The One Where Hunt Gets Protective

Hello my loves!

 It's Friday Flash Fiction time!

 Every Friday, I'm going to make a post on my Facebook page calling for writing prompts. You can pick any character from my books-- main characters like Garrick or Cade or minor characters like Rusty and Spencer. Comment on my post with that character's name and then a place or object for a prompt. Heck, you can even post things like songs or pictures. Anything you'd like to see me write. Then, I'll pick one and write just a fast and fun little snippet to post here on my blog.


So far we've had one for Max/Cade and one for Bliss/Garrick. So, I figured it was only fair to do Hunt and Kelsey this week.

Today's prompt comes from Susi: Hunt in Naples with pizza.

So, without further ado, here's my Flash Fiction Friday entry #3

WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR FINDING IT.

WARNING PART TWO: This is unedited. So, if there are errors, don't judge me.

NOTE: This is NOT an excerpt from Finding It or Seeking Her. This is special, original content just because I love you guys.

It’s the simple things in life that comprise the difference between existing and living.

I had a lot of practice existing. Just scraping by. Surviving.

Waking up with Kelsey’s blonde hair tickling my chest? Living.

The way she kept glancing at me between snapping pictures of the Naples street? Living.

Staring at her between bites of the single best slice of pizza I’d ever tasted? Definitely living.

Kelsey snapped another picture, and her eyes met mine. I didn’t bother looking away. I was way past pretending I wasn’t obsessed with her. The sun glinted off her golden hair, and she looked at me through long lashes. She bit her lip to stifle a smile, and snapped another picture on her phone.

My eyes were trailing down the smooth column of her neck, studying the way the angles of her collarbone gave way to the soft curve of cleavage that peeked out of her shirt, when Kelsey said, “Uh-oh.”

On high alert, my eyes snapped up. “Uh-oh? Uh-oh what?”

She looked across the table at the lone slice of pizza in my hand.

“We’re done, right? You can eat that while we walk?”

She stood up, hastily gathering her things from their table on the café sidewalk.

“Uh, sure.”

I reached for my wallet, but she threw down some cash, and grabbed my elbow. I barely had time to snatch what was left of my pizza before she was tugging me away.

“What’s got your panties in a twist, princess?”

She rolled her eyes, but then glanced over her shoulder and picked up her pace. I looked backward too, no longer in a joking mood. What had her in such a panic?

Tension climbed up my spine, and I focused scanning the area around us for threats. I didn’t see anything.

“Kelsey, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Kelsey,” I warned.

She sighed. “Remember when you told me to stop taking pictures of possible mafia members?”

A smile pulled at my lips.

She continued, “Well, I didn’t listen. And now some giant dude with pythons for arms is glaring at me because he saw me taking pictures of him.”

I laughed. “And what? You think he’s going to come after you? Murder you and dump your body in an alley?”

“Maybe.”

“Oh man, don’t look now.”

“What?” she paled.

“He’s coming after us. We need to run.”

“He’s what?”

She whipped around, her hair fanning out around her. I took one look at her wide-eyed gaze and burst into laughter.

She searched the crowd for a few moments, and when she saw no suited man following us, she smacked my arm.

“That’s not funny!”

I laughed harder. She threw her arms up and turned away from me. I used her elbow to pull her back and sideways into an alley.

“What are you doing?”

I pressed her back against the brick building and murmured into her neck, “Hiding you from the mafia.”

She scoffed, and I could hear the sarcasm before she even spoke. “Oh, yeah. You’re intentions are completely protective.”

I opened my mouth against her pulse point and tasted her sensitive skin. She shivered, her hands clenching on my shoulders.

“I’m always protective of what’s mine.” 

The One Where You Don't Need a Golden Ticket

So, since the release of Finding It, I've heard much lamenting about the super special "Golden Ticket" versions of Finding It. If you don't know what I'm talking about, give this a read.

I've heard epic tales of people searching as many as EIGHT Target stores trying to find those rare copies that would earn them a chance to have their name (or a name of their choice) in one of my future books. So far, I've only heard of one special copy that's been found. I have been so impressed and flattered by everyone's mad searching. And after talking to my editor and publicists, we decided to do something a little special. A wildcard "Golden Ticket" if you will.

