The One with the Photos

In case you guys didn't believe me about my extreme awkwardness... Here are some outtakes from the photo shoot for my author photos:

JumpFAIL. Awkward Super hero. 

What do you mean this isn't how I'm supposed to smile?

Don't laugh at me! 

Okay... you can laugh. :)

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! 

The One Where Garrick Goes Home!

Some of you have been waiting a long time to hear this, and I'm happy to say that UK Rights to LOSING IT have sold! 

Are you guys as excited as I am?

Here's the official deal memo: 

Cora Carmack's self-published NYT and USA Today bestseller, LOSING IT, to Gillian Green of Ebury, in a three-book deal, by Kate McLennan of Abner Stein in association with Kathleen Ortiz of New Leaf Literary & Media on behalf of Suzie Townsend.

Told you guys my agents were Ninjas. :)

I'll get you more info on publication dates when I know them! 

In Awkward <3, 

Cora

The One where LOSING IT goes International

Hello Lovelies!

Sorry I've been MIA. I've been locked in the writing cave working on Cade's companion novel, but I've peeked my head out to tell you some very exciting news!

You all know that the New York Times broke the news of LOSING IT selling to Harper Collins, but today the official notice went life on Publisher's Marketplace along with a few other deals that have been secret until now. Here's the notice:

Cora Carmack's self-published NYT and USA Today Bestseller, LOSING IT, about a 22-year old virgin in her last year of college who decides to solve the problem, but her attempt at a one night stand turns disastrous the next morning when she realizes her new theatre professor is the guy she left half naked in her bed eight hours earlier, to Amanda Bergeron at William Morrow, in a major deal, at auction, in a three-book deal, by Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary & Media (NA). Rights to Psichogios in Greece, by Nelly Moukakos of JLM Agency, to Random House Korea, by Ally Bang of Eric Yang Agency, to RBA Libros in Spain, by Jennifer Hogue of International Editors, and to Pena in Turkey, by Bengu Ayfer of Akcali Copyright Agency, in association with Kathleen Ortiz of New Leaf Literary & Media.

Yes, my loves. Those are foreign rights sales you see, specifically to Greece, Korea, Spain, and Turkey so far! And RBA Libros in Spain will be distributing to other spanish speaking countries as well! Clearly my agency of awesome (New Leaf Literary) is SLAYING it.

Now I don't have release dates for those countries yet, but they'll be there eventually! And hopefully the book will continue to gain interest in other foreign territories. So that all my AMAZINGPANTS fans across the globe can get their hands on paperback copies. 

In other news, HarperCollins officially took over sales of the ebook of LOSING IT today, too! That means it's now available on other ebook websites other than B&N and Amazon! Like iBooks and Kobo! So many of you have been asking about this for so long, so I'm relieved to say it's up!!! :D And Harper Collins is amazing and didn't raise the price, which means it's still extremely affordable at $3.99!   *Cough* Cheap Christmas present *Cough*.

*For those of you wondering, you don't need to buy a new copy of LOSING IT if you have the original (unless you just want to, because you love me). It went through a quick edit for any grammatical errors, but there are no major changes. 

And if you haven't already, you should check out the interview with me posted today on USA Today's HEA blog! 

I'm sure there are more updates that I'm missing, but I'll catch them next time! Don't forget to follow me on Twitter and Facebook if you haven't already! 

In Awkward <3, 

Cora

The One with the BIG Announcement

Hello lovelies!

I know some of you have been waiting for an update forever, and I've been carefully avoiding answering your questions with any finality. Sorry about that. It was a necessary evil.

But now I can officially announce that a print version of LOSING IT in the U.S. is imminent! I've signed a three book deal with Harper Collins! The deal includes LOSING IT and two companion novels (one for Cade and one for Kelsey).

HUZZAH!

AND... as if that wasn't cool enough. THE NEW YORK TIMES broke the news of the sale. Yeah. I said New York Times. You can read the article here in which they discuss how LOSING IT is heralding in "New Adult Fiction." Then you can come back and celebrate with me! 

I don't have a set release date for you yet, but I can tell you that everyone is working hard to get the book ready for a quick and seamless release. As soon as I have more information that can be shared, I will send it your way! 

