Jenn Cooksey's Blog

A word (or several) about #GYP4...
Many upon many GYP readers have been foaming at the mouth for quite some time and have been asking about when the 4th book is coming out. The answer is simple: I don't know yet.This particular book is different than the others in the series, it's very tricky to write, it's thrown me and beta readers for some quite unexpected, crazy-ass corkscrew loops, and I want to get every part of it as perfect as I can so as to do the characters, the book, and the overall GYP story justice while staying true to myself and what I envision and will be satisfied with when all is said and done, which means it's taking a while.I appreciate everyone's unending love, unconditional support, and extreme patience in regard to this project, but I have this to say as well... If you find yourself getting overly antsy and impatient (which I totally get, because I'm RIGHT there with you, believe me), consider yourselves somewhat lucky that you've only been waiting a few years. To help you with that, here's a little-known fact: I've been writing this 1 book for roughly 8 years now. You read that right. EIGHT years.Yes, I've taken breaks to publish the 1st 3 books in the series, to write and release Landslide, to go back into the 1st book I ever wrote and get it edited and killer-awesome cover art so that it's ready to go for release (which I'm not going to do now until I'm closer to being done with the GYP series or finished with it completely), as well as having started work on myriad other writing projects. I've only done those things, however, because it has been necessary in order for me to not get burned out on this one book, because it's an intricate, leviathan of a book, one that won't be available in print in one single volume if I stick with the print parameters of the other books in the series—it will most likely have to be printed in at least 2 volumes unless I can sweet-talk Amazon Publishing or Create Space into making an exception on their max-page, either that or I'll have to go with a larger format, which means the series won't be uniform in size, and that'll quite frankly really fucking piss off my readers who buy print books for the sheer purpose of them looking pretty on their bookshelves, and the vast majority of the readers I know are those people (#NoJudgment).So, to recap; 8 years is a long fucking time for me to be writing 1 book. It has thus far been a long and arduous journey fraught with trials, tears, revelations, compromise, sleepless nights, and some laughter at my expense from betas. I know there's light at the end of the GYP4 tunnel, although I still can't quite see more than a faint glimmer of that light yet, because again, it's a long fucking tunnel. But, I'm getting there. I promise. Once it's done and I'm bathing in sunshine, cover art is good to go, and I'm comfortable with how I'm set up for the remaining books in the series, I'll pick a release date, I'll shout the announcement from the highest rooftops of social media, and then I'll give it to you. And just FYI, the announcement of a release date will also be the cover reveal, and with that, the title will be revealed as well. It'll all be done in ONE shot.Also, once the info is out, please don't request an ARC. I hate saying no and sounding like a self-important bitch who's too big for her britches (because I'm nobody really and I know this), but I do have my reasons and I don't give out ARCs when it comes to this series; however, with that said, I might get a wild hair up my aged ass and decide to do a single ARC giveaway in the FB group JC & The Apostles, but I don't want anyone holding their breath.And one other thing I'm going to do...or, not do...I'm not going to fuck around. I'm not going to drag out the time between the announcement of the release date and publication just so that I can do a lot of pre-release promotion. I'll make 2 announcements. The first will be when I'm done writing it and it has gone into the editing and cover art phase, and then once I have a release date based on how long that might take, I'll make the second announcement (cover/title/release date reveal) which will give people a heads up with hopefully enough time for everyone to get a re-read of books 1-3 in. Then I'm just going to give book 4 to you guys.You'll have waited long enough, and sweet baby Jesus knows, I will have too.

Are you ready?Better grab your big girl panties, because a LANDSLIDE is coming!

This giveaway is in celebration of Landslide's long-awaited release and will run approximately two weeks beginning tomorrow (Release Day) and ending the day after I get home from Wicked Book Weekend (February 10th). There are some things you can do to be prepared for a handful of entries though. For instance, choose one of the pictures below to use as your own profile picture (#Solidarity), write up an honest review for Landslide once you've read the book that you will post in various places, making teasers and emailing them to me, and taking screen shots of your Landslide e-book proof of purchase (which can of course include pre-purchases—just make sure you take a screen shot with the fully purchased copy in your device library once the sale goes through).


Also, there are ways to get extra entries for those who are attending the 2015 NOLA Author Event and the 2015 Wicked Book Weekend event, so if you're going to either or both of those, look at the Rafflecopter for how you can get yourself an extra entry or two.

And believe me, with some of the prizes up for grabs, you want to do everything in your power to get as many entries as you possibly can.

Below you'll find sales links, the Rafflecopter, as well as some photos to choose from to use as your profile picture, and other than that, all I have to say is thank you for your interest and support, and GOOD LUCK!!!








