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The One Where I Suck (Not Literally, but Well… You know)

*peeks out from under rock*

AHHHHH my God, I have been so MIA that MIA doesn’t even begin to describe my MIA-ness.

I suck.

I’m sorry. Incredibly sorry.

My only excuse is that I have been busy writing books! And signing books! And traveling! Oh, and I moved, too!

But hey! A lot has happened in that time. Most of it very good. So bear with me… this will be the catch up posts of all catch-up posts. But there is one VERY important announcement and a giveaway coming near the end.

For one, KEEPING HER made the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller list! HUZZAH! That was awesome. And I did something that looked a little like this…

I have visited some truly FANTASTIC places. Really. London. Toronto. Atlanta. New York. Las Vegas. Many for the first time.
London kept my mom’s appendix. So there’s that. We forever left our mark. 🙂 I met some fabulous bloggers, some of whom had been with me from the very beginning and hold a truly special place in my heart. We had a fab event where among other things, I read from my books. You can hear me read from FAKING IT here. Toronto was gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. I can’t wait to go back and spend a little more time there. RWA in Atlanta was understandably AMAZING. There is something so awe-inspiring about that many booklovers in one place. New York is… well… I loved it enough to move here. That should say something! 😉 And Las Vegas… the land of the Naughty Mafia. I had a BLAST… friends, food, fun, and too much gambling. Haha. Hey, it was my first time! I needed the full experience.
If you missed me at any of these events, make sure and check out my Appearances page.
Several other AMAZING things have happened, two in particular. Unfortunately… I can’t share about those yet. SOON. Within the month, I hope to be able to tell you about ALL THE GOOD THINGS. Feel free to speculate in the mean time. 😉
Here’s the part with the announcement.
A very important, not quite as exciting, announcement.
Remember this book?

 

The one about Kelsey and Jackson (who might be my FAVORITE book boyfriend yet! Don’t believe me? I’m not alone).
Well… originally it was due to release October 1st here in the US and the end of September in the UK. Things have… changed. It will now be releasing October 15th in the US and October 10th in the UK.
I know… I know… before you do something drastic…
Hear me out. There’s a good reason! In simplest terms, we needed those extra two weeks to make sure the book was in the best possible shape. The last thing I wanted to do was put out a book I wasn’t proud of. I always want to give you the best story I can.
AND… that extra time allowed us to do something VERY special  for Finding It. We’ve known for a month or so that we were pushing back the release day, but I’ve been putting off telling everyone because I wanted to be able to tell you about that VERY SPECIAL thing, too. Unfortunately… I can’t tell you about that thing. Not yet. But considering we’re less than a month out from the original publication, and I was seeing contradicting posts, I thought it was time that I went ahead and made the announcement.
So all in all, pushing it back two weeks sucks. I know. BUT… It will be worth it.
P.S. When you do get to read about and fall in love with Jackson Hunt… you’ll be glad to know he’s getting his own NOVELLA! I just finished it (squee) and it will be releasing early 2014!
Well, then. Now that you’ve stuck with me through the updates and the sad!face announcement, you’ll be happy to know I’ve got some good news!
IT’S GIVEAWAY TIME! In honor of hitting 11,000 likes on Facebook, I’m giving away this giant stash of books.
ARC of Foreplay by Sophie Jordan (Signed)
ARC of A Little Too Far by Lisa Desrocher
Taking Chances by Molly McAdams
Losing It (Signed)
Faking It (Signed)
Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout
ARC of Deity by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Signed)
“Awkward people need love, too” Bracelets
Signed Bookmarks
Signed Losing It Rack cards
Signed Faking It Rack cards
(P.S. I know I said I was going to give away a stuffed version of Hamlet, but I’m still looking. Next time!)
I’ll be choosing THREE winners!
The Grand prize winner will get: Signed Losing It, Signed Faking It, One additional book of their choice, plus swag.
The Second prize winner will get to choose two books from the remaining books, plus swag.
The Third prize winner will get the remaining two books, plus swag.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The One Before the Release Date

Hellooooo my loves!

I know it’s been horrendously long since I’ve updated here. But I promise, I have a good excuse.

First, I was moving. Which was long and stressful (and is still not completely over), but I’ve officially left Texas for New York. I’m still sleeping on an air mattress and waiting for my furniture, but I’m here.

Second, (and more importantly), between travel for multiple events, I was working diligently on edits and then copy-edits for FINDING IT, which thankfully is completely finished and off to print now. I cannot WAIT for you all to meet Jackson Hunt. He might just be my FAVORITE hero yet. He’s former military and 110% swoon-worthy.

