Saturday, October 31, 2009

Happy Halloween!

Boo!

I hope everybody has plans to watch scary movies and steal candy from their neighbors tonight! The Halloween round robin on the Facebook fan page was a success -- however, I am not having success posting it here. It's a pdf file so I have to put it on my website first then link to it from here, but as of right now, Network Solutions is giving me more of a trick than a treat today and won't let me edit my site. Anyway, hopefully by the end of the day this will be resolved and I can post the story as promised -- but if not, it will go up this week, and you can read what everyone came up with in the interim on the Facebook fan page by using the link in the sidebar.

My mom and my sister got in an accident last night when a ladder fell of a construction truck and hit their car, shattering the driver's window and blowing off the sideview mirror (which hit my mom in the head). Everybody's okay (except the cute little Kia... it's at the car hospital), but yesterday was a long one!!

Anyway, hopefully I'll be back today yet with the round robin. Until then, over and out!

Cayla

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Guest Post at Tif Talks Books

Hi all!

The guest post I wrote for Tif Talks Books has gone up -- here's the link if you want to check it out, and don't forget to become a follower over there:

You're Only as Young as You Feel by Cayla Kluver

Also, Facebook has been acting up, so the discussions on the fan page keep appearing and disappearing -- I haven't been deleting them! I encourage everybody who feels like it to start up their own discussion thread, and chances are I'll chime in (once Facebook starts behaving...).

AND, an interesting occurence! (I have a weird life, I've decided.) I just found out that there's going to be a reading activity about me in a series of textbooks that teaches English to middle schoolers in Latin America. Way cool, but WAY strange! I remember activities about people in my Spanish textbooks and now I'm one of them. :P Thanks to Richmond Publishing in Mexico City for the FYI, and for thinking I'm interesting enough to include!

Well, I think that's about it for now, so... I'll be back!

Cayla

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Offkey Poll Results -- Narian's Character Sheet

Hi everybody!

There are a few hours left to vote on the favorite character poll, but since Narian has consistently been ahead, I feel it's safe to say he's the winner (and if by some weird happening he's not, I'll post the actual winner's character sheet too, savvy?). As promised, I've posted his detail sheet from my very old Legacy notebook (as well as a couple of pics of the notebook) below! This stuff was put together as I was creating his character, so a lot of things changed from this original "draft" of him to the person we see in the finished book. Also, you can see me lurking in the pics because I had to take them with my webcam (my older sister has her digital camera at school with her).

Just a couple things I'm going to make you read before I hand over the goodies: use the link in the sidebar to access the Facebook fan page, where in the discussions you can ask me questions and participate in the Halloween round robin. Also, I'm in the process of updating my official website, so it will include a video pronunciation guide for Legacy and some other fun stuff. For now, the video of me saying the names, etc., is up on the fan page. The MAIN CHANGE on the website is the new contact email for publicity inquiries: publicity@caylakluver.com.

Without further ado.....





Narian:

Physical Description
Steel blue eyes/sharp, intense, cold, unwelcoming
Smooth face/youthful glow
Seventeen years old
Height -- 5'10"
Thick dark blonde hair/bleached in places
Cut inch below his ears, haphazard bangs
Worldly face though young
Strong + muscular/lean
Athletic
Handsome

Personality Traits
Guarded/careful/deliberate
Very intelligent
Manipulative
Knows people + how to use them
Seems wordly and experienced
Observant + more judgmental (not critical)
Good at concealing his fears
Never been prisoner before (scared)
Emotional vulnerability
VERY well-trained
An "enigma"
Been taught to control his emotions
Intense

Hope you enjoyed, and I'll be back shortly with a new poll and (hopefully) a new prize of some sort!

Thanks for reading,

Cayla

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Teen Trend Magazine + Tif Talks Books

Hello again all,

A couple of zippety-quick updates: a review of Legacy was published in the latest edition of Teen Trend Magazine, which you can check out here by flipping to page 32:

Teen Trend Fall 2009

I'm so excited and grateful to the magazine for doing this review! You can subscribe to Teen Trend or read more about them at their official website.

Another review of Legacy was done over at Tif Talks Books, where I will be doing a guest post in not too long -- I'll let you know for sure when and post a link once it goes up. 'Til then, see what Tif thought, and don't forget to become a follower!

Legacy by Cayla Kluver

Thanks a bunch to Tif, and I can't wait to do that post on your site.