Landslide on AmazonLandslide on iBooksLandslide on NookLandslide on Kobo


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Landslide by Fleetwood Mac on Grooveshark
With this reveal, you music whores are in for a treat! What makes this reveal different from any of the others is that not only are you getting to lay your eyes on Landslide's GORGEOUS cover for the first time, but you're also getting a sneak peek at its playlist! (Notice the listening link above for "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac)

I've used some really incredible songs as chapter titles in this book, as well as for inspiration and the occasional reference within it, and everyone participating in the reveal has picked an individual song from my playlist, not knowing if the song they chose is a chapter title or not mind you, and they will be sharing a listening link for the songs they chose along with the cover.

Not only that, but in addition to some of my fave bloggers sharing the cover and songs throughout the day today, some of my fave AUTHORS are participating too! So, if you're keen to see what I might have in store for your listening ears, you can see the list of bloggers, authors, and some #TeamGYP peeps who are participating and then travel to their pages in your quest! And maybe, you'll discover a new blog to follow and/or another author to add to your list of favorites, because I'm telling you, this is an all-star list composed of many INCREDIBLY talented authors, some of whom are New York Times best sellers and others who deserve to be!

Also, I'll be giving away up to 25 ARCs of Landslide (link to the request form is below), and make sure you check out the Rafflecopter giveaway posted below the list of participants! And if you're on Facebook and want to make sure you stay up to date with the latest on Landslide, join the Facebook Group, Landslide, A Novel by Jenn Cooksey!!

And now, it's finally time to show you all the heartbreaking beauty of Landslide's cover!! Are you ready?!

Drumroll, please...







Cover/Playlist Reveal Participants:(I've done my best to link everyone playing my reindeer games, however, please keep in mind that many of the participants may be posting on their Facebook pages, Instagram, tsū, Twitter or other media sites outside of their websites. I've linked author and blog websites as well as author FB pages, as my best guess as to where their posts are, but if you go to a website and don't see Landslide's cover, I'd check out their FB page, Instagram account, or find them on another media outlet.)
While you're visiting blogs and authors, please, for the love of Bacon, take a moment to help show my appreciation and return their support by liking their post, sharing it, and even following them if you don't already. Because remember, sharing is caring and 'tis the season—especially with the way posts are being the suppressed the way they are and thus going unseen by so many now, we can all use the help and support to get the literary word out. ;-)
Participating Authors:
Author AL Jackson - Facebook PageAuthor Aleatha Romig - Facebook PageAuthor Amanda Bennett - Facebook PageAuthor Amanda Jason - Facebook PageAuthor Andrea Randall - Facebook PageAuthor Annie Walls - Facebook PageAuthor Beth Ehemann - Facebook PageAuthor Carmen Jenner - Facebook PageAuthor Daisy Prescott - Facebook PageAuthor Helen Boswell - Facebook PageAuthor Jay Crownover - Facebook PageAuthor Karina Halle - Facebook PageAuthor Kendall Grey - Facebook PageAuthor Melissa Brown - Facebook PageAuthor Michelle Warren - Facebook PageAuthor RL Griffin - Facebook PageAuthor Tara Sivec - Facebook PageAuthor Tia Louise - Facebook Page
Participating Blogs:
A Beautiful Book BlogA Love Affair With BooksAlways YA At HeartAna's Attic Book BlogThe Autumn ReviewBlack Heart ReviewsGlogbug & Hootie Need A BookLiis' BookshelfLittle Read Riding HoodLives & Breathes Book BlogMel, Erin, & Regina Read-A-LotSeeking Book BoyfriendsSMI Book ClubTeacups & BookendsTwo Moms ReadingUnabridged Bookshelf
Participating #TeamGYP peeps who don't blog:
Emily LamphearKelly Hawkins SolomanKelly HoardLaura AgraStarlyn Legaspi
Landslide ARC Request Form
a Rafflecopter giveaway