And he’s getting his own novella after FINDING IT. EEEEP.

But enough about Jackson… let’s talk about Garrick. Have you missed him. Well, he’s BACK!
THAT’S RIGHT. This Tuesday (or Thursday if you’re in the UK), Garrick and Bliss are coming back in the novella, KEEPING HER. And it’s only .99 cents!
I know, right? The novella takes place after LOSING IT, and is centered around a trip to London to meet Garrick’s parents. As a novella, it’s a short little look at what comes AFTER a happily ever after. There’s more romance (a lot of it actually), some adjustments to engaged life, and some major life decisions. And it’s in London! Feel free to freak out!
Me thinks you all need a bit more convincing to revisit Garrick and Bliss. So how about a little teaser? 😀
Her pretty little mouth formed a circle. That was all it took. No matter that there were hundreds of people downstairs, and we were in my parents’ house. I wanted her as badly as I ever had.
I walked her toward the bed and she said, “Garrick! The people downstairs.”
“Won’t hear a thing unless you plan on screaming my name. In which case, it might be worth it.”
She swatted my shoulder, and I deposited her on the bed.
“What if your mother comes upstairs?”
I knelt at the foot of the bed and slipped off her shoes.
“Then we’ll have another awkward occurrence to add to our repertoire.”
“That’s not even remotely funny, Garrick”
I kissed the inside of her knee and said, “Do you see me laughing?”

And after you give KEEPING HER a read, join me this Wednesday for a chat on the Avon Romance website at 12PM EST with the amazing Monica Murphy.
That’s all I’ve got. Though I should have more exciting updates for you in the coming weeks. *wink*
I LOVE YOU ALL.

 

The One With the Incentives!

As I mentioned in this post, The #NACrushTourney is happening, and you guys are doing an AMAZING job supporting Garrick.

So amazing in fact that you’ve already earned some incentives! I’ll update this post throughout the day if (and hopefully when) we earn new rewards! Check it out:

  • If Garrick is ahead at 11am, I will post a short teaser from Keeping Her (which releases in August)

UPDATE: EARNED! Garrick had 52% of the vote at 11 AM, so here is your teaser from Keeping Her! And this is a great time to give you all a little bit of news about that novella! Originally, we pitched that novella as Garrick’s POV, which it still is! But in revisions, we decided to add in Bliss’s POV, too. So, it’s a dual narrative like FAKING IT. This little snippet comes from Bliss’s POV:

 â€œThat, Mr. Taylor, was a very good answer to my question.” 

His fingertips tickled the back of my knee and his mouth moved lazily across my shoulder. I shivered as he said, “What was the question again?” The hand on my knee trailed up the sensitive skin on the inside of my thigh. “I got distracted.”

  • If Garrick is ahead at 2pm, I will post a short teaser from Finding It (which releases in October)
  • If Garrick is ahead at 5pm, we’ll get another short teaser from Keeping Her,
  • If Garrick is ahead at 8pm, we get a longer teaser from Finding it

And just in case you need more to keep you going – if Garrick WINS this round, not only will I host a facebook chat with Garrick where you can ask him all your burning questions, but I’ll throw an EPIC celebration giveway of 8 signed copies of Losing It or Faking It + 10 signed bookplates! All open internationally.  So go vote for Garrick!

Oh, and there’s this other thing: If Garrick wins the whole NA Crush Tourney, I was thinking I could probably write the proposal scene. You know… the one that Garrick hints at in the epilogue of LOSING IT. You guys would like that… right? *grins*


The One Where–GO VOTE, Silly! What are you waiting for?

MY LOVES! THE TIME IS NIGH.

(Yeah… I’m the giant nerd that just said nigh).

Garrick’s first match in the #NACrushTourney is underway!

He’s up against Kayden from Jessica Sorenson’s The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden. I love me some Jessica Sorenson, so Garrick’s not got an easy match in front of him.

But I believe in our hunky British guy… don’t you?

What… you need convincing? Well, here’s a little video that my uber awesome #TeamGarrick street team made:


Vote for Garrick! by Slidely – Slideshow maker

Yeah. The accent always wins, right? Still need more convincing?

  • If Garrick is ahead at 11am, I will post a short teaser from Keeping Her (which releases in August)
  • If Garrick is ahead at 2pm, I will post a short teaser from Finding It (which releases in October)
  • If Garrick is ahead at 5pm, we’ll get another short teaser from Keeping Her,
  • If Garrick is ahead at 8pm, we get a longer teaser from Finding it! 

