Blog Book Tour!!! Featuring author Kish Knight!

Geek - Boy Equals.... (Senior Year Book #1)

Obviously, popularity isn’t all that it’s cracked to be, but then again, maybe their friendship isn’t either.
Two months until high school graduation, and class Salutatorian (AND die-hard geek) Tab Holmes has decided that she wants to be popular, sexy, and irresistible to boys. EVEN if it means failing that last semester. EVEN if her longtime (and equally awkward) pen pal/ kind-of boyfriend is finally coming to Golden Rock High as an exchange student.
Enter Camille. She cheats, she lies, she dates college men…….and she’s Tab’s new edgy alter ego.
Epic NO-NO for a devout Nerd Circle geek! They don’t: a) talk to boys, b) ‘do’ their hair, or c) socialize with anyone even remotely popular. They also definitely don’t start skipping classes, sneaking out with grown men at night, or lose the second-most coveted position in the graduating class…
Since true nerds stick together, her BFFs realize that they have to snap some sense into her.….that is, until Kaitlyn realizes that it’s a perfect time to steal Geek-Boy from under Tab’s nose, and Olivia begins to hide the fact that Kaitlyn’s gorgeous brother suddenly has a thing for her.

Geek to Diva in 20 seconds (Senior Year Book #2)

It’s timid Olivia, cynical Kaitlyn, and bold Tabitha ….. oops, Lydie, Kaori, and the gorgeous Camille, of course, back again. Strolling on the other side certainly has its consequences. Clearly, popularity isn’t all that it’s cracked to be, and Lydie was right: the alter egos are bad, bad, BAD! Especially since Kaori is falling in love….. with Camille’s boyfriend, and Camille herself is too busy to notice; she isn’t finished sneaking around with the other guy, the COLLEGE guy, the same one her mother disapproves of.
And sweet, innocent, responsible Lydie? Well, she may be hiding the biggest secret of them all.
......Apparently, it’s pretty easy for a Geek to graduate to a Diva….that is, under the right circumstances.

Kish Knight Blog Interview of Chausiku Series!

Author on the 'Hump' Wednesday : Pamela Cash

Hump Day is that special day in the middle of the week, where we try to figure out whether the week is just beginning or about to end.  So, I've decided to use Wednesdays to catch up with some other writers.  

So I spoke with Author Pamela Cash on about the creation 

of her books in the Chausiku series.

Chausiku: The Gathering Storm Book One is FREE on Amazon, iTunes, Kobo and BN.   Click below to grab it!

iTunes

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

KOBO

1) How long have you been writing?  

This is a difficult question to answer because I am a lawyer who still practices law so I have been legal writing for well over a decade.  However, even when I was in elementary school I would write short stories.  I have always been a supernatural geek but I found that diversity was lacking in the stories that were published.  The Chausiku story has been in my head for years so I finally decided to put the saga on paper a couple of years ago.  

2) What is a typical working day for you?  When and where do you write?  
Due to the fact that I also like practicing law and have a full-time job, I write in the evenings and on weekends.  My days are full of serious stuff so writing about the supernatural is entertainment for me.  My books aren't heartfelt dramas.  They are for young adults and teens who just like interesting entertainment like I do.

3) What book series (or series) are you known for? 

The Chausiku series is my first series and I am currently working on the third book out of four.  Some readers have asked me if I plan to write any prequels because there is so much going on with the clans in my series.  I have already jotted down some chapters for prequels.  

4) Please give us a fun fact about yourself…something that the readers would love to know!

I love to exercise and I do it almost every day!  Sometimes when I only have enough time to either write or go to the gym, I go to the gym!  Yikes!  But I believe that one can have a passion for more than one thing.

5) If you were being interviewed two years from now, here on my blog, what great accomplishments would have happened for the Chausiko series?  How many books?

The Chausiku series would be a No. 1 Best Seller!  There will be 6 books with the 2 prequels that I have in mind. 

6) What question have you always wanted to be asked in an interview?  How would you answer that question?

I honestly don't have a question that I want to be asked.  I am more interested in learning what people want to know about the series or me. 

7) Tell our readers about a surprising turn of events in the series…something that even you, the author, didn’t expect to happen.

There are so many surprises that I don't want to spoil it for the readers!  I will just say that there is a cliff hanger at the end of Book Three just like there is in Books One and Two.

8) What can we expect from you in the future?  Do you have plans for additional books, aside from the Chausiko series?

I absolutely have plans for additional books, aside from the Chausiku series.  I have no plans to stop writing books...ever!

9) Alrighty now, just to wrap it up, one last thing.  This is the trademark of this blog. What's your favorite bedtime drink? Cocoa, soda, wine?  Inquiring minds want to know, please.  (Don't worry, you can answer 'water,' if you don't want to say (lol).

