Some Things I Think...

Books A Million signing

2012-01-30T08:49:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of meeting the 1st and 3rd place winners from the Cracked Book Trailer Contest. They came to my book signing at the Books A Million in the Exton Mall, Exton, PA to claim their cash prizes.

I have put a bunch of photos up on the Cracked Fan Page over on Facebook.

Check them out by clicking HERE.

I am heading back into the revision cave.

See you all on the other side....

3 Random Things

2012-01-26T08:44:00.001-05:00

1. I will be signing books this Saturday, 1/28, at the Books A Million in the Exton Mall, Exton PA, from 1 - 3 PM. If you're in the area, stop by and say hello! You'll even get a "thank you treat" for coming.

2. Some exciting things have been going on lately. I was interviewed by David from David's Book Talk: The Premier Author Interviews and you can listen to the whole thing right HERE. Cracked was spotlighted over on The Contemps blog, and I was honored. A Canadian teen reporter from you think magazine conducted a telephone interview with me, for an article to appear in their February issue. *waves to reporter Melissa* Can't wait to read it.

3. The reason this blog has been so quiet lately? I am plugging away with my revisions for the next book, averaging ten pages a day. In fact, I shouldn't be blogging right now. I've gotta dive back in ; )

PS A BIG THANK YOU goes out to all of the YAmazing Race participants. Hope you all had fun & congrats to the winners!!

CRACKED Book Trailer Contest & the Order of the Top Three

2012-01-23T08:15:00.001-05:00

I know you're all just going to scroll down to see the order of the top three trailers, but promise me you'll come back up here and read the actual post. K?

How the judging portion of this contest was explained in the Filmmaker's Kit:

Voting via the Linkylist--here on my blog--would determine the top three trailers. Turns out that portion of the voting was rather easy, in light of there only being four official entries.
The final leg of the judging came from me. I had to decide the order (first place, second place, third place) of the top three trailers.
I put a tremendous amount of thought into my "order decisions." The top three trailers were all very well done, with clear evidence of time spent and enthusiasm for their final products. THANK YOU to all three groups of filmmakers who chose to put so much effort into their work.
My final decision had a main focus--which trailer truly captured Victor and Bull's story as well as the heart of the novel (with the limited amount of information provided by me) and most importantly, would make a potential reader want to read the book ?

I am proud to announce the...

ORDER OF THE WINNERS & THEIR PRIZES

TGM FILMS has won FIRST PRIZE: $500 cash courtesy of K. M. Walton, book trailer to appear on the Simon & Schuster site, trailer embedded in the author’s blog and website & prominently displayed, trailer will be mentioned and linked to on Twitter & Facebook, signed copy CRACKED, film critique by top industry professionals:
- An Oscar nominated producer team
- Writers for the MTV Movie Awards
- The former director of Entertainment Tonight
- An award winning independent filmmaker
- Two accomplished television producers
- A film agent
- And the director of the movie THE MIGHTY MACS

LUMONOX FILMS has won SECOND PRIZE: $100 cash courtesy of K. M. Walton, signed copy of CRACKED, trailer embedded in the “Winners” post on the author’s blog, film critiqued by top industry professionals (see above).

J. CINDRIC has won THIRD PRIZE: $50 cash courtesy of K. M. Walton, trailer embedded in the “Winners” post on the author’s blog, signed copy of CRACKED, film critiqued by top industry professionals (see above).

Filmmakers, please email me A.S.A.P. at kmwalton1 (at) verizon (dot) net for further prize details.

Thank you to the filmmakers and their crews. I am blown away by the level of awesome in your trailers.

Thank you to the voters who cast their votes - we had an incredible total of 1.410 votes. Wow.

VOTING for the Cracked Book Trailer Contest

2012-01-18T07:45:00.005-05:00

Voting details in numbers THINGS IN RED HAVE BEEN REVISED:

1. THANK YOU to the filmmakers who took their time to make a live action book trailer for CRACKED. Like, huge, mountainous piles of thank yous.