And lastly, I cannot end this post without a host of thank yous! Many of you have been with me on this from the very beginning. I remember watching the adds on Goodreads and getting SO excited when LOSING IT had 1,000 adds. It has since blown that number out of the water, and it's all thanks to you guys. Amy at the YA Sisterhood and all the bloggers from the blog tour did such a tremendous job sharing the news about my little book. I have no doubt that you all are largely responsible for its success. Heather Self was my self-pub mommy and answered all my multitudes of questions and calmed my freak-outs-- you're the best! I have been blessed to have so many fabulous readers reach out to tell me about their experience of reading the book. Many of those same readers have told their friends, for which I am very thankful! I have just been inundated with love and it is the best feeling EVER. I have the best agent and agency EVER. Suzie Townsend did an amazing job negotiating this deal, and as evidenced by the NYT article, the whole team has put their full support behind LOSING IT. They are really making some amazing things happen. Signing with New Leaf was possibly the best decision I ever made. 

I love you all so much! I am just feeling ALL THE FEELINGS. 

Now, I need to get back to work on that second book we sold. :D But for all those who have asked about a paperback version of LOSING IT, I can finally say... IT'S COMING! 

P.S. OH! OH! I just realized. It's been one month since the book released! Wow. A lot can happen in a month. 

The One About What New Adult Means to Me


What is a “New Adult” book anyway? 



I’m a re-reader. 



 That’s how I know that I really LOVE a book, when I can read it a second, third, or fourth time and get just as swept away in the story as that very first time. 

I discovered this for the first time when I was twelve and re-reading HARRY POTTER. Since then, I have reread and loved many books, one of which stuck with me so completely that I can still recite entire quotes from it with ease. 

That is THE AWAKENING by Kate Chopin. It was one of those books that you’re forced to read in your high school English class, and for many people it is a miserable experience. But for whatever the reason, I didn’t resent having to read that book. The story captivated me utterly, and I’m inclined to believe it is a huge part of the reason I write stories like I do. 



 THE AWAKENING is about a 28-year-old married woman named Edna. As you can guess, she goes through an awakening where she realizes she hasn’t truly been living. Her ideas and opinions and emotions all begin to change radically because for the first time in her life, she is determined to live life on her own terms. 

There is one quote that has stuck with me all these years: 



“Mrs. Pontellier was beginning to realize her position in the universe as a human being, and to recognize her relations as an individual to the world within and about her… But the beginning of things, of a world especially, is necessarily vague, tangled, chaotic, and exceedingly disturbing. How few of us ever emerge from such beginning! How many souls perish in its tumult!” 
 

There could not be a better way to describe the turbulent years between adolescence and adulthood, that terrifying in-between. Whether you’re at college or moving out on your own or working your first full time job—your life seems to change radically overnight. And yet for most people in that age group (18-25ish), you’re still not completely on your own. Your parents are still a large part of your life. You’re not a child anymore, but you’re also not quite an adult. You may call yourself an adult (as will others), but deep down in side you are petrified because you don’t feel like one. 


At least, that’s how it was for me. It really did feel like my world was starting from scratch. I was searching for my perfect fit in this wide world. I once likened the feeling to leaving behind a comfortable pair of old shoes for new ones that fit a bit better. It’s not that you want to stay with the old shoes that have become worn out and are a bit too snug, but breaking in those new shoes takes time and can be painful. That is what New Adult books are about to me.



Young Adult books are about surviving adolescence and coming of age. New Adult is about how to live your life after that. New Adult is the “I’m officially an adult, now what?” phase. 
 Just like growing up, that life stage is different for everyone, but I do think there are some things that are constant.

The first is figuring out who you are outside of the world in which you grew up. A few lucky people may figure out who they are when they are teenagers, but I’m inclined to think that for most of us, we just think we know who we are. Some of it might be right, but a lot of it can be very wrong. We believe things because we’ve never known there was another way to believe. We think life is a certain way until we experience the opposite. 


So why are people just now hearing “New Adult” in terms of a category for fiction? Well, the world is a very different place than it was when YA first became an accepted genre. It used to be that many people got jobs straight out of high school, and only some people went on to college. And usually those who did go to college were more financially and emotionally dependent. Now, it has become the norm to go to college, and for young adults to remain in contact or even dependent upon their parents for years after graduating high school. College is the new high school, and as such that “growing up” phase has been stretched to include a few extra awkward years. 


