Happy holidays!

I hope all of you are enjoying a happy holiday season. It was great that the world didn't end like some had predicted. That would have really put a crimp in the holiday plans. On the upside, no one would have had to pay their post-holiday bills or worry about putting on weight after eating too much.

This year, if you gave gifts, I hope everyone on your list loved what they got. And if you received gifts, I hope those were just what you wanted. If you were celebrating a religious holiday, I hope it was fulfilling. If you're ringing in a new year, I hope it's the best one yet. And if you're doing whatever happens on Boxing Day, I hope it involves plenty of boxes or boxing.

So happy holidays. I hope you're surrounded by family and friends if you want, or quiet and solitude if you prefer. And have a wonderful 2013!

Kim

I SAW YOUR FUTURE shipping early!

Are you looking for the perfect gift for that hard-to-buy-for woman on your Christmas list? Good news: Our new book I SAW YOUR FUTURE AND HE'S NOT IT: A PSYCHIC'S GUIDE TO TRUE LOVE has started shipping a month early! http://www.amazon.com/Saw-Your-Future-Hes-Not/dp/0738734934/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1341954742&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=I+saw+your+future+and+he%27s
Technically, the release date is still January 8, 2013, but the gods of the publishing universe must have realized they were missing out on sales by not selling it until after the holidays. So it's here for your gift shopping convenience, not to mention offering help to those of you who would like to find "Mr. Right" to spend New Year's Eve with.
Happy reading!

Career change?

A career change seems appropriate. Sure, writing's nice and all, but I might be better suited for a  career in TV. No, not acting. That would demand that I don't gain weight and sometimes have to kiss perfect strangers on camera.

No, I'm thinking more along the lines of television programming. I plan to sell my services to rival TV networks. Whoever pays me the most will get me to watch their rival networks' new season of TV shows. If I'm watching the shows, that will guarantee that no one else on the planet will watch them and they'll be immediately cancelled. No matter how good they are.

Think of the advantage for the network that pays me! The obvious implication here is that no matter how lousy the shows that my employing network is producing, they'll stay on the air as long as I don't watch them. No matter how excellent the rival networks' shows are, they'll be cancelled!

You might wonder what qualifies me for this particular line of work. Let me give you some examples of great shows that I watched that were cancelled within their first season: Firefly. I loved Firefly. Everyone who ever watched Firefly loved it. That was the best show ever. And it had a target on its forehead before the first episode even aired. Remember Moonlight with the vampires and the reporter? Gone. Last season I watched The Finder. Apparently everyone heard that I liked it because it was cancelled.

Maybe you think this is just a recent phenomenon that's occurring because of the heightened competition for viewers in an internet world. But no, my ability to kill a TV show has existed for years. There was a TV show on years ago based on the Mortal Kombat video game. It was terrific. And it was cancelled. They left me hanging after the end of Season 1.

Thankfully there have been some exceptions over the years, and I'm grateful that my curse didn't afflict shows like Grimm and Person of Interest. I foolishly watched those shows from their first episodes, laughing at fate and daring the networks to cancel them. But somehow they managed to survive, even though I was watching. These shows were the exception, and too many others succumbed to my kiss of death.

This year the curse has struck again. I've been enjoying 666 Park Avenue and Last Resort, only to learn recently that they're both going the way of other entertaining programs that weren't identical to every other show on TV. What's wrong with just giving a show a chance to build an audience?

But enough whining. As long as the networks are going to mess with me anyway, I might as well make some money from it. So, attention TV executives: If you want to see your rivals' new season go the way of the dinosaur, just write a check to me. And don't be stingy. You're going to have to outbid all the other networks, otherwise my curse will be used against you. Nothing personal; it's just business. I look forward to working with you.

Kim

The Original Louise Helene

Now that the book I wrote with my aunt, psychic advisor Louise Helene, is set for publication January 8, 2013, I've had a lot of people ask me how my aunt chose such an unusual career. I always tell them that she learned her craft from her mother, whose professional name was also Louise Helene. If you'd like some more details about my aunt's journey from a curious five-year-old gaping at her mother's crystal ball to a popular, successful psychic advisor, check out her most recent blog http://louisehelenethepsychic.blogspot.com/. And don't forget that our book I SAW YOUR FUTURE AND HE'S NOT IT: A PSYCHIC'S GUIDE TO TRUE LOVE is available for pre-order everywhere, for which I am very grateful this Thanksgiving.