2. The Linkylist is closed to future entries, thanks.

3. Tell everyone you know to come right here and cast votes. Even your grandmother.

4. TO CAST YOUR VOTE, all you have to do is click the "Like" underneath your favorite trailer. It's that easy.

5. In light of only having 4 official entrants, and there already being three clear/obvious, top three winners, I have decided to end the voting portion of my contest on
Friday, January 20, 2012 at 9 PM EST.

As stated in the Filmmaker's Kit, THE ORDER OF THE WINNERS WILL BE DECIDED BY ME**

6. The order of the winners (first place, second place, third place) will now be announced here on Monday, January 23rd.

7. BEST OF LUCK to the contestants. And one more thank you.

Okay, listen up everyone, I've shut down comments on this particular post in an effort to keep this contest friendly. I know there are some spirited fans out there, but let's remember that this is a competition in which actual Hollywood professionals will be looking at. Like the real deal kind of professionals.

And be nice to each other out there. Geesh.

Last Uploading Day for the CRACKED Live Action Book Trailers

2012-01-17T08:31:00.000-05:00

An important message to anyone out there that took their precious time to create a book trailer for my contest: Today is the LAST day to upload your video onto youtube. Be sure to get your trailer uploaded by midnight tonight.

And, Filmmakers, don't forget the final entry step: come back here tomorrow and enter your trailer's youtube link into the LinkyList.

VOTING begins tomorrow. Right Here!

PS don't forget to promote the every-loving-heck out of your video. Get as many people as you can to come here and vote!!!

The YAmazing Race

2012-01-16T00:03:00.001-05:00

THE RACE IS OFFICIALLY OVER.

MUCH THANKS FOR RACING AROUND WITH THE APOCALYPSIES!!!

Welcome to the CRACKED post for the YAmazing Race with MGnificent prizes--an internet contest featuring over 50 of my fellow debut authors and prize packs consisting of ARCs, gift certificates, swag, and tons of other incredible items--seriously, the prizes packs are to die for.

If you stopped by my blog at random today, you've gotta start from the beginning, read the complete rules, and do this race right and proper. Pop over to the Apocalypsies website: click here. But, if you've already done that and are ready to roll, let's roll....

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Sometimes there's no easy way out.

Victor hates his life. He has no friends, gets beaten up at school, and his parents are always criticizing him. Tired of feeling miserable, Victor takes a bottle of his mother's sleeping pills—only to wake up in the hospital.

Bull is angry, and takes all of his rage out on Victor. That makes him feel better, at least a little. But it doesn't stop Bull's grandfather from getting drunk and hitting him. So Bull tries to defend himself with a loaded gun.

When Victor and Bull end up as roommates in the same psych ward, there's no way to escape each other or their problems. Which means things are going to get worse—much worse—before they get better….

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Before you leave:
Be sure to stop back and vote on the CRACKED LIVE ACTION BOOK TRAILER entries--they go live, right here, on Wednesday, January 18th.

Visit kmwalton.com for exclusive content for readers, educators, and dreamers.

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Ready to continue racing? Keep your YAmazing Race with MGnificent Prizes momentum going and visit your next stop: Kat Zhang at The Katacomb

CRACKED Release Day Word-Spread Winner

2012-01-12T08:14:00.000-05:00

I am giving away things left and right around here, and I like it! Today's post announces the winner of my Release Day Word-Spread Giveaway. I had 11 fabulous people comment their word-spread plans!

Thank you to those 11 kind people.

I entered the names into "The Hat" computer program and it did its little shaky-shaky thing - it even has the sound effects of a drum roll--so cool--and it produced the winning name:

ERIN

Here's the screen shot.

Congratulations to Erin Gress on winning the CRACKED Release Day Giveaway prize pack and for helping to spread the word!

On a different note, this blog will be ghost-like until after January 23rd because I am heading deep into the revising cave for my next novel (untitled as of yet), releasing Spring 2013 from Simon Pulse.

CRACKED In The Wild Photo Giveaway

2012-01-11T08:23:00.001-05:00

Cracked has now been out in the world for eight days, and what a week it has been. Before I announce the "Cracked In The Wild" photo giveaway winner, I'd like to say another THANK YOU to everyone out there who helped make the past week better than I could've ever dreamed of.

The tweets, the FB and blog posts, the launch attendees, the flowers, the gifts...the love...have all been living inside my heart now, and let me tell you, my heart is full.