That time, like Kate Chopin says, can be vague and hard to understand. It can be chaotic (oh so chaotic). It can be a mess. We, as the “new adults” can be a mess. It can be awkward and emotionally exhausting and painful and disturbing. For me, it was a time of anxiety and self-doubt, where I questioned everything I’d always thought to be true about the world and myself. I’d grown up as an intelligent, confident, ambitious young woman. Then suddenly I was this indecisive, terrified girl who was afraid she’d made all the wrong choices and doubted her ability to achieve her dreams. 


I’m twenty-five-years-old, and I still suffer from some of those symptoms. In the moments before I hit the button to self-publish LOSING IT, I felt like I was going to be sick, and was moments away from a complete breakdown. I had to turn my music on really loud, dance around, let go of the world, and completely clear my mind, so that the prospect of hitting a stupid button didn’t break me. 
 And now LOSING IT has been more successful than I ever could have imagined. For the first time in a long time, I feel like that new world that Kate Chopin talks about is finally starting to make sense. It has become a little less vague and a little less scary.

Who would have thought that by writing about this awkward phase in life, I would begin to find my way out of it?

The One with the Contest

So... I keep getting questions about how I envision the characters of LOSING IT to look or who my dream cast would be for an imaginary movie.

And honestly... while there are actors that I think could work, I don't and never have had certain actors in  mind. So, I thought we might have some fun, and find out who you all pictured when you read the book. Or if you don't picture the characters in your head, who your dream cast would be.

So, here's the deal:

• To enter the contest, make a post on your blog about your dream cast for LOSING IT. You must include Bliss, Garrick, Cade, and Kelsey. Other than that... you can include as many other characters from the book as you'd like. The contest ENDS at 12:01 AM on November 19th. 
• Once you've done that, come back and leave a link to your post in the Rafflecopter form below. You'll get five entries for your post. You can get one entry a day when you tweet about your post . Please @ me in your tweet and then come back and post it here in the Rafflecopter form.  

THE WINNER will be chosen randomly using Rafflecopter and will receive a prize pack of some of my favorite New Adult and YA eBooks. This includes: Easy by Tammara Webber, The Wild Ones by M. Leighton, Half-blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout, On Dublin Street by Samantha Young, Reflection by Jessica Roberts, and Want by Stephanie Lawton. 

PLEASE NOTE: This contest is open internationally BUT SOME OF THESE BOOKS ARE NOT. If you win and one of these books is not available in your country, we'll figure out a replacement. :)

So, you have my permission to begin wasting hours on the internet trolling through pictures of hot actors that could be your dream Garrick. I know it will be a real hardship. :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway And finally, I know not all of you out there have a blog, and will be unable to participate in this contest. So for the rest of you, I've got another giveaway of LOSING IT that is open to everyone! Ends November 19th at 12:01 AM also! U.S. and Canada only. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The One with the Update

Hello my awesome readers!

Have I told you lately how much I love you?

Because I do. A lot. 

I'm just popping in to give a quick update and answer a few questions! 

FIRST... 

LOSING IT has made the NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST for the second week in a row! This time it moved up two slots to #13 on the ebook list! And it's still holding strong at #18 on the combined print and ebook list! 

AND... you guys may not care about this as much, but it totally rocked my face off. Two authors that I admire and love SO MUCH read and loved the book-- Jennifer L. Armentrout and Wendy Higgins. 

If you haven't read their books, please do! They are awesome! Jen writes both YA and Adult, fantasy and contemporary. There's not a book she's written that I don't LOVE LOVE LOVE. And Wendy writes YA Fantasy. Her first book, SWEET EVIL, blew me away! And I'm so excited for her second. 

I totally fangirled when they tweeted that they'd read the book. 

And now for some questions! 

1. I've had a lot of people ask me about the print version of the book. I addressed this briefly in the last post, but I'll be more specific here. 

