Brothers and Puppies and Websites - Oh, my!

I got a new puppy! Yea!!!
She's a Labradoodle, which is a Labrador - Poodle mix. She's sooo sweet and cuddly! Her name is Isabelle. :}

Also, my brother is in town for the holidays. How awesome is that?


And, in case that wasn't enough, I'm getting an amazing new website that will be up in a week or so. I can't wait. It looks SO beautiful so far!

Hope you're all doing well and having a great break.
Luv and hugs,
Kaza

So Sweet! The first Erec Rex AMV Tribute!

Gotta love it! One of my favorite fans made this Anime Music Video tribute to Erec Rex.
What an awesome job! The music is by the Japanese pop group KAT-TUN. It's the first I've heard of them, but I'll be checking them out...




Hope you're all having great holidays!
Love and Kisses,
Kaza

Just got my technorati profile up:
Technorati Profile
It seems like a great tool! Click on the link and you can check it out. List your favorite blogs and get organized! I'll be figuring it out right along with you...

Love as always,
Kaza

I'm Sinking in Tech-Mire

Help! Help me!!
I just want to write, and maybe sleep a little...

I've been digging deeper into the blogosphere, trying to sort out Xanga Blogrings and figure out if I'd be better of on Blogger, Wordpress.com or Wordpress.org for my upcoming fantastic new website. But after my brain has been filled with chicklet links, feedburners, and the real worth of technorati tagging, there is little room to figure out del.icio.us and the best platform for podcasting...

I'm sinking!!!

Maybe I'm biting off more than I can chew here. I want to get out there and experience this hidden online world, this Web 2.0 thing. But maybe I should just go finish writing Book 3 and forget the whole thing.
Hmmmm......

Tom Johnson has an interesting article about Wordpress here: http://www.idratherbewriting.com/2006/09/12/advantages-of-using-wordpress-for-blogging/

Kisses,
Kaza

I'm Stepping Through My Monitor Screen...

I've got so many exciting things going on online, why not move there entirely? I think I'm going to pack my bags and step through my monitor, and just live in cyberspace a while. (Now there's a good book idea!)

I've been holding out on you, but I'm excited to reveal that soon I'll be going on an online blog tour! There are some amazing blog sites I'll be stopping by. What a pleasure this will be after traveling from coast to coast on a "real" book tour! (Although this is just as real. I'll just be in my comfy clothes and not in a hotel room, that's all!)

This is the kind of tour I'm ready for now, after all my recent travels. And I have more traveling to come, with visits to Phoenix and Cleveland coming up soon. I'll give you more details soon...

In the meantime, here is an awesome interview done by Sookie at Over My Head:
http://overmyhead43.blogspot.com/2007/12/author-interview-kaza-kingsl.html
I'm now officially going by Queen of Fabulosity - thanks Sookie!

I have to say, I love the part of Sookie's profile that reads: I was born and raised in Texas where I learned the important things: how to walk in cowboy boots, how to eat a burrito properly (stuff it in your face), and how to read great books. She sounds like a really fun person! Makes me want to eat a burrito with her. (Probably have much better ones in Texas than Ohio!)

I'm also going to be on Book Bites for Kids this Monday, December 17th at 3 PM Eastern time (2 PM Central...) It's an online radio show - very fun!

Another cool blogger is going to interview me soon. Check it out on his site "The Jay," at http://www.thejay.com/2007/12/14/holiday-links-2007/
Love ya, Jay!

Big question - why even bother with life off screen?
Dunno.

Love and hugs and squeezes,
Kaza

My Raw Food Fantasy

Yummm....
I am so jealous of you Californians, and New Yorkers, and all those other cities that have "Raw Food Restaurants." When I was in Santa Monica on my recent book tour I stopped by Juliano's Raw Restaurant on the corner of 6th and Broadway. http://www.planetraw.com/raw-restaurant.php
It was as amazing as I remembered. I can't remember what this dish was in the picture, but you can get the idea: (I think it was a dessert.)

And to even make it better, I went with my friend, fellow writer and bookseller Russel. I think if anyone sitting near us didn't know we were writers they might have worried about our conversation. (You can't imagine what we were getting our characters into!)

I think this was some kind of raw spring roll. Everything at this place, even the desserts, are all made from raw, healthy ingredients. How do they make chocolate cakes and ice creams at places like this? All I know is it involved a lot of coconut and vanilla beans ... Just go, okay??