Thank you to everyone who emailed, FBed or blogged their photos of "Cracked In the Wild" - it was wild to see my book in places so far away!!

I entered the names of the photographers into the computer program The Hat, and it produced the name of:

HAYLEY LOVELL

Hayley is a fellow blogger and all around lovely young woman. She always blogs from the heart, and I like that.

Congratulations, Hayley, you've won a $25 Amazon gift card!!

In closing, I had to spotlight two fellow bloggers/writers/friends: Frankie Diane Mallis and Donna Gambale. If you click HERE you'll completely understand why I'm so smitten with their photographic prowess.

PS If you are in the eastern PA area, stop by my upcoming book signing for CRACKED at the Books A Million in the Exton Square Mall, Exton PA - Saturday, January 28, 2012 - from 1 - 3 PM. Click HERE for more details.

The Cracked Book Launch Event

2012-01-09T10:07:00.001-05:00

Boy do my cheeks hurt from smiling.

This past Saturday night was the book launch event for my debut novel, Cracked. It was held at the most incredible independent book store on the planet, which happens to be right in my neighborhood--Chester County Book and Music Company in West Chester, PA. I can't thank everyone at CCBMC enough for all of their hard work in helping me to make the night memorable.

"Memorable" happens to describe the experience perfectly. Between the 300 people--family, friends and even people I've never met before--and the wine, the food, the book cake (see photos below), I'm having trouble narrowing down my favorite part.

Where all the magic happened ; )

Just a portion of the 300 favor bags my sisters, mom and sons helped me build. The bag and its contents are actually in the book.

Boy were these signs I made up needed. I still can't get over how many wonderful faces I looked out upon while up at the microphone.

The bartender was really cute (my husband). The food was amazing. The balloons made everything even more festive.

The Magnolia Grill did a spectacular job with the catering.

Cindy, a CCBMC employee and uber-talented baker, created 300 mini cupcakes with handmade pills on top - to match my cover.

This work of art was Cindy's surprise for me. It is a cake!!! Of my book cover!!! A cake!!!

As the lovely Joanne Fritz introduced me, I took a deep, cleansing breath and felt the energy of the room, which prickled with love and support. I took the microphone and began my planned and practiced speech. The eyes of so many people that I love, respect, and cherish gazed back, and I felt that energy again. My shoulders dropped and my heart slowed. It felt so damn good to be up there, thanking people, telling them about my book, reading an excerpt. So. Damn. Good.

Joanne introducing me!

Giving my speech.


Just a portion of the incredible sea of faces--so many were of family and friends from various portions of my life. Just amazing to see.

My deepest gratitude goes out to every person who came out on Saturday night to support me: my large and loving family, friends--old and new, writing colleagues and friends, FOUR Apocalypsies--even a few of my neighbors and my younger son's two teachers came out! I am honored and thankful to all of you for helping celebrate the launch of Cracked. I hope you had as much fun as I did.

Getting to talk with people and jot sentiments down in their books was magical, and I loved every minute of it. I still can't believe real human beings stood in line--some for an hour-and-a-half--to have me sign their book. Again, humbled.

The incredible signing line.

Still can't believe it.

The absolute best feeling.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

And thank you.

*Don't forget, if you were there and you'd like to upload a photo that you took and possibly win a prize, all you have to do is visit kmwalton.com and click on the post-it titled "Upload YOUR even photo" - pretty easy.

CRACKED is Released!

2012-01-03T08:24:00.004-05:00

I woke up from a dead sleep at 12:04 last night with this big, goofy grin. I hopped on twitter and FB and enjoyed the excitement. My book, the book about "my boys"--the bully and his victim--was out there. For people.

That's some crazy, crazy stuff.

Well, in honor of that crazy, crazy stuff I have some cool things brewing:

1. Anyone who captures a photo of CRACKED out in the wilds, on an actual bookstore shelf, and emails it to me, will be entered into a giveaway drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card. All details can be found HERE. *NOTE, I encourage you to buy your copy of CRACKED--or any book for that matter--in the wild. Like, in the bookstore where you take your photo. As brilliantly pointed out by Joanne in her comment below, "Bookstores will only survive if customers support them." Well said, my friend.