First Review - And It's Good!

That Google Alert I set up to tell me when anyone mentions my upcoming book I SAW YOUR FUTURE AND HE'S NOT IT: A PSYCHIC'S GUIDE TO TRUE LOVE has paid off. Today it led me to the book's first review. http://biggestlittlereviewblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/book-i-saw-your-future-and-hes-not-it.html
Now, I know I SAW YOUR FUTURE is a great book, and my coauthor (and aunt) Louise Helene knows it's a great book, but until you actually see a good review, there's always that nagging little doubt that maybe the rest of the world will wake up on the wrong side of the bed and won't be in a mood to like anything. So it was a huge relief when I read the review and saw that this reviewer understood what we were trying to do and enjoyed it. (Exhale huge sigh of relief here) I'm so glad that the reviewer recommends the book, and it was especially fun to read that she identified with some of the women whose stories of good love and and good love gone bad are presented. That's something we've heard from many of the women who've read the book. This is serious cause for celebration this weekend.
Cheers to good reviews!

Tracking Book Sales

Back in the days before the internet, there must have been fewer ways for authors to obsess over their book sales. There were best seller lists and statements from the publisher, but what else? Today, with the internet, there are countless websites offering a variety of ways to keep track of book sales, plus reviews, readers' comments, and a zillion other factors that affect a book's popularity. What did authors do with themselves back in the day when they weren't spending their days setting up Google alerts for mentions of their book titles or their own names? Maybe they actually had time to write new books.

My latest obsession is a site called NovelRank.com. If you put your book's title into the system, it tracks the Amazon sales and ranking. Don't ask how many times per day I've popped over there since putting I SAW YOUR FUTURE AND HE'S NOT IT into the system. It's already been up and down a bit, and as the release days of January 8 gets closer, I'm hoping the ranking and sales will steadily improve.

Next on my agenda is to put my Abraxas books into the system. I think it will track print books and ebooks separately, which gives me that many more chances to obsess about book sales. Isn't technology wonderful?

Author Fairs

Over the past couple months, I've been lucky to attend a few author fairs at libraries in the Chicago area. I started attending these events back in 2006 when Stones of Abraxas was first published, and I loved them then. Now that I've got my self-pubbed version of Stones out, along with the Heroes of Abraxas sequel and My Life as an Earthworm, they're even more fun because there are more books to talk to people about. For these most recent fairs, I also brought promotional postcards for the upcoming nonfiction book I wrote with my aunt, psychic Louise Helene. The book is called I Saw Your Future and He's Not It, and it's going over big with readers.

One of the things I find most interesting about author fairs and other book signing events is that you can never tell who's going to be most interested in your books. When a 12-year-old boy walks past my signing table, I used to automatically assume he'd like my YA fantasy novels with a dragon and gargoyle on the covers. And sometimes he is interested in fantasy, but a lot of times he's not. One time there was a kid who I thought would love fantasy, but he came over and picked up my nonfiction book about Muammar Qaddafi in Libya. When I looked surprised, his mom explained, "He's really interested in dictators." Go figure.

At least half of the people I talk to and sell YA books to at signings are adult women. Sometimes they're looking for a gift for kids or grandkids, but more often they're looking for themselves. I understand where they're coming from because at least half of what I read is classified as young adult.

Maybe most surprising is that it's not just women who are picking up the promo cards for I Saw Your Future and He's Not It. Men are curious, too. Mostly they're dads who have daughters, and they're eager for help in warning the girls away from lousy guys. The book's title really strikes a chord for those dads, I guess.

So, like books, it seems that you can't tell a book reader by his/her cover.

Little Pink Book Update

 Only three months until the January 8, 2013 release of I SAW YOUR FUTURE AND HE'S NOT IT: A PSYCHIC'S GUIDE TO TRUE LOVE and lots of exciting stuff is going on. Last Saturday, my co-author and aunt, Louise Helene, did her first interview. She was featured on Miranda Tempest's blog radio program http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mirandatempest/2012/09/30/i-saw-your-future-and-hes-not-it-1

During the show, Louise talked about how the book is filled with stories taken directly from her psychic consultations and includes techniques for readers to improve their own intuition. She also took calls from listeners seeking psychic advice. It was a great interview, and it was fun to hear her field calls from people who had many of the same kinds of problems that we address in the book.

