K.K. Cook's Blog

     Isn't it amazing? All that waiting, and now it's ready! Ahhhhhhhhh! So cool! Jumping up and down! Partying! Whoop! Whoop! Oh yeah, this rocks! Whoop-dee-do! Yay! Dance party! Party dance!
     Okay, dance party aside. I have some exciting news! Besides the fact that I published both the paperback and the Kindle edition of Phoenix today. I have a giveaway for you! Yay! It starts officially today and ends on April 23rd (it was a Tuesday, and it started on a Tuesday. I didn't think it really mattered beyond that). Check it out below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

     Well, technically I have two giveaways. That's the first one. The second is on Goodreads, but it's pending approval. God, I hate all of these approval waiting. First with the review of the print copy, and now this. Waiting sucks. But you can check it out below, even if it doesn't work. It may not work until I get approval for the giveaway. I don't know.

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Goodreads Book Giveaway Phoenix by K.K. Cook Giveaway ends April 23, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win
     While we wait for the Goodreads staff to approve or disapprove my pending giveaway, let's get the scoop on these awesome books I just published today. They kind of rock, at least in my opinion they do.
     Okay, so the print book can be found here: https://www.createspace.com/4194742 Now that's the book's personal eStore from CreateSpace. In 5-8 days Phoenix will be up on Amazon and Amazon Europe. But it looks like I found it on Amazon already. See below.
     Now the Kindle edition takes about 24 hours to show up on the Kindle Store. That means that sometime today you should be able to buy Phoenix (yay!)



You guys kick butt so well. I'd love it if you could review my book on your blog, Goodreads, and wherever you bought my book. Thanks so much!

K.K. Cook

     Ugh. It has been months! Nearly a year since I said I was going to start the publishing process. Now I'm done with the editing. I've got the cover. I've got the copyrights, the ISBN, I've settled everything. Now I have to wait.

     Now you'd think that wouldn't be a problem, considering all of the waiting I've done already. I want to hurry up and publish it now. But I have to wait 24 hours for CreateSpace to review it before I can publish it. And that's only in print form. I hope you all like paperbacks! I hate hardcovers, and I love paperbacks, so that's all good for me.

     But any of you who have been awaiting the ebook version are going to have to wait an even longer time than the rest of us. Once the print version has gone through I can do the Kindle version through CreateSpace. But I'm enrolling in the KPD Select program, so everyone who has a Nook will have to wait three more months before I publish Phoenix at Barnes & Noble.

     Anyways, I wanted to give you some images expressing my feelings on this whole 'waiting' matter:


          How badly I want Phoenix to be published now:             I think you get the picture. Haha, get the picture, because GIF's are pictures... yeah. Not funny. I know, I should stop trying to be a comedian. Maybe I will stop... eventually. K.K. Cook

     Okay, I'm not going to lie. The date for Phoenix to be published keeps getting pulled back. Why? Because I am continuing to edit Phoenix. I want it to be perfect, or as close as I can get, and it keeps getting me screwed up. Sometimes I think of just scrapping big parts of it and re-writing it altogether. That tells you that I still need to do some work on this.
     Now I've recently learned of a competition for writing that has a huge prize. I'm nearly done editing, but do I want to wait longer to do this competition? Or should I just publish it as soon as it's ready?
     I'm still working on an answer for that. But in the meantime you should check out my book blog called The Kooky Bookworm. When I need a break from the writing and re-writing and editing I end up reading. And then the reviews go onto my book blog. I have my badge for my other blog on the right panel on the side of the blog. Rocks my world, that does. I'm still learning about HTML and stuff. Total rookie. And I kind of suck at it. But it's interesting, nevertheless.
     Anyway, I just wanted to keep you posted since I haven't had a chance to update in a while.

K.K. Cook (Kacii)

     The inspiration for the Phoenix cover was from the London Olympics. If you watched it, I think it was the opening ceremony that had a fiery flaming phoenix. Check out the picture below.


     Take away the stadium and add the mountains:

  K.K. Cook

     Trial cover is going to be revealed! Now what I mean by trial cover is a cover that will most likely change as we make the final touches. So excited! Check it out below:

      It's the byline that is most likely to change since I don't like how it is at the moment. The colors and fonts don't match, but that should be a quick fix.
     The cover isn't how I originally pictured it. I just wanted a phoenix feather on fire drifting down to the ground with trees and mountains. But I like this just as much, if not better. Mainly because it's special and unique and... mine!
     Tell all your friends about Phoenix and like Phoenix on Facebook or join the group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/phoenixandmythic/#!/groups/phoenixandmythic/ search for me on Twitter and read on!

K.K. Cook

     I've recently gotten word that the cover for phoenix will be revealed within the next few weeks! I'm so excited! I had hoped to get it last month, but it is what it is.
     Since I'm still waiting on the cover the release date of Phoenix has been pushed back to sometime in October. Patience has never been one of my virtues, so I'm a little impatient to get this going. There's not a lot I can do, but I try.
     The school year is up and running again as well. Joy. This year will be my first year of home schooling. All of my friends are already in school. Ah well, at least the school has a system so I can go to homecoming.
     I'll give you a little peek of Phoenix. In Phoenix Rakel is a social outcast with no friends. In a little twist she ends up being at the top of the food chain instead of the bottom. Now how does that happen...? Sorry, can't say.
     I hope everyone had a wonderful summer! I'll be keeping you posted on Phoenix. ;)

K.K. Cook

Sooo excited for Onyx! Check it out!