1. People in the book community who've never read my work or even seen me on FB are still somehow able to recognize me and will say things like, "Oh! You're Jenn Cooksey! You're the shark chick!"
2. No matter how loud you yell or annunciate, there's a 99% probability rate that Tara Sivec and I will still confuse words like drink for things that don't sound anything like it. For example; drain and train, or, um...brown sugar. 
3. No fault and zero liability clauses in regard to attending book signings should probably be written into prenuptial agreements. 
4. There're so many wonderfully talented and amazing authors out there that if I keep falling in love with them when I meet them like I did this weekend, I'm gonna need a bigger boat. Er...bookcase.
5. Drunk foreigners shouting cheesecake amid other slurred phrases will induce Buffy to have sudden onset asthma attacks even though she doesn't have asthma. 
6. I REALLY need to start wearing waterproof mascara because tears brought on by laughter or sentiment are inevitable at events like this, and mascara dripping into your eyes...well, that shit fuckin' hurts, you know?
7. No matter where you are, a member of the Sivec family will stalk--I mean find you, but you'll be cool with it because they genuinely make you feel like you're family.
8. If you put your freshly shaven legs in the Atlantic Ocean, it'll burn just as much as it does when you do it in the Pacific Ocean.
9. Dawn Robertson might be more into My Little Pony than my girls were back when they were all still under the age of 10, and can rock a kimono, MLP underoos, and tube socks like no one's business.
10. Vibrator races are real. And witnessing them should be on every self-respecting person's bucket list.
11. If you don't wake up at 1:30 in the morning on a Sunday to party with your drunk neighbors, there's a good chance they'll leave a calling card in the form of a penis shoved under your door.
12. There will never be enough time to meet, talk to, and hang out with all the people you want to. (Like you, Tiffany King, Adam Kunz and Amanda Jason, C.C. Wood, Jasinda and Jack Wilder, Aleatha Romig, Jillian Dodd, Laurel Curtis, R.K. Lilley, and Kendall Gray. Not to mention all the fucking amazing volunteers, bloggers, and readers who came out.)
13. A full grown man can easily be caveman-tossed over a woman's shoulder and carried onto a stage when free books are on the line.

14. Even grown-ass adult women can get giddy over rubber duckies and will wear a unicorn headband proudly in public.

15. If I'm asked to pose for a picture with a "flat dom.", my first impulse will be to spank my own ass with a stranger's face, and I also apparently won't hesitate or question biting someone's nipple ring, faux or not, if a camera is involved in any way.
16. Signings make a girl parched so it's best to pretend you were a Girl Scout and be prepared in whatever way you can be; i.e., have on hand at all times The. Most. Fucking Awesome (and now tax deductible). Unicorn Flask. EVER.
17. You know you have phenomenal fans when they love and know you well enough to give you more than 2 hours to come up with something special to write in a book and then sit down with you and flip through said book looking for a good quote to use when after 3 hours have gone by and you STILL haven't been able to make a damned decision. Oh and they bring you licorice.

18. 20,000+ women and I don't even know how many men would give their eyeteeth to be me in the below picture even though I clearly haven't learned the lesson that I CANNOT get away with making the duck face. Seriously, do the planet a favor and set up an intervention or tackle me to the ground the next time it looks like I'm about to pucker for a camera instead of saying cheese, regardless of whose boobs I have my hands on.

19. You know your event organizer is badass when she stays up until 5:30 in the morning to make sure everything is taken care of, and her volunteers work their asses off to help make the event a smashing success instead of taking even a small break to get the books from their fave authors signed.
20. I have one of the most loving and supportive families a person could ever dream of.

1. People in the book community who've never read my work or even seen me on FB are still somehow able to recognize me and will say things like, "Oh! You're Jenn Cooksey! You're the shark chick!"
2. No matter how loud you yell or annunciate, there's a 99% probability rate that Tara Sivec and I will still confuse words like drink for things that don't sound anything like it. For example; drain and train, or, um...brown sugar. 
3. No fault and zero liability clauses in regard to attending book signings should probably be written into prenuptial agreements. 
4. There're so many wonderfully talented and amazing authors out there that if I keep falling in love with them when I meet them like I did this weekend, I'm gonna need a bigger boat. Er...bookcase.
5. Drunk foreigners shouting cheesecake amid other slurred phrases will induce Buffy to have sudden onset asthma attacks even though she doesn't have asthma. 
6. I REALLY need to start wearing waterproof mascara because tears brought on by laughter or sentiment are inevitable at events like this, and mascara dripping into your eyes...well, that shit fuckin' hurts, you know?
7. No matter where you are, a member of the Sivec family will stalk--I mean find you, but you'll be cool with it because they genuinely make you feel like you're family.
8. If you put your freshly shaven legs in the Atlantic Ocean, it'll burn just as much as it does when you do it in the Pacific Ocean.
9. Dawn Robertson might be more into My Little Pony than my girls were back when they were all still under the age of 10, and can rock a kimono, MLP underoos, and tube socks like no one's business.
10. Vibrator races are real. And witnessing them should be on every self-respecting person's bucket list.
11. If you don't wake up at 1:30 in the morning on a Sunday to party with your drunk neighbors, there's a good chance they'll leave a calling card in the form of a penis shoved under your door.
12. There will never be enough time to meet, talk to, and hang out with all the people you want to. (Like you, Tiffany King, Adam Kunz and Amanda Jason, C.C. Wood, Jasinda and Jack Wilder, Aleatha Romig, Jillian Dodd, Laurel Curtis, R.K. Lilley, and Kendall Gray. Not to mention all the fucking amazing volunteers, bloggers, and readers who came out.)
13. A full grown man can easily be caveman-tossed over a woman's shoulder and carried onto a stage when free books are on the line.