Meanwhile, I've attended some book signing events to promote my other books and have been handing out promotional materials for I SAW YOUR FUTURE. It's been getting a terrific reception. "I love that title!" and "When can I get a copy?" and "That's a great cover!" are common reactions from readers. And speaking of the cover, we've given the book a nickname. The "little pink book" is cute and quicker to say than the long regular title.

The positive reactions to the book are coming from some unexpected places, which suggests it strikes a chord for a variety of women. For instance, Louise was at a government office recently and got to talking about books with the employee behind the counter. Louise mentioned that she has a book coming out, and when the woman asked about it, Louise pulled out one of our pink promotional postcards. The woman took one look at it, slammed it down on the counter, and demanded an autograph. Then she grabbed the card and ran to the other employees at the back of the office, calling, "Girls, look at this!"

We've even been contacted by media outside the United States about featuring the book. Talk about a thrill! To think that people all around the world can read and enjoy these stories.

It's been exciting so far, and we can't wait to see what happens next. It's hard to wait for the book's release date, though. I want to tell people they can go get a copy right away, but instead I've got to say they can pre-order. But that's OK. It'll be out soon.

And when it is released, then I'll have to keep my eyes open to see if my dream comes true. What dream is that, you ask? I want to spot a copy of the little pink book "in the wild." In other words, I want to see a complete stranger reading it on an airplane or in a coffee shop or buying one at a bookstore. That would be incredible. And in a few months, it might just happen! My aunt has been sure all along that our book will be a huge success. And she is a psychic, so great things are definitely on the horizon.

New ghost story: Warning Signs

Need something to get you in the mood for Halloween? I've just posted my first ebook short story, and in honor of the season, it's scary!
Maybe the house's new owner should have asked questions about why the place was so cheap, but she loved it and thought that remodeling it would be the perfect distraction from her failed marriage. That's when the disturbances started. Are the locals right about a ghost driving away the house's previous owners? Or is there another danger lurking in the turn-of-the century home?
Check out Warning Signs at Smashwords or Amazon. http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/242569
Boo!

New Fall Shows

New fall TV shows! It's great timing that the networks put on a bunch of new shows every year just when the weather's turning cold and we're looking for an excuse to stay inside for the next six months.

Every year there are some new shows that I love and add to my must-see list. And if I'm lucky, at least a couple of them survive and aren't immediately cancelled. There's nothing more frustrating than a great show that doesn't even survive an entire season. Firefly and Moonlight come to mind and still hurt every time I think of them.

The 2011/12 season offered a bunch of fun new shows, and some of them are still around. Some of last year's favorites are Grimm, Person of Interest, Once Upon a Time, Alphas, Veep, and Girls. I had high hopes for Grimm from the beginning, but Person of Interest and Alphas were awesome surprises. And I resisted Once Upon a Time for months until my mom talked me into giving it a chance. Other good shows didn't the year, and I'm left without closure. Those include The Finder, Ringer, Off the Map, and The River.

This year, I'm looking forward to checking out a whole new batch of new shows. Premier episodes for these are on my DVR so I can check them out and see if they're worth continuing: Arrow, Elementary, Go On, 666 Park Avenue, Beauty and the Beast, and Revolution. I've already seen Revolution and Go On, and they were pretty good. I'm not sure what to expect with Beauty and the Beast because I loved the old show by that name that starred Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman. 666 Park Avenue looks cool, but if it's too scary, then I'll have to turn it off because otherwise I won't be able to sleep ever again.

So I'm hoping for a good TV season and that my favorite new shows don't get cancelled. Of course, some have to be cancelled, otherwise I won't have time to do anything but watch television. And, frankly, what would be so bad about that?

OK, I've got to go and set up my DVR. Happy TV viewing!

Goodbye, Summer! Hello, New Book!

This summer, we had multiple 100+ degree days in northern Illinois, but I enjoyed soaking up the heat and loved every minute of it. Just as long as my air conditioning continued to work, that is. But now there's only one more week of summer until autumn officially starts, and it's pretty depressing. Autumn is beautiful, but it inevitably leads to winter, and winter in northern Illinois isn't a thing I'd wish on anyone.

