Bona fide, legit, whatever... They both = me celebrating!

Without making you watch more than 5, albeit comical minutes of video, I'm choosing to share this uber-quick snippet just so that you have an idea of what's been playing non-stop in my head for a whole week now...

So why do I have this scene from O Brother Where Art Thou? playing in my head, you ask? Well, it's because I've had a very exciting week beginning last Tuesday that has resulted with me being signed by literary agent rock star, Jane Dystel of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. 

Words like legitimate and bona fide naturally spring to mind as Jane is the literary agent for some folks like...oh...I don't know, Colleen Hoover, Heather Brewer, Abbi Glines, and Tara Sivec. I know, right? Hopefully you can now fully appreciate my glee and get on board with this whole "I'm bona fide" thing that I've mentally got goin' on at the moment. Truly though, I'm humbled and feel inordinately fortunate in this turn of events, and I'm BEYOND tickled to be part of the DGLM team, as well as super excited to work with everyone and get to know all the folks who make up this literary agency powerhouse.

Now, you might be wondering what this means to you as readers, and the answer is; aside from crush tourney winners having to wait just a teensy bot longer for me to get their prizes in the mail, not much at the moment. Me becoming bona fide and having representation just means that I have people who know what the hell they're doing and will go to bat for me if someone does become interested in purchasing the rights for the GYP series. And because I know this all most of you really care about at the moment you all can relax...with the way everything stands right now, Shark Out of Water is still scheduled to release on time, so no panicking. Leave all that stuff to me, because trust me, I excel at panicking and if anything of import does arise that might affect the release of SOoW, you can bet your sweet bippy I'll be not only panicking like a damned pro, but I'll also be running for cover and hiding from the angry mob who'll no doubt be organized by a couple of my friends and biggest fans. That'll of course be after I let everyone know what occurred to make me go into protective custody. Again.

That said though, it's pretty damned exciting news, huh? I know I think it is and even feel it worthy of mid-week cork-popping and drinking of champagne so that I can celebrate legitimately! (<—See what I did there? I know. I'm a nerd. Cut me some slack though, okay? I've been doing math today...)

Pimp & Vote #TeamTristan in the #YACrushTourney & You Could Win Cool Shit!

(You might wanna grab a snack cuz this is gonna be a long-ass post, as I'm longwinded to begin with and all updates, giveaways, and incentives earned will be posted here. Just sayin'.)

VOTE HERE

Clearly, the YA Sisterhood's YA Crush Tourney is a big deal. Not just for me, but for all the participants, whether they be the authors, the fantabulous bloggers hosting the event, the most-excellent crush advocates, the dedicated fans who tirelessly pimp their fave book boyfriends, or even the Twitter lurkers who just like to silently giggle at all the previously mentioned folks who flail about over REAL fictional guys who can only be found in the pages of some choice reading material.

However, the 3rd annual YA Crush Tourney is super special to me because unlike many of the authors, books, and yummy crushes who've been fortunate enough to really be a part of something like this, this is my first time. That's right, I'm a Tourney Virgin. And, I couldn't be more excited about losing my maidenhead (<—Yeah, that's what it used to be called way back in the day. I know...) in this whole thing because the peeps who are helping to pop my cherry are truly some of the most selfless bitches I will ever be fortunate enough to have known.

Now, there are several of them but I want to mention a handful specifically and they are:

• Allura—the unabashed Twitter whore whose GYP dedication is as appreciated as it is deep and everlasting.
• Nicole M.—an enthusiastic fan and newbie videographer. (You can see her trailer for Shark Bait below the Rafflecopters, and let me just say OH MY GOD.)
• Val—a friend, a great blogger, a GYP fan and GYP Street Team member who also happened to have advocated against Tristan in the first match of the tourney (I know, right? Needless to say there was much usage of words beginning with F when the tourney schedule was posted and I saw who we had to beat in order to move forward.).
• Erin W.—a GYP fan, blogger, and button making fiend.
• Kylee—a gung-ho GYP fan and blogging teen.
• Ellen—another friend, blogger, and GYP fan & Street Team member who's advocating for another crush in this thing (Seriously, I really don't envy the advocates in having to choose sides like they've had to and I wish them all the best of luck.).
• Christine—yet another blogger and fan with some Photoshop skillz of her own.
• Ashley—my bitch in shining armor. 'Nough said.