14. Even grown-ass adult women can get giddy over rubber duckies and will wear a unicorn headband proudly in public.

15. If I'm asked to pose for a picture with a "flat dom.", my first impulse will be to spank my own ass with a stranger's face, and I also apparently won't hesitate or question biting someone's nipple ring, faux or not, if a camera is involved in any way.
16. Signings make a girl parched so it's best to pretend you were a Girl Scout and be prepared in whatever way you can be; i.e., have on hand at all times The. Most. Fucking Awesome (and now tax deductible). Unicorn Flask. EVER.
17. You know you have phenomenal fans when they love and know you well enough to give you more than 2 hours to come up with something special to write in a book and then sit down with you and flip through said book looking for a good quote to use when after 3 hours have gone by and you STILL haven't been able to make a damned decision. Oh and they bring you licorice.

18. 20,000+ women and I don't even know how many men would give their eyeteeth to be me in the below picture even though I clearly haven't learned the lesson that I CANNOT get away with making the duck face. Seriously, do the planet a favor and set up an intervention or tackle me to the ground the next time it looks like I'm about to pucker for a camera instead of saying cheese, regardless of whose boobs I have my hands on.

19. You know your event organizer is badass when she stays up until 5:30 in the morning to make sure everything is taken care of, and her volunteers work their asses off to help make the event a smashing success instead of taking even a small break to get the books from their fave authors signed.
20. I have one of the most loving and supportive families a person could ever dream of.

It's a Grab Your Pole One-Click Weekend!


One-click Shark Bait on Amazon for yourself and/or a friend, provide proof of purchase (details in the Rafflecopter), and you could win a $10 Amazon gift card!! 
For more chances to win and to enter, see the Rafflecopter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My 2014 NOLA HaulThe NOLA Event weekend started out on Thursday for me. I flew out of hell on a jet plane and landed in New Orleans a few short hours later, where a horde of us spontaneously threw a party in baggage claim. From there I was take to Baton Rouge where a fan who has become a dear friend opened up her home to me for the night. We celebrated her husband's Jesus Birthday at a Brazilian steak house and not only can I now personally attest to the fact that every single bite of food is fucking mouthwatering at that place, but also believe me when I say that "meat sweats" are real. After dinner, I "helped" my amazing friend wrap approximately 200 homemade bourbon caramels and bake up about 12 dozen chocolate chip BACON cookies that I would eventually hand out at the signing. So any of you who experienced and loved the fruit of that awesomesauce labor, you can just thank Laura and hope and pray that I do more signings close to NOLA, because she's offered to make them for me again. ;-)From there she chauffeured my ass all over Baton Rouge, aiding me in my search for some significant snacks to include in my exclusive swag bundle and once that was over, I made it to the W Hotel in New Orleans, where I promptly felt justified in ripping the beer bottle out of Tara Sivec's hand and totally draining it. It's cool though because it'd been a longass day and Tara is like, my fave author aside from myself, and she's also a great friend so I wasn't too terribly concerned that she'd jump on my back and wrestle me to the ground in a balls-out rescue mission for her stolen alcohol. (Word to the wise...I'm a professional and stealing Tara's booze should not be attempted without the proper training and education, because she'll totally cut a bitch. Fact.)
Now, time for my"What I learned at the 2014 NOLA Author Event"...(to see pix, scroll to the bottom of this post) (Enter the 2014 NOLA Ultimate GYP Giveaway Here)
* Trinity Higinbotham is completely amazeballs in every way and I want to keep her for my very own. Also, if you send Trinity away, they will come.
* There really are no words to describe what it’s like to be friends with someone as genuine, giving, and compassionate as Tara Sivec, although I think we might’ve shared a womb at some point, and if so, she clearly stole all the good genes from me. And just so you know, if you’re taking a picture with her and she tells you to mount her, you do it. No. Questions. Asked.
