What You Always Wanted

Hard to believe it's been over a year since I updated this bloggy thing! And to think I used to hold myself back from posting more than once in a single day! How times have changed here in the blogosphere.

So, let's catch up!

My daughter is officially TWO, which is amazing. SHE'S amazing. And adorable. And hilarious. She runs really fast and dances like Davy Jones from the Monkees and sings "H.O.L.Y." by Florida Georgia Line like she's on stage.

I've run a few 5k's this year. I might be training for more. I might be training for a 10k in November. I might be training for a 15k in February. I might be training for a half marathon in April. I might be crazy. But only half crazy.

This past March, my second young adult novel was born into the world, officially. Publishingly. Or some such. My launch party was at my local B&N, where I was joined by friends and family. I made yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting, we wore stars on our cheeks, and I gave away a copy of Singin' in the Rain to a trivia winner! It was so much fun. A highlight of my life, because this book, y'all.... I love it so much.

Of course I love Wish You Were Italian, my first book baby, but What You Always Wanted came from a different place in my heart. It's more personal. It's so much more me because I was the high school kid stuck in the past, drooling over hollywood heartthrobs like Cary Grant, Rock Hudson, and, of course, Gene Kelly. Some of my friends humored me by watching old movies with me, but it was mostly a solo venture. And I was okay with that. It led me here. It gave me a story to share.

And I hope you enjoy it, You, Wonderful You.

#pippaversary

Remember May 6, 2014 when I became a published author with my debut YA contemporary novel Wish You Were Italian?!

Remember when I was too pregnant and lazy to organize a launch week giveaway?

Remember last month when I realized I still had FUN THINGS to give away just SITTING on my shelf?!

In celebration of the first anniversary of Pippa out in the world, I'm hosting a #pippaversary giveaway! Open until May 6, 2015. BUT FIRST, A HUGE GRAZIE to all of you for reading, reviewing, gushing, and supporting me and my little book! This dream wouldn't be possibly without each of you! Much love!!

PIPPA'S PRIZE PACK

(US only, but scroll down for international giveaway)

Remember when Morgan gave Pippa a journal filled with fun things to do while in Italy?

Morgan's red journal! 

Remember when author Lindsey Leavitt said:
“With Italy's brilliant landscapes, a main character you'll love from the first line and a new dreamy book boyfriend (he's mine!), WISH YOU WERE ITALIAN is a charming and addictive read. Devour this delicious treat like a double scoop of gelato.”

A hardback of Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt!

Remember when I listened to nothing but Mindy Gledhill's album Anchor while I revised Wish You Were Italian and therefore Pippa is walking the streets of Italy with those songs in her head?

A copy of Anchor by Mindy Gledhill!

Remember when I stumbled upon the cutest little Rome mug with a Vespa on it?

Rome mug with a cartoon Vespa!

This giveaway is open to US addresses only.

Scroll down for the international giveaway!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

SIGNED UK EDITION!

I don't want those of you who live out of the country to be left out, 

so this next giveaway is open internationally!
(open to U.S. and beyond!)

Enter below for your chance to win 

a signed UK edition of Wish You Were Italian!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't forget to use #pippaversary on social media! 

Mangia gelato prima! 

TODAY IS RELEASE DAY!

When I started writing a novel (that no one will ever see) years ago, I researched the publishing industry and totally chickened out. I thought there was no way I was going to be good enough. The prospect of one day walking into a Barnes & Noble and finding a book I'd written on the shelf seemed an impossibility.

But the thing is, if this form of creating is inside of you, it finds a way out. You have to write. You have stories to tell. You suck it up and do the work because you love it and can't imagine your life without this part of you. You long to create characters and stories that someone else can connect with. To share a little piece of what's inside your head, even if just for that one person that needed to hear what you had to say. You get better by doing. By reading. By listening. By seeing. By not quitting.

Starting today I'm going to be able to walk into a bookstore and find a book with my name on it, with words I've written inside, and this is so huge I can't even fully process it. From this day on, I'll always be a published author. Like, what?! ALL THE MUPPET FLAILS!!

