Rusty photo © Wrangel
Background photo © David Coleman

I’ll admit it … when reviewing the stories I was planning for Diary of a Misfit I realized I needed a few lighter stories to balance out some of the heavier topics included in the collection and the first thing that popped into my head was an entry about Rusty. *Sigh* Rusty is the sort of character writers fall in love with. He waltzed into the story during Nowhere Feels Like Home, unexpected, larger-than-life, flawed, and irresistible. And not only irresistible to me, but to Sarah and Katie as well. And since these are excerpts out of Katie’s diary, I knew she wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to write about the most romantic thing she’d ever seen in her life (followed of course by lots of exclamation marks)

Before Rusty had revealed himself to me, I had been getting snippets of what looked like a near rape scene involving Sarah. I knew what I was getting was something out of Sarah’s past, when she was Katie’s age, and it bothered me on a couple levels. The first level was that I had never gotten the sense from Sarah that she had been through that type of experience, and I felt like I should have known before. And the second level was that while I may write a rape scene at some point in my writing career, I really didn’t want it to happen in this series. But as a writer, I follow the path I’ve been shown, so I tucked the scene away and forged ahead, happy not to be at that point in the story, because I knew it’d be a difficult scene to write.

Then Rusty showed up and I knew he was the guy in the scene, but I couldn’t believe it. While he definitely had a dangerous side to him, his feelings about Sarah were pure. Well, as pure as a teenage boy’s can be. As we got closer to where I knew that scene fit, I became more concerned because I really liked Rusty, and it would make the scene even more difficult to write. Until I finally had a clear vision of what actually happened. The way I had seen the scene before was through Matt and Mark’s eyes, and what they saw looked a lot worse than what had happened.

Teaser: A ghost from the past makes an appearance as a marine recruiter, and Sarah and Katie are swept away.

Diary of a Misfit is available now for Kindle. A portion of the proceeds from Diary of a Misfit will go to the Shaka Franklin Foundation for Youth.

The post Diary of a Misfit – There’s Something About Rusty appeared first on Be the Cat.

Katie photo © Drew Herron
Background photo © Kalvis Kalsers

Lost in the Hills is the first published excerpt from Katie’s diary. From the Journal of Katie McCabe was added to the beginning of Nowhere Feels Like Home as an excerpt from Katie’s diary to help bring any new readers who hadn’t read Misfit McCabe up to speed. Lost in the Hills is an expansion of the original journal entry.

The inclusion of the piece in Diary of a Misfit was an easy decision to make—it was the reason I knew Katie kept a diary. And I have always been ambivalent about it as a part of Nowhere Feels Like Home, not because I didn’t like it, but I am not a fan of prologues. I had woven in the information into the opening chapter of Nowhere Feels Like Home and it felt redundant to tack the diary excerpt to the beginning. But I have people I trust to guide me when I become confused about what should or should not be in the work. And they voted for it to stay, and since I was on the fence—it stayed. We all need a little outside objectivity from time to time.

The expansion includes more of Katie’s feelings about being abducted, nearly drowning, and trying to get home against some steep odds. Teaser: After moving in with her Uncle Charley, and cousins, Matt, Mark, and Sarah, Katie McCabe is excited to finally have her journal unpacked. So much has happened in the week since she’d left home, she doesn’t know where to start.

Diary of a Misfit is available now for Kindle. A portion of the proceeds from Diary of a Misfit will go to the Shaka Franklin Foundation for Youth.

The post Diary of a Misfit – Lost in the Hills appeared first on Be the Cat.

This week, the Misfit McCabe series hit a major milestone … being shelved in a bookstore. There are few things that make an author happier than to see their work sitting on a bookstore shelf (except maybe to see it clutched in a reader’s hand on the way to the check out stand.)

As you can see from the picture on the left, the books have featured as New Teen/Tweens (click the picture to see a larger view) And I certainly can’t complain about the company … being shelved with Lois Lowry and E. Lockhart is an honor.

And to the right is a face out shot. I love the wooden bookcases, by the way. They remind me of the library bookshelves I spent hours browsing through when I was a child. I’d wander along the shelves, making my selections—some new reads and some old friends—and hoping I could carry them all. Good memories.

Thanks to Robin Tidwell of All On the Same Page Bookstore for stocking my books and giving them such nice placement. And special thanks to Shannon Yarbrough for taking the photos and sending them to me.

And the final shot (for this post anyway), the table at the front of the store with the featured indie books. They look pretty good, don’t you think?

The post Misfit McCabe Books in the Wild appeared first on Be the Cat.

