their parents is for Jeremy and his sister Jewel to rely on a dangerous girl who might just turn on them at any moment.

Amazon

Amazon.CA

Amazon.UK

Amazon.AU

CreateSpace

Kindle Store

About the Author:

David Powers King was born in beautiful downtown Burbank, California where his love for film inspired him to be a writer. He is the co-author of the YA fantasy novel WOVEN, published by Scholastic. An avid fan of science fiction and fantasy, David also has a soft spot for zombies and the paranormal. He currently lives deep in the mountain West with his wife and three children.

Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

Newsletter

I haven't read The Undead Road yet, but I'm really looking forward to it even though zombies aren't normally in my To Read list.  But not only does it sound like a great adventure, David is one of the first bloggers that I met when I started blogging and he's a great guy so I'm excited to help support his work!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Kathy   

IWSG recap, White Lady Released, and From the Ashes News

Wow, there were so many great posts for the IWSG this week!  I can't wait to read the e-book anthology.

I'm mostly looking forward to reading the tips on marketing.  That's where I struggle the most and my book isn't even finished!  But I'm trying to help my daughter Jess, market her book, From the Ashes, a YA Sci-Fi novel.  She's finishing the editing of book two The Inferiors, and it would be nice to have a big audience ready and waiting for it.

She of course, has little time to devote to marketing herself as she is busy with her Senior year and all the fun and anxieties that come with high school.  So we don't want to waste time on marketing that is  showy but ineffective, because let's face it, the reason we do marketing is to sell books.  So I'm hoping that in the upcoming IWSG e-book, there will be not only tips, but a guide for which strategies have been most effective for the bottom line.  I know half the battle is just getting the word out and that is what we've been focusing on.

Lately we've had a little more success getting in that area.  Jess was emailed by a fan asking when book two would be out and she just got called yesterday to be a speaker at my son's school for an author day, so that's pretty exciting, (well she's terrified, but I'm excited for her!)

This week we decided to try an e-book Amazon Countdown Deal to see if that helps get a few more copies sold.  And even though she's humble and shy about asking for people to help her spread the word, I'm her mom and will stop at nothing to promote my kids! I'll let you know how effective it is for us.  I'm trying to keep track of all the strategies we use and what effect they have.

 So I'm asking for your help today, if you have the time, spread the word on FB or Twitter to see if we can move her up the Amazon ranking!



From the Ashes, a high-octane sci-fi adventure of love, deceit, and revenge by Jessica McKendry, is on sale today through Monday for $.99!
To tweet: https://twitter.com/kathmckendry/status/518052258697977857

Thanks so much in advance to everyone!!
And don't hesitate to ask me to help promote your latest work!  I would love to help out!




Today I'm helping out another Jessica too:


Jessica Bell released a new book, White Lady, this week.  I'll be posting more about it on Oct 14th but  I wanted to mention it today as it just came out!  If you like psychological thrillers this is one you will never forget!






Kathy :)

From the Ashes Blogfest!

I'm so happy to participate in the From the Ashes Blogfest for the launch of Jess's debut novel. 

The prompt is: tell about a time when you or your character was thrown into a trial by fire situation. What biggest fears did you or your character have to face? What sort of situation would test you to the fullest?

I've been pretty lucky in my life and have never been tested to the breaking point.  My biggest fear is rather silly, it is being face to face with a shark, or in a room/cave full of tarantulas.  I think I can probably avoid both of those situations relatively easily.

My character, Nakyte, in The Hidden Truth, has it much more difficult.  Aside from having to fight off ferocious wild ponjits and other beasts from the forests of Bishare, she has to decide whether or not to trust her father, the King, or to disobey him and search for the truth.  She could lose everything she has ever loved, but she might just find the love of her life.  

Now on to the main event!!!! 

I'm so proud of Jess for all the hard work she has put into From the Ashes.  She is such an inspiration to me and I'm very lucky to be her mom!  :)

Summary:

Jaina Indera has been preparing her entire life for the chance to prove herself a superior and loyal citizen of the Imperial Alliance. In order to do so, she believes she must win the galaxy-wide competition known as the Trials. With training at her Gifted School progressing swiftly, everything looks like it is on pace for her to achieve her dream…until a boy named Dragon enrolls in her class.

Suddenly doubting herself and everything she’s been taught to believe, Jaina and Dragon are teamed with six of their classmates for the chance to compete and achieve their dream: winning the Trials. Consisting of four different tests, the Trials are about to challenge these eight young adults to the limits of their abilities. But learning to work as a team is more difficult than they ever imagined and dark secrets from Dragon’s past emerge that put them in mortal danger. Now Jaina must discover what she’s really fighting for if she and her team have any hope of finishing the Trials…alive.

