I’m thinking of doing a thing. I’m not sure if it’s a great idea, or a stupid one, or if anything will come of it, but I’m going to do it anyway.

There is so much bad stuff going on in our country right now and I don’t know what to do. I’ve donated, I’ve marched, I call my reps regularly (the bastards never call me back). I’ve signed petitions. I’ve joined groups. I’ve voted, and educated myself on all sorts of legislation. I know I’m doing my part, but I’m still scared to send my kid to school next week, and I still feel helpless.

I was talking to a professor from my master’s program recently who was an activist during the civil rights movement, who told me that when you’ve done everything you can do to push for change, you talk about peace. You write about peace. You model peace, show people what it looks like.

We need change, but we also need a culture shift. So here’s what I’m thinking: I want to post something about peace and kindness, and encourage others to do the same. Maybe a photo or write-up of a peaceful moment in your day, or a kind act you witness (or even do yourself), it doesn’t have to be big. I know this is strange, and that people are uncomfortable drawing attention to kindness, especially their own – it feels boastful, and if it comes with secondary gain it defeats the purpose, right? I’m uncomfortable with it too, to be honest. But here’s the thing, hate has no problem marketing itself. It’s all over the internet. We fight it with love, but how? By silently doing “the right thing”? My 6 year old learns kindness from examples (ok, he also learns A LOT of things he shouldn’t, too). If I didn’t model how to care for people, he wouldn’t know how it’s done. We learn through example, and right now the mob is America’s teacher.

But if we draw attention to peace and kindness, it might change the conversation a little.

So much of social media is a trash fire now, and I’ll be the first to admit I turn it off for long stretches because I can’t stand the negativity. But maybe putting something good on it will show people that we’re not completely helpless. We can make small changes in each other’s lives that work to sew up the divide between us. Or maybe it will get sucked into the void like everything else. All I know is I’ve done everything I know how to for change, and now I need to do something to model peace.

So I’m going to post a peaceful or kind moment on a regular basis starting now with THIS and THIS. Each future post will include a short write-up about it and use the hashtag #postaboutpeace on my Instagram and Facebook. If you’d like to participate, that would be great (you don’t have to do it regularly!) – just do a short post highlighting something peaceful to you, or someone/thing kind (you could even do you!) and use #postaboutpeace. If you’d rather not do your own and instead would like me to post on your behalf, email your submission to me (kris10simmons (at) gmail.com) or you’re welcome to repost my #postaboutpeace posts your own platforms. If you’d rather not participate, I get that too. We are all handling this in different ways. This isn’t about books or promotion or anything, I just want something good out there.

Thanks for reading,

Kristen

PS. Special credit to awesomesauce Cori McCarthy of the # idea!

Welcome to Vale Hall, the school for aspiring con artists.

When Brynn Hilder is recruited to Vale, it seems like the elite academy is her chance to start over, away from her mom’s loser boyfriend and her rundown neighborhood. But she soon learns that Vale chooses students not so much for their scholastic talent as for their extracurricular activities, such as her time spent conning rich North Shore kids out of their extravagant allowances.

At first, Brynn jumps at the chance to help the school in its mission to rid the city of corrupt officials―because what could be better than giving entitled jerks what they deserve? But that’s before she meets her mark―a senator’s son―and before she discovers the school’s headmaster has secrets he’ll stop at nothing to protect. As the lines between right and wrong blur, Brynn begins to realize she’s in way over head.

While you wait for THE DECEIVERS, you can download a free preview of it now, HERE.

You can also request it on Netgalley!

I’m so excited for this one. I love Brynn and her found family at school so much. I would love your help getting the word out about it.

Things you can do:

• Preorder, of course! We are doing a PRE-ORDER GIVEAWAY! Submit your receipt HERE and get this BEAUTIFUL enamel pin! I love it so much!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Deceivers-Kristen-Simmons/dp/1250175798/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1530637967&sr=8-1&keywords=the+deceivers+kristen+simmons

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-deceivers-kristen-simmons/1128533655?ean=9781250175793

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-deceivers-18

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Kristen_Simmons_The_Deceivers?id=Fu5WDwAAQBAJ

Indie Bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250175793

Recorded Books: http://www.recordedbooks.com/title-details/9781501977527

Joseph Beth Booksellers: http://www.josephbeth.com/Products/190825-deceivers.aspx (I will personalize any copies bought through this store!)

• Add to your Goodreads list! This is actually VERY helpful for getting the word out, getting on wrap up lists, etc. PLEASE do this if you have a Goodreads account!!

• Post about THE DECEIVERS on your blog, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or whatever page! The more chances for people to see the glorious cover, the better!

• Request that your local libraries and bookstores carry THE DECEIVERS.

• Tell your friends about it!

Thank you for helping me spread the word! I appreciate you more than you know!

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!

Hugs,
Kristen

I present to you the cover of THE DECEIVERS, the first in my new Vale Hall series, out February 5th, 2019!

What’s that? What is THE DECEIVERS, you ask? What a great question!

THE DECEIVERS is my next YA novel, the first in a trilogy, about a girl who gets accepted into a school for con artists. It’s loosely based on the myth of Valhalla, where Odin, god of gods, sends his Valkyries (badass warrior women) to collect the souls of fallen soldiers and bring them to Valhalla (his fancy house) so that they can feast and prepare for the final battle at the end of the world (Ragnarok). Only in my book, Odin is the director of a private school called Vale Hall, and he sends his students, like my main character Brynn, out into the city to collect blackmail from marks of his choosing, which he will later use to…OH WAIT I’M SAYING TOO MUCH.

How about the official description:

Welcome to Vale Hall, the school for aspiring con artists.

When Brynn Hilder is recruited to Vale, it seems like the elite academy is her chance to start over, away from her mom’s loser boyfriend and her rundown neighborhood. But she soon learns that Vale chooses students not so much for their scholastic talent as for their extracurricular activities, such as her time spent conning rich North Shore kids out of their extravagant allowances.

At first, Brynn jumps at the chance to help the school in its mission to rid the city of corrupt officials―because what could be better than giving entitled jerks what they deserve? But that’s before she meets her mark―a senator’s son―and before she discovers the school’s headmaster has secrets he’ll stop at nothing to protect. As the lines between right and wrong blur, Brynn begins to realize she’s in way over head.

It’s a little different than my previous stories, but don’t let that worry you. Think twists of PACIFICA, fierceness of GLASS ARROW, friendships of METALTOWN, and romance of ARTICLE 5, all in a contemporary setting. Basically, it is everything I love in the world crammed into 300-something pages. YOU WILL LOVE IT. (I answered a bunch of questions that are saved in my Instastories if you’d like to watch me babble about it.)

Excited? You can add it to your Goodreads TBR HERE.

And of course, if you want to Pre-order, you can do that too! (Keep your receipts. I think we’re doing a pre-order campaign!)

• Amazon
• Barnes and Noble
• Kobo
• Google Play
• Recorded Books
• Joseph Beth Booksellers (I will personalize any copies bought through Joseph Beth when they come in!)

Chapter one was released exclusively to my newsletter subscribers, along with chapter 1 of the book, last week. To make sure you don’t miss any more updates about THE DECEIVERS or my other books, make sure you’re signed up