These chicks have given me advise, kept me in the loop, and worked ever so hard at introducing my books to others, promoting Tristan and the tournament, and creating ways for all GYP and #TeamTristan fans to pimp and show their support. Without them, #TeamTristan wouldn't have been possible because chances are, neither Tristan nor any of my other GYP guys would've ever been nominated or won a spot in the tourney to begin with. So, thanks, you guys, Tristan and I owe you, and he and I have a little something for you and the rest of the Team Tristan Bitch Slaves. :-*

Yes, even with getting a small glimpse at who some of my supporters are, it's safe to say that I am very fortunate and blessed indeed, although there is one person without whom Tristan wouldn't stand a chance; his advocate extraordinaire, Angela. And you know, I'm not entirely convinced it's purely coincidence that the person fighting for Tristan in this whole thing; his guardian if you will, comes from a blog entitled Reading Angels. If people only knew half of the tireless effort, hard work, dedication, and heart Angela has put into her esteemed position and in seeing that Tristan is represented with style, class, and in the manner befitting not only his character but a champion as well, they'd understand why I couldn't be more tickled and grateful to share this experience with her. And to you, Angela, I thank you for everything from the bottom of my heart. It has been my utmost pleasure to work with you in addition to having the opportunity to get to know you better and I can only hope that our friendship will continue to grow for many years to come.

Okay, so now that the mushy stuff is out of the way, I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that if you're here reading this particular blogpost, you've already read at the very least Shark Bait, if not The Other Fish in the Sea as well and are sufficiently fiending for the release of Shark Out of Water, and if that's the case, you're probably already a fan and subsequently don't need to be convinced to vote for Tristan in the tourney. However, I'm not delusional (mostly), nor am I entirely presumptuous enough to believe that there aren't people who might be undecided and/or haven't read and fell in love with my books and therefore don't even know who the fuck Tristan is. So if you're one of those undecided people, Angela has prepared a seriously kick-ass advocate post HERE where you can read for yourself why Tristan deserves to be the victor, and you can vote for Tristan there as well. But she also has a nifty little post up on her blog HERE, featuring testimonies from the people who know Tristan best; his peers, friends, and a couple other assorted people in his life.

So, what is this post about, you ask? Well, it's all about incentives, bitches!

Like I said before, I have been blessed to be supported by everyone on #TeamTristan as well as many others who find themselves in opposing camps, and I've decided you ALL deserve a chance at some fun rewards for your kind words, support, hard work and effort to help make the Grab Your Pole series successful!

For each match Tristan is in, I will do the same giveaway and up the ante with more and more teasers from different characters when Tristan's votes reach certain amounts in each match. I will also do another giveaway for some AWESOME & TRULY EPIC prizes for each match Tristan actually wins! I'm not going to tell you what they all are, but just know the more matches Tristan wins, the bigger and better the prize! Here's what's up for grabs in match #1 on June 21st:

TEASERS FROM SHARK OUT OF WATER!!

When Tristan's votes reach 300, I'll release a teaser from Kate. When Tristan's votes reach 600, I'll release a teaser from Dear Jeff. And if Tristan reaches 900, I'll give you all that unreached teaser from Brandon from last week's match! :-p

AND ALL THIS:

E-copies of Shark Bait & The Other Fish in the Sea

$10 Amazon gift card (e-mailed to winner)

Shark Bait drawstring bag

Original Shark Bait refrigerator whiteboard

E-copy of Shark Out of Water to be received on release day

60 #TeamTristan/2013 YA Crush Tourney Bookmarks

Yep, bitches, all of that is what I'll give away in each match that Tristan is in! And what's better is that I'm splitting them up into 6 separate giveaways so if you don't particularly want to win one of the prizes offered, you don't have to enter that giveaway! But wait! There's more! If Tristan wins his second match on June 28, I'll do ANOTHER giveaway for the following prize:

Here's how to enter:

FIRST & FOREMOST — VOTE!!! You have to in order to enter the Rafflecopters below and you'll find the link within the mandatory option! Good luck, everyone, I love you all mucho! Now go forth and pimp the ever loving SHIT out Tristan and this tournament!!

(Please note that e-book giveaways are international, however all swag giveaways are limited to US & Canada only)
**1st Place Winners hold the first slot in each Rafflecopter, all others are winners of commemorative bookmarks**

a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway
*NOTE: A winner the commerorative 2013 YA Crush Tourney T-shirt will only be chosen if Tristan wins the June 28th, 2013 crush tourney match.*

NICOLE'S EPIC TRAILER FOR SHARK BAIT

TEASER INCENTIVES EARNED:
So, it was insanely difficult (like bathing a cat difficult) to pick non-spoilery teasers from Shark Out of Water for you all, so while they might not seem like much to begin with, keep in mind where we left off in The Other Fish in the Sea and all the questions you hope to have answered, and then, let your imaginations scamper off to do what it does best!