Exploring the nature of self-reliance and self-confidence, McKendry delivers a perceptive, nuanced portrait of the importance of teamwork and the strain it puts on individual desires and motivations. Playing with the concepts of dark and light, her novel is a complex coming of age story that encapsulates the complicated hero’s journey from student to leader. A dark tale of love and revenge, From the Ashes is a powerful reminder to think for yourself instead of blindly following what you’ve been taught to believe.

The Kindle version will be available sometime today.  

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/From-Ashes-Volume-Jessica-Mckendry/dp/1480287075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1362661455&sr=8-1&keywords=jessica+mckendry

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17374554-from-the-ashes

Jessica McKendry was born in Michigan, yet grew up all over the Northeastern United States. She has lived in 7 different states, moved 15 times, and loves to travel. Jessica has been writing since she could read, but didn't write much more than poetry until she was 14 when she accidentally began writing what would become her debut novel two years later. Check out her website (www.jessicamckendry.com) or follow her on Twitter (@JessicaMcKendry) for more information.





Check out all the other participants here:



Have a great weekend everyone!

Kathy :)

Back From the Future and From the Ashes Announcement!

Back From the Future Blogfest hosted by M. Pax, Suze and Nicki Elson

You’re up before dawn on a Saturday when the doorbell rings. You haven’t brewed your coffee so you wonder if you imagined the sound. Plonking the half-filled carafe in the sink, you go to the front door and cautiously swing it open. No one there. As you cast your eyes to the ground, you see a parcel addressed to you … from you.

You scoop it up and haul it inside, sensing something legitimate despite the extreme oddness of the situation. Carefully, you pry it open. Inside is a shoebox — sent from ten years in the future — and it’s filled with items you have sent yourself.

What’s in it?

My future box would hold:

A letter to myself telling me not to worry about my kids' future, because they all turn out to be great adults enjoying their lives, so relax and just enjoy every minute spent with them. There are even pictures of their beautiful families.

News clippings of a disaster that occurs in 2020, with a list of names of people I should attempt to save and instructions on how to save them.  A pink Post-It-Note is stuck to that pile, in big black Sharpie marker it says, "Don't trust Robert Terrance, may be involved." 

Another letter telling me that my future self wanted to put in various other pictures and items like a completed copy of my bestselling novel, but "future me" thought I needed the whole long and agonizing journey of 10 drafts and decided instead to simply tell me, "KEEP WRITING, remember it's the journey that counts!"   

"Argghh", I curse "future me", but get back to my computer and take up editing with a renewed energy.   

What would be in your box?

*****

FROM THE ASHES BLOGFEST

Jess, over at Write Skate Dream, is announcing the blogfest to celebrate the launch of her debut novel, From the Ashes.  Here are all the details:  

1. Sign up on the linky list below
2. Grab the blogfest button above
3. On Friday, March 8th, tell us about a time when you or your character was thrown into a trial by fire situation. What biggest fears did you or your character have to face? What sort of situation would test you to the fullest?
4. Post the pre-written info I will send you by email with the cover and a few more details about From the Ashes

(If you only feel like doing #4 that's fine, too :)

If you can't make the blogfest, that's okay. If you'd be willing to help me spread the word with an interview on your blog, that would be perfect! (You can email me at jessicamckendry@icloud.com) Or you could just help me announce that I'm actually published now.

From the Ashes Cover Reveal

Today I'm participating in the cover release blogfest for Jess's book, From the Ashes, that will be coming out sometime in February.

I'm not sure how it all went wrong.

The concept was simple.

The Trials were made to test us. They were made to challenge our strengths; our bravery.

We were supposed to come out better.

Winning the Trials would make us Superior citizens.

It would bring us honor and demonstrate our loyalty to the Imperial Alliance. I knew exactly what I wanted.

Until I met him.

There was something about him. Something dark. If only I had known the danger it would put us in.

I thought I knew the risks.

But I never imagined the price we'd pay.

***

An insightful look at the good and bad that exist within us, McKendry's debut is a high-octane adventure that pushes the imagination to the limit as it lays bare the nature of self-reliance, self-confidence, and teamwork. Playing with the concepts of dark and light and how they affect our lives in multiple forms, her novel is a complex coming of age story that encapsulates the heroine's journey from student to leader. A dark tale of love and revenge, From the Ashes is a powerful reminder to think for yourself instead of blindly following what you've been taught to believe.

*****

I'm overjoyed for Jess!  She has worked so hard to get this far.  And being her mom I'm immensely proud of her.  There were plenty of times where we had to tell her, "Hey stop working, come over and watch a movie with us!"  She would grudgingly shut down her computer and sit with us.  Then as soon as the movie was over, she'd get right back to work.  

That's dedication... and she loved every minute of it.

What do you guys think of the cover?  Does it grab your attention?  

Kathy :)