* Meeting Buffy will make you feel like you’re meeting the best friend you always wished for. And seeing her with her husband, Chuck, is akin to seeing what true love looks like in real life.
* Partying on Bourbon St. is like partying in Tijuana. Smell and solicitation included.
* James Sivec is like a two-year-old when it comes to touching people and other shit he shouldn’t, and he should probably look into getting tested for Hep. C...at minimum.
* Kristen Proby will introduce herself by modestly saying, “Hi, I’m Kristen,” which subsequently makes you look like a ginormous asshole when your blank expression forces her to follow up her introduction with a woebegone smile and saying, “I’m an author,” because you suck and didn’t realize that she’s the KRISTEN FUCKING PROBY.
* Even if you don’t want one, Karina Halle will make you do shots. Partly because she’ll just shove it in your hand anyway, and partly because it’s next to impossible to not be captivated by her and not do anything she might tell you to do. (I’m almost afraid to go to Vegas with her this month. Almost.)
* Melissa Brown has the most joyous laugh I think I’ve ever heard, and Tiffany King, is one of those people who just emanates kindness, making them two of THE sweetest people on the planet...they’re like the sugar cookies of people in the jar that is the world.
* Unless you want to look like an asshole (AGAIN), don’t ask Jamie Sager Hall why she’s not signing, because contrary to what you might think, she is NOT an author. Neither is Tressa Sager. They are both, however, a hoot and a half to hang out with and are awesomesauce people.
* Meeting the “swagalicious motherfucker” (<—moniker bestowed by my husband), Fred LeBaron, is on a plethora of people’s bucket lists for a reason, and that reason is; he can make a girl feel beautiful inside and out by just smiling at her and saying her name, and he’s one of the most genuinely good-hearted people anyone can ever hope to meet. Plus, he really IS swagalicious.
* I somehow completely missed out on knowing that Madison Seidler was there. (Asshole item #3)
* If you have to share a table, share one with Erin Noelle. She’s super sweet and doesn’t look at you like you’re an escaped mental patient when your shit totally overflows onto her side. Bonus points for sharing a name with not one, but two of my minions.
* Sharing a 15 minute taxi ride with Sandi Lynn told me that she’s truly a first class lady who puts her family ahead of what she wants, and her generosity of spirit is something to aspire to.
* Even if I’m on my best-ish behavior, Lindsay Sparkes will still blame me when the fire trucks and ambulances show up. (It wasn’t my fault, I SWEAR!!!!)
* Beth Ehleman is a kick in the pants and also puts the Tooth Fairy to shame.
        * When Shelly White Collins gets her fangirl on for you, it         makes you feel like a legitimate celebrity.
* Tarryn Fisher really is as gorgeous as her pictures make her look.
* Every time you see her, Happy Driggs is happy. Like, all the fucking time. It’s not natural.
* Barbie Bohrman will try to get you to spill super secret details about your WIP. And you’ll be uber-tempted to do it.
* When it comes to NO Mardi Gras beads, CSI does NOT stand for Crime Scene Investigator so make sure you read all the beads carefully before you get home and present them to your 13-year-old aspiring forensic medical examiner as a souvenir.
* In New Orleans, Arby’s is open until 4am on Saturdays. Thank GOD.
* A $1 bottle of Dr. Pepper will cost $4 at the airport.
* Regardless of others’ success, I can’t pull this shit off so I should NEVER take selfies OR make the duck face. EVER.
* I have some of THE most phenomenal readers ever and some of them, like Laura Agra, will bend over backwards for you, giving new meaning to what a diehard GYP fan is. (Everyone who was lucky enough to get in on the Bacon chocolate chip cookies and bourbon caramels, you all have Laura to thank!)
* When you fly home on a sold out flight that is making 2 other stops after yours, it’s not impossible that you’ll end up having to take the last seat available and squeezing in between 2 rather large men in the very back of the plane, who also happen to be a super nice gay couple who literally only live 5 miles from you and take their dogs to the same dog park that you take yours to.