And I owe a million thanks to my critique girls, Katie M. Stout, Kristi Chestnutt, and Kim Franklin, and to readers Amy Sonnichsen, Cari, and Mari. My amazing agent Marietta B. Zacker, and incredible editor Caroline Abbey. Laura Whitaker and everyone at Bloomsbury! My supportive and loving family and friends, in-person and online! My journey here wouldn't be the same without each of you.

Colosseum at night

In Wish You Were Italian, Pippa makes a list of ten goals for her summer in Italy:

• Don’t get arrested
• Don’t make a fool out of myself in public
• Get my picture taken at the Colosseum
• Find random souvenir for Morgan
• Get a makeover
• See Pompeii
• Swim in the Mediterranean Sea
• Have a conversation with someone in only Italian
• Eat a whole pizza in one sitting
• Fall in love with an Italian

If I were spending an entire summer in Italy (hey, it's fun to dream!), here are ten things I'd want to do!

• Take an official tour of the Colosseum, including the scary bottom level
• Go to the catacombs
• See Pompeii
• Eat gelato at least twice a day
• Paint on location instead of later from a picture
• Take a gondola ride in Venice
• Stay at a bed and breakfast in Tuscany 
• Learn to make authentic pasta from scratch
• Rent a bicycle and ride around a quaint village
• Learn to speak enough Italian to get by without relying on English

Hubs and me eating gelato in Corniglia, Cinque Terre

 

Painter in Florence | Bikes in Florence

What would you do with a whole summer in Italy?!

If you'd like a signed copy of Wish You Were Italian, my local indie bookstore ships! Click THIS LINK to order, marking any personalization details in the order comments. 

Swag with Pre-order!

TWO MONTHS TO GO! 

It's so hard to believe the wait is nearly over. Wasn't it only yesterday that we were at the year mark? Then 100 days? And now, TWO MONTHS! 

Wish You Were Italian is available for pre-order, so for some special fun, I'm offering swag with your pre-order! 

I'll send you a personalized bookplate (which is a fancy sticker I'll sign for you to put inside the book!) along with two signed bookmarks. 

At this time, I'm only able to offer this promo to readers in the United States.

I'm so sorry for that. I love all of you and I wish shipping prices weren't an issue. 

WHAT TO DO:

Take a screenshot or some sort of pic of your order confirmation (without sharing your personal billing info) and email it to kristinraewrites(at)gmail(dot)com along with your mailing address and personalization details (what name you want on the bookplate), and I'll send it out a soon as possible! I'll be offering this as long as my supplies last or the book becomes available, whichever happens first. 

Handy links for pre-ordering:

My local indie, Blue Willow Bookshop

You can pre-order hardbacks OR paperbacks, signed and personalized from here! 

If you do this, you won't need a bookplate, but I can send you a super limited edition Riomaggiore magnet that will make TOTAL sense once you read the book!

(I even took that picture when I was there!)

Other links:

 AMAZON  

B&N 

INDIEBOUND

Recap:

Each pre-order = bookplate + two bookmarks

Each pre-order for personalized book from Blue Willow = magnet + two bookmarks

Promotion open until May 6, 2014 or until I run out of bookplates!

Stay tuned for a giveaway around book launch time.

*US only, sorry! *hugs*

Kirkus Liked My Book!

It's happened. My first trade review. And with one of the toughest reviewers known to publishing. 

There are a lot of feelings that went through my head while anticipating this review. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, all of that. What happens if they hate it? Would it hurt my heart even though I'm mentally preparing for the negative? Would it keep people from buying it? But really ... you can't let that stuff freak you out because it will stunt your creativity. The only thing I have control over are the words I write. That's all I need to concern myself with.

But I won't lie. Getting a nice review is ... nice. The day before my birthday I got word that Kirkus, in fact, found my book to be "an ideal beach read." I'm really so very happy about this. I've been known to form very fond attachments to books I read on trips, so one of my hopes is that people will take it on their own vacations and perhaps read it on the beach! 

I'm also happy my love for Italy came through my words. "While Rae presents an appealing character in Pippa, her evident love of Italy dominates the narrative, making the story feel like an enthusiastic travelogue."

To see the full review of Wish You Were Italian, CLICKY HERE.  

My First Book Festival!!

I'm so thrilled to be on a panel at the Montgomery County Book Festival, February 15, 2014! I've attended this book festival for a couple years now, and to be invited to participate as an author is such an honor! They're still announcing the author lineup, but I've seen it, and it's exciting!

