by Angela Smith | Feb 24, 2015 | Guests
Watch
out. Things are about to get really bad.
Looking around the room Sandra asked, “Is this an FVA party? It
seems too far away.”
“No. SVA. You didn’t even know which school’s party you were
crashing?” Disdain dripped from Oceanus’s words.
The condescending tone was too much. Hadn’t she been nice to Oceanus
when she dropped by unexpectedly? Anger surged inside Sandra. “What does it
even matter? The schools are all balanced now anyway. Thanks to you!”
Lexa’s mouth dropped open.
Oceanus clenched her fists. “I told you, I had nothing to do with
it.”
Before Sandra could spit back a reply, a boy sidled up to Oceanus,
his eyes scanning the partygoers.
“Hey, babe. Those mozzarella things you made were a huge hit. Can
you make more?” The boy ran his hand down her back and finally dropped his gaze
to Oceanus. “What’s wrong?”
He followed her glower and squinted at Sandra. “Do I know you?”
“Aaaahhh!” Sandra yelled. “You arrogant jerk.”
She spun toward Lexa, who was all but drooling over the boy. “Let’s
go!”
The boy frowned. “So obviously I’m supposed to know you.”
“Set, it’s Sandra. Polar’s sister,” Oceanus grumbled.
“Ah, right. You cut your hair,”
he said.
“Yeah, one does that after it’s burned off!” Sandra
tugged on Lexa’s arm. “We can’t stay here.”
SUPER BAD The unexpected conclusion to the
Super Villain Academy series.
The world is in chaos. Violence and thievery reign. And with
the supers still balanced, it’s only getting worse. Without good versus evil,
the supers care less and less. In order to restore purpose, the world needs its
super heroes and its super villains, but the one who balanced them in the first
place is missing.
Sandra’s concern over finding her brother, Jeff, isn’t her
only problem. Her pathetic excuse for super powers has left her needing a new
ankle. And though she’s still very much committed to her boyfriend, Source,
she’s growing unreasonably attracted to Set, the boy who double crossed Jeff by
stealing his girlfriend.
When Sandra is taken and held as bait by kids who want to
unbalance the super world, it becomes the inciting event that changes things
for supers everywhere and forces them to answer the question, “Hero or
villain?”
Super Bad is scheduled for release in June, but there have been whispers
of it releasing sooner. Don’t miss out. Subscribe to Kai’s mailing list and be
among the first to know.
King of Bad – Jeff Mean would rather set fires than follow rules. He wears his bad
boy image like a favorite old hoodie; until he learns he has superpowers and is
recruited by Super Villain Academy – where you learn to be good at being bad.
Is Jeff bad enough for SVA?
Polar Opposites – Heroes and villains are balanced.
After Oceanus is kidnapped, Jeff learns the supers are so balanced, they no
longer care to get involved. Ironically Jeff’s superpowers are spiraling out of
control. Will they find Oci before he looses it completely, and will they find
her alive?
Win a $10 Amazon gift card or an ecopy of either King
of Bad or Polar Opposites. Plenty of chances to win. Open internationally. Enter
here:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
About the author:
When
her children were young and the electricity winked out, Kai Strand gathered her
family around the fireplace and they told stories, one sentence at a time. Her
boys were rather fond of the ending, “And then everybody died. The end.” Now an
award winning children’s author, Kai crafts fiction for kids and teens to
provide an escape hatch from their reality. With a selection of novels for
young adult and middle grade readers and short stories for the younger ones,
Kai entertains children of all ages, and their adults. Learn more about Kai and
her books on her website, www.kaistrand.com.
by Angela Smith | Sep 16, 2014 | Books, Guests
Hey everybody, my name is Kai Strand. I was unpacking books at a signing and came across a copy of King of Bad with a torn cover. Bummer. I can’t sell that! But my loss is your gain. Because I can hold a giveaway instead!
Along with a slightly damaged copy of King of Bad, I’m also giving away several sets of character trading cards.
These cards have been specially designed for book one in the series. There will be a separate set of cards designed for each book – so be among the first to own a set.
Jeff Mean would rather set fires than follow rules or observe curfew. He wears his bad boy image like a favorite old hoodie; that is until he learns he has superpowers and is recruited by Super Villain Academy where you learn to be good at being bad. In a school where one kid can evaporate all the water from your body and the girl you hang around with can perform psychic sex in your head, bad takes on a whole new meaning. Jeff
wonders if he’s bad enough for SVA.
He may never find out. Classmates vilify him when he develops good manners. Then he’s kidnapped by those closest to him and left to wonder who is good and who is bad. His rescue is the climactic episode that balances good and evil in the super world. The catalyst – the girl he’s crushing on. A girlfriend and balancing the Supers is good, right? Or is it…bad?
“I guess I’m not comfortable being something. I’ve never aspired to do much of anything and it seems like a lot of pressure to suddenly learn I’m supposedly a super villain and that I have to learn how to do it right.”