Have you ever put on an extra pair of pants and an ankle-length parka just to walk down to the mailbox? Have you ever climbed into your car through the hatchback because the other doors were frozen shut?  Have you ever found a mole in your basement, but you felt sorry for him because it was so cold outside, so you dug a cozy nest for him in a pile of leaves in the yard? No? Then you've never lived here. I know, right now all you hardcore residents of Minnesota and North Dakota are laughing at the wimpy Illinoisan (or Flatlander, as Wisconsin residents call us), but all this flat land really allows the wind to work up a head of steam, and it gets miserable.

Anyway, needless to say, I don't want winter to come, but this year it's not as simple as all that. This year, a part of me actually wants winter to come because I'm eager for the January 8, 2013 release of my book I SAW YOUR FUTURE AND HE'S NOT IT: A PSYCHIC'S GUIDE TO TRUE LOVE. Would I be less conflicted if it came out in June or July, so I could just wish for summer? Sure, but in this case, this book is scheduled for January because it's right before Valentine's Day.

The thinking is that I SAW YOUR FUTURE would make a great Valentine's gift to give your friend who's overdue to get rid of her creepy boyfriend. (Subtle hints often don't work because they're too subtle.) It's also a book a woman can pick up for herself in an effort to find a new guy to spend Valentine's Day with. This is also just a funny, interesting read for somebody who would like entertaining stories about other women's successes and failures in the romance department. So, yes, a wintertime release is the best timing, but it still leaves me clinging desperately to summer – together with my shorts, sandals, and tomato vines – while looking forward to an exciting event in January.

In fact, a January release might be the best timing of all. January and February are usually miserable in this part of the world, with dark, cold days and nothing fun to look forward to, but in 2013 that won't be the case. Book promotion activities and the excitement of the new release should brighten up those two months.

That's it, I'm convinced. This year, bring on winter! But let's make it a mild one, OK? Oh, and those Mayans better be wrong about the world ending on December 22, because if that happens only two weeks before my release date, someone's getting an angry letter from yours truly.

Aurora Library Author Fair

What are you doing Saturday, September 8? You say you're standing up in your sister's wedding? Skip it and do something fun instead! Admit it, you never liked that clown she's marrying, anyway. Instead, come on down to the Aurora Public Library for their Third Annual Catch a Bunch of Authors Fair. Meet authors, see the latest books, and get your copies signed. What a great way to spend a Saturday! It's way better than having to make small talk with distant cousins while doing the Chicken Dance.

The event is scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m. in the Prisco Community Center (attached to the library) at 150 W. Illinois Ave., Aurora, IL. Lots of Chicago-area authors will be there with a wide range of books. Fiction and nonfiction for adults and kids of all ages will be available. And I guarantee no one will corner you and ask the uncomfortable questions you'd get at a family wedding. You won't have to think up good responses to, "Why aren't you married yet?" or "When are you going to start a family?" or "Do you think I ought to have this mole checked out?"

So, I'm looking forward to seeing you at the Aurora Author Fair. Make sure to stop by my table where I'll be signing copies of my Abraxas YA fantasy novels and my brand-new-hot-off-the-presses-the ink's-still-wet YA novel My Life as an Earthworm. We'll have a few laughs, chat about books, and, what the heck, maybe do the hokey pokey in honor of your sister's special day.

Giving stuff away for fun and profit

Whether authors are publishing their own books or they're with a traditional house, a central concern is how to get more books sold and into the hands of readers. And that's exactly what I'm obsessing about lately. Since the spring when I released STONES OF ABRAXAS and its sequel HEROES OF ABRAXAS under my Kissing Frog Books imprint, I've been trying to figure out how to effectively promote them. And what I've discovered is that promoting a self-pubbed book is even more of an uphill battle than getting a traditionally published book out there.

I've had a few books traditionally published (including the original edition of STONES OF ABRAXAS in 2006), but I've never done the self-pub thing before. So I did some research and asked other authors who've been successful with publishing their own books. The authors all generously gave me advice that worked for them. I implemented their advice, everything from using social media (including this very blog here), to trying to get reviews, to setting the price for the first ebook in my Abraxas series at free so people will get hooked and want to buy the next book. Then I sat back and waited for the royalty checks to roll in. I'm still waiting.