Red wine!  I love a good Meritage or Merlot.

FreeBOOKSY

Chausiku: The Gathering Storm was a featured book on FreeBOOKSY!
http://i.eho.st/pg49wbvp.gif.

Superhero Diversity and Thor!

It is no secret to my friends and family that I absolutely love Thor!  When I was young I used to sneak into my older brother's room to shuffle through his Marvel and DC comic books.  I would toss the books that I didn't find interesting then retreat to my own room to read the books that I loved...Wonder Woman, X-Men, Superman and my beloved Thor!  I can't say why I loved Thor so much...maybe it was the muscles... maybe the mighty hammer...who knows?  All I know is that years after I had moved on from reading comic books, I went to see Iron Man 2 at the movies and at the end, after all of the credits, a promo for the next movie came on.  There was a gigantic canyon on the screen with a hammer inside of it and before Agent Coulson could dial the number to call Nick Fury, I shouted out loud in the movie theater, THOR!  My "Beloved" was back.

What is even better is the actor chosen to play Thor.  Chris Hemsworth is perfect!  He is exactly the way Thor is characterized in the comic books.  I also love watching Idris Elba in practically any movie so I am pleased to read that he will be back as Heimdall in Thor 2. Despite the controversy, Idris brings some diversity to the Marvel movie screen and his wonderful acting makes you get into the character.    I can't wait for Thor: The Dark World to be released!

I am also happy to read that Djimon Hounsou will portray another Marvel character in Guardians of the Galaxy bringing even more diversity to those of us who love Marvel comics.  However, I was saddened to hear a quote from Djimon that said that one of the reasons that he accepted the role is because his son wished that he could be light-skinned so that he could play Spider-Man.  Hounsou noted that he finds it shocking that diversity is still lacking in the Superhero world.

It is my hope that in the future, superhero diversity will no longer be a question mark.  The Chausiku series is not about superheroes but it is about clans having supernatural powers and the diversity is international, racial and by gender.

Chausiku is a half African American and half African teenager living in Chicago who finds out on her 16th birthday that she is a descendant of the Sakombi clan from Africa.  She is also the Prophecy and she has supernatural powers.

John is a descendant of the European Spencer clan from England and he has different supernatural powers.  The Gale clan is from Australia, the Amaru clan is from Latin America, the Qiao clan is from Asia and the members of the Natosapi clan are Native Americans and First Nations (Canada) from North America. All of them interact with each other and have different supernatural powers.  Diversity isn't the issue...it is the norm.

#Thor #Superhero #Diversity

iTunes

Chausiku: The Gathering Storm Book One is now FREE on iBooks.
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/chausiku-the-gathering-storm/id615124834?mt=11
Chausiku: The Secret Gambit Book Two is now available on iBooks.

#teenbooks #youngadultbooks #africanamericanbooks #blackfootnation #latinabooks # asianbooks #ibooks

SCANDAL!

In 2010 when I first started writing the Chausiku Series, a friend asked me if I really thought that I could sell a supernatural book with a lead character who is an African American/African teenage girl.  It was a valid question at that time.  But the reason that I started writing about Chausiku had nothing to do with whether or not she would sell.

I have always been a supernatural junkie.  Growing up, I used to sneak into my older brother's room to read his Marvel and DC comic books.  As I grew older, I began reading supernatural books and watching supernatural movies...the great, the good and the bad.  When I became an adult and had a daughter, I noticed that there didn't seem to be any supernatural books or movies that had an African American girl as the lead character or at least I didn't find them.  There were a few books with a girl of color who was a character in the book but not the lead.  Storm is one of my favorites.  Then it occurred to me that it wasn't just African Americans that lacked visibility in supernatural books.  There didn't seem to be people of different races prominently set forth as main characters in supernatural books either.  I couldn't get the thought out of mind so I started creating characters and writing them down.  Before I knew it, I had written a story about a teenage girl known as Chausiku, The Prophecy and six secret clans with supernatural abilities.

Chausiku is a descendant of the Sakombi clan from Africa on her mother's side and she is African American on her father's side.  The Natosapi clan of North America is from the Blackfoot tribe of Native Americans in the United States and First Nations in Canada.  The Spencer clan from Europe is from London, England in the United Kingdom.  The Qiáo clan of Asia is from Shanghai, China.  The Latin American Amaru clan is from South America.  And the Gale clan is from Australia.

Now what does any of this have to do with the hit series Scandal, you ask?  Well, Scandal is the first network series with an African American actress as the lead since 1974.  I admit that I am a Gladiator and so are almost all of my female friends.  The show is a huge success and not because of the race of the lead character but because it is an interesting series!