My Agent of Amazingness, Suzie Townsend is currently shopping the book to traditional publishers here in the U.S. If we make a sale, that would not only mean a print version of the book, but also the ebook would be available through more venues than just BN & Amazon. I wish I could give you more information or a set timeline, but the fact is nothing is guaranteed. If we make a sale, I promise to give you more information just as soon as I can. But right now, it's a waiting game. And the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy in NYC has caused plenty of upheavals in the city, including for publishing professionals, so I can't do much but tell you where we are now. (And while we're on the topic of Hurricane Sandy, if you're a writer or a reader and want to give back, check out this amazing auction event occuring at Jen Malone's blog).  

2. Similarly, I've had a lot of people ask about reading the book in countries outside the U.S. and Canada. 

I'm afraid the book is not currently available for purchase outside the U.S. or Canada. It was before, but  since I signed with my agent I've taken it down. Kathleen Ortiz is the foreign rights specialist at New Leaf Literary, and she's working on selling rights to the book in foreign territories. She's great at what she does, so we're very hopeful. But I just couldn't leave the book up for sale across the world, because it would make her job more difficult. Again, I promise to let you know as things happen, but you should be aware that foreign sales can happen a bit more slowly. So, again, it's a waiting game. One that requires a lot of patience. 

The best thing you can do if you're wanting to see the book in print or in foreign countries it to continue to spread the word! Tell your friends. Tweet about it. Facebook it. Blog it. The more attention the book gets, the easier it will be to make these sales. 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE you all! 

P.S. I'm working on Cade's book now, and I have a trip to Philadelphia planned soon to do some on the ground research! I'll post pictures! :)

The One with All the News!

Okay... so, I've been terrible about updating this blog with everything that's going on, but that's only because SO MUCH is going on! It's late, so I'm going to try and re-cap this all as quickly as possible, but it's entirely possible I might ramble on about all the amazingness. And I will likely overdo the gifs as always. If I do... well.. too bad. :)

1. LOSING IT is doing so well! It's still high on the charts on B&N and it's broken the top ten on Amazon! Whooo-hoo! Thank you all so much for your support! Seriously...

2. I signed with an agent! And not just any agent, no! I signed with the awesomepants/amazingpants/allthepants super agent Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary! 

I'm am so incredibly excited to be a part of the New Leaf family, and Suzie has been my dream agent ever since I wrote my  first manuscript years ago (Thanks Poli-sci class for providing me ample writing time). Everyone has been so enthusiastic and supportive, and I couldn't be happier. What this means for LOSING IT: The book is currently being shopped with a few traditional publishers, and the New Leaf team will also be representing/shopping foreign and film rights for the book. Some of you may have noticed that it's no longer for sale on Amazon outside the U.S. I apologize. This was a necessary step to begin pursuing foreign rights sales. I promise though to keep you updated of future sales! This new step in my career means great things for both me and my books! 

3. On the SAME DAY that I signed with Suzie "Allthepants" Townsend, I also found out that LOSING IT was ranked at #30 on this week's USA TODAY Bestseller List! 

4. As if that wasn't amazing enough, that SAME NIGHT, Suzie and the New Leaf team called to tell me that they'd seen an early list of the New York Times Bestsellers List (for the week of Nov. 4th), AND I WAS ON IT. I WAS ON IT AT #15 for the eBook bestseller list AND #18 FOR COMBINED PRINT/EBOOK! Holy heart attack, Batman! I think I screamed Suzie's ear off on the phone! 

5. Okay... so I don't really have a number five. But I just like it when things come in fives. :D So, I'll just say that it has been a whirlwind of a week. Seriously, I think there have been more major OMG moments this week than the last ten years of my life combined. And I have you all to thank for it! I have to thank the amazing bloggers that have posted reviews or features or participated in the blog tour. I have to thank my readers who have talked to me on Twitter or Facebook or sent emails (Seriously, I know I'm behind on answering you all, but I read every one, and they fill my heart with such joy). Thank you also for recommending the book to your friends-- best compliment ever!  I have to thank family and friends, who encouraged me when I decided to self-publish. This has become so much bigger than any of us could have imagined. I just love you all! I LOVE THE WORLD (which for someone whose natural sense of humor is more bitter than black coffee... that is huge)!

So thank you all! I promise future updates as things move forward! 

In Awkward <3, 

Cora

The One Where my World has Turned Upside Down

So... I looked at my blog today and realized it had been almost a week since I'd posted.