We wanted to give everyone a shot to win their name in a book, not just those who live near a Target Store. We wanted to open this up to people who've bought the book from other stores, or were unable to find a golden ticket copy, or who maybe live outside the US.

So, if you're interested in having your name in one of my books, this contest is for you! 

(That's me in Prague being a nerd on a playground. A playground that might sound familiar if you've read Chapter 14). 

Okay, here's the deal:

Step One: Buy a copy of the book. This can be a print copy or an e-book copy on your e-reader (though a print copy will be more conducive to this task). 

Step Two: Take a picture of the book (or your e-reader with the book cover showing) in some place weird, wacky, or wonderful. It can be someplace you think Kelsey and Jackson should visit someday. Or it can just be someplace silly that will make people laugh. GET CREATIVE. 

Step Three: Send me your picture in an email to findingfindingit(at)gmail(dot)com with a short description that includes the location and an explanation of the picture and why you chose to "find it" there. NOTE: You MUST send me your picture by 12PM EDT on TUESDAY, OCT 22ND. So, don't delay! Get those pictures in fast. There is a limit of TWO pictures per person. If you send in more than two, the first two sent will be used and the rest deleted. 

Step Four: On Wednesday, October 23rd, I will post all of the submitted photos in an album on my facebook fanpage. Whichever photo has the most likes on Sunday October 27th at 11:59 EDT, will be the winner! Whoever submitted the winning photo will have a character named after them in a future book. AND... you'll get a twenty minute Skype visit with me to ask me whatever questions you want. It will also give me a chance to get to know you, so I can get inspired for your character. ;)

That's it! Take a picture. Email it. Spread the word to gain likes. 

Here are some things to keep in mind: 

• The photos most likely to get the most likes will be the most unique and creative ones in the bunch. So, think outside the box. 
• We'll be posting your photo description along with the photo, so it doesn't hurt to get creative with that, too. 
• You're welcome to be in the photo if you want, but you certainly don't have to. 
• Any photos submitted after 12PM EDT on Tuesday WILL NOT be accepted. No matter how awesome they are. 
• The photos will be posted all at the same time on my page, so they'll all get the same amount of time and start on equal footing. 
• Any edition of Finding It (print or ebook) is eligible to win. 

I'm looking forward to see what cool pictures you guys come up with! 

The One with Super Cool Visitors

So.... This happened.

 

Finding It had a FANTASTIC release day on Tuesday. I cannot even begin to describe how overwhelmingly wonderful it was to see all the pictures from people picking up their copies. In particular, the search for the Super Special (or as Twitter fondly called it "Golden Ticket") Target copies was one of the coolest things  the coolest thing EVER! If you don't know what I'm talking about, read this. 

And I think I'm still kind of in shock about seeing all three books together. It's a crazy, amazing thing, and it doesn't feel real. And so many people have messaged me to tell me how much they loved the book. An overwhelming number have called it their favorite of the series, and every time it loosens one of those scary-release-day-knots in my stomach. 

If you haven't picked up your copy of Finding It yet, I hope you'll check out the Signed Special Edition at Target. Not only does it have my signature, but also a deleted scene. And more than that, Target has been really fantastic about supporting New Adult authors and the category as a whole. And I think we all hope that will continue! If you've got your copy, I can't wait to hear what you think of Kelsey's story! And Jackson, too, of course! Especially since he's getting his own novella (Seeking Her) in January! It's a sort-of-prequel. And by that I mean, it picks up a few weeks before the opening scene of Finding It with all new material, and then the last half of the novella overlaps with the beginning of Finding It, meaning you'll get those early scenes from his POV. 

But enough about me... 

As fantastic as this release week has been so far, I'm actually popping in to tell you about another new release! One of the best things about being an author is getting to meet other authors (most of which I TOTALLY fangirl over). Two such amazing authors that I've had the pleasure of meeting are Steph Campbell and Liz Reinhardt. And when we discovered that we were sharing a release day, we decided to do something special! 

They've just released the newest novella in their Lengths series, Riptides. If you haven't read this series, you need to jump on it ASAP! Though this one can be read as a stand alone, FYI. It's all about Enzo, a super hot surfer dude. And MAN... can I just say that I TOTALLY have the hots for Enzo! Here's a little more about his story: 

Enzo Rodriguez doesn't take much seriously--unless it involves waves, boards, or good beer.