2. The second leg of my Teen Book Scene Blog Tour launched yesterday. There are character interviews, reviews of CRACKED and author interviews! Full details and links can be found HERE.

3. My craft post is up on The Apocalypsies blog today, and I'm focusing on the art of accepting critique. You can read it HERE.

4. I'M HAVING A GIVEAWAY! Wheee. Here's how it goes:

- Anyone who helps me spread the word of CRACKED's release and tells me how they did so in a comment, right here on my blog, is officially entered.

- You can tweet (use the hashtag #CRACKED), FB, blog, tumblr, sing, shout, whisper in people's ears in the bookstore, take photos, call people. In other words, anything goes.

- PRIZES are this gorgeous, hand stamped key chain made by my dear friend and colleague Christina Lee. I encourage you to visit her site and see evidence of her talent. And a custom made t-shirt that coincides with this-here-song-parody I made last summer. Once you watch the video, the t-shirt will make sense. Finally, a custom made CRACKED magnet.

- This giveaway will run till Wednesday, January 11th at midnight EST. Giveaway winner announced here on Thursday, January 12th.

- Have fun and I THANK YOU for helping me spread the word about CRACKED's release.

Anatomy of a Book Launch - Part 2

2012-01-02T10:00:00.001-05:00

I haven’t been around much over Christmas vacation. My back decided to not work the day before Christmas. I’ve been to a variety of medical facilities to have a variety of medical tests run. From Christmas on has been a blur of pain, crying and lots and lots of coughing. Oh yeah, I was diagnosed with bronchitis a few days after Christmas—every cough was like a knife stab to my back. Good times.

But the bronchitis is under control. Small victory. I’m still working on getting the back 100%.

Last Tuesday, I missed posting my second installment of this series. Sorry about that. Here goes:

Welcome to part two of my series, in which I’ll share even more anatomy of my book launch—the gory details—all in the spirit of paying it forward. Anyone out there who’s either launching in the near future or will launch one day, could use this as a reference*.

November & December (or 2 months before launch day)

Ordered as many swag materials as I could (magnets, posters, t-shirts, book marks, stickers, pens, book plates, tote bags, mouse pads, window decals, bumper stickers, calendars) through Vistaprint.com – I paid very close attention to their promotional emails that came to me and only ordered free items. All in all I spent $175 on Cracked items and most of that money was for shipping.

Reached out to five local publications to see if there was any interest in running an article or adding my launch to their calendar of events.
Created a spreadsheet for review and ARC requests.
Using Microsoft Word, I created launch event flyers, to be both emailed out and hung around my home town.

Mailed my launch event invitations out six weeks before the event.

To keep Cracked buzz solid and strong, I developed my book trailer contest. After pitching it, I got approval to move forward from my agent and the S & S people and launched it back in mid-November. Click HERE for complete details.
Ordered custom made, hand stamped items from the lovely and talented Christina Lee. I wanted special things to hand out over the course of my launch week.
Ordered the food for my launch event.
I designed something special—that coincides with my book—to hand out at my launch as a thank you to those who come. I can’t say what it is yet, but let’s just say it’s pretty cool and I have 300 of them!
Assembled the door prize baskets. I created slips of paper where people will put their name and email and then toss it into a basket. In an effort to “keep the party moving along” as I’m signing, the bookstore people will be pulling/announcing names and handing out the prize baskets. This is where all of that Vistaprint stuff comes in.

Since this is going to be a large event, I created “Priority Seating” signs for my family so that my loved ones have the best seats in the house. They sort of earned the privilege ; )

Compose what it is I want to say at the event. I am keeping the whole thing under ten minutes—again, since this will be a large event I want to get to the signing part and keep it all moving along.
Create mini posters in Word and then have them made into stiff, standup posters at Staples. I made four. Each one encourages people to visit my website for details on how to upload their photos of “tonight’s event” and WIN A PRIZE! I thought it would be a fun way to get people to share their photos. I opened up a flikr account and have it all set up for people to share.