* And finally, my heartfelt thanks and appreciation go to the ladies of Beauty Books & Brains, Janna, Nina, and Lindsay, who seriously know their shit, are too damned pretty, and put on a kickass event that makes you wish they would plan things for every weekend of the year from now until the end of forever. *Gives you gals a standing ovation*



 

  









                                                  





              


                                                                       
                       

*Bag color is not guaranteed as pink, additional pieces of swag not pictured may potentially be added depending on availability and prize also may or may not include an authentic New Orleans voodoo doll (not pictured here either because I haven't bought it yet), so any skeptics and chicken shits, please be advised.*
**UPDATE 01/30/14**Here's the official list of ways you can enter to win this awesomesauce collection of GYP swag and possibly a few extra goodies that aren't pictured...
stop by my table at the event (live entry)
correctly answer trivia questions (rafflecopter entries) *note; trivia questions will be added throughout the length of the giveaway so make sure you check in frequently in order to maximize your entries*
purchase a GYP book at the signing (live entry)
stalk me in NOLA (live entry)
take a picture w/me in NOLA & post it to FB and/or twitter and tag me too (rafflecopter entry)
if you're a member of #TeamGYP on FB, wear your wristband to the signing & show me—this will demonstrate to the world how utterly cool and fashionable you are (live entry)
"like" Jenn Cooksey Novels on Facebook (rafflecopter entry)
follow me (@Jenn_Cooksey) on Twitter (rafflecopter entry)
leave a blogpost comment (rafflecopter entry)
share the giveaway on Facebook (rafflecopter entry)
tweet about the giveaway (rafflecopter entry)
and finally...
leave an honest review for any or all GYP book(s) on Amazon (rafflecopter entry)
Oh and for those attending the NOLA event, be sure to take part in the "Name Jenn's Voodoo Doll Contest"!!_________________________________________
New Orleans... The Big Easy and reportedly the most haunted city in America. So yeah, of course I'm excited about participating in a book signing there! And because I'm so excited, I want all of YOU to be as well! So, to that end, I have a little incentive for EVERYONE, including my #TeamGYP members, those of you coming to see me, and those who sadly can't make it this time!
Up for grabs is the above pictured swag collection and maybe one or two other goodies not shown. Rafflecopter is coming soon posted below, but because of their nature, not all opportunities to enter will be available that way, and just so that you have a heads up, entries will be in the form of things like Tweeting about the giveaway and sharing it on FB, coming to my table during the signing, following me on Twitter and liking my FB page, being a *current member of the #TeamGYP group on FB, leaving Amazon reviews for GYP books, wearing your #TeamGYP wristband to the signing and showing it to me, purchasing books at the signing, answering trivia questions about the GYP books and yours truly correctly, stalking me in NOLA outside of the signing and worshipping at my not really dainty feet, etc...
The giveaway will begin some time on Thursday, roughly around the time my plane touches down in New Orleans, and it'll run until approximately until Tuesday morning—this will give all you Broncos and Seahawks fans time to stop cussing each other out like little bitches after Sunday's big game so that you can write all kinds of beautifully glowing things about me and my genius on Amazon if you haven't already done so.
So, are you excited yet?!!
You should be. There's some epic shit in this prize and if you don't get excited and play along, the spirits of New Orleans will haunt your lame asses for eternity. I promise. I was given an authentic NOLA voodoo doll for Christmas and I'm not afraid to use it!!
See? I told you, this bitch is real. I should probably come up with a name for her, though, huh? Maybe I'll hold another contest to name her. Hmm... ;-)
*UPDATE: ^^This is SO happening! Stop by my table at the signing for details and to enter, and for you #TeamGYP members, you're gonna have the chance to get in on this shit too, but we'll talk about that later and in the group. ;-) *
a Rafflecopter giveaway

There’s no possible way I can cram all the amazing of an entire year into one single albeit lengthy blogpost—I mean so many incredible people were met, new friendships forged, and buckets of awesome things happened, so not even trying to name everyone I’ve met and/or owe sloppy kisses of gratitude to this past year, and include pictures of awesome shit like my eldest minion's first college football game, the shark hat I was given and wore during SOoW Shark Week Shenanigans, the BACON cookies and brownies I was sent, Jenn Sterling randomly twerking, or Tara Sivec's breasts overflowing with cash, and leaving out the many automobiles that came and went from our garage due to Dave’s suspected car buying addiction, I’m gonna try to hit the highlights if I can, starting with a year ago January...
             



January: We brought in the new year of 2013 like always, with our annual New Year's Eve party, and this one was CRAZY. Coming close to probably 60 people including all the kidlets, our house was bursting with raucous laughter and the sights and smells of friends new and old coming together to celebrate our shared survival of another year. Shortly thereafter, my oldest minion turned 16. SIX-FUCKING-TEEN. Yes, I realize that this also means the girl who’s currently getting her groove on to “Little Brown Ants” by The Wiggles for fuck’s sake will be turning 17 very soon here, but I have 2 whole days left to swim in the river denial and I plan to do just that until Saturday rolls around and I have to sing the dirge of Happy Birthday to my baby who’s growing up way too fast, but we couldn't be more thrilled to watch her as she does it. We also found out that in her 16 years, she’s developed a deadly allergy to peanuts, making yet one more thing I’ve written about in fiction become a reality in my life. Our middle minion followed in her older sister’s footsteps and became a cheerleader, we said goodbye to our beloved, 16-year-old cat, Chloe, and Dave and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary, which obviously means we’re coming up on 18 years of wedded bliss, and all I can say is, holy shit. Who knew a dare could last this long?! Oh, and what happens in Vegas, doesn’t necessarily stay there, just FYI...we’re clearly living proof.

                              




February:

The girls and I saw P!nk in concert, and if you haven’t had the pleasure, I highly recommend seeing one of her shows live. She’s a phenomenal performer. We also ventured home to San Diego for a Friday the 13th/President’s Weekend of shenanigans and fun spent with our cousins and the Fair Glen Crew, where Karen’s house became the site of one of the biggest non-summer camp sleepovers in the history of ever. February also saw Shark Bait getting a facelift, going from a homemade cover featuring a rubber ducky to one that was professionally designed and GYP branded by a chick I’m blessed to now call friend.

