Ferocious mini blog tour

Hi everyone. Today I’m introducing a mini-travelogue blog tour for FEROCIOUS. This tour is in addition to a bigger tour planned by my publisher, so if you see overlapping posts, that’s why. The other tour is mostly videos and reviews—this one highlights the different parts of Korea that Winter Kim travels to in the sequel to VICARIOUS. Both tours include giveaways, so you should definitely check them out :)

I spent a year living in Seoul from 2005 to 2006, during which I fell in love with the frenetic pace and high-tech feel of the city. You might be surprised to find out that some of the technological advances that are somewhat new to the US, like paying for purchases with your cell phones, were already commonplace in Seoul over ten years ago. Korea is definitely ahead of the US when it comes to certain things.

I returned to Seoul in January of 2016 for research and so I could see how things had changed. I unfortunately got sick soon after arriving, so I stuck to the stuff that was essential for the novel and didn't do much sightseeing. That means my pictures (featured in four of these blog tour posts) aren't as gorgeous as they might have been, but you should totally go to Korea if you ever get the chance because it's amazing.

At the end of Vicarious, Winter is standing at a St. Louis train station, forced to decide between going to her therapist appointment as scheduled or embarking upon a mission of revenge. Spoiler: she goes for Option #2. This leads her from St. Louis to Los Angeles and then back to her homeland of South Korea.

While in Seoul, Winter visits several different areas of the city. At the end of the book, she has left the mainland for Jeju-do, a volcanic island located off the Southwest corner of the Korean peninsula. Follow this tour for a sneak peek at some of the unique and colorful settings of Winter’s adventures in Ferocious.

Mon. Aug 14: Itaewon Jen Ryland Reviews 

Tues. Aug 15: Gangnam-gu Beauty and the Bookshelf 

Wed. Aug 16: Namdaemun Market Snuggling on the Sofa 

Thurs. Aug 17: Namsan Tower Owl Always Be Reading 

Fri. Aug 18: Jeju Island Love is not a Triangle 

Have you read the first book in the duology? Here’s the mood board for Vicarious. Click here to learn more about the book and read the first few chapters!

Tomorrow, see the first place Winter and Jesse go when they arrive in Seoul over at Jenn Ryland Reviews.

Ferocious Graphics Contest!

I have mailed out all of my swag for THIS IS HOW IT HAPPENED. You know what that means--it's time for another great graphics contest! Do you want to win a copy of any of my novels, including a pre-order of FEROCIOUS or my forthcoming NA novel THE KEY TO EVERYTHING? I'm looking for cool fan art or quote/image pairings to share on social media related to FEROCIOUS. You don't have to have read the book to enter.

These images should include the title of the book somewhere and can include quotes from the novel, suggested taglines, your own taglines, etc. You can use your own photography, draw something, make word art, create an image in Canva, modify the official cover art, etc. (Click the Books or Media tab for access to the official book cover.)

What you can't do is use someone else's copyrighted material as the base for your work. If you don't know for sure it's open source (from a Canva free image bank or via Wikipedia where the image info says open source, etc.) assume that it isn't. I know a lot of you guys pull images from Pinterest and Tumblr for your blogs, but technically you might be infringing on someone's copyright when you do that and writers have gotten sued for doing that in the past.

Here are some of my faves from the TIHIH contest :)

Cover art modification by Agustina Z.

Mixed media by Alyssa C

Original photograph by Mariely V

Modified graphic by Rebeca G

Just like last time, I am picking at least two winners for this contest (assuming I get at least 2 entries), one based on the artwork I like the best, and one randomly selected from all of the other entries that follow the rules. It's not always just about who has mad design skills--it's also about the fact you took the time to help me promote my book <3 Just like last time, I might award additional prizes if I have trouble picking winners.

Each winner of this contest will get a signed finished copy of Ferocious if you have a U.S. address or a Book Depository or Wordery pre-order of the novel + a signed bookplate if you live outside the U.S. If you want Vicarious or one of my other books instead, just ask. I have no problem subbing in a different title as long as it's available. Everyone who enters, regardless of location, will receive swag to include signed bookmarks and stickers. All submitted designs remain copyright of their creator but will be fawned over by me and may be shared via my social media ;D


Possible text for your graphic:
Your graphic does not need to have text (aside from the book's title if you're not using the cover image), but it can. If you've read the ARC, you can use anything that stood out to you. If you haven't read the ARC, you can check out this six-chapter sample. You can also use part of one of the quotes that are listed on Goodreads. You can make up your own tagline or phrase or use one of the ones below.

• Everyone has a dark side.
• Monsters don't get happy endings.
• Tonight is just a single perfect moment trapped in glass.
• An unfamiliar feeling starts to wash over me. I think it might be happiness.
• My name is Winter Kim. Today I killed a man. Soon I hope to kill another.
• How far would you go to protect someone you love?
• How far would you go for revenge? How much would you sacrifice for love?
• Sometimes I feel like I'm not even real anymore.
• Vengeance is waiting.

Rules: 

• You must share your graphic on Twitter, Instagram, or Tumblr, at least once by August 14. Caption/tag the image similar to: Winter Kim is back and she's out for vengeance! #Ferocious by @pstokesbooks releases August 15 from @TorTeen
• Again, you can't use copyrighted material in your entries. Aside from the book cover, which can be freely used/adapted, any photography or imagery must be open source or belong to you.  When in doubt, don't use it.
• Designs can be any shape or size and do not need to be high resolution.
• You can enter up to three graphics, but each one must be shared on social media.

Final designs need to be emailed to me as a .JPG or .PNG for easy sharing at pstokesbooks [at] gmail [dot] com by August 14, 2017, subject: Ferocious graphics contest. In your email, also include your mailing address if you want swag and a link or enough information so I can find your shared image on social media.

General questions? Put them in the comments.