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i am me by kai strand

3/20/2018

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I'd like to welcome Kai Strand, author of the young adult book, I Am Me. Thanks for joining us!

I Am Me by Kai Strand
#YA #Contemporary
 
Despite—or perhaps because of—her fancy car, private school education, and life of privilege, Lola Renaldi has become a volunteer junkie. Feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, visiting the elderly—if it’s a good cause, she’s done it.
 
Lola’s favorite stint, building affordable houses, puts her directly in the path of Rodney. He refuses to discuss why he’s doing community service, but it’s clear he’s hiding something dark about his past. As their friendship grows, Lola begins to question the true reasons for her obsessive volunteerism and her view of those she has pledged to help.
She is only beginning to understand how lucky she truly is when her life falls apart. After losing friends, her boyfriend, even Rodney, Lola finally recognizes which parts of her life she wants to hang on to and what specifically she wants to go after. But with all she’s been through, will she be able to hang onto who she wants to be? Or will she lose all that defines her?
Excerpt:
 
Is it my imagination or are me and my figure-hugging pencil skirt getting the evil eye from more than half of the girls stuffed into the room? Maybe it’s my doe-in-the-headlights expression. I feel like I’m in some sort of awkward-girl spotlight.
“Excuse me,” I mutter several times until I finally stumble into the hall and find myself surrounded by more kids who all seem to zero in on me as soon as I’m among them. I’m still trying to convince myself it’s all my imagination until I make eye contact with several people who look less than welcoming. Guess I should have tagged along with the other girls after all.
I’m temporarily turned around and start in the wrong direction. When my panic fades a bit, I realize I’m headed away from the auditorium and spin around. I smack into a boy’s chest and stumble backward. My purse slips off my shoulder, and I only just manage to grab it before it falls to the floor, but it swings up and hits the boy on the side when I yank the strap.
The kid grabs me to stop me from falling. I clutch his arm in return.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have turned so suddenly. Are you okay?” I rub my nose, its impact with the boy’s chest still stings. When I look up I’m surprised to recognize him. I place my hand on his chest as I exclaim, “Rodney!”
He goes still, which doesn’t really make sense, because he hadn’t actually been moving before I said his name. His eyes scan me, but his expression doesn’t change, and he remains mute.
I realize I might look different being that I’m clean and dressed up, so I clarify. “Lola. We worked together on Saturday. I taught you how to caulk.”
His eyes quickly scan the passing students like maybe he’s checking to see if anyone’s listening. Or maybe watching?
“Are you okay?” I repeat, only just stopping myself from rubbing the spot on his chest where my nose made contact.
One of his hands slides down the back of my arm and cups my elbow. The touch is so light, little shivers of expectation resonate through me. He lets me go without warning and walks away.
I spin and watch his head bob down the hall, my mouth hanging open. “That was rude,” I say to no one. Finally, I turn in the direction I need to go, reposition my purse on my shoulder, and return to the auditorium.
 
Get your copy:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks
 
About the author:
 
When her children were young and the electricity winked out, Kai Strand gathered her family around the fireplace and they told stories, one sentence at a time. Her boys were rather fond of the ending, “And then everybody died. The end.” Now an award winning children’s author, Kai crafts fiction for kids and teens to provide an escape hatch from their reality. With a selection of novels for young adult and middle grade readers Kai entertains children of all ages, and their adults. Learn more about Kai and her books on her website, www.kaistrand.com.
 
Mailing List| Facebook| Twitter| Instagram|Amazon|
 
 

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my adventures in marketing

3/10/2018

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Now, that 'Where Can We Have The Party?' has been out about a year, I've had a few marketing experiences, and all of them were completely different from the other.

The first place I had a book reading at, I sold two books. You heard right. Two whole books! Why? Because marketing is work, a challenge, and the bottom line is that nobody knows you exist as an author. Also, you're going to make mistakes, and plenty of them along the way. 

I did publicize it over Facebook and Hootsuite before that reading. I didn't have a sell sheet made up. That was a HUGE mistake! What I did have made up was a clumsily worded marketing sheet instead. I should've done my homework and written it up correctly and professionally. Lesson #1 learned. Always be professional in everything. Even in the wording of your sell sheet.

For my second book reading, I publicized my appearance. I really publicized it good! But, I went to my appearance unprepared. I didn't realize that sometimes everyone and there uncle, cousins, and neighbors come out. They did for that one and I didn't have enough books. Not only that, but I almost didn't have enough money to make change with. Let me digress for a minute.

Everything I've ever read in my Facebook groups (or anywhere else) said that most of the time no-one shows up for book readings. That's not so for all of them! I learned a hard, embarrassing lesson #2 at this reading. Take a page from the Boy Scouts: BE PREPARED. You never know how many are going to be there. 

My third reading was a little better with fewer sells. Of course, I publicized, but not as many showed up. I was prepared. So was my illustrator (she likes to join in on the appearances. We even had hand-puppets and had a ball! There wasn't a lesson learned here, since I was prepared completely.

Last Saturday was my latest reading. I sold a whopping one book. I was prepared. Since my illustrator and I were in a book store, we didn't have to deal with money which was fine by me. I brought swag for the kids: a coloring page, party hats, and bookmarks. Emily and I were at Bradley's Book Outlet for 1 1/2 hours, and like I said we had a whopping, earth shattering one whole sale. Lesson #3 learned: Never count on alot of kids and their parents to show up. They just might do that as they did when I learned lesson #2.

Where will I be next? I have as much idea on this as you, but keep an eye on MY APPEARANCES page!

Right now, I'm trying to get more reviews for 'Where Can We Have The Party?' by writing to more book bloggers. Would you like to review it? I'm willing to be interviewed (text or video) or do a guest post for you. Just contact me at sasha1119 AT yahoo DOT com.

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