I also realized how much has CHANGED in my life in less than a week.

I can't explain it all to you guys at this point, but know that this week has been the single craziest week of my life. And the success of LOSING IT is only part of that.

Since the last time I posted, LOSING IT hit #1 on the Barnes and Noble eBook Bestseller list. It stayed there for a few days, and since then has been fluctuating within the top five. It's been moving a little slower on Kindle, but advances there have been steady. I broke the Top 100 Kindle Bestsellers a few days ago, and am now up to #35.

It has been exactly one week since LOSING IT went live on Barnes and Noble, and my world was turned upside down. I am at a loss for words to express how I am feeling. I've gotten so many lovely emails and comments and tweets that my heart is full and fit to burst. I've not answered you all, but I'm working on it! The influx of response kind of took me by surprise, and I'm still playing catch-up.

I've been getting a lot of questions about other formats for LOSING IT-- iBookstore, Smashwords, and Print copies especially.

I'm looking in to all of these formats, I promise. But like I said, my life has been a bit crazy this week, so I've not had time to seriously pursue publishing in any of these formats. I promise to let you know though if and when they are available.

In the mean time, thank you all for your support! Thank you for reading my book and reviewing it! If you've read and haven't reviewed, I would greatly appreciate your posting your thoughts on Barnes and Noble and Amazon! Thank you to all those who have told friends and family members about the book! There is truly no marketing better than word of mouth! I love, love, love you all and can't wait to tell you more about all the great things that are happening!

In Awkard <3,

Cora

In Which I Feel Like I Took Felix Felicis

I have to start this out with one GIGANTIC thank you to all of those who have bought my book, and especially to those who have rated and reviewed in on Amazon, B&N, and Goodreads! I am so very thankful for your support.

LOSING IT is doing better than I ever could have imagined. It has exploded, and is currently #26 on B&N's Nook Bestseller list! It's doing really well on Amazon too, despite the fact that B&N had a 12 hour head start. I've broken the top 1000 there, and am at #906 (last I checked) and still moving.

I am so very grateful to everyone who has tweeted and posted and told their friends. This is all your doing. I'm especially grateful to the participants of the Blog Tour! Please be sure to check out the tour schedule and visit the tour stops on their assigned days. There will be interviews, extras, and a chance to enter a giveaway!

And last, but certainly not least, I've had so many readers ask about sequels and future books. So, as a thanks for your support, I'm here to answer that question!

1. Will there be a sequel to LOSING IT?

I don't currently have one planned, but that doesn't mean inspiration won't strike me in the future. But I feel relatively comfortable saying that Bliss's story is done for the moment. That doesn't mean you won't ever see her again because...

2. What future books do I have planned?

Right now, I'm working on a currently untitled companion novel for LOSING IT that will focus on Cade. It will be a little more angsty since he's just had his heartbroken, but never fear! There will be plenty of awkward and hilarious goodness. He becomes entangled with a girl who is vastly different from any girl he's ever been interested in, especially Bliss.  Right now it is very VERY tentatively scheduled to release in January, but as I'm still working on it, I cannot promise much more information yet. I'm also toying around with the idea of writing about Kelsey's European travels after I finish with Cade.

If you'd like updates about future books, make sure to follow my Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads page, etc.

That's all my updates for now! Again, thank you all! I ADORE you. Seriously.

In Awkward <3,

Cora

LOSING IT is live!

It is official! LOSING IT is live at both Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

I love love LOVE you all.

I hope you enjoy the book! I hope you love it enough to leave a review and tell your friends! And I hope you love it enough to continue checking my wee little blog here for news about my next work, which will be a companion novel to LOSING IT about Cade, one of the secondary characters in the book.

And now that the book is alive and kicking... I'm off to sleep.

Here's to sweet writerly dreams!

In Awkward <3,

Cora

Buy LOSING IT at Barnes & Noble!

Hey guys!

Remember that time that I hit publish early on Barnes and Noble because I heard it had been taking several days for authors to get approved, then woke up to find it live and for sale less than twelve hours later?

Oh, yeah. It was now.

That's right! LOSING IT is available to buy from Barnes & Noble!

I hit publish on Amazon early this morning, so it could be up anywhere from 12-24 hours from then until it goes live. Which means sometime tonight or tomorrow morning.