And just in case you need more to keep you going – if Garrick WINS this round, not only will I host a facebook chat with Garrick where you can ask him all your burning questions, but I’ll throw an EPIC celebration giveway of 8 signed copies of Losing It or Faking It + 10 signed bookplates! All open internationally.  So go vote for Garrick!

Oh, and there’s this other thing: If Garrick wins the whole NA Crush Tourney, I was thinking I could probably write the proposal scene. You know… the one that Garrick hints at in the epilogue of LOSING IT. You guys would like that… right? *grins*


And while I’ve got you all… you know that Keeping Her (along with several other of my books including Losing It) are on sale right now, right? YUP… the novella continuation of Garrick and Bliss’s story is only $.99!

 

Regardless of how today plays out… I’m thrilled to have been a part of this tournament. And I hope all you awesome fans will take the opportunity to read any of the books involved if you haven’t already. I’ve read a lot of them, and loved them so much. And please take the time to thank the hosts at NA Alley for hosting such a fun, celebratory event. And thank you all in advance for your support of my books and the New Adult category as a whole. You rock! 

 
And please do check out my advocate’s blog, In the Best Worlds! Hannah and the street team have done so much amazing work, and they’ve got fun giveaways and events happening that you should be a part of! 

 

The One with All Things Garrick and Bliss

Hello friends!

I know I’ve been MIA A LOT.

First, I got to take a fabulous trip to London where I met some amazing UK fans… seriously, amazing. But then my mom fell ill with appendicitis, and had to have surgery. That combined with the whole foreign country thing meant very little free time and access to internet.

After her surgery, we got her back to the states, but then I immediately had to take off for a conference in Toronto (which was LOVELY). I also got to meet some fans here in Toronto at a Harper blogger event.

I’m actually just about to head back home to Texas (for a whole week! Yay!). I’ll be heading to Orlando for Book Bash shortly after that! If you’re going to be at Book Bash, keep an eye out here for a chance to hang out with me and the uber awesome Chelsea Cameron! Details to come this week!

If we haven’t gotten a chance to meet yet, but you still want to talk or ask me questions… you’re in luck!  I’ll be chatting it up on goodreads with Jay Crownover (author of Rule and Jet, of the Marked Men series) in a Goodreads chat on June 26.  There is also a Faking It book club on My Facebook page on June 27 from 3-4 p.m. EDT where you can live chat with me about the book and ask me all your burning questions about Golden Boy and Angry Girl. So, if you haven’t read FAKING IT yet… hurry it up already! You’ve got a deadline. 🙂   

Before I leave though, I wanted to get out this preview package of my upcoming Garrick/Bliss novella, KEEPING HER. The following package contains the first chapter of the novella along with all the Garrick Bonus scenes that had been posted previously in scattered form on the blog. I hope you enjoy!

The One with Garrick and Bliss

SOOOOO…. I have a SURPRISE FOR YOU ALL!

You know that novella releasing in August?

The one about Garrick and Bliss and their life after LOSING IT?

Well, we were going to do a traditional cover reveal, but it appears that Garrick and Bliss just didn’t want to wait. Or… they didn’t want to share the limelight with Cade and Max of FAKING IT. Because they decided to pop up a little early on a few sites.

Which just means you guys don’t have to wait to see the COVER!

Whoo-hoo! I really love this cover. I think it captures the sweetness of Garrick and Bliss’s relationship.

BUT WAIT!

That’s not all! Instead of doing a cover reveal, we’re going to be doing a more in-depth preview of the novella soon. We’ll reveal more details of what the book is about as well an an excerpt from the novella and other fun things!

We’re looking for bloggers interested in being a part of the novella preview. If that’s you, sign up below.

The One with the FAKING IT Giveaway

Oh my lovely, lovely friends.

How much do I adore you all? SO MUCH.

We’re SO CLOSE to the release of FAKING IT (*cough* Sixteen days! *cough*).

There’s been a great deal of excitement in the last week or two. For one, we’re holding a FAKING IT pre-order campaign, and more pre-orders means Bonus Scenes from LOSING IT in Garrick’s POV. We’ve already got the first one all about when he meets Bliss for the first time, and we’re getting SUPER close to the next threshold and the next bonus scene. So what are you waiting for? Go Pre-order! Go make your friends pre-order! And go here to read the first bonus scene or learn more about the campaign.

And as if that weren’t enough Garrick related excitement… Did you see the announcement about KEEPING HER? It’s a novella from Garrick’s POV that is a sequel to LOSING IT! It’s got lots of kissing, more British men, and a trip to London! It releases August 13th, and is available for pre-order now!