A few other things: the Halloween round robin is going wonderfully over at the Facebook fan page -- stop by and don't be shy about participating! Also, I'm going to encourage you guys again to head over to StoryCasting.com and pick the actors you see as the characters from Legacy -- it's a ton of fun! I'm also receiving a bunch of courtesy bookmarks from them that I'll be handing out at signings, readings, etc.

StoryCasting: Legacy by Cayla Kluver

Anyway, that's about it for now -- thanks so much for reading!

Cayla

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Halloween Round Robin and Storycasting

Hi all!

First things first, we've started up a Halloween round robin over on the Facebook fan page, and I really, REALLY encourage everybody to come over and participate! For those who might not know, a round robin is a story written by lots of people, in this case five sentences at a time. It's absolutely no pressure and a ton of fun. On the 31st, the completed story will go up here on the blog for you guys to read. Check it out, and get everybody you know to chime in!!!

Second, Legacy has been added to the database on StoryCasting.com so that I and all of you can pick out your favorite actors and cast the roles how you'd like to see them in a movie version. I cast mine this morning (though I'm still thinking about quite a few of the characters), and hope you have a blast casting yours!

StoryCasting: Legacy by Cayla Kluver

That's all for now -- be back later,

Cayla

Saturday, October 10, 2009

WQOW and Fan Art

Hi all!

I'm super excited for a number of reasons -- first, I did an interview with WQOW TV-18, which you can check out here on their website:

In Person: Cayla Kluver

Both the three minute segment that was on TV and the full half-hour interview are up. Thanks so much to Steve for conducting the interview, and to Josie (my best friend) and Mrs. White (my epically awesome English teacher) for being involved!

Second, Joanna on the Facebook Fan Page drew some BEAUTIFUL fan art for Legacy that I'm pumped to share with you. Check it out!! The first one is called "Forbidden", and the second one is "Sisters".





I just want to point out the detail on the frame behind Alera and Miranna in "Sisters". I'm so humbled by the work Joanna put into these drawings. If anyone else has fan art, please do not be shy about sharing. I would love to see what you've come up with -- it's exciting and such an honor for me.

Well, I think that's about it for now -- thanks for stopping in!

Cayla

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Book Tour, Etc.

Hi everybody,

Lots of stuff to tell you about, so I'll try to do it concisely! First things first, thank you SO much for all the votes on this month's Offkey Poll. Remember, the winning character's detail sheet from my old notebook will be posted here on the blog, and I really hope you all enjoy checking it out!

We're starting to drum up some tentative talk about a book tour, and as long as nothing's been firmed up, I thought I'd give you guys the chance to let me know where you want me to come. If you'd like to recommend a library, bookstore, or your school (I'll be doing readings, Q&As and signings all in one), just post in the comments below. OR (this would be really helpful!), ask whatever establishment you're thinking of to send an email to editor@forsoothpublishing.com. That way we can get talks underway, make sure they know about the book, and hopefully get some stuff set up!

On that note, there have been some changes on the publicity front -- Amazon is no longer working with WaggenerEdstrom, which means I have to say goodbye to my publicists Mariella and Natalie, whom I absolutely LOVE. Just want them to know that they've made every interview and bit of travel a pleasure, and I'm SOOOO sad to be parting ways! (This is also why, for the time being, I've reverted to the old publicity email above. I'll update when things have settled.)

I've added some stuff to the blog, which you may have noticed -- at the top, I'm putting "Quotes of the Moment", which is just a fun thing for me to do. I'm one of these people who for some reason will get a line from a movie or a quote from the president stuck in my head instead of a song, so I've provided an outlet for myself! Anyway, if any of you ever have the same problem, feel free to share your quotes of the moment here as well.

If you scroll down the sidebar, there's also now a search box so you can more easily browse through my posts (the results will show up at the top of the page so you have to scroll back up to see them, but still); and there's a link to my Facebook Fan Page, which I find I keep referencing here (I'm about to again).

People on the fan page -- you rock! People reading this who aren't a part of the fan page -- you should come on over! Everybody's welcome, and we honestly have a blast there just chatting and bouncing ideas around. The discussion tab has a place where you can ask me questions, as well as a place to talk about your favorite characters (or your least favorite ones!), thanks to Joanna. Feel free to start your own discussions too and be a part of the family. That's how I think of it, and uber thanks go to everyone who participates over there.

Now on to a sad topic: I'm a hopeless animal lover, and in doing some research today, I found out that in October 2008, my local animal shelter was forced to euthanize 112 cats and dogs. Some of them were sick or old, but most of them just couldn't find homes. Animals are innocent and loving and they need us. Please help them by adopting today!!

Thanks so much for reading,

Cayla