I had especially high hopes for the tactic of setting the price of the STONES OF ABRAXAS ebook at free, since it's worked so well for many other authors. So I priced it as free at Smashwords, then found out I can't make it free at Amazon's Kindle store unless I join the Kindle Select program. On its surface, Kindle Select sounded great because among other things your book is part of a lending library program and you earn royalties every time it's downloaded through the library. But I learned that the problem with Kindle Select is that you have to promise to exclusively publish your ebook through them for at least 90 days. I didn't like the idea of shutting out other booksellers, so I published my books for Kindle, but didn't enroll in Kindle Select.

Did that mean I couldn't set the STONES ebook price at free? Not necessarily, according to fellow YA author, Megg Jensen. She told me that Amazon wants people to let them know if a book is available for less than their price at another website. So I let them know it was free at Smashwords. That was a month or two ago, but it hasn't changed yet at Amazon. Not to worry, says Megg. She said that I might have to make a nuisance of myself until the price eventually gets changed. So Nuisance Land, here I come.

That's where I'm at right now as far as trying to promote my three self-pubbed books. If anyone has any suggestions that might help further, please let me know. Obviously, I can use all the help I can get.

You Now Have Timeline

"You Now Have Timeline." Are there any more dreaded words in the Internet universe? For people who are into social networking, these words can inflict the same horror as "You're being audited." Given a choice, everyone would much rather hear "It looks like triplets."

Today started out fine, until I made the mistake of checking out Facebook. That's when I saw the message. My nice, neat, easy-to-understand profile is being forcibly relocated to the Evil Land of Timeline. It's a barren wasteland where it's impossible to understand who your friends are or what they're doing. You don't know what you like and what you don't. Your pictures are lost in the ether. And you have no choice about any of it.

I knew it was hopeless, but I still went to Facebook's help topics looking for some glimmer of hope that maybe I could prevent the inevitable. I searched in vain using topics like, "Get rid of Timeline," "Timeline sucks," and "Why do you hate me?" But there weren't any topics to help me. If those topics exist, they're locked up in Timeline where it's impossible for anyone to find them.

So my question is "Why?" Why would anyone purposely make something suck this badly? And it's not like FB is unaware that people hate Timeline. I sent them an email and commented that I’m no doubt the one billionth person to complain about it. That's probably an understatement. The idea of taking something that people think is OK and turning it into something incomprehensible that your customers despise doesn't make sense. It's like if McDonald's got rid of its hamburgers and started only selling ground-up cabbage patties. They wouldn't. There would be no point. So why Timeline? Why inflict the social media equivalent of ground cabbage patties on the world of FB users?

If anyone has any answer to that question, please let me know. Because right now I'm forced to conclude that this is an elaborate practical joke designed to find out how much obnoxious crap the public will put up with. You know, along the lines of red-light cameras and info-mercials that offer to give you something "free" as long as you pay a "separate handling" charge.

Signing off in the Evil Land of Timeline,

Kim

Olympic Athletes Need Love, Too

In a never-ending attempt to avoid working on one of several manuscripts that I should be dealing with, I've been watching the Olympics. Who knew that professional trampolining (is that a word?) exists outside of the circus industry. Anyway, with the upcoming release of the relationship book I wrote with my aunt Louise Helene, I SAW YOUR FUTURE AND HE'S NOT IT: A PSYCHIC'S GUIDE TO TRUE LOVE, I got to thinking about whether any Olympic athletes have met their spouses through the Games. Turns out, there are a number of them. And apparently I'm not the only one wondering about this question because I found a photo segment that the Huffington Post just had on the same topic: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/24/olympic-marriage_n_1655143.html

Of the couples listed, the one that surprised me most was Olympic gold-medal gymnasts Nadia Comaneci and Bart Conner. I had no idea they'd gotten married. Even if you're too young to have seen Nadia earn multiple scores of perfect 10 in the 1976 Games, you've probably heard about her. And American Bart Conner won men's gymnastic gold at the 1984 Olympics.

I was intrigued by Nadia and Bart, so I did a little research about them. It seems their romance wasn't exactly love at first sight and smooth sailing forever after. They met for the first time at a gymnastics competition several months before the 1976 Olympics. A 14-year-old Nadia won a gold medal for the women, and Bart, who was 18 years old at the time, won the men's medal. They stood next to each other on the award platform, and a photographer suggested Bart give Nadia a kiss. He did, but if sparks flew, it would be a long time before anyone found out about it.

Nadia went on to endure a great deal of turmoil in her home country of Romania, which was ruled by the oppressive Communist regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu. In 1989, she fled Romania for the United States. Once there, she made contact with old friends, including Bart Conner. The two of them became engaged in 1994 and married in 1996. Twenty years after they first met.