Here's another really nice review I found today.

http://www.mugglenet.com/booktrolley/kingsleyk-eye.shtml

Hope you're all keeping warm!
Luv and squeezes,
Kaza

California Dreaming...

A Real Treat
One of the best parts about visiting L.A. in December was that I got to stay with my Most Amazing Uncle Marty when I was there! What a fun break. The rest of my California trip was great, too, but so busy with school talks, signings, media, etc.

Isn't he a sweetie!
Hope you're all psyching up for a great Holiday season!
Luv Always,
Kaza

Finally - My Tour and Media Dates Onilne!

My Ongoing Book Tour Online!
I found out about a great site called Book Tour: Where Authors and Audiences Meet. (Totally my kind of thing!) I uploaded as much as I could stand to in one sitting, which took me through January. For some reason I couldn't upload the schools I am going to be at, which is just as well I guess!

Here is the link: http://booktour.com/author/kaza_kingsley

Good thing I like traveling! My book tour shows no end. I'm going to be at a lot of schools in Cleveland and Arizona soon, too!

Hope to see you in my travels!
Love and hugs,
Kaza

The Best Things in Life Cost $29.

Oh My!
I just gave myself the best holiday treat! I saw these advertised in a magazine called Cookie. They are candied chestnuts in honey, from Italy. You can see more about them at: http://www.formaggiokitchen.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=31
If you like chestnuts and honey, you'll love these. They have that Greek pastry taste. Oooohhh!
So, now you all know what to send me for gifts!!

A Great Review:
Here is another super nice review, by Kaleb Nation: http://kalebnation.com/blog/2007/12/03/erec-rex-the-dragons-eye/
Let me tell you a little bit about Kaleb. He is an amazingly talented writer, web designer, and much more - all at the ripe old age of 19! And he is also now a good friend. I met Kaleb online, and now he is designing a new website for me! I'm SO excited about it, too. But Kaleb also wrote a great book which is with an agent now, and I hope he'll be published soon! (Yes, I hear you thinking: what?? How old was he when he wrote it? I think he wrote it between the ages of 15 - 17. So cool!!)

Signing off with love,
Kaza

Prayers for Allen Alvarado

I just found out that one of my favorite kids was in a car accident. Allen Alvarado was walking with his father and got hit by a car, and thrown 20 feet. He is eleven years old. His father is okay, thank goodness. Allen was in a coma, but I hear he is slowly recovering.

Allen is the star of Flight 29 Down, and has been breaking his way into Hollywood doing more and bigger things. He also loves Erec Rex, and gave The Monsters of Otherness a review that is on the back of the book. His website is at http://www.allenalvarado.com/index.html
if you want to learn more about him.

Please think warm thoughts for Allen. I hope he is all better soon!!

Another nice review I saw for Monsters: http://tcm-ca.com/reviews/2080.html

Luv and hugs,
Kaza

Great reviews, and books in Iraq

I was so happy to see these great reviews of Erec Rex!

Blogcritics Magazine had a wonderful review by Katie McNeill:
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/11/04/133638.php

This was also a nice one to wake up to:
http://rebeccafrog.livejournal.com/2007/11/29/

This one was very sweet and nice (even though the reviewer thought I was a man!)
http://tcm-ca.com/reviews/2080.html

A good one:
http://chauceriangirl.wordpress.com/2007/11/28/booky-goodness/

Sookie's has been up a while, but I don't think I linked to it yet:
http://overmyhead43.blogspot.com/2006/12/erec-rex.html

This has been up a while, too, but was a nice interview:
http://misserinmarie.blogspot.com/2007/08/under-radar-erec-rex.html


I also found out today that my books arrived in Iraq - the pic above was sent me by a guy named Brian who ordered them there! This picture was taken in Kirkuk, Iraq. He said he wanted to get a picture in front of the military tanks and Humvees to send me but pics are restricted.

I'm going to see if I can send more out to him. I'm sure the troops out there could use a little distraction. If any of you know a way I can donate books out there - if an existing group pays for shipping I can send more...

Love and hugs,
Kaza

Cybils - coming up!

Among other things - I just heard that Erec Rex will be published in France now! Yea!!
Of all the languages, French is the one I can understand the most (other than English) so it's going to be cool to see it in French. So far this makes 9 other countries... I hope there will be more soon! (I hear Germany is considering it!)