When too-hot-to-handle Jessica Mills strolls into his life, Enzo is willing to forego all of those things for every second he can spend with her.

But Jessica has a huge secret--and when it’s revealed, it not only crushes Enzo, but has the last person he wants to ask a favor of--his brother-in-law Adam--bailing him out of jail.

Enzo is convinced that the only way to mend his bruised ego and heart, is to pack his bags and leave the turbulent waters of Silver Strand...for good. 

And in honor of this new book, I've invited Liz and Steph to the blog to answer some fun questions! Here's the interview below: 

1. So I know you guys probably get this A LOT, but I just had to ask because I’m so curious. What’s the BEST part of writing with a partner? And the WORST? How do you decide who writes what? Is one of you the slave driver of the bunch? Give me all the juicy details!

Liz: We DO get this question all the time...but you’re lucky we like you, because we’re gonna give you all the deets! Best part: STEPH CAMPBELL. Seriously, my best friend and heterolifemate. Steph and I have gone through the very best and very worst of publishing together, and it’s been sheer, total joy to get to do this with her. Sometimes I go into a cold sweat thinking that I ever did this WITHOUT her. She inspires me with her gorgeous writing and is a kindred soul to bounce my ideas and passions off of. Steph never, ever says ‘no’ to any wild/crazy idea I might come up with, and I am always shaky with excitement when she calls and says, “I know this might be crazy, but maybe we should write this…”

The worst part? Steph and I both come from Irish Catholic backgrounds and we’re moms, so we deal with a lot of pre-programmed life guilt at all times. When you write your own book, you put on your big girl pants and do what you need to do. And you accept the criticism as gracefully as you can. But when there’s another person depending on you, it’s incredibly upsetting when you don’t do well. You feel very, very responsible, even when you know full well you did your very best. I never want to let Steph down, and that drives me to work extremely hard on our projects.

STEPH:  I’m sort of a control freak, so to have found someone (Liz) that I trust so implicitly not only business wise, but with my art has been amazing and unexpected.

I’d definitely say I’m the slave driver of the pair. I tend to do more of our outlines and calendering and the detail type work. Liz has learned to laugh at me and/or roll with it when I get mildly obsessive. As for who writes what, it varies and we’ve tried it all the ways! In one book, we split characters and each wrote one, no deviation. In another, we wrote whichever character and whichever scene we were feeling that day and skipped all around. It’s fun to try different things with each project, and we *hope* we’re doing it in a fairly seamless way to where you can’t tell who is writing at any given point. :)

2. One of the things I feel like you guys do so well is character and family. Everyone has their own unique traits and yet they fit together so well. So, what I want to know is for the main characters in your books (especially Enzo from Riptides), what high school yearbook superlatives would they have won?  (Ex: Most likely to Succeed, Friendliest, Most likely to be a Reality TV Star, etc)

Why thank you, Cora!

Deo- Most Likely to Have a Restraining Order Against Him for Constantly Hugging

Cohen- Most Likely to Be Sweet on the Streets, Alpha in the Sheets

Adam- Most Likely to Kick Ass and Take Names...While Solving Scientific Mysteries

Enzo-  Most Likely to Break Free from the Family Business

Whit - Most Likely to Disappear After High School and Become a Tattooed Freak

Hattie - Most Likely to Take Over (and Organize) the World...All of It

Genevieve - Sexiest Heels for EVERY Occasion

Maren - Most Likely To Defend Her Man in the Zombie Apocalypse

3. If we could bring Enzo to life for a day, what would you three do together? Or would he abandon you all to go surfing? ;)

Liz: Wait. Will children read this blog? Bwahaha! Just kidding ;)! Enzo would take us out dancing and show us all his moves. He’d bring us to his mother’s house and we’d have a Mexi-kosher meal that would blow our minds. And, of course, he’d take us surfing! I’m a huge klutz and can barely swim, so I’d have to grip onto his big, muscled arms!

4. What Hogwarts houses would you be in? What about Enzo? Any other characters you’d like to mention?

STEPH: No question, Lydia is Slytherin all the way. Genevieve is Ravenclaw. Deo, could be a Hufflepuff spokesperson, I’m convinced. Our Rodriguez boys, Cohen and Enzo are definitely Gryffindors: loyal and chivalrous (and sexy as hell...that’s a prerequisite according to the Sorting Hat, right?)

5. ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE. *it happens* Which of your characters dies first? Who would you want by your side fighting zombies? Who goes off searching for a cure? Who completely loses it? Who is thebrains behind keeping your group alive? (Can you tell I’ve been marathoning The Walking Dead).

You and Cohen both! He’s obsessed! And would be the brains keeping them all alive, because that boy is the ultimate alpha when he needs to be! Maren would be by his side, since he’s prepared her with hours of zombie movies/what if scenarios.

 Poor Deo goes first...he’s too busy cracking jokes a la Bill Murray in ZOMBIELAND to take the attack seriously. Whit is who I want by my side, because after Deo gets eaten, she’s a killing machine hell-bent on vengeance! Ryan backs her up with all his training and skills. Genevieve loses it...she can’t wear her heels, there is no beach time, and Adam has to leave her to go cure the disease!

Hattie and Adam team up to get the cure and administer it. And those zombies don’t stand a CHANCE!

PS LOOOOOOOOOVE WD!!

6. In Riptides, we get a lot of surfing and baking (including one particularly delicious scene back in the kitchen… YOU KNOW which one I mean). Are either of you bakers? Surfers? I had an easy bake oven once… *blinks*

Liz: I am an uncoordinated blind bat who burns everything! Steph is the surfing, baking hero of my life! I depend on her for all that inspiration and knowledge. And also to feed me. And to explain how movement works. I’m very, very co-dependent. (But I’m totally willing to use my kitchen like Enzo did...so my husband is very cool with my complete lack of baking skills ;)!)

STEPH: I cheat, in that I love to bake, but I don’t have a sweet tooth at all. So I bake constantly, but pass it all off to other people to devour. :) I’m from So Cal, so I’ve surfed a handful of times, but nothing major (unless you consider my lack of coordination major. Which it is. Eep!)

Thanks so much for having us, Cora! We’re both STOKED for the release of FINDING IT! 

Ahhh.... I seriously love those girls! They write such strong characters. Their books are fun and smart (my favorite kind). I hope you'll check them out! And drool over Enzo with me! :)

The One with the Celebration

So, like I mentioned yesterday, I've officially been doing this whole "author" thing for a year now. And I love that the third and final full-length book in the Losing It series s releasing almost simultaneously with this anniversary.

It feels like I've come full circle. This series is ending, and a new one is beginning.

So, I figured we should celebrate!

And when my publicist and I sat down to talk about what we wanted to do to commemorate the occasion, the theme seemed obvious. 

FIRSTS. 

This is, after all, the end of the first year containing my first series, which opened with a book about first times, followed by a book about two people confronting their demons for the first time, and ending with Kelsey's first time out on her own.

So here's what you need to know: 

What you can win: A signed set of LOSING IT, FAKING IT, and FINDING IT. And I'll let you choose whether you prefer the US or the UK set, that way you can get the ones that aren't readily available wherever you live. :) AND.... the winner will also receive something very special, of which there are only two. I have one, and you will get the other. That would be... Hamlet the demon cat. 

Stuffed, of course. (Doesn't he look so stinking angry? Adorable). Starting with my last signing in Seattle, I adopted a stuffed version of Hamlet, complete with an "Awkward people need love, too" bracelet for a collar. I bought one for me to take to signings, and another to giveaway. Here's your chance to have a Hamlet of your very own (including his bracelet collar). And if I can figure out a way to sign him, I will. :) 

How to win: Earn one entry for the usual stuff-- Tweeting, Liking, Following. Earn TEN entries by telling us about one of your awkward or funny FIRSTS in the comments. You can tell up to four stories (each in a separate comment) for a total of 40 entries. 

I realize not everyone is ready and willing to bust out stories of their awkward first times (nor does everyone have an awkward first time... lucky bastards). So, that's why all kinds of firsts are on the table. You can tell us about a first kiss, first date, first time meeting the parents, first time making a colossal fool out of yourself in any romantic capacity. Really, we're flexible. We just want to celebrate with some laughs. 

So, to give you an example, I'll spill one of my firsts! 