Stuck in bed with a broken ankle and reeling from the loss of her father, her home, and life as she knew it, Katie McCabe must deal with her anger toward the town bully and a world that’s fallen apart. Being cooped up in the house with Uncle Charley and three overprotective cousins isn’t helping. Despite her new family’s good intentions, Katie feels like a lonely outsider. Will she ever be happy again?

The post Nowhere Feels Like Home Book Trailer appeared first on Be the Cat.

For the entire month of February, the print versions of the award-winning Misfit McCabe series will be available for 25% off the cover price through my website. Use coupon code NDD0Z8Z79YRD at time of checkout. That’s right, you can purchase Misfit McCabe, Nowhere Feels Like Home, AND the brand-new Tattered through the Griffie World store and receive 25%, or more than $2 per book off.

And for those of you who have entered the eReader world, I’m not leaving you out!! For the entire month of February you’ll be able to purchase Misfit McCabe and Nowhere Feels Like Home in the digital format of your choice for 50% off the regular ebook price. For Misfit McCabe use coupon code TX74G and for Nowhere Feels Like Home use coupon code YG82K.

Wait a second!!! I can’t leave Tattered out of the discounted book love. If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you already can download Tattered for free (which will be the case for a limited time), BUT Tattered, is a part of the Chirenjenzie Lovapolooza (along with The Light of Asteria by Elizabeth Isaacs and The Willows: Haven by Hope Collier) so it will be FREE as a Kindle download from 2/13/12 — 2/15/12. Then for the remainder of February, Tattered will be reduced by $2, so if you missed the freebie, get it on sale. Don’t have a Kindle? No problem, did you know that there is a free Kindle PC app as well as Kindle apps for other devices?

So thank you to my current readers (I love you all) and welcome to my world for all my new readers. I truly appreciate sharing my stories with you.

About the Books:

Book 1 – Misfit McCabe
When Katie McCabe accidentally burns down a neighbor’s shed, she thinks it’s the worst thing that could happen. Boy is she ever wrong. Hustled off to live with her Uncle Charley, Katie struggles with the changes in her life. The only bright spot is making a friend who wants to be more. But the first person she meets is an enemy with ties to her past who believes in dangerous retribution. How far is he willing to go? Katie wonders if she has the strength to survive.

Book 2 – Nowhere Feels Like Home
Stuck in bed with a broken ankle and reeling from the loss of her father, her home, and life as she knew it, Katie McCabe must deal with her anger toward the town bully and a world that’s fallen apart. Being cooped up in the house with Uncle Charley and three overprotective cousins isn’t helping. Despite her new family’s good intentions, Katie feels like a lonely outsider. Will she ever be happy again?

Book 3 – Tattered
What do Sunday afternoon court proceedings, cheerleader tryouts, and a book burning have in common? Katie McCabe is back in action.

After her nemesis Harvey is found guilty and sentenced to community service, Katie wants to believe her troubles are over, but Harvey won’t rest until he gets revenge. When blackmail rears its ugly head, she’s caught in between friends and enemies putting her growing relationship with Tom at stake. Books go up in flames and Katie’s world rains down in tatters.

The post Misfit McCabe Series Sweetheart Deal appeared first on Be the Cat.

People tend to be surprised when I express my occasional doubts about my abilities. Which usually makes me smile in a bittersweet way. Because I do ENJOY spreading positive cheer and I love to banish doubt, but I am a writer too, so prey to doubts & insecurity just as much as the next writer. Fortunately for me, these bouts are infrequent and short-lived. Today I am in the grip of discouragement. I’m not easily discouraged, but it does happen on occasion, and usually with my writing. That is not the case today.

I’m in the middle of a blog tour for my newest release, Tattered and this book has been a long journey for me. With all of the ups and downs that I’ve had during the writing/revising/editing of this book, it wouldn’t surprise me to have doubt strangling me about this point over whether the book was ready to release. Oddly, I feel rock solid about the book itself. My melancholy today was brought on by feelings of inadequacy to get the word out about this book. How can I shout loud enough to be heard over the holiday bustle? Activity around the internet has been frenetic. Everyone is pushing their products, offering deals, shouting out good tidings to all. The activity is swirling all around and I feel like a blade of grass in a stormy river, whisked along at a frightening speed toward the whirlpool funnel, struggling desperately to reach the safety of the shore. How can I rise above?