I also bought eight clipboards and eight pens with attachable carabineers to hold my Street Team signup sheets. I plan to have these located around the event so readers can sign up to become official K. M. Walton Street Teamers. A Street Teamer will be called into duty from time to time, to help spread the word, either online or by mouth, of upcoming events and signings. Street Team membership has its benefits – exclusive content, knowing dates/details before the general public, exclusive contests and giveaways, etc….

And lastly, I met with the manager of my launch venue to work out the logistics of the event. This baby is a go and I can’t wait to see it all come together!!!

In light of tomorrow being launch day I think I will push my final post in this series to the following week. Check back for part 3.

Tomorrow, to help make the day even more special, I plan to start a giveaway event. All details and prizes to be revealed tomorrow. I hope you'll stop by for the fun.

*By “reference” I mean just that—something to refer to. I am in no way suggesting this is a list of musts. Do what you’re comfortable with and what fits into your budget.

IF I LIE cover reveal

2011-12-21T08:07:00.000-05:00

I have a treat for you guys today - a very special Apocalypsie cover reveal.

Corrine Jackson is a fellow Simon Pulser, and although we've never had the pleasure of meeting in person, I consider her a friend. She is lovely and gracious, talented and kind.

Her debut novel, a contemporary YA titled IF I LIE releases from Simon Pulse on August 28, 2012. You will want to add this one to you TBR list for sure....

The summary:
A powerful debut novel about the gray space between truth and perception.

Quinn’s done the unthinkable: she kissed a guy who is not Carey, her boyfriend. And she got caught. Being branded a cheater would be bad enough, but Quinn is deemed a traitor, and shunned by all of her friends. Because Carey’s not just any guy—he’s serving in Afghanistan and revered by everyone in their small, military town.

Quinn could clear her name, but that would mean revealing secrets that she’s vowed to keep—secrets that aren’t hers to share. And when Carey goes MIA, Quinn must decide how far she’ll go to protect her boyfriend…and her promise.

The geniuses at Simon Pulse have done it again!!!

Anatomy of a Book Launch - Part 1

2011-12-20T08:27:00.003-05:00

Welcome to my three part series, in which I’ll share the anatomy of my book launch—the specifics, the what’s and the why’s—all in the spirit of paying it forward. I figured, why not share the details. Anyone out there who’s either launching in the near future or will launch one day, could use this as a reference*.

September & October (or 4 months before launch day)

This may be obvious but, be sure you’re everywhere you can be online: goodreads, twitter, Facebook, etc. However, make your presence mean something. I’d rather have a strong/genuine presence in a few key places than be all over the place with a thin/weak presence.

Here are the things I worked on, ordered, and organized in September and October:

Worked with Teen Book Scene to have an “early buzz building” blog tour. I can’t sing their praises loudly enough. Visit their site and you’ll see why.
Researched bloggers who review books and emailed them with review requests. I focused on those with 1,000 or more followers.
Took out a free Craig’s List ad to announce the launch of kmwalton.com
Contacted my local big city library (Philly) about getting on their author list.
Decided upon my book launch venue and got it officially booked.

Designed and ordered promotional cards at Vistaprint.com – My family and I have handed out 200 to date!!

The front & back of my promo cards - so you can see what I chose to put on there.

Designed and ordered car door magnets from Vistaprint.com – two live on my car, otherwise known as “The Cracked Mobile”. My mom and one of my younger sisters offered to put one on each of their cars. I figured, the more people who see my book cover, the more it increases the chances they’ll see the book “out there” and pick it up.

The magnet on my salty car door.

Attended lots of YA book signings at my local bookstores—a great way to network and introduce myself.
Joined Rachael Harrie’s Write Campaign and participated in a few blog hops—all in an effort to get my name out there.
Attended Philly Lit Night – the West Chester edition. Again, a great way to network and meet fellow writers.

If you haven’t done so, visit MG/YA author, Lisa Schroeder’s website and read her post titled: Timeline and Checklist for YA or MG Book Release

I hope you’ll stop by next Tuesday for part two of this series. Part two is when I kicked it into overdrive and the real work started!

*By “reference” I mean just that—something to refer to. I am in no way suggesting this is a list of musts. Do what you’re comfortable with and what fits into your budget.