FIRST SERIOUS RELATIONSHIP

I'd been in a few relationships before, but this is the first one I really counted. The others had either been too short or not that serious. This guy was different though. He was older, and it went beyond the usual puppy love of my middle school days. (He was actually my first french kiss, too, which occurred in my bedroom with a friend of ours playing video games a few feet away. My head was in his lap, and he leaned over me and gave me a spiderman-esque upside down kiss, which was not nearly as seamless as it appears in the movie. My nose was shoved up against his chin, and I remember thinking only I would manage to have my first kiss upside-down). 

Anyway, long story short: About three weeks into this new and different relationship, he showed up to school with a stuffed animal and chocolates. I asked him what it was for, and he said our one month anniversary. Now, I knew positively that it was not our one month anniversary. In fact, he was a full ten days off. I was head-over-heels, and had been counting the days. But the guy was just so cute and sweet that I agreed and didn't say anything. He looked all hurt because he thought I had forgotten (when really, he was just bad at math).

We proceeded to celebrate the wrong anniversary for the entirety of our relationship. And to make it worse, he was one of those overly sweet guys that wanted to celebrate our anniversary every. single. month. And each time, it killed me. I was a bit of a commitment-phobe even at that age, so combine that with my know-it-all-hermione-granger-wannabe personality, and it was practically torture. To this day, I'm so weird about anniversaries. 

I can't remember if I actually ever told him either. Wherever he is, let's all hope he's not working any job that requires he be good with numbers. :) 

Well, there you go! So tell us about your firsts! Give me your awkward, weird, and humiliating stories, and I shall give you my unfettered adoration (just don't expect me to celebrate anniversaries).


WARNING: This giveway is only lasts until release day! So, make sure you enter now!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The One with the Anniversary

One year ago, today, I self-published LOSING IT.

One year.

MIND. BLOWN.

So much has happened in one year that I just... I... 

Most days I'm too busy trying to catch up and do all the things I need to do that I don't really think about how drastically my life has changed, but today is a day for retrospect. And it's kind of overwhelming. 

Before I started writing full-time, I was a high school teacher. I'd thought it would give me time to write, but I have this problem with over-committing, so I'd gotten myself pretty busy. In a move that likely made my father's blood pressure spike, I decided to resign from teaching. I was working two other unpaid jobs in publishing in order to build my resume, as well as getting my Masters in Creative Writing. Both jobs promised to pay in the future, but I would have to get by with no paycheck for a while. 

In my first month post-teaching, I wrote Losing It. Then I put it aside to go back to my Masters. I made it to the fall living off the last off my teacher salary and my savings. But as I approached the end of what I could handle financially, I decided to take a long shot and self-publish Losing It. At best, I thought it would buy me another month or two before I needed to figure out what the hell I was doing with my life. 

Instead, it turned my world upside down.

 In just over 24 hours, it hit #1 on B&N, and I was left pinching myself. The week that followed was the craziest, most stressful week of my life. And it's been a wonderful whirlwind ever since.

In the last twelve months, I have: 

• Written two books, two novellas, and started several other projects. 
• Visited my book in bookstores
• Signed tens of thousands of signatures
• Traveled all over the country (and to two other countries) to meet my AWESOME fans
• Met long-time online friends and some fabulous authors
• No, seriously. I've met some amazing authors (and managed to keep my fangirl scream to a small shriek). 
• Found an agent that rocks my face off, and the sweetest editor in the world, who cares about my characters as much as I do. 
• Moved TWICE. 
• Twitter and Facebook are part of my JOB. 
• And I can now write full time. 

It's just absurd to think of how much has changed. When I wrote Losing It, I was adrift like Bliss. I didn't know what I was doing with my life, and I was always feeling like I was the butt of life's joke. To quote Bliss (and well, by extension me): "There's only so many times you can handle someone asking about your fall back for when things don't work before you start thinking that maybe the fall back should just be your plan."

I wasn't ready to quit, per say. But I was tired. And Losing It had felt like my last ditch effort to prove I could do this.

I guess, I just wanted to say... It's been a wonderful year. All thanks to you guys. It's still SO CRAZY when I see pictures of people with my books or talk to people online. It's baffling to me that other people actually read my stuff, and they care. They care enough to drive hours to a signing. They care enough to write me awesome letters or make cool things for me. They care enough to take time out of their day to talk about my books. 