“You don’t have to do anything, kid. You are what you are. We are just here for you if you want to learn how to do more.” Pyro leaned back in her chair and crossed her leg. “Let me start closer to the beginning. Once upon a time…”
Jeff curled his lip and grunted. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Yes, I am. This is no fairytale.”
“How many of us are there? Is this the only school or are they everywhere? What happens if I decide not to get training?”
“Whoa, boy! Rein in the questions. I’ll get to them.” Pyro’s foot bobbed as she
studied Jeff. “I don’t usually recruit. I work in administration, a fundraiser.
They asked me to take you on because they suspected you had fire. So let’s start there.”
Pyro explained Mr. Sims initial encounter with Jeff and how he’d reported to Tubs.
“That’s when Tubs got me involved. See, Sims felt your S.V. energy when you blew to fan the flames. Since you were playing with fire, Tubs suspected you had it and he knows that fire is a dangerous new ability and best taught by someone with experience. You know, when I first saw you, kid, I thought they
were making way more of it than was needed. You were hanging out with your friends. Giving your sister a hard time. Taking out the trash like a good son, but there was nothing about you that struck me as special. Or even super for that matter. But then you did something that changed my mind completely.”
Jeff sat up straight in his
chair then slouched back down again. He felt very conflicted hearing that Pyro had been shadowing him for so long and he hadn’t even known it. “What? What did I do?”
Jeff frowned. “How could blowing fire out prove I have fire in me?”
“It didn’t. You have fire in your hands, just like I do.” Pyro raised her right hand, palm up. Her fingertips were already swollen and throbbing. A spark
emitted from each finger and flowed together in the center of her palm. A marble sized ball of fire ebbed and crackled in the middle of her hand. She studied it. “When you learn control, you’ll be able to start fires whenever you want. But what is unique about you, is you will also be able to douse them.”
Pyro held the fireball in front of Jeff. “Blow.”
Jeff shrugged and blew on the fire as if extinguishing birthday candles. A thin frost doused the flame and coated Pyro’s hand. Jeff blinked, thinking he was
seeing things. He scraped a finger through the frost on her palm and touched it to his tongue. Cold and wet.
Pyro wiped her hand on her pants leg. “Fire and ice. I can’t even begin to imagine how you do that. But, Jeff, I can tell you no one has ever had opposing elements. Ever.”
I found myself falling in love with all the characters in the book. I loved the different abilities each one of them have. Kai did an outstanding job writing this book.
I could not put it down. It is filled with lots of action and even some romance. Everything you want in a book. Victoria for Page Turners Blog
Can’t wait for the sequel! – Christopher White for Amazon
When her children were young and the electricity winked out, Kai Strand gathered her family around the fireplace and they told stories, one sentence at a time. Her boys were rather fond of the ending, “And then everybody died. The end.” Now an
award winning children’s author, Kai crafts fiction for kids and teens to provide an escape hatch from their reality. With a selection of novels for young adult and middle grade readers and short stories for the younger ones, Kai entertains children of all ages, and their adults. Learn more about Kai and her books on her website, www.kaistrand.com.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
by Angela Smith | Apr 30, 2014 | Guests
Hi everyone! My name is Kai Strand. I’m visiting Love Is A Mystery today to share the cover of my upcoming young adult contemporary romance novella, out next month. I’m super excited. After you read the blurb and excerpt, and see the great cover, I hope you will become excited too. Thanks for reading!
Ella Jones is a coward. There is a teen boy living in the alley behind her work and she is terrified of him.
Desperate to leave behind the stereotypical and judgmental world she was raised in, Ella forces herself to make a true connection with seventeen-year-old Ayden Worth. As their friendship grows Ayden’s quiet, gentle ways teach her true courage.
But there’s more to Ayden’s story than Ella knows. When their worlds collide in the most unexpected place, Ella feels betrayed. Will she find the courage to learn who Ayden really is, or will she determine he’s not worth the effort?
Excerpt…
I don’t want to be the girl who wrinkles her nose at a homeless person. I don’t want to be the type of person who judges. So after a couple weeks of shy smiles and polite head nods, I change it up.
Ten minutes after I enter the store, I re-emerge with a cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin. And a pounding heart.
“Here. It’s kind of cold this morning.” With my pulse throbbing in my ears, I realize I might be shouting at him. Maybe that’s why his mouth hangs agape and his eyes are round with shock, or maybe alarm.
Available May 6, 2014
Add Worth the Effort: Ella’s Story on Goodreads. Subscribe to my newsletter.
Excerpt junkies will find a different snippet to read on each of these sites:
Once Upon A Book
Bookscape Reviews
Katie S. Taylor
Paty Jager
Mary Waibel
Ashelyn Drake
About the author:
When her children were young and the electricity winked out, Kai Strand gathered her family around the fireplace and they told stories, one sentence at a time. Her boys were rather fond of the ending, “And then everybody died. The end.” Now an award winning children’s author, Kai crafts fiction for kids and teens to provide an escape hatch from their reality. With a selection of novels for young adult and middle grade readers and short stories for the younger ones, Kai entertains children of all ages, and their adults. Learn more about Kai and her books on her website, www.kaistrand.com.
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