I recently had someone compare my books to food. They are a taste that most people haven’t yet experienced. And sometimes when we haven’t tasted something, we fear it. We’re afraid we won’t like it, that the taste will be too foreign. But then when we do taste, we may have found another favorite food, something we can’t believe we’ve ever lived our lives without. It won’t strike everyone the same way, but that’s okay — it’s why we have variety. There is no doubt that my books are not the average young adult fare. I don’t think it makes them less than, just as I don’t think it makes them superior. It just makes them different. It’s also one of the reasons I chose to take the path to publication with them I did. I knew they’d be a hard sell, and in the current industry upheaval, would be near impossible to place. But I know these books have a purpose and need to be read. I believe in my work — in fact, now more than ever. Which is why today I feel discouraged about being lost in the crowd. But in addition to having the sunny-side-up personality, I also have an innate inability to give up. So today I may go swirling down the whirlpool, but tomorrow I will have figured out a way to climb onto shore. I may lie there for a moment, catching my breath, but then I’ll get up and continue on the journey once more. The books are like a present, all shiny and tied up with a bow, containing the unknown — you have to open them to find the gift inside.

The post Lost In The Crowd…But Not For Long appeared first on Be the Cat.

But wait!!! I can’t have deflated balloons for a winner announcement! *puffs and puffs and puffs* And now the contest winners – we have balloons again!!! If you recall, my giveaways are one signed copy of Misfit McCabe and one signed copy of Nowhere Feels Like Home and a stellar book bag. And now for the winners!

***drum roll please***

The winners are:

Jewelz
Alicia
PamelaJo

Thunderous applause

Thanks to everyone who participated and helped celebrate the happy day of Carolina’s agent representation. And just think what kind of party we’ll have when she hits the best seller lists.

The post And the Party’s Over appeared first on Be the Cat.

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Happy Agent Representation – Carolina Valdez Miller

Being a writer can be a tough proposition, because along every step of the way you face rejection in multiple forms and most likely multiple times. So, most writers I know love any reason to celebrate, and I’m NO exception. So, because my friend fellow Bling-Babe, Carolina Valdez Miller announced her agent representation today with the fabulous Vickie Motter of Andrea Hurst and Associates Literary Management, join us for the rest of the month in the:

Agent Celebration Mega Giveaway

YOU get to be the winner because Carol is such a sweetheart, her first thought for a celebration was to get a bunch of people involved to give away swag!! How can you beat that? So from today through midnight April 1st (Eastern Time), you have a chance to win one of the fabulous prizes below. The contest winners will be posted on April 4th.

How do you enter? Easy, check out the list of prizes below, click the links (the names) to the site and enter by either filling out a form or posting a comment on the Agent Celebration Mega Giveaway post. And NOW on to the prizes!!

From LK Griffie (Me)

To enter, comment below. Please also click one of the Like buttons in the sidebar

• Winner 1: A signed copy of Misfit McCabe (or ebook) Preview available in the sidebar
• Winner 2: A signed copy of Nowhere Feels Like Home (or ebook) Preview available in the sidebar
• Winner 3: A canvas book bag

Click the picture to view larger version

From Carolina Valdez Miller

• Winner 1: A 1st page critique from agent Vickie Motter!
• Winner 2: A Kindle Wireless Reading Device
• In order to win this one, you will need to follow all the blogs in the giveaway to qualify. **Note** Since this blog does not have the follow buttons, either Like one of the two Facebook pages in the sidebar (or both if you want) or follow @lkgg on Twitter. Please also put a comment on this post so your follow/entry for the Kindle can be confirmed.
• Winner 3: Signed copy of Escaping into the Open: the Art of Writing True by Elizabeth Berg
• Winner 4: Signed Hardback of Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready
• Winner 5: Signed Hardback of Passing Strange by Daniel Waters

From Heather’s Odyssey

• Writers Digest Guide To Query Letters

OR

• The Fire In Fiction by Donald Maass

From Critique Sisters Corner

• 2011 Guide To Literary Agents

OR

• Writing The Breakout Novel by Donald Maass

From J. Koyanagi

(You will need to subscribe or follow her RSS feed)
One winner will win:

• WRITING DOWN THE BONES, by Natalie Goldberg

OR

• HOW NOT TO WRITE A NOVEL, by Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman

OR

• GIVE ‘EM WHAT THEY WANT: THE RIGHT WAY TO PITCH YOUR NOVEL TO EDITORS AND AGENTS, by Blythe Camenson and Marshall J. Cook

From Simon Larter

One winner will win all three:

• Stephen King’s ON WRITING
• Ray Bradbury’s ZEN IN THE ART OF WRITING
• Anne Lamott’s BIRD BY BIRD

From Sara McClung

One winner will win all three:

• A signed copy of THE DARK DIVINE
• A signed copy of RAISED BY WOLVES
• WRITE GREAT FICTION: PLOT AND STRUCTURE

From Lola Sharp

• A $25 Amazon gift card

From Elizabeth Davis

• A $25 Amazon gift card

From Tracey Neithercott

• A Hardcover of Across the Universe

From Kristen Yard

• A Signed copy of PERSONAL DEMONS by Lisa Desrochers

From Christine Fonseca

(You will need to subscribe to her blog):

• 101 Success Secrets for Gifted Kids: The Ultimate Guide

OR

• A partial Critique

From Jonathon Arntson

• A $15 Barnes and Noble gift card

From Eisley Jacobs

• DIVERGENT by Veronica Roth
• HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins
• THE NAME OF THIS BOOK IS SECRET by Pseudonymous Bosch

From Denise Grover Swank

• ANGELFIRE by Courtney Allison Moulton
• ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins
• HEX HALL by Rachel Hawkins
• DEMONGLASS by Rachel Hawkins

The post Blog Party Celebration appeared first on Be the Cat.