I owe everything to you. Absolutely everything. 

Seriously. I cannot even begin to describe how much I adore you guys. Everytime I do a Facebook or Twitter giveaway, I plan to only give away one copy. But then I always end up giving away two or three. I read your messages, and I literally battle urges to just give away all the free things! I feel the itch to say, "Of course, I'll do a signing here and there and everywhere! I'll just come hang out!" You all mean so much to me, and I just wish I knew a better way to give back. The signed edition of Finding It at Target is one way. Now, anyone close to a Target can snag a special copy. 

But I know there are plenty of readers out there that aren't anywhere close to a target. So, I knew I needed something more. 

So in that vein, I stumbled across a website recently called Libboo. The idea behind it is to reward the fans who go out of their way to spread the word about my books, as opposed to doing random giveaways where the odds are stacked against everyone. 

Essentially, Libboo puts the odds in your favor (woot... HG reference, FTW). It allows me to put up rewards like free swag or signed bookmarks. Then all you need to do is open an account and spread the word about my books on social media via Libboo. You earn points or "buzzes" when people follow your links. Every week, I set a reward number limit and a threshold. This week (through Sunday), the first 20 people to hit 20 buzzes can win either signed bookmarks or one of my "Awkward people need love, too" bracelets. 

Some weeks the rewards will be general, like this week. Or the prizes might be bigger and more selective-- a giftcard for the top 5 buzzers or a skype hangout with me for the week's top spot. The point is... no more gaining points on rafflecopter for a "maybe" win. Libboo is the best way I could find to pay you all back for how awesome you are. 

I hope you guys will join me on Libboo. And if you have suggestions for rewards you'd like to see on the site, please do let me know in the comments. 

So, cheers, friends! To our anniversary. 

P.S. There will be a rather fun contest coming tomorrow in honor of year two in my writing journey (and you know... that book that comes out on Tuesday). :) It will only last until release day, so don't forget to check back. 

<3

The One with ONE More Thing You Need to Know About Finding It

Okay... So I know it was like six hours ago when I made that post about "Everything" you need to know about Finding It.

Well... I LIED.

Not on purpose. I just didn't have the go ahead to spill this particular news. BUT NOW I DO!!

News that I have been teasing about for MONTHS. And now... I can finally share. Back in July and August, I was juggling A LOT. Final revisions on Finding It, the release of Keeping her, moving from Texas to NY, and my sister was about to pop out a fourth kid (Yes, fourth. She's crazy brave like that).

And on top of that... I was doing this:

What are those? You might ask. Well, that's the first box of what was 10,000 sheets of paper. More specifically, 10,000 copies of the title page of Finding It for me to sign. 

To give you some perspective, this stack is probably around 500-600. And on average, I could sign about 100 every 45 min to an hour (depending on how interesting the TV show was that I had on in the background). 

And I signed them all. Every single one of them. My hand hurt. My back hurt. My neck hurt. 

And a few of them, I signed with a little something special. Out of those 10,000 copies there are a handful that are completely unique (even to each other). They each have a different little inscription, and most are in a different color. Here's one of those super special ones:

Now where are those 10,000 signed sheets of paper going? I'm glad you asked... 

A signed Special Edition for Target. That's where. Not only will you be able to walk into Target and buy a signed copy of my book (while supplies last), BUT... the special edition also contains an exclusive deleted scene involving swimsuits, a game of chicken, and haikus. :)

AND... if you happen to snag one of those extra special copies that has something more than just my signature, send me an email to coracarmack(at)gmail(dot)com with a picture, and I'll mail you some signed swag, too! AND... because really these copies are SUPER special, I'll even do one better. If you find one of the special copies and email me, I'll put your name in a future book. 

Not too shabby, right? Just keep in mind, 10,000 copies sounds like a lot, but when they're divided up and sent to all the Targets across the country, they won't last long. So you'll definitely want to go nab yours ASAP after the release date (October 15th). 

Well... that's the last of my major Finding It news. I'm so happy to finally share this news with you guys. Sitting on it has been KILLING ME. And please, if you see Finding It out in the wild during release week, snap a picture and tweet or facebook it to me! I'll love you foreverrrrrr! 