So keep your trigger finger poised over that refresh button!

I'm already seeing people reading and enjoying it on Goodreads, which is amazing! I seriously feel like I just got my letter inviting me to Hogwarts. This is THAT good.

If you do buy and read it, I will love you forever if you rate and post a review of the book on B&N and Amazon!

In Awkward <3,

Cora

LOSING IT Blog Tour

The LOSING IT Blog Tour has begun!!!! 

Cora... Conan... we're pretty similar in this moment! :D

The LOSING IT Blog Tour has officially been kicked off at the YA Sisterhood with a review and a giveaway. Oh, and did I mention they've also posted the entire first chapter for your reading pleasure?

Did I also mention that I've already hit that all important publish button at Barnes and Noble? B&N apparently takes a little longer than Amazon, so I hit it a bit early. I'll be hitting Amazon's tomorrow, and then it's just a matter of waiting until they come up. I've published early enough that they should almost definitely be available by midnight on the 15th, if not sooner. 

So, you can join Conan and I in the ansty pants waiting game. Day Two of the Blog Tour will be Sunday at Books Over Boys with a review and some favorite quotes from the book! 

LOVE YOU ALL! 

In Awkward <3, 

Cora

ERMAHGERD. LOSING IT Gets a New Release Date!

GUESSSSSSSS WHAT, FRIENDS? GUESS! GUESS! OKAY, DON'T GUESS I'LL SHOW YOU!

DO YOU SEE THAT NUMBER???? 1502!!!

Do you know what that means?!?

First, it means: 

Second, it means you met my earlier challenge, so I'm MOVING UP the release date of LOSING IT from the 16th to the 15th!!!!

Huzzah! I hope you guys are as excited as I am! Because I am SO excited!  I've been getting a lot of questions about LOSING IT not being available for pre-order, so this seems like a good time to clear some things up. LOSING IT is independently published, which means it won't be available for pre-order. I'll be hitting publish sometime on the 14th (or perhaps a little earlier). It's impossible to know how quickly the book will be available after that because it varies for everyone. I plan to hit publish with plenty of time to spare so that it will definitely be available on the 15th. Because of that, it might even go up earlier that the 15th if the process goes quickly, so feel free to keep an eye on Amazon/B&N or my twitter and facebook for updates. I'll let you know when it is available for sale! 

WHOO-HOO! Now time for more celebration! A majorly awesome blog tour will be kicking off this Saturday at The YA Sisterhood. It will run through the end of October and will have lots of fun interviews, excerpts, and extras! :)

Again! Thank you! Thank you! Your support for this story has been tremendous so far! I cannot wait for the release date! 

LOSING IT Giveaway!

Guys!

GUYS! 

You are AWESOME. Just yesterday I issued a challenge that if we got to 1000 "to read" adds on Goodreads, I'd host a giveaway for an advanced copy of LOSING IT. This is a big deal guys, because I wasn't planning to give out any more copies before the release! But you guys are just too amazing! Because LOOK: 

Ahhhhhhmazing! So, I'm here to fulfill my promise! Below is a Rafflecopter form that could enable you to read LOSING IT less than a week from today! Also, don't forget: if we hit 1500 adds, I'll move the release day forward one day! Same goes for 2000 and 2500! So, LOSING IT could possibly be released a full THREE days early! 

UPDATE: We just hit 1,350! Only 150 to go until the next challenge is met! 

Thank you all for your support! You're amazing! And now for the part you really care about... the giveaway! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Want to read LOSING IT early? AKA... The One with the Challenge

Hellooooo friends!

So many amazing things have been happening that I've had a little trouble keeping up and have neglected my sad little blog. I think it's time to change that! So... I have some news and a challenge for you all!

The news is... LOSING IT has a cover!!!! The cover reveal (organized by the YA Sisterhood) was a phenomenal success!!! Over 30 blogs participated, and the reaction was FANTASTIC! Sadly, since the cover reveal, I had to make a slight change to the font on the cover so that it would be more readable as a thumbnail for when it goes up for sale. So here is the latest version for your viewing pleasure!

*Fans self* 

The guy is pretty cute, huh? Trust me... the rest of the picture that I cut out is even better! It will be released along one stop of the blog tour! 