I just finished writing a rough (and I mean very rough) synopsis of No Boundaries and in the middle of it, I realized Good Grief!! I packed a lot of crap stuff in this book!!! Not that having a packed book is a bad thing… it just makes it difficult to summarize.

I thought about how I came to have so much going on in the book. First of all, it’s the third book in the series, and there are story lines that were started in book 1 (Misfit McCabe) which are carried through book 2 (Nowhere Feels Like Home) and into book 3 (No Boundaries). And there are story lines that started in book 2 (Nowhere Feels Like Home) and carried into No Boundaries. So at the beginning of this book, I already had two books worth of story lines to keep track of, plus the new story lines and characters in No Boundaries… no wonder I feel like this one is bursting at the seams. And I still have two books in the series to go.

The other reason why there is so much packed into the book is I like it that way. I do write some serene sections of reflection, but those are generally short and then we move back to more things happening. And on reflection one additional reason for the book to be full of goings-ons. Misfit McCabe was about Katie, Nowhere Feels Like Home is about Katie and her family, so the scope broadens, No Boundaries is about Katie and her relationships at school – an even bigger scope, the next book in the series will be about Katie and the world, and the final book in the series… well it’s a secret for now.

Now I can get back to the job of finishing the edits on No Boundaries so I can launch it and get the next book written.

The post Good Grief, Charlie Brown appeared first on Be the Cat.

5.1.3 Digital Book Rejection. We are entitled to determine what content we accept and distribute through the Program in our sole discretion.

According to the information floating around the internet, Amazon chose not to pull the book because Amazon doesn’t condone censorship. I don’t condone censorship… but this is an issue BEYOND censorship. Amazon is not a governmental agency, they are a retailer who felt that keeping a book on their virtual shelves was more important than the outcry of their customers. In a way, I see the issue as a product recall issue. Over the years, products are released which have a problem and the products are then recalled due to public outcry over the harm they can cause. This is a product that SHOULD be recalled. So Amazon’s stance does not make sense to me. There is a lot of talk of boycotting Amazon, and although they have pulled the title now, in a kind of now you see it, now you don’t, way, I feel that their responsiveness in this particular situation was lacking. It is not the first time the mega-giant has moved slowly to rectify a situation. Nor do I expect it to be the last.

I’m caught in a bit of a quandry, because my books Misfit McCabe and Nowhere Feels Like Home are readily available through Amazon, and not found in your brick and mortar stores. So, I’ve decided to ask people to purchase the print versions through my website bookstore and the ebooks through either Barnes and Noble or through Smashwords.com

If you’d like to read two well thought out, but somewhat opposing viewpoints on the entire issue, stop by Kimberly Kinrade’s blog and Lori Reed’s blog.

The post Don’t Buy My Books appeared first on Be the Cat.

1. She had a garage sale and not everything sold so she’s trying to foist her junk off on the unsuspecting?
2. The holidays are around the corner, and the spirit of giving tackled her like a Bear’s linebacker?
3. She’s almost reached 1,500 followers on Twitter and wants to commemorate it?

Ding… ding… ding!! Time’s up. If you guessed answer number 3, you’d be right on the money. Her follower count is climbing higher with each moment and she’s giving away chances to win some great swag.

How do I know? Because (drumroll please) Prize #1 is a signed copy of Misfit McCabe and Prize # 2 is a signed copy of Nowhere Feels Like Home. But there’s tons of other cool stuff too, so hurry right on over to EisleyJacobs.com and check out the prizes and find out how YOU CAN WIN!!

The post Holey Moley – Prizes Galore appeared first on Be the Cat.

So if you have that special someone on your list who likes to read, you can now purchase the award winning books in the Misfit McCabe series directly from my website – if you look up at the very top of the page where the menu is, you’ll see the BookStore link. I have made the books available in a few different ways: Plain, Signed, or Inscribed.

Click the following links if you’d like to read more about Misfit McCabe or Nowhere Feels Like Home

The post Book Store Grand Opening appeared first on Be the Cat.