Round #2, Tourney Match 16 vs. Kaiden—June 28, 2013
300 Tristan votes reached at roughly 2:30 pm PST
This SOoW teaser is from Kate:

“So what the hell, Tristan? I got Camie in the divorce so you and I aren’t friends anymore?” Kate - Mediation of Custodial Friendship

Round #1, Tourney Match 10 vs. Chase Williams—June 21, 2013
250 Tristan votes reached at roughly 10:15 am PST
This SOoW teaser is from Melissa:

“Uh, only that no one’s heard from Tristan since early Sunday afternoon, no one has any idea where he is, and no one seems to be concerned about whether he’s even okay…” Melissa - Unnerving Normalcy

The Shark Bait Back to School Blog Hop FINALE

WHEW! We made it!!

Welcome to the final stop and finale of my first-ever blog hop and online book tour!

I can't tell you all how much I've appreciated you joining me on this crazy journey of mine and to all the bloggers who've been on the tour, seriously you guys, I don't have the words. This experience has been like none other and not only have I conquered some personal fears (Video interviewing? Like you really have no idea how bat-shit crazy scared I was to do that...), but I've also met some of the most KICKASS people along the way! In addition to that, some of the feedback I've directly heard and *ahem* indirectly heard (yeah, I'll admit I occasionally eavesdrop on Twitter and Goodreads if time permits) has absolutely FLOORED me. For instance, one reader actually put Shark Bait in the same company as Harry Potter, Twilight, and The Hunger Games. And to prove I'm not making this shit up, here's a screenshot:

Seriously, OMG. I'm freaking FLOORED. I'm incredibly humbled as well...I mean I honestly don't know that I deserve such high praise, but just to even be mentioned in the same breath—er...sentence—as those stellar works is nothing short of jaw dropping and of course induces my eyes to leak. 

In short, all of you...family, friends, bloggers, readers...simply ALL of you have rocked my face off these past few weeks with your interest, kind words, support, invaluable help, and belief in my work and I cannot thank you enough for participating, spreading the word, and making the Shark Bait Back to School Blog Hop the success that it's been!!

As the theme of this blog hop is "Back to School" and since I include the actual high school I went to in Shark Bait, I thought it would be fun for you guys to get a little insight on why Grossmont is flippin' awesome as well as giving you all more of a mental image of the school and where some of the scenes in the GYP series actually take place.

So come on, come back to school with me...

Yeah, that's me; front and center amongst some friends senior year.

So every time I'm sitting in a school booster meeting, I find myself reminiscing and lamenting the fact that we no longer live in San Diego and thus my girls don't go to Grossmont. 

Why? Because Grossmont has unparalled school spirit and not only do the students know the meaning of fun, but the staff and administration does as well. I mean how many high schools have YOU ever heard of that hold an annual Donkey Basketball game?! Yeah. Donkey-freaking-Basketball. And it's not like it was played outside or anything either. Oh no...GHS doesn't screw around when it comes to sports, no matter how inane the event might be. They brought the damned donkeys into the flippin' Old Gym (where assemblies have been held ever since the "New Gym" was built)!  

Speaking of sports, Grossmont's sports program has 27 athletic teams that participate in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) every single year. TWENTY-SEVEN, folks! And that doesn't even encapsulate all the other sporting teams, clubs, or the myriad extracurricular opportunities that Grossmont offers to its students. 

And not only do the students of GHS play hard for their school, they shred off campus as well... Granted, this picture is actually of a classmate of mine from 1989, but it's not like Grossmont's students stopped surfing just because I left the state and I'm not around to take a current picture, you know what I mean?

And now after seeing an albeit aged picture of the kind of guys I went to school with, can you understand why I chose to write about surfers/swimmers/water polo players? No? Well here's another example... Now he wasn't my favorite person in the world; in fact he and I had an understanding. 

