Authors, Kai Strand & LA Dragoni

First and foremost, happy 91 st birthday to my dad. I love you so much, Dad! *** Back in 2012 Muse It Up Publishing published my middle grade novel, Beware of the White. They are an ebook publisher out of Canada. A great publisher to work with, but my book never did much of anything there. I suspect middle grade isn’t really a good audience for ebook only (unless you already have a great following, which wasn’t and still isn’t me J ) I asked for my rights back (ages ago, really) with the intention of republishing. Guess what? Though I’m not really ready to do that yet, I’m finally a heck of a lot closer than I was. I just finished revising it, I’m considering a new title, I’ve reached out to a cover artist (fingers crossed), I’m talking to a narrator about an audiobook, AND…I’m writing the prequel novella, which I hope to release at the same time. Whaaa…? That’s right. A prequel novella titled, The Making of a Master (Frank’s story). I always wante...

Hosted by   Mary Waibel ,   Katie L. Carroll , and   Kai Strand   What drags you down? I'll tell you what drags me down. Mean people. People who need to belittle you to feel better about themselves. People who always have to correct you, almost as if they automatically take the counterpoint to feel superior in their opinion. Those who employ name calling, especially when they label everyone in a group by the name (ex: Blondes are dumb ß uh, I know several who aren’t & I know brunettes who are!) The current temperament online often falls into this description of mean people and it drags me down. The campaigning for the next election has only just begun and I’m worried that I’ll have to abandon the internet altogether long before we go to the polls. So if I suddenly disappear, you’ll know I just had enough. Maybe I’ll return again in 2017. Okay, so the funny thing is, though I decided that mean people drag me down, the very first thing I thought o...

Both of my summer releases have been added to the Goodreads 2013 Summer Reads list. Please hop on over and cast a vote to help them climb the chart. Let everyone know they should add these books to their to-read shelf. Thanks for your help! Follow my blog with Bloglovin

What a wonderful publisher I have. Because I will be at an event all weekend she has discounted my book to help me celebrate. I feel it is only fitting that we thank her by making sure a lot of books sell! So head over and to my blog and choose your format. Almost all of them have the discount keyed in. http://www.kaistrand.com/Mid-Grade.html After you have your copy in hand, share this post or the link to a buy page with your friends and help me spread the word about the discounted priced. This weekend only - so act fast. What people are saying: This book was sooooooooooo good it was mind blowing. The details that were in every sentence made me jump into the book and I felt like I was in the book and living terra's life!” –A Kid’s Review The ending was ingeniously done considering where it felt the last couple chapters were heading. –DK This is a classic story of good versus evil, coupled with a coming-of-age quest. Terra has so much to learn about herself, h...

If you are in or around Central Oregon this weekend, be sure to stop at the Redmond Street Festival to visit with Kai Strand. She'll be in attendance with her books and some beloved SWAG. Just look for the Central Oregon Authors booth and stop in to say "HI" When: June 15 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, June 16 10:00 am to 4:00 pm Where: 6th Street, Downtown Redmond, OR Between Forest and Deschutes.

Welcome to my blog feature, Building Character in which you get to meet a character from a book. Talking to a character outside of their book is fun! Huge. Amounts. Of fun.  This week Strands of Thought is host to Frank from Beware of the White. Welcome to Strands of Thought, Frank. Tell us a little about yourself and what your life is like. Hello. My name is Frank. I’m eighteen years old. I graduated from high school last June. I was working for my dad until I got assigned to protect Terra. Oh, I didn’t mention that I’m also a Spirit of Security in the Underworld, did I? I can’t usually talk about that to people from the Outerworld, so I tend to forget. Tell us more about your assignment to protect, who was it…Terra? Yes, Terra is a new Nature’s Spirit. Spirits are the offspring of Peacekeepers and humans. They learn they are Spirits when they turn twelve and go to the Underworld for training. Unfortunately for Terra, on her very first night in Concord, she learne...

In celebration of the launch of my new book BEWARE OF THE WHITE, three lucky winners will be chosen to win one of these book related prize packages: A book bag, a locker magnet, a signed bookmark and a Molly (made by me!) A book bag, a water bottle, a signed bookmark and a Molly (made by me!) A book bag, a water bottle a signed bookmark and a framed drawing of a Trepidus (drawn by my daughter) Prizes not meant for young children. US addresses only. For a complete tour schedule, click HERE a Rafflecopter giveaway

Five words about BEWARE OF THE WHITE: Adventurous, Smart, Nail-biting, Funny, Cool! THE BOOK - As is tradition, Terra learns on the Saturday past her twelfth birthday that she is a Natures Spirit. It is her legacy to serve in the peaceful underground city of Concord. Learning she is named in a prophecy and being threatened by the leader of the death tribe…that part breaks tradition. The Trepidus are the death janitors of the Underworld, responsible for delivering fatalities with a smile and cleaning up after themselves until Blanco, recent leader of the Trepidus, decides the day of reckoning for his species is coming. He begins organizing the creatures and leads them toward an uprising. The prophecy says there is one person who can stop him. Terra. With Spirit of Security, Frank, protecting her, Terra attempts to complete her training and discover her Spirit talents. Together, they go on a rogue investigation to learn how to defeat Blanco. In the end, it comes down to a ...

I am coordinating an online book tour for the release of my middle grade novel, Beware of the White . Would you like to help me? I’ll include the book blurb at the bottom of this post in case you need to make sure the book is appropriate for your blog. The biggest day for posting will be on launch day, but I hope to keep my book traveling around the Internet for the month following the launch. I’ll be celebrating all month long with quick contests and an end-all giveaway, so I hope to make it fun for you and your readers! Definition of post types: Book Spotlight – I provide the book blurb, cover art, author bio, purchase links and a teaser (usually) unique to that post. Author Interview – I answer questions provided by the host Character Interview – A character from my book answers questions provided by the host Book Inspiration Post – The inspiration behind the writing of the novel. Guest post – I write a guest post of between 500 and 1000 words. Host can req...