If you're local to Houston, come check it out. I'll have some ARCs to give away for the teens, and some swag to sign!

For more information, and to read my interview, CLICKY HERE.

In Which I Announce a BOOKISH THING

I've been getting questions about the little "If Only" heart logo in the corner of my book cover. If you don't know what it means, I'm here to tell you!

From my ARC: If only is "A new contemporary romance line centered around an impossible problem: you always want what you can't have!"

I'm super excited to be part of Bloomsbury's new venture, but what's even cooler, WISH YOU WERE ITALIAN releases on May 6, 2014 along with FOOL ME TWICE by Mandy Hubbard! Have you seen her cover yet?!

They look so cute next to each other, I can't stand it! And something else super fun: ITALIAN is teased in the ARC of FOOL ME TWICE, and Amy Finnegan's NOT IN THE SCRIPT (Fall '14) is teased in the back of ITALIAN's ARC. Love!

More official information coming in the new year!

My First Foreign Rights Sale!

Pippa's going to the UK! 

Bloomsbury UK is going to publish WISH YOU WERE ITALIAN in July 2014! 

I learned this news the same time I saw my cover for the first time, so it was a bit overshadowed, but once it really registered, I FLIPPED! My book will be on shelves ACROSS THE POND! I'm so beyond thrilled, I don't even know what to say. Eeeeeep!!

This is me NOT keeping calm:

My Book Has a Cover (AND A BLURB!) Part 2

That was such a fun cover reveal day! Thanks again to my blogging friends for helping me celebrate!! Cari's Book Blog, Ex Libris, The Daisy Daily, Gone with the Words, G Reads!, Girls in the Stacks, Hip Mama Jenn, I Read Banned Books, Joy's Novel Idea, Mundie Moms, A Nook for Books, Portrait of a Book, Sarah's Books & Life, and Katie M. Stout!!

Coming May 6, 2014 from Bloomsbury!

I'm also SO super pumped about the AMAZINGLY ADORABLE BLURB from Lindsey Leavitt, author of Going Vintage and Sean Griswold's Head!

“With Italy's brilliant landscapes, a main character you'll love from the first line and a new dreamy book boyfriend (he's mine!), IF ONLY YOU WERE ITALIAN is a charming and addictive read. Devour this delicious treat like a double scoop of gelato.”

Cutest blurb EVER!! I'm still freaking out that someone besides my agent and my editor has read my book, but to have her say such SWEET things about it too?! I'm so so so very delighted and thankful!

My brain doesn't fully understand that in seven months, this THING that I wrote will be OUT in the world! Even sooner once ARCs start floating around! I'm so hopeful that my little story will find its readers and give them all the warm squishy feels. Eeeep!

MY BOOK HAS A COVER! (Part 1)

It's here, it's here!! I have a cover!!

AND IT'S ADORABLE!

My Texas friends are so sweet to join me in the celebration today by sharing my cover on their blogs! Be sure to check out each one--they've all shared a little something different, complete with my own photos from Italy!

Cari's Book Blog

Ex Libris
The Daisy Daily

Gone with the Words

G Reads!

Girls in the Stacks
Hip Mama Jenn

I Read Banned Books
Joy's Novel Idea

Mundie Moms
A Nook for Books
Portrait of a Book

Sarah's Books & Life
And my CP, Katie M. Stout blogged about it too! Thanks girl!

I love my friends!
Thank you for the support and love and for sharing this experience with me! It means SO MUCH!

I'm Publishers Weekly Official!

This may seem like old news since I've been allowed to talk about it since February, but my book deal was just announced in Publishers Weekly!!

This whole experience still seems unreal, like one day I'll wake up to find I'm actually still querying. What a nightmare that would be! But here I'm one step closer to being able to share my little book with y'all! This past year or so has been such an adventure, not only for me, but for so many of my writerly friends signing with agents, getting book deals, getting covers, having launch parties. I feel so honored to be a part of it all.

What's going on with you lately? Any exciting announcements I may have missed? Anyone just starting to query for the first time, or maybe the millionth time? I'm sending you hugs and chocolate and that overused but TRUE encouragement that the hard work can and does pay off.