That happily-ever-after story puts a huge, goofy grin on my face. I hope you like it, too.
Kim

I SAW YOUR FUTURE for pre-order!

I'm thrilled to report that my upcoming nonfiction book I SAW YOUR FUTURE AND HE'S NOT IT: A PSYCHIC'S GUIDE TO TRUE LOVE is available for pre-order at Llewellyn Publishing as well as lots of other book sellers! Click here to view.

This fun and inspiring book was co-written with my aunt, the psychic advisor Louise Helene. She has spent years advising clients in their romantic dilemmas, and now she's sharing her expertise with readers around the world.
I SAW YOUR FUTURE will be released January 8, 2013, and if you order now, it will be shipped to you as soon as it's available.
Happy reading!
Kim

New cover art for I Saw Your Future and He's Not It

My editor at Llewellyn Publishing just sent out the brand spanking new cover art for my upcoming relationship book I SAW YOUR FUTURE AND HE'S NOT IT: A PSYCHIC'S GUIDE TO TRUE LOVE. It's my first foray into adult nonfiction, and I co-wrote it with my aunt, the psychic advisor Louise Helene. It will be available for pre-sale later this summer, but I had to share this cool cover right away.
Stay tuned for more details!
Kim

Bigfoot: Coming to a neighborhood near you!

A family of Bigfoots (Bigfeet?) is living in my town. At least that's what my local newspaper says. It ran a story yesterday that said someone had been out walking his dog in a forest preserve when he saw two huge, brown furry creatures disappear into the woods. These creatures were 8 to 10 feet tall, smelled rank, and one of them screamed. Best of all, the Bigfeet threw rocks at the guy and his dog. So they're big, stinky, and aggressive. The person reporting the incident described himself as a skeptic when it came to Bigfoot, so it wasn't like he had been out in the woods hoping to see a mythical creature.

How cool is that? Bigfoot – even better – a family of Bigfeet living down the block from me? And even if the story is false, then maybe I've got a prankster or drunk or delusional crackpot living down the block from me who's lurking in the woods at night. Either way, I win. And my property value should start to climb any day now.

I learned in the newspaper story that there are way more Bigfoot sightings every year than I would have ever imagined. They're not all in the Northwest, either. They're spread around the United States, including here in Illinois where I live. Some people report their Bigfoot sightings to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization where data on these incidents is collected. That's how the newspaper found out about the sighting near my house; the witness had reported it anonymously at the organization's website.

Stan Courtney, a Bigfoot researcher from Illinois, said Bigfeet like heavily wooded areas. They're also fond of bike paths and railroad tracks for walking. After all, who wants to blaze a trail through the brush if you don't have to? At Courtney's website www.StanCourtney.com he also noted the tendency of Bigfoot creatures to leave gifts. Of course, Bigfoot's idea of a gift (a skunk tail or rocks) might not be the same as most humans', but it's the thought that counts.

As much as I want to believe that legends like Bigfoot are for real, I have one big objection to them: Where are the bodies? If Bigfoots are wandering across the country, then somebody must have found a body by now. Unless they're immortal, which seems unlikely since nothing they seem related to (humans, monkeys) is immortal. Or maybe the TV show Grimm had it right in their Bigfoot episode. The creatures are actually humans that transform like werewolves, but they revert to human form when they die. But that seems strange, too, because we don't know of any other animals that do that.

The newspaper interviewed our county's forest preserve director to see if his office knew anything about Bigfoot sightings. He said no, although there's somebody in the office who fantasizes about dressing up in a Bigfoot costume. Yick. That's a subject for a whole different kind of blog. He also said that the person who spotted the Bigfeet was breaking the law by being in a forest preserve after dark. Really? Leave it to a bureaucrat to suck all the wonder out of life.

So am I living next door to a family of Sasquatch? Maybe. Which means I've got to be alert to things like skunk tails left on my property, rocks being thrown in my direction, and horrible stenches. Of course, those things would have gotten my attention before. Only now I know their true source. Cue Twilight Zone music.

Kim

I Saw Your Future

Terrific news: I have a contract with Llewellyn Publishing to release my first nonfiction book for adults! I Saw Your Future and He's Not It: A Psychic's Guide to True Love was co-written with my aunt, psychic advisor Louise Helene. For more than 30 years, she's consulted with clients around the world, particularly talking to women about love and relationship problems.