 





March: 
March saw us clapping and shouting at Faith’s first-ever cheer competition, and also stocking up on cinnamon and tuna for our previously forgotten about imaginary 4th daughter, Gracie. We made another trip back to San Diego so that Alison could attend Valhalla’s Sweethearts dance with her lifelong friend, Tyler, who’s cool & mysterious factor of course went up several notches for importing his date and keeping her a secret until they walked in together. He was apparently also voted by the varsity baseball team as having the hottest date at the dance. (*Dave’s and my DNA takes a bow and says, “You’re welcome.”*)
 





April: Like always, April was filled with celebrating, and this year we not only celebrated the births of Davey and Faith, who finally became an official teenager and celebrated her birth with a movies in the pool party (we couldn't find a copy of JAWS, so she and 2 dozen or more of her friends settled for Sinister), but also my second published book in the Grab Your Pole series, The Other Fish in the Sea, was released, hitting Amazon’s Top 100 in 3 genres within the first 2 days of publication. In our month of celebrating, we also partied it up and wished the husband and father of our military family a safe and as boring as possible 8 month deployment to Iraq.





May: Our youngest kidlet, Erin, was inducted into the National Junior Honors Society for the first time, while Faith was re-inducted, and Alison gained entrance into the National Honors Society, and I also shed joyous tears in a moment with a dear friend in baring witness to her graduating high school amongst much pomp and circumstance. My entire family joined with the cousins once again to spend a fabulous time at the river over Mother’s Day weekend, where Alison drove a jet-ski for the first time, Faith and Erin along with the boys covered themselves in mud like strips of pre-Bacon, and I went to work on editing and putting the finishing touches on GYP#3.


May also brought with it the flurry of excitement of being nominated and voted into being able to participate in the YA Sisterhood’s 2013 YA Crush Tourney, which is an incredible honor and where I was given the blessing of not only having all 4 of my fictional boys be nominated in every category that they were eligible for, but also seeing Tristan make the tournament and even win his first round. That event also gave me some amazing new friends, both in the bookish world and real.
                       





June: My youngest turned 12 in June, giving her dad and I just one last year before our home is filled entirely with teenage girls. We also welcomed into our family, Kripke and Buffy, sister kittens who’ve thus far provided us with many, “awww, they’re just so stinkin’ cute” moments and a few, “oh my God, you’re making me fucking crazy” ones as well. Also in the birthday world, my first published novel, Shark Bait, celebrated its first birthday among some blogosphere fan-fare and hoopla, which lead to conversations taking place in Orlando, Florida at Book Bash where I wasn’t in attendance, but where my writing was notably recognized by an industry professional at Atria, a publishing division of one of the Big 7 Publishing Houses, Simon & Schuster, which of course had me blushing profusely behind my computer screen and inwardly screaming and doing the Snoopy happy dance on mental tables where I was at home reading the enthusiastic and overwhelmingly positive emails from the aforementioned editor.


July: 


While the GYP series was felt to be a little too YA for Atria’s list, their enthusiasm and interest brought a jaw-dropping development in my professional life anyway...literary representation by one of the foremost literary agencies in the business, Dystel & Goderich, who represent some of the biggest and brightest new names in contemporary fiction such as Colleen Hoover, Abbi Glines, Jamie McGuire, and Tara Sivec, just to name a few. July also saw the highly anticipated publication of my third novel in the Grab Your Pole series, Shark Out of Water, which hit Amazon’s Top 100 in multiple genres before the sun even went down on its release day, and yet one more trip back to San Diego was made for two weeks of beach and California fun.


August: We attended Discount Tire's annual Rising Starr event and banquet (this year's theme was sports, where all the children of employees are recognized for the their academic achievements of the past school year with awards including trophies, backpacks for the coming year, cash, and t-shirts. After that and all set to go, the girls went back to school; Alison a junior, Faith a top-dog eighth grader, and Erin in seventh, and the month was relatively quiet with all of us settling back into our regular routines. That is until I received an email that sparked a stressed out frenzy of excitement and frenetic designing of and ordering bookish swag along with dozens of print copies of my books for the event that was suddenly coming up the next month, and what I really could’ve used more than the 3 short weeks I had to plan for.