Well, the Cybils Awards nominations have been announced, and I hear there are 94 books nominated for fantasy/sci-fi (including Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness. Yea!!!) It's a cool award, for those who haven't heard of it. Nominations are done online by bloggers, and the judges are mostly book bloggers, too!

Here is the home page of the site: http://www.theedgeoftheforest.com/cybils/

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.
Just read a great book, by the way. It was called Flipped, by Wendelin Van Draanen

Love and hugs,
Kaza

California

It has been a great trip, and I'm ready to go home. I'll have been here two weeks, doing lots of school visits, media, signings and meeting great people! But I'm worn out now - and very excited to get home for Thanksgiving and finish Book 3 (Erec Rex: The Search for Truth.)

I never think to get pictures of my school visits, but here is one taken by the Gilroy Dispatch of my visit to a school in their district:


I am SO excited, by the way, that I will have a completely new, awesome website soon! Keep your eye out...

And have a great turkey day!
Love and hugs,
Kaza

New review

Just saw an online review and mention I thought I'd share!


Bibliophile's Retreat - http://forstrose.blogspot.com/

http://rettstatt.wordpress.com/2007/11/12/what-im-reading/

Time to go up to San Jose!!
Luv, Kaza

Fresno!

I had a Fantastic day in Fresno! First I talked at a school (great kids.) Then had a fun TV interview (I'll post the link here in a few days!) After that I met with my new friends Glenn and Angelica, had lunch with them, and got a tour of an AMAZING kid lit research library. (See the link to it on the side of my blog!) The amount of Lewis Carrol books (variations of his books, books about him...) alone was amazing. And I'm a big Alice in Wonderland / Through the Looking Glass fan! Glenn, a professor at Cal State, interviewed me on film for his students. Then I had a signing at night. So, overall, a great day!

I found out that Angelica is a big Oz fan (as some of you know I am!) And I now know that there is an international Oz club! (Wow...!) Here is the link: http://www.ozclub.org

Love and Hugs,
Kaza

Friends...

When I talk at schools and get interviewed people often ask what my favorite part of being a writer is. Of course, my answer changes day to day. But I think the bottom line is the friends I have made and am making along the way. There are a lot of people who are special to me that I never knew before I began this adventure. Some are fans, others teachers, booksellers, artists, writers. I could go on and on!

So - to just a few of you (and there are more than I could begin to list here): Daanon, Whitney, Jonathan, Mark, Melvyn, Heather, Rocel (Bugg!), Kennyth and Samantha, the Johnsons, David, Erin, Matthew, Kaleb, Kim, Jo, Rick, Silas, Aaron, Dennis, Nona and Rose (of course!) ... and so many more of you that I now know and love who were not in my life before this magical series came to life!

Thanks for being with me on this incredible ride. Thank you for your friendship, support, and enthusiasm. Love you all!!!

Yours always,
Kaza

I am SOOOO excited!!!!

I am SO excited about this animated video! The best animation artist in the world (by my estimation) did this video to promote my Erec Rex series. It's AMAZING!

The artist is Jonathan Fesmire. Check out his sites at http://myspace.com/jonathanfesmire and http://jfesmire.deviantart.com/ . I absolutely love what he did. The video got a little degraded on YouTube, but the detail is fantastic. Check out the chocolate shop Erec walks into! The little dragon creature on the side. The grizzly look of some of the bad guys. The background. (I could go on and on!!!)

And you probably won't have heard the music before, either. It's from a Fantastic new band called Soldiers for Solace. I love this song, called "The Fallen." You can see their info at http://myspace.com/soldiersforsolace


If you like this, pass the link http://youtube.com/watch?v=I8ph8s4psyU around to your friends. It helps promote my books, Jonathan's art, and Soldiers for Solace's music -- and is fun to watch!!!

Love ya,
Kaza

Look Alikes?

Hope you're all doing well! I had an Awesome signing today at Cincinnati's first annual Books by the Banks book fair! I was only there two hours, and my first book sold out, a lot of my second, too. It was a really fun crowd, and I met some fun authors... All in all a great time!

Okay, I finally gave in and checked it out. This is a fun site - check it out at http://www.myheritage.com/FP/Company/tryFaceRecognition.php. I haven't seen anyone get close to 86%, which is odd because I don't see my resemblance to Natalie Imbruglia ...
Fun anyway!!




And here is a cool add-on trick! I think this one is awesome!!




I'm trying to enjoy this R and R now - I'm off to California on Wednesday!!
Love and Kisses,
Kaza

Phew!!!