     How is everyone else's summer going? Hopefully good. I know I always look forward to the summer. A nice time to just chill and relax. And attempt to get a tan (Irish heritage makes it hard to be anything but snow white). But really summer is just about taking a break and having fun.
     Most people back home probably go to the beach or the pool for their summer. Sometimes I wish my summer was that laid back. Not that I don't like my summers, they just usually end up... rushed. I have the majority of my family living in England, so I usually go there to visit them.
     One of my brothers also lives there and he's still in school. English schools get out end of July-ish, whereas schools back home get out early June. That in between time I normally end up writing and reading. Then we get to the family visits and the small vacation time.
     In just a few days I'm going back home to America. I haven't seen my baby brother in over two months so I can't to get back! School's starting back up again at the end of August. I'm going to be home schooled this year so I have no idea when I'll be restarting school.It should be fun though. My awesome cousin Patrick is going to be home schooled with me (he was home schooled last year as well). Patrick's only eight, but he is freaking awesome. If you met him you'd understand.
 He does talk a lot as well, as you might be able to imagine from this photo. He's going to be a heart breaker when he's older. Only he's too sweet and kind to hurt any girls.
See more pictures of Patrick at http://agencyprotalent.com/patrickdonovan#patrick And yes, he is a model/actor.

Hope everyone has been having a wonderful summer!

K.K. Cook

     I was supposed to be adding the final touches today to some of the chapter I've been editing. But you've seen how my mind gets easily distracted. So I tried writing a synopsis. I have never done one before and I know it looks like it needs work but this is one thing that I've never bothered with in the past. I mean, why would I? I've mainly written my stories in notebooks or on USB memory stick things.
     So anyway, this was my first one. I really have to work on my blog too--it's incomplete. I do not like leaving things incomplete. It nags at the back of my consciousness, telling me to fix the imperfection. Like the cover for Phoenix. I've had a friend start on it and then recently they told me they couldn't do it because of some home life issue. I didn't ask, but really? I've been waiting months for the cover. Now I have to wait longer.
     Luckily I have an awesome grandfather who happens to paint. I just hope my idea isn't to confusing for him to get a grasp on. He's done some sweet paintings before. My favorite was this one of a jester walking down an old lane or street or something. He did it for my mom who used to do Mardi Gras charity balls. She wanted it so bad, but she had asked him to do it for the auction she had. A friend bought it and gave it to her as a present latter on. Nice ending to that story.
     I'm sure he'll do a great cover. I'd do it myself, but I cannot for the life of me draw even a straight line. The only art I am actually good at is Op Art (optical illusions, its wicked cool) but I can use rulers for that. SO I'm interested to see how that turns out. I can't wait to see it. Almost everything else is in place for the story to be published. Wow, who knew it took so much time and effort to get this stuff done?
     I have been sidetracked yet again. When the cover is ready I will post it on here. But until then maybe I can entice your anticipation with my (very amateur) synopsis of Phoenix:

Everyday our kind pulls the sun around the Earth.
Everyday our kind work and strive for glory.
We are the mightiest.
We are the strongest.
The smartest.
The fastest.
Other creatures bask in our excellence.
Other creatures envy us.
We are creatures of war and beauty and salvation.
We are the phoenix.***Rakel grew up in the middle of the blistering hot Arizona desert. No civilization for miles around. She lived in a gated city for others like her. Others who can turn into giant war birds by mere will. Others who are phoenix. Rakel soon discovers she has a rare ability, one that was thought to have died out millennia ago. She is one of the Vanished, someone who has the power to teleport and travel through time. Rakel is pulled from her quiet life of being invisible to being the center of every phoenixes attention. Her entire future is now in the hands of her alpha. Her alpha chooses Casey as her mate. With emotions running high and powers out of control, Rakel ends up in the clutches of the werewolf alpha Ethan. A forbidden romance blooms and grows until it consumes Rakel and Ethan. Rakel has a choice that could change history. But who is her heart loyal to?Read on as Rakel battles her inner demons and fights for her choice in life.
Phoenix is out fall 2012
     Hopefully that wasn't too bad for a to-be author. I've read others that are better, way better, but I think it's alright. I had others that were worse, which makes me feel better. And yes, I did read dozens of other author's book synopsis' as examples. This might be the hardest thing for me. I've always been one of those writers who writes in first person and has an easier time setting the scene that way. Writing about it like this, summing it up, it reminds me of essays and other horrid things.
     I'll keep you posted (if you're even reading) and post the cover when it is done. I will update my blog and figure out how to make new pages and all that stuff that will take time and patience. Patience has never really been my virtue. I got a Kindle so I could get books the second they came out instead of waiting for them to come in the mail or driving to the nearest book shop and praying that they have the book I want in stock. Yeah, patience is definitely not my strongest virtue.

Adieu!

K.K. Cook