September: My. First. Author Event. Oh my God, I can’t even begin to describe what an incredible experience my first book-signing event was. To make it even more epic, I finally got to lick Tara Sivec, one of my first real beta-readers, a best-selling author, friend, and all around fantastic person. In addition to finally meeting Tara in person, I got to squeeze Karina Halle (yes, she’s just as beautiful in real life as she is in pictures), as well as hang out and most importantly, eat, drink, and be merry with some of my favorite book bloggers and readers; people like Ali from Ginger-read, Janice from the Demon Librarian, Laura of Little Read, and my loveable Megan of Reading Books Like A Boss, and of course Emily, Brenna, and Stephanie, all people who’ve become cherished friends in my everyday life. I also got to meet a the very sweet Trish Brinkleywho organized the event among others, and I got to know several other incredibly talented and best selling authors such as fellow 7th Ring inhabitants as AL Jackson, who’s new book “Come To Me Quietly” is releasing in freaking Target stores on my anniversary this January 7th (so you know where I’ll be...) and Chelsea Finewho has THE cutest shoes and the greatest sense of style ever and I think has a closet crush on Giles from BtVS. Other authors I was finally able to meet face-to-face included Helen Boswell, Raine Miller, Katie Ashley, JasindaWilder, Jessica Sorensen, and Aleatha Romig.
And with the yummiest food and sheer epic company, the best meal of my 2013 has to go to dinner at the Arrogant Butcher with my bitch, Tara, Jenn Sterling, who is an all-out riot even when no one is watching, Jillian Dodd who might be one of the most business savvy and kindest people I’ve met, and Amanda Bennett who has a smile that matches her personality and can light up a room like the fourth of July. Not only that, but just simply being able to meet some of the people who’ve read my work and thank them in person was just...mind blowing. And, it made what I do very REAL for me.

Every single time someone would stop by my table and tell me they read one or all of my books and couldn’t wait for the signing so they could meet me was just such an incredibly humbling experience that I’m getting weepy simply remembering it.


September also included another homecoming dance and the addition of a new boyfriend for my eldest child, and at the time of this writing, they’re still together and going strong.







October (aka: The Best Month Ever): 

The Grab Your Pole series went on its first official book tour and I celebrated my Hitchhiker Birthday by getting my 6th piece of mobile art, that would coincidentally end up taking 6 hours to be permanently inked onto my body, causing other customers who would come and go during the duration of my time in the chair to say things like, “Wow, you’re getting it all done in one sitting? You’re badass!” I don’t know about that, but I’m definitely in love with what I did on a whim and am happy that I gave myself a gift that’ll keep on giving (I'll get a picture up of it all completed at some point I'm sure) and following it up with eating an entire red velvet cake by myself while watching a marathon of Supernatural. Another gift given in October that’s still giving on a daily basis is the Siberian Husky puppy, Cuda (Barracuda abbreviated to save space), that I gave Dave as an early Christmas present. With that, I think I’m exempt from giving him gifts for the rest of our marriage, as his precious angel leaves us presents throughout each and every day, both inside and out.
November: 

It was another somewhat quiet month; if you don’t count life, the bookish giveaways I was honored to be a part of, the pre-release screening of Catching Fire that I was lucky enough to get tickets for the girls and me to attend, the antics of the puppy colliding with those of the kittens, welcoming our friend home safe and sound from his many months in a war zone and celebrating his daughter’s first birthday, house guests in the form of Karen and John who joined us for Thanksgiving this year, Black Friday shopping, and me jumping back into the writing game with a brand spanking new book that I hope to finish and subsequently release some time in 2014.


December:
Kittens climbing and making our Christmas tree their preferred play place, Faith incredibly setting the bar even higher than years past with being voted VP of her school, President of NJHS, maintaing a regular position on Principal’s list for straight As, and now being named a school Hero by her peers yet again, more shopping and family coming together filled the month of December.

It also, however, included the first-ever #TeamGYP Secret Santa gift exchange and on a much more tear-stained note, the news of cancer wreaking havoc in the lives of loved ones was excruciatingly prevalent. The mother of one of my most favorite people in the world is now home and recovering from her double mastectomy, but others haven’t been as fortunate and they’re either still coping and desperately clinging to hope, or have had to say their heartrending goodbyes to those who were called home. For one family, hope is about as far away as the East is to the West and 2014 will no doubt bring about absolute and utter heartbreak.
For information on how you might be able to help them make it through the coming year, a year that unlike most of us who are looking forward to it, won’t be bringing 2015 or a happily ever after to a twelve year old girl, please either contact me by email at contactjenncooksey (at) gmail (dot) com or message me on FB, and keep your eyes peeled for a FB fundraiser event that I’m hoping to put together in the next week or so.

In closing I want to wish you all everything good and wonderful in life including great books, Bacon and unicorns, with the hopes that we’ll all make 2014 our bitch, and for filling my 2013 to overflowing with epic and awesomesauce, I thank each and every one of you. You’re the best!

I was in a deep, dark funk earlier and talking with a friend who endeavored to pull me out of it, and so I've decided to capitalize on her success of cheering me up by doing a giveaway! I mean really, I'm a gift giver by nature so I figure a completely spontaneous giveaway that will go until the end of September will keep me smiling until the Best. Month. Ever. rolls around.

All you have to do to enter is read Shark Bait, leave an HONEST review for it on Amazon when you're finished, and then copy the link to your review into the Rafflecopter below.

Happy Reading,
Jenn

a Rafflecopter giveaway