Visiting NYC - part 2

2011-12-19T11:15:00.003-05:00

I left off right at the good part....

After lunch I spent some time in Simon & Schuster's Studio 4, where, as two cameras rolled, I was asked a series of brilliantly thoughtful questions. Gulp. Luckily, the nice people at S & S gave me the questions ahead of time, so I could come prepared with somewhat intelligent things to say. I have no idea how it'll turn out. All of my extremities are crossed that I don't come off as a bumbling dumb-dumb. I also cut a spot for No Name Calling Week and another one for My Literary Crush.

As we walked through the halls I got to meet people, a whole lot of people--many of whom I've corresponded with via email or twitter. It was fantastic to put faces to names. I was eventually led to a part of the S & S building that's called the Inner Sanctum, where they had people and snacks and my books and signs with my head on them--all waiting for me.

One of the signs they had hanging all around.

Surreal. Wild. Words can't describe.

And then they had me sign books, as in, people literally stood in line and waited to sit across from me and have them sign their book. Having publishing professionals look you in the eye and tell you that your book made them cry or laugh or feel something deeply is way up there on the blow-your-mind scale, let me tell you.

I'd liken the experience to my wedding day, when I floated around in a glorious daze, sort of present and sort of out-of-body. It was kind of like that. All I know is that my cheeks ached after the Inner Sanctum reception ended, much the same as when my wedding reception ended.

A enormous THANK YOU goes out to Annette Pollert--and everyone in that building--for making me feel so welcomed and special.

Here are a few photographs I took while we were up there.

Tune in tomorrow for Part one in my blog series The Anatomy of a Book Launch

Visiting NYC - part 1

2011-12-16T09:16:00.003-05:00

Let me make a statement before I get into this blog post: It is not my intent to brag or rub this experience in the faces of those in queryland--believe me, I remember how tumultuous that period can be. With that said, I ask you, dear blog reader, to read this post with an empathetic eye and put yourself in my shoes--pretend it is happening to you. It will make the post morph into something more for YOU.

Onward.

Ever since Christina Lee got me to stand in front of the Simon & Schuster building for an impromptu photo op, 10:30 at night, at last year's SCBWI Winter Conference, I've wondered what it was like inside the building.

After a few emails back and forth between my editor and agent, we hammered down a date--I was headed to NYC! Got the husband on board and booked a room at Hotel Lola (You have to check this place out. It is seriously awesome, and I highly recommend it).

I was finally going to meet my editor, Annette Pollert...and see the inside of the S & S building. An exciting itinerary developed and the date couldn't get here fast enough.

A week before, my husband had to back out because of a sudden work commitment. A boo.

One phone call to my mom, and just like that, I had a new traveling companion.

My mom and I took the train Wednesday morning, with fifty freshly baked Philly pretzels in tow for the S & S people (my small thank you for their time and dedication to CRACKED). We arrived at around noon, and apparently the entire planet was in New York City. I have never seen anything like it. Hundreds of people waiting to cross at every corner. Packed sidewalks. It was absolutely wild.

Schlepping twenty pounds of pretzels through the streets of NYC while trying to hail a cab probably wasn't the best idea. As the bag slid off of the top of my rolling suitcase for the 900th time, I looked up, and there in a sea of people and cameras, was Ludacris - THE Ludacris. He was about five feet from me.

By a stroke of luck, we made it to the S & S building on time, where we were buzzed past the lovely security guards (my mom was friends with all of them by the time we got to the elevators) and allowed into the building. Yes, inside. The elevator doors opened, I stepped out, looked to my right and there were a WALL of my books on display. My eyes bulged and I said, "Oh my god, Mom, look!" (side note: I took not one photo while in the building, which will remain one of my greatest regrets).

Annette soon appeared, and she was as spectacular as I imagined she'd be. Gracious and kind, brilliant and witty. The three of us met my agent, Sarah Lapolla, for lunch. We shared stories, laughed and ate delicious pasta. As I looked around the table at those three women who mean so much to me, I realized I better take it all in, because there was magic happening--treasured moments.

Tune in Monday for part 2 of the adventure, in which I will share what happened in the Inner Sanctum (that is an actual place in the S & S building - and I was in it!!).