And before I go for the night... I just have to say THANK YOU. THANK YOU X A THOUSAND. It is so unbelievably crazy that this is even happening. I don't even have the words to express how much this means to me. And none of it would have happened without you guys. Heck, five years ago, I was working at Target to make ends meet while I went to school. It's hard to fathom how much has changed since then. Many of you took a chance on LOSING IT just under a year ago. I was a nobody with no following, and you guys championed me in a way that I'll never ever be able to thank you enough for. 

You'll never even know all the ways in which you changed my life just by buying that book or by telling a friend or posting about it online. And everyone who has bought one of my books since... Target certainly wouldn't give a flip who I was if it weren't for you all. All I can say is... YOU. ARE. POWERFUL. The market is changing, and you as the reader have more influence than you ever have. So please know that each time you buy a book or push it on a friend or post on your blog, you're changing someone's life just like you did mine. And we are so grateful for it. 

The One with Everything You Need to Know About Finding It and The Secret to Life and Free Things!

Aahhhhhhh friends! We are a mere TWO WEEKS away from the release of FINDING IT.

Can you believe it???

I'm so pumped!  

And giddy!

And kind of alarmed because this is the end (kind of). Finding It is the last full length novel in the Losing It series. We'll still have Seeking Her in January, but that's a novella. And in case you missed in yesterday, I've got a new series slated to start next year about Texas and Football and Swoony romance. 

But there's something crazy about this being... the end. :) Especially because Finding It is releasing almost one year to the day from day I self-published Losing It. I've got a big post planned for that anniversary, so I'll save the weepiness until then, but yeah... 

So, anyway, there's lots of fun FINDING IT things happening, and I want to make sure you know them all. 

FIRST: I'm giving away things!!! I just got in a box of these bad boys, and I'm ready to do some damage! 

So, here's how you win. For the next two days (Tuesday and Wednesday), you can Tweet, Facebook, Instagram, Tumble, and/or vine why you want to read FINDING IT. You can do it more than once and on as many of the above platforms as you want! (But be reasonable... you don't want to lose your followers by tweeting seven bajillion times). Make sure you tag me in your post  and hashtag #FindingIt so you'll be eligible to win. I'm on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Vine. I don't have a tumblr, but if that's your preferred posting place, just tweet or facebook me a link to your Tumblr post (or leave it in the comments below). 

Thursday morning, I'll pick at least two winners to win signed copies of the US paperback edition of Finding It. You'll be the first fans to hold a copy in your hands! So that's it. Post. Tag me. Tell me why you want to win! 

SECOND: Whether you win or not, you can read a pretty massive excerpt of FINDING IT on my facebook page. The first six chapters, which comes out to a whopping 66 pages, can be read here! AND... we're even going to increase that by another chapter every Tuesday until release day! 

THIRD: If you pre-order the book, you can enter your information and proof here, and you'll get an exclusive sneek peek at SEEKING HER, the companion novella to Finding It that releases in January! All you need is either an order number or a picture of a receipt or order history. 

FOURTH: No more official stuff. I just wanted to take a moment to say how excited I am to be sharing this story with the world. Kelsey... that girl gave me a lot of problems. She's abrasive and wild and unpredictable. But hers is a story that I absolutely wanted to tell. As a writer, the very first thing I figure out about a character is what he or she wants. I figure out what they desire most, and then I let that dictate their actions. When I sat down to figure out what Kelsey wanted, I found that she didn't know any better than I did. She wanted to know. Desperately. All her other friends knew what they were doing and what they wanted to do with their life, and she was just floating. So I set out to write a book about a girl who wanted to want something. The only question was what? The ever-ambiguous "It" in the title. Kelsey isn't the easiest character to love, but I think she's real. I know her. Have been her on occasion. And I hope she'll help at least a few people out there realize that it's okay not to have everything figured out. That's natural. That's normal. But you also can't let your life be stagnant because of it. 

Okay. That's all my rambling on Finding It: 

A few other important tidbits! 

1. The Keeping Her mass market paperback released today!! You can get it for just $3.99! 

2. I've got lots of Events coming up! Including Austin, Houston, Miami, and Richmond! Make sure to check out the Events tab here on my blog for more info! 

3. I love you. 

Okay. Now it's really the end.