You might be thinking, "But, Kim, you write young adult fiction. What's with the nonfiction book for adults?" Well, the fact is that I'm a sucker for a good story, and this book is full of fascinating ones that my aunt has heard from her clients over the years. Some are hilarious, some heart-breaking, and some will just make you say "aaawww". This book has something for everyone, whether you're in a relationship or not, and whether you're into supernatural phenomena or not. It's entertaining, lively, and informative. You'll love it!

Our publisher is working on cover art for I Saw Your Future and He's Not It right now, and I'll post it here as soon as it's ready. The book will be available for pre-sale at Llewellyn Publishing's website and at booksellers starting in July or August. It will be released January 8, 2013, just in time for Valentine's Day.

My aunt and I really enjoyed the opportunity to work together on writing the book, and now we're looking forward to the fun of promoting it. I'm even sharpening my book-signing pen. Sadly, pens aren't supposed to be sharpened, so now I've got ink all over my fingers. OK, I'm going to sign off and wash my hands.

Happy publishing!

Kim

The Trouble with Twitters

I don't fully understand Twitter. I'm not having technical problems; I know how to tweet and haven't forgotten my password or anything. But I'm not sure exactly how I'm supposed to use it. First, I don't have a smart phone, so anytime something interesting happens when I'm out, I have to remember it until I get home and can get on my computer. Needless to say, I forget. And, frankly, nothing particularly tweet-worthy happens when I'm sitting at home in front of the computer. Do you want to know about "the cutest thing" my cat just did? I didn't think so. Since I don't want to spend untold sums of money for a data plan and a new cell phone, I think I'm stuck with uninspired tweets.

OK, I can handle that. I'll just tweet occasionally and follow other people who I find interesting. Which leads me to my second problem: How many people am I supposed to follow? Everyone I see follows hundreds or thousands of other people. THOUSANDS! How is that even possible? Even if every one of those people only tweets once a week, it would be a full time job to read all that stuff. Plus, there are a few people I'm particularly interested in, but if I'm following a zillion people, then the ones I'm most interested in get lost in the shuffle, and I never see their posts. What's the point?

On a related note, some people I've seen are tweeting constantly. Is it necessary to literally share a minute-by-minute account of your day? But if you start following someone like that, then isn't it rude to unsubscribe from their feed? Do they know someone has unsubscribed? Will they take it personally and have their feelings hurt? And if I want people to follow my tweets, then I assume I'm supposed to follow theirs, right? Is that a requirement? It seems like the polite thing to do, but I have no idea what kind of social rules apply to the world of Twitter.

Which brings me to another issue: It seems like everyone cheats the 140-character rule by tweeting links. Sure, I'm guilty of doing this, too, but I don't usually want to read an entire link. Whatever happened to just tweeting a short thought or comment? Don't people do that anymore? Isn't it possible to just subscribe to someone's feed, read a short thought or comment from them, then move on without having to click through a link to a whole article or blog or something? What's ironic is that I'm posting a link to this blog on my Twitter account, so people might read this rant against links when they've just followed a link. Is that irony? Or is that just a sign that I'm a sociopath?

As a result of all my confusion, I've found it easier to just not get too deeply into Twitter. I can't tweet much without a smart phone anyway, I don't follow many people because I'm afraid to unsubscribe if they tweet too much, and I'm not wild about having to deal with links in tweets. But maybe if you're reading this blog, you could explain to me what I'm doing wrong. Please tell me how anyone can actually follow 10,000 Twitter accounts. Maybe there's a trick that I don't know. And, no, I'm not willing to give up sleep in order to be an accomplished Twitter user. So if you can solve these problems, please send me a link to the answers. J

Happy tweeting!

Kim 

New Stones of Abraxas is here!

Finally! The new print edition of Stones of Abraxas is available through Createspace and by the end of the month, ebooks for Kindle and other formats will be out there, too. Even better, Book #2 of the Abraxas Pentagram series, Heroes of Abraxas, will also be for sale within the next month. I know it took forever. Believe me, it was frustrating to see my first Abraxas publisher leave the young adult market, which meant the book went out of print. Then I saw my second publisher go out of business entirely before either Stones or Heroes could be released. But now, thanks to the miracle of self-publishing, those books can be available again.