But now to what you’re really here for… FAKING IT! I promised an ARC giveaway when we hit 5,000 likes on Facebook, and we did it! So, it’s time for some FAKING IT love.

But first… did I mention that you can read the first two chapters of FAKING IT here. EDIT: Whoops. had to wrong link for this at first. Has been fixed! <3

And you can read Cade and Max’s first kiss here.

And in case you don’t know what FAKING IT is all about:

Mackenzie “Max” Miller has a problem. Her parents have arrived in town for a surprise visit, and if they see her dyed hair, tattoos, and piercings, they just might disown her. Even worse, they’re expecting to meet a nice, wholesome boyfriend, not a guy named Mace who has a neck tattoo and plays in a band. All her lies are about to come crashing down around her, but then she meets Cade.

Cade moved to Philadelphia to act and to leave his problems behind in Texas. So far though, he’s kept the problems and had very little opportunity to take the stage. When Max approaches him in a coffee shop with a crazy request to pretend to be her boyfriend, he agrees to play the part. But when Cade plays the role a little too well, they’re forced to keep the ruse going. And the more they fake the relationship, the more real it begins to feel. 



And now that you’ve stuck around this long… here’s your giveaway. It’s only open for a few days so I can get it to the winner ASAP, and they’ll still get to read it prior to the release. So, don’t wait to enter! And be sure to come back and tweet daily for more chance to win! 

AND IF YOU LIVE IN THE NYC AREA, I’ll be signing ARCS of FAKING IT at BEA on June 1st at 1PM. You can find more info on the BEA website


The One with the Campaign

Need more Garrick in your life?

Well, you’re in luck! The FAKING IT Pre-Order Campaign has officially begun!

I’ve got a nifty little thermometer above and over on my FACEBOOK page that shows our pre-order goals and how far we have to go. There are four thresholds, and every time we reach one, I’ll be releasing an extra special scene from LOSING IT in Garrick’s POV.

The first scene is titled The One Where They Meet.

UPDATE: The first scene has been released and can be found here.

So, you can guess what happens in it! 🙂

So, please! Pre-Order! Tell your friends to Pre-Order! Share on your blog. The more pre-orders, the more content you get!

And if you’re on the fence about whether FAKING IT is your thing. Check out the first two chapters here.

If you’re a blogger, and would like to host the thermometer on your blog, leave a comment with your email, and I’ll get you the HTML tomorrow!

The One Where I Go Back to College

Hey Guys!

I’ve got two new Texas events to add to my schedule, but they’re kind of short notice.

But Molly McAdams (Author of Taking Chances and From Ashes) and I will be on a two-stop Texas college tour! Here are the details:

Both events will be a signing (with books for sale) along with a reading/Q&A!

May 11th 2PM
Southern Methodist University
Campus Barnes and Noble
Dallas, TX

May 15th, 4PM
Texas Christian University
Campus Barnes and Noble
Fort Worth, TX

Both events are open to non-students. If you live in the DFW area (or beyond) come see us!

In Awkward <3,

Cora

The One with MOAR Books!

So…. I’ve been hinting FOREVER at some SECRET news.

Some EXCITING news.
And now the time has come to share that news! So…. without further ado….
(Okay… maybe a little ado)
This little pretty just posted to Publisher’s Marketplace:
NYT and USA TODAY bestselling author, Cora Carmack’s novella KEEPING HER, from the perspective of the hero in LOSING IT and his attempts to maintain his happily ever after, again to Amanda Bergeron at William Morrow, in a two-book deal, for publication fall 2013 and winter 2014, bySuzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary & Media.
 

Did you guys catch that? From the point of view of the hero of LOSING IT? Otherwise known as GARRICK!

YEP. There will be a novella entitled KEEPING HER (which is already available for pre-order) releasing August 13th from Garrick’s POV, and it’s set after the events of LOSING IT. So, for all those out there asking for a sequel… I was listening! And here it is!

We don’t have the official copy for the novella yet, but I’ll give you a quick hint! This book takes place after the epilogue of LOSING IT and involves a little visit to London! 😀

For those unfamiliar with the lingo… a novella is a shorter work of fiction that’s longer than a short story, but not quite as long as a novel. KEEPING HER will be available in ebook format only for $1.99.

And I might point out that this deal is for TWO novellas. The other will be from the point of view of Jackson Hunt, the hero of FINDING IT (who I am OBSESSED with). Go here if you missed my earlier post with details about him and FINDING IT.

Thanks for being patient while I kept this secret! But now the news is out. And between this and my other recent Garrick news, you guys should be able to keep your hot Brit addictions fed for a little while.

<3 <3 <3 you all!