Man, it's good to be home. I had such a great time on the East coast ... up until the last few days. I was so excited before that, enjoyed every minute of it. I, literally, was the only person smiling on the subway from Brooklyn (where I stayed with my sister) into NYC. (I'm sure the regular passengers thought I was nuts. I was just so excited to get into the city again!)

But the second to last day of my tour I got the Big Sign that it was time to go back. I had a lot to do - certain stores I had to stop by and sign books for, a store event that night, an afternoon online appointment... But to start I had a killer amount of email to answer - the night before I was up 'til 2 AM, then did two more hours that morning before I got started. So I essentially (after all that) started my day in a panic. After that, my rental car broke down, computers malfunctioned so I missed my afternoon online thing - after half an hour of needless trying - parking was impossible all day, I hit traffic . . . And basically I lost every reserve of energy I had.

Perfect time to come home and collapse!!

But - I'm already getting excited for my California part of my book tour. I have some great events and school visits lined up, and some great people to hang out with over there.

Until then,
All my love --
Kaza ;D

Things are Getting Stranger...

I just got into DC last night. It was great hanging with my brother. He told me something freaky though, and I just have to share. It's becoming a strange world (guess it always has been, but wait 'til you hear this!)

Because of all the gamers online now, there is a new sweatshop type industry that has popped up in China now. People (mostly kids) are working around the clock doing video games - for money - to rack up points for people. In other words, gamers can buy points online to help them with their games. But the points have to come from somewhere. These people, called "gold farmers," are racking up points, getting paid for them, and their employers are selling the points online.

This amazes me. Any time I think my life is strange...

Here's a YouTube vid about it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho5Yxe6UVv4

and here is more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmer_(gaming)

Hope you're all doing great!!
Love, ya - Kaza

Sister Time...

When I was in NYC a few days ago I got to stay with my sister, Jennifer. It was great to see her, her husband Sam, and their cute baby, Isaac! Sam was out of town two of they days I was there, so at night, when I was done signing books at stores, and Isaac was asleep, Jen and I got some rare sister time to talk, eat pizza and laugh. I think I kept her up far too late, considering she had to get up early for Isaac and for work!


And, of course, while in New York, I couldn't resist stopping by China Town and getting tons (yes, tons) of amazing Chinese pastries. Jen, Sam and I shared what I didn't scarf down immediately. (If you haven't had fresh rice cakes from a Chinese bakery you don't know what you're missing! They can be gooey - and I guess might be an acquired taste - but ... yummm!!!)

And I bought myself a little dragon to add to my small collection. I like to look at them when I write.

Since then, I did a great signing in Willow Grove (Philly) and got to eat a cheese steak (yes, this is becoming all about food...)

Then I did a signing at the Barnes and Noble Power Plant in Baltimore. The coolest interior of a Barnes and Noble I've seen yet! It actually used to be an old power plant. This link shows some of the brass and metal structures running through the middle of the store!
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nd.edu/~sheridan/Baltimore%25202006/Baltimore%25202006-Images/38.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nd.edu/~sheridan/Baltimore%25202006/Baltimore%25202006-Pages/Image38.html&h=449&w=674&sz=165&hl=en&start=4&sig2=nagxvLybcKVUje2Wv3xJsw&um=1&tbnid=z7N8vBM1dwfUPM:&tbnh=92&tbnw=138&ei=3r4cR6aAPY7mgALhxe2RCQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbarnes%2Band%2Bnoble%2Bpower%2Bplant%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN
This one shows the cool look from the outside. The whole area feels like a big party:
http://www.teemorris.com/blog/uploaded_images/powerplant-730871.jpg

Now on to DC and to see my brother!!

All love,
Kaza

And .... she's off!

I just got into Albany, NY today. The whirlwind starts! I'm excited, yet nervous and apprehensive, wondering what this book 2 tour will be like for Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness. So far in Cincinnati and Cleveland the book signings have been even more amazing this time. I've gotten to meet some really excited fans, and that is so fun for me!

Tomorrow I'll be interviewed on Disney's Backyard Radio show. I think it's live, at 10:30 AM eastern time tomorrow, but last year when I was on it, it was taped. I'll let you know - and here's a link: http://radio.disney.go.com/

Then I'll be doing a signing at 6:00 at the Borders Crossgate Lanes here.

I already went to my absolute favorite spot in Albany today. It's an organic food shop that I found here last year called "Honest Weight Co-Op." Sooooo amazing.