You can see the funky new cover for this edition of Stones as the profile picture for this blog. I have the Heroes of Abraxas cover, too, and while I love both of the covers, but I'm especially fond of the emerald green and gargoyle on the Heroes cover.  Thumbs up for my cover artist!

Right now, I'm busy working on Book #3 in the Abraxas series, called Rulers of Abraxas. I promise this one won't take nearly as long as it took me to get Book #2 out there! I'm also working on publishing a few other manuscripts that I've finished in recent years and will announce when those are available. It's so cool to have the ability to release books when and how I want. This modern technology thing is really beginning to grow on me.

If you get a chance, please head over to Createspace's e-store and check out the new print version of Stones of Abraxas. It's been a long wait, but don't they say good things are worth waiting for? https://www.createspace.com/3803104

Happy publishing, everyone!
Kim

New Stones of Abraxas edition almost here!

It's almost here! I've just placed an order for the first proof copy of Stones of Abraxas. Hopefully it will look as good on paper as it does on the computer page. It took a long time – way longer than I'd expected – to get it to this point, but now I'm really happy with the result. The print books should up and available for sale on Amazon by the end of April, and I hope to have the ebook versions available soon after. At about the same time, the Heroes of Abraxas sequel will be available, too.

I find myself looking back on the past months and wondering why it took me so long to get this done, but the fact is that self-publishing a book requires a lot of steps. Since this is my first attempt at self-publishing, there was a steep learning curve. Oh, and there was the work I was also doing to finish my latest nonfiction manuscript and find a publisher for it. The good news is I did find a publisher for that one, and the book will be out in January 2013. More about that in an upcoming post.

Anyway, here's what I've been doing to get Stones of Abraxas ready for prime time:

-        Edited the manuscript once, twice, three times, then another time for good measure. I added a few things and deleted others from the original version that Medallion Press had published back in 2006.

-        Researched publishing options and decided on Amazon's Createspace.

-        I figured out how to use Createspace's online publishing tools, including formatting my manuscript to work in their system.

-        Found an artist for the book cover. She did a great job on a very cool looking cover. Now she's got me on the schedule to work on one for the Abraxas sequel.

-        Put the inside and outside of the book together and ordered a proof copy.

-        Used the book cover to order promotional postcards to pass out at book signings.

So far, that's it. Now I wait for the books to show up while I get the ebook version formatted. After that, I get to start the fun part: Book signings and other promotional events. I've got a couple lined up, but there should be more soon.

That's it for now. I'll be posting the new cover on my website soon. Thanks for checking on the progress of the new edition of Stones of Abraxas. It will be available again very soon. Thanks for your patience!

Kim

Good news! And a little complaining

I know it's been forever since I've posted a blog, but I have a good excuse...er, reason. I've been busy finishing the manuscript I wrote with my aunt. It's fun and exciting and officially in the hands of our editor. Hopefully we'll be signing books in no time!

Since I was so busy working on the book with my aunt, I've gone nowhere with my self-publishing efforts with the Abraxas series. Yes, I feel terrible about it, but now I've got some time so I'm diving back into it. Seriously. Don't roll your eyes. You'll see. Again, I'll be signing books in no time!

But while we're waiting, how about a little complaint about something that's been on my mind: Christmas music. I love Christmas time, but the one thing about it that makes me cringe every year is when they put Christmas music on the radio. There I am, bopping away to Lady Gaga or Led Zeppelin or White Stripes or whatever (depending on radio station) when all of a sudden, White Christmas starts coming at me. Or Little Drummer Boy. Or that song a bunch of celebrities got together to do in order to raise money for charity.

Look, I don't dislike any of these songs per se, but they have to be in context! I intentionally watch the movie White Christmas every year and love it. But when I'm listening to normal, non-holiday music on a normal, non-holiday radio station, that's what I want to hear. Not an unexpected version of Mariah Carey singing Silent Night. For instance, if I choose to listen to a classic rock station, I wouldn't want them to suddenly slip in a hip hop song or Dolly Parton. That's not what I want to listen to. So why's it OK to do that with Christmas music?

The good news is that the holidays are over and I don't have to worry about this problem for 11 more months. During that time maybe I should just buy myself some new CDs and I can listen to them in the car throughout the month of December. Have I just become a modern-day Scrooge? Bah-humbug!

Here's to a happy and safe 2012!

Kim