Now that that's done, are you guys ready for my challenge? It's a big one! Well, actually it's a multi-part challenge! 

If LOSING IT hits 1000 "to read" adds on Goodreads, I'll host a giveaway for one advanced copy of LOSING IT! These are rare folks, and I hadn't planned to give any more out, but I think 1000 adds deserves celebrating! Here's where we currently stand on Goodreads: 

Not that far to go, right? That giveaway is within your grasp! 

UPDATE: Challenge met! See the next post for the giveaway! 

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE! 

If LOSING IT hits 1500 "to read" adds, I'll do something crazy! I'll bump the release date up by at least one full day (the current release date is October 16th). I'll do the same at 2000 and 2500 too, which means LOSING IT could be released by as many as three days early! 

UPDATE: WE'VE HIT 1350! Not much more to go before the 1500 challenge! October 15th is looking pretty good for the release date!  

Everyone I've interacted with so far has been so enthusiastic and encouraging and amazing. 

I BELIEVE IN REWARDING THAT KIND OF AWESOME. 

And I like coming up with rewards! So, who knows? Maybe if you guys continue to impress and awe me, I'll come up with even more rewards! 

Love, love, love you all! 

In awkward <3, 

Cora

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Finishing Touches or the One Where I Realize Just How Much Work I Have Left to Do.

So... I've spent the day working on finishing touches for LOSING IT before I begin the process of formatting it for Kindle and Nook.

Now... I say finishing touches, which makes you think I'd be finished, right?

WRONG.

This is my first self-publishing experience, and I seriously have to give mad respect to all the indie authors that have come before me. This is tough job that takes a lot of work. I knew this going in, of course, but that doesn't make the process any less daunting.

There's only me standing between those typos and the final draft. I think I'm going to have nightmares of finding a typo on the day of publication. Seriously.

So, of course, I'm obsessively checking things and making changes, even though I would have sworn to you two weeks ago it was done.

The editing bug has struck again. :)

Anyway, after a day of editing, I thought I deserved some fun. So... I'm sharing one of my favorite quotes from LOSING IT!

This particular quote comes right after Bliss has a pretty stressful experience. I think it about sums up the way she feels for large portions of the book and also tells you a bit about her sense of humor.

I wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
I wanted to crawl into a hole at the bottom of a ravine, then be buried under an avalanche, and then die.
I wanted… to cry. 

Well, there you have it! I'm sure there will be more quotes and fun tidbits in coming weeks! 

LOSING IT releases October 16th in ebook on both Amazon and B&N! 

Freaking Out!

Ahh! I'm freaking out, guys!

The amazing YA Sisterhood blog is organizing a cover reveal and blog tour for LOSING IT. I love those girls, and they're going to be so instrumental in getting the word out about my book. Obviously, I'm a bit behind in the world of social media, but I'm working on it. :)

Amy, the Eldest YA Sister, sent out an email tonight, and emails are already coming in with interest to participate in both the reveal and the tour.

This is one of those moments where I think, "Oh my God! This is REAL."

Then, of course, I go obsessively back to my manuscript because even though I've edited it numerous times, suddenly I'm certain it's awful, and just have to check again.

Hopefully this sad, empty new blog won't stay empty for long! :)

But can officially say LOSING IT's cover will be revealed MONDAY SEPTEMBER 24th on the YA Sisterhood blog and numerous others!

*SQUEEE!*

Introducing Me!

Hi All!

My name is Cora. Thanks for visiting my blog! I'm an indie writer, and my first book releases October 16th. I've been writing all my life, and LOSING IT was the easiest to write of them all. It's about a girl trying not to lose her mind before she loses her virginity. 

It was one of those books that just flowed, and I actually completed the entire first draft in three weeks! It encompasses a lot of the things that I love:

• Theatre-- the main character, Bliss, is a college theatre student. 
• Forbidden love-- Bliss's love interest is definitely available and interested, but there's the slight problem that he's her college professor. 
• Awkward situations--Yeah, these abound. :)
• Kissing-- oh so much kissing. 
• More than kissing-- it is a book about virginity... and losing it. :)

I'd love for you to follow me here or on twitter! Drop me a line, and be on the looking for LOSING IT in Mid-October!