So my answer to my friend's question is...ABSOLUTELY!  As long as there is an interesting story being told the race of the lead character doesn't matter...and of course the Chausiku saga is an interesting story!

 http://www.amazon.com/Chausiku-Gathering-Storm-Book-ebook/dp/B00A47AD06
http://www.amazon.com/Chausiku-Secret-Gambit-Book-ebook/dp/B00EJR4HXG
Book Three coming soon!
#Scandal #teenbooks #youngadultbooks #africanamericanbooks #latinabooks #blackfootnation

FREE on Amazon

Chausiku: The Gathering Storm Book One is now FREE on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Chausiku-Gathering-Storm-Book-ebook/dp/B00A47AD06

Kobo Free Teen and YA books

Chausiku: The Gathering Storm Book One is now FREE on Kobo!
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/chausiku-the-gathering-storm

You can also purchase Chausiku: The Secret Gambit Book Two on Kobo.

Chausiku: The Secret Gambit Book Two

Book Description

  On her 16^th birthday, Chassie discovered that she has supernatural powers and is known as Chausiku Aminia Sakombi, The Prophecy.  She found out that her mother was murdered and that there are six secret clans with supernatural abilities known as the Sakombi clan from Africa, the Spencer clan from Europe, the Qiáo clan from Asia, the Gale clan from Australia, the Amaru clan from South America and the Natosapi clan from North America.

  To make matters worse, Chassie had to quickly learn how to control her powers in order to stop a brutal attack on her family and avenge her mother’s death.  But the danger is still not over.

  Rasul poses a new threat now that he has proof that the Prophecy really does exist and he may not be the only threat.  The six secret clans now know that she exists too.

CHAUSIKU: THE SECRET GAMBIT BOOK TWO has been released!  It is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, Ibooks, Kobo and more! 
http://www.amazon.com/Chausiku-Secret-Gambit-Book-ebook/dp/B00EJR4HXG
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chausiku-pamela-cash/1116477118?ean=2940148442714
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/347204

CHAUSIKU: THE GATHERING STORM BOOK ONE is available for FREE for a limited time on Smashwords and other outlets.

Pixel Of Ink Bargain Bin

Chausiku: The Gathering Storm Book One will be available for 0.99 June 8 through June 10 on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/CHAUSIKU-THE-GATHERING-STORM-ebook/dp/B00A47AD06/

http://www.pixelofink.com/category/bargain-bin/

prMac!

I decided to use prMac, http://prmac.com, to advertise the release of Chausiku on Apple's iBooks website.  https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/chausiku-the-gathering-storm/id615124834?mt=11.  I am very pleased with the results.  I received personal service and quick advice on how to structure my press release.  I was also pleased with the high number of news media outlets that received my prMac press release.  I will definitely use prMac for future releases.  Some of the media outlets are listed below.

http://macprcaster.com/56024
http://themactrack.com/2013/04/01/page/2/
http://appmodo.com/75742/chausiku-the-gathering-storm/
  http://www.whataboutmac.com/index.php/2013/04/01/chausiku-the-gathering-storm/
http://www.popularwireless.com/blog1/2013/04/01/chausiku-the-gathering-storm/
http://www.healthupholder.com/iphone-articles/chausiku-the-gathering-storm/
http://www.macfanatic.net/blog/2013/04/01/chausiku-the-gathering-storm/
http://www.appshrink.com/application-press-releases/chausiku-the-gathering-storm/
http://www.slapapp.com/chausiku-the-gathering-storm/

Teen Books and Young Adult Books

I have found a few websites that are good resources for finding great teen and young adult books.  Click the links below.

http://www.amazon.com/CHAUSIKU-THE-GATHERING-STORM-ebook/dp/B00A47AD06
http://www.amazon.com/Chausiku-Secret-Gambit-Book-ebook/dp/B00EJR4HXG
http://www.teenreads.com
http://www.npr.org/2012/08/07/157847723/top-100-teen-books
http://www.booksamillion.com/teen
http://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/teen
http://www.teenbookguru.com/
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/issue/2012-best-of/section/teen/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/teen-books
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/
http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/young-adult
http://www.yabookscentral.com/
http://www.reading.org/resources/booklists/youngadultschoices.aspx
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/teens-teen-books/379003056/
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/chausiku-pamela-cash/1113799356
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17318945-chausiku
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/chausiku-the-gathering-storm/id615124834?mt=11

Nookboards!

http://www.nookboards.com/forum/

Increase Sales Via Kindle Free Promotion

In January, I decided to try Kindle's Free Promotion after reading a post from Tristan King. http://www.seanogle.com/entrepreneurship/increase-amazon-kindle-book-sales.  Below is my experience.

The first day that I made my book free for 24 hours, I didn't advertise it on any sites.  Actually, I didn't know of any sites that advertised Kindle free books.  Turns out there are lots of sites but I will get to that later.