If you're around Albany, it's worth checking out. Not only do they have amazing local, organic produce, but they have about 100 cheeses from all over the world, tons of great chocolates ... I could go on and on!


Now I went and made myself hungry. Time to eat some cheese...!
All my love --
Kaza

A Whirlwind through Cleveland . . .

I had so much fun in Cleveland! First I talked at a school on the West side. The kids and I had a lot of fun! The next day I did a signing on the West Side at the Crocker Park Barnes and Noble, then off to the east side for a signing at Joseph Beth in Legacy Village. Here are a few pics...!
I read from Book 2, Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness, from a chapter called "The Memory Mogul." Sound familiar? (see the name of this blog....) It was a fun section to read, but since everyone was laughing it was hard to keep a straight face!

I love the enthusiasm of kids. But, just as great is the enthusiasm that comes out in adults when they let the child in themselves come out! (Kind of a habit of mine...)

This was a beautiful and huge store. Look what a good job they did decorating the table I signed at! They even put fake cobwebs up --- (let's hope they were fake!!)

Kids of all ages and sizes came around for the signings. I met a boy who was seven at another store who had read all the Harry Potter books. He was home schooled, and his mother told me he was doing ninth grade algebra, and was writing a novel!!

Speaking of home schooled kids, I saw this link that was a tribute to some amazing things home schooled kids have done. Check it out! http://www.amazing-kids.org/kids1-99.htmhttp://www.amazing-kids.org/kids1-99.htm

Until later ... with love,
Kaza

Jonathan and me

The fourth book signing I did in Cincinnati was another special one. Another Cincinnati Bengal Pro Football player, Jonathan Fanene, met me at the Barnes and Noble in Newport (across the river in Kentucky) to sign my books with me. Like Landon Johnson, his agent is a friend of mine. It was a quieter signing for some reason, but it was really fun to have him there. It was the day before a home game, and pretty much right after he was done he had to go check into a hotel downtown with the rest of the team.

Like Landon, he was a super nice guy. He made the signing extra fun for me. And interesting! I got to find out more about what goes on in the minds of athletes before big games. Oddly, it reminded me of what goes on in writers' minds as they work. Same getting-in-the-groove, psyching-up issues. Writers have a lot of rituals and superstitions about their work, too.

Check out Jonathan at http://www.bengals.com/team/player.asp?player_id=67

Soon I'm off to Cleveland, and get to meet some great kids at a school on the West Side. Then more book signings, then I get to go home for a few days!!

Until then, all love ---
Kaza

Landon and Me

Hi everyone! This is my first post on my new blog. Of course I had to pick now to start a real blog. I have nothing else to do ... that is, except start my book tour in a few days, arrange details with the schools I will be talking at, pack, oh - and, oh yeah ... work on book three, Erec Rex: The Search for Truth.

For those who don't know me yet, I am Kaza Kingsley, author of the Erec Rex fantasy series. My first book, Erec Rex: The Dragon's Eye came out last fall and hit the bestseller list in fantasy last winter. It's out in paperback now. Book two, Erec Rex: The Monsters of Otherness, just hit the shelves.

So it's starting all over again. The interviews, book signings... But this year my first signing was a little different, and very cool. Cincinnati Pro Football starting linebacker Landon Johnson came to sign my books with me at the Barnes and Noble in Westchester (part of Cincinnati.) I am friends with his agent, and, well . . . It was amazing, really. He was (is this so typical to say) SO nice. He really made the signing fun.

BTW, in the picture I look exhausted. That's, well, because . . . I was exhausted!

It was odd, though. I almost felt like it was a contest - how many people came up to him, and didn't know about me, versus how many came for the book and my signature and didn't recognize him. I'm sad to say he was starting to win (okay, he's hard to miss, he looks like an athlete. More in person than in the picture.) I had fun sneering and pretending to act jealous, but then a few people would come to me, so excited to read book two, and not noticing him, and then it would all be better.

So what does Landon say? You'd think a famous player (and he is getting more and more known around here) would say something obnoxious when I even started to get competitive with him. But instead he was so nice. He said that his career would be over soon and mine would last my whole life, I'd be much more famous than him, it's the nature of his business . . . It made me feel bad I was even messing around with him. What a sweet guy.

More about Landon at: http://www.bengals.com/team/player.asp?player_id=44

Soon I'll spill all about the next (yes, you are hearing right) football player I signed with a few days later!!

Until then, all love.....
Kaza
http://www.erecrex.com/