I thought he was an arrogant son of a bitch and he agreed with that character evaluation. So, we just stayed clear of each other, which made the

Team Sports class we had together tricky, but whatever, the guy was a freaking All American athlete in water sports which sort of gives him the right to be arrogant and if not that, it certainly demands due respect. Not to mention LOOK at his arms!! *SWOON*

Okay, so now that you've heard a little bit about the fantabulous school most of the main characters in the GYP series go to, how about a little tour of the campus? If you're the kind of reader who prefers to let your imagination take over, feel free to skip this video, but if you'd like to actually see Grossmont and some of the real places on campus where some of the events in Shark Bait took place, join me on a virtual tour and read some excerpts from the book!

Mmhmm... You'll have to forgive all the ruffles. I mean it was the '80s. 

So, as much as I love my high school, I really wasn't the best student and wasn't all that fond of going to school... I mean I had great friends, I was somewhat involved, I went to all the formal dances (I even had a date to each one!) and my senior prom (I had um...more than 1 date for that, but that's a long story...), and I did manage to graduate, but honestly, matriculation wasn't always at the top of my priority list, if you know what I mean. In fact, I received an award in chemistry my junior year... "Most Likely to Know LESS About Chemistry at the End of the Year than at the Beginning" Yeah, my mom was so proud...

I know it's a lousy picture, but my yearbook is too big to actually scan for a decent shot.
Anyhow, this was my senior class... I'm right in front in the 2nd row on the right hand side,
right behind the sign that says "Have A Day" and I'm wearing a green and black shirt.

                                                                              But, I did eventually graduate and this is what I looked like when I did. You know how people sometimes look like animals? Well I think I look like a lop-eared bunny in my senior picture... I guess it kind of fits, though, seeing as how I drove a convertible VW Rabbit that had a personalized plate that read: IMABUNY. Don't ask...I don't know what I was thinking either...  *sigh*

As I said, I wasn't the best student and I even won some awards for my tremendous lack of scholastic achievement, but I was damned proud to have been nominated by my classmates at the end of our senior year for something called a Senior Standout—it's a prestigious award and mighty high honor as the recipients are voted for by their peers. Senior Standouts included things like Best Dressed, Most Talented, Prettiest Eyes, Class Clown and so on...

In case you can't read the caption on the yearbook, it says: Senior Senate Presents Senior Standouts

And now for the moment you've all been waiting for! It's GIVEAWAY time!! For the past two weeks, you all have been hopping from blog to AMAZING blog collecting letters on a scavenger hunt in order to enter for a shot at winning "The Ultimate Shark Bait Swag Bag," and now, the time has come for you to put them all together to answer this question: 

What Senior Standout was I awarded?

You should have a total of 26 letters, which will make 7 words and the title of my Senior Standout, which you will input into the Rafflecopter widget below. DO NOT put your answer in the comments section as they will be deleted posthaste and you will not be properly entered in the giveaway!! If you're a latecomer or missed a stop or two, you'll find the complete, linked schedule of the hop right under the Rafflecopter widget. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment or email me, but please, for the love of dear Jesus up in heaven, DON'T spoil the fun and put the scavenger hunt answer in a comment!!

Grand prize includes an autographed copy of Shark Bait, a Shark Bait acrylic tumbler, a refrigerator whiteboard, a bookmark, a bookish rubber ducky, a shark paddleball game, and it all comes to you in a Shark Bait drawstring backpack!
*Backpack may vary by color and rubber ducky may vary by "genre"*

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Hop Schedule

The Bookish Brunette — Stop #1 — 2 Letters

I Love YA Fiction — Stop #2 — 2 Letters

Little Read Ridinghood  — Stop #3 — 1 Letter

Literary Exploration — Stop #4 — 1 Letter

Sliced Open Reviews — Stop #5 — 2 Letters

Forget the Housework, I'm Reading — Stop #6 — 1 Letter

Insightful Minds Reviews — Stop #7 — 2 Letters

Just a Girl Geek — Stop #8 — 1 Letter

For Love & Books — Stop #9 — 2 Letters

The Autumn Review  — Stop #10 — 2 Letters

Hackaroo's Reviews — Stop #11 — 2 Letters

The Indie Bookshelf — Stop #12 — 2 Letters

TotallyBooked — Stop #13 — 2 Letters

I'm a Book Shark — Stop #14 — 2 Letters

Right Here! — 15th & Final Stop — 1 Letter

——Note about the highlighted letters for the scavenger hunt——

Depending how the blogger does it, you'll be looking for something like this: z or z, not to mention that I think TotallyBooked might've highlighted two entire words, so if you're stumped on that, use the first letter of each highlighted word. Also, the highlighting color may vary from blog to blog so just a heads up. ;-)