Prior to the promotion I was only selling a few books per week, mostly on the week days.  So I decided to do the promotion on a Sunday.  Low and behold, I had over 300 downloads that day.  Tristan was right.  My downloads increased over 600% in one day.  Unfortunately, I didn't see an increase in sales after the promotion.  Sales were still a few per week.

Next I saw a post on Marketing Easy Street. http://marketingeasystreet.com/how-to-launch-book.php.  I decided to try the free promotion again and I listed my promotion on the sites listed in the article.  Bingo!

The first hour of the promotion I had passed the number of downloads that I got in one day before.  By the afternoon, my downloads were in the thousands and by evening, my book had reached No. 1 in Free Teen Science Fiction and No. 2 in Free Teen Paranormal.  WooHoo!

In addition, after the free promotion was over my paid sales increased.

I am no longer in Kindle Select because I want my book to be available in all formats.  However, I do agree that it is a great way to launch a book.

I would love to hear your experiences in the comments.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/chausiku-the-gathering-storm/id615124834?mt=11

CHAUSIKU is now available on iBooks.

 Very good story, very well told. March 10, 2013

By J Bryden Lloyd

Format:Kindle Edition

Book Review: Chausiku - The Gathering Storm - Book 1
by Pamela E Cash
Reviewed by J Bryden Lloyd

In the interests of openness and honesty, I would like to state that the book was gifted to me in return for an honest review.

Writing Style - 4.0/5.0 (Very Good)
This is a strong, enjoyable narrative work with nicely balanced dialogue and a well defined style.
This feels like a YA Fiction, though the writing does lend itself to younger readers and I have to say, I enjoyed the read. I should also point out that younger readers will be faced with several scenes of very graphic violence and a few deaths, so parents should take note that this is not aimed at children, despite the cover and writing style.

Character Development - 4.0/5.0 (Very Good)
I very much liked the characters. All of them worked well and developed nicely throughout the story. There were shades of "Heroes" in parts of the sub-plots, but these were very individual and nicely written into the overall plot line.
Chausiku's sudden abilities were nicely approached, and it made her into a far more rounded character as she learned and adapted.
I did feel that the father character needed a little more than just emotional content. Although his development was entirely understandable based upon the plot revolving around him, he never really struck me as a `father' character, and certainly not the father of a teenage girl.

Descriptive - 4.5/5.0 (Excellent)
The environments and locations were given in vivid detail. The descriptive remained consistently good throughout and the author made good use of an existing knowledge of the real areas she described.
Occasionally, I felt the character descriptions were a little light, but in fairness this was never something that detracted from the tempo of the book, or the scenes the author presented.

Language & Grammar - 3.5/5.0 (Good)
In general, the language used is well selected and nicely varied and the grammar and editing is of a good standard.
I did find a handful of minor spelling errors, though I understand these are already in the correction process. However I also noted there were several tense issues in the narrative, where the text momentarily changed from a past tense narrative to a present tense. These were a little off-putting, especially as their places within the text were noticeable as they related directly to the key characters.
Beyond this, the dialogue was excellent, very realistic and very much in context of what was going on.

Plot - 4.5/5.0 (Excellent) *MINOR SPOLIERS*
I really enjoyed this story. Although it felt a little haphazard in the early part of the book, it quickly began to tie together as more characters were introduced and more time passed. I think - if I were to be picky - there were a few instances where I felt the same information was being given in a slightly revised way, and although this didn't spoil the book, it did feel a little unnecessary.
The gist of the tale is a prophecy regarding a powerful child who will be born, and the man who seeks to control her and her power. The course through the sub-plots is filled with several violent deaths, as I mentioned earlier, and as the final confrontation concludes, you definitely feel the sigh of relief.
Having said that, other than a nicely defined twist at the end, the plot and its sub-plots are reasonably predictable. There are some excellent side-plots and events that will keep the reader very entertained and interested, but really, there are very few surprises lurking in the story.
Nevertheless, this is still an excellent tale and very well told.

General - 4.0/5.0 (Very Good)
Minor issues aside, this is certainly a book worth the time and money. There is a little bit of everything in here and nothing is lacking.
I would readily recommend this to anyone looking for an entertaining fiction read.

A very solid 4 star recommendation

Chausiku: The Gathering Storm is now available on Smashwords.
http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/291349

Kindle Boards

http://kboards.blogspot.com/

http://www.bargainebookhunter.com

http://www.authormarketingclub.com

One of the BEST sites for Book Marketing & Selling Tips for Authors is Author Marketing Club!  I am a member and I have received great tips from the site.  If you would like more information just click on the link below.
http://www.authormarketingclub.com

FREE TODAY ON AMAZON!!!
CHAUSIKU:THE GATHERING STORM BOOK ONE
http://www.amazon.com/CHAUSIKU-THE-GATHERING-STORM-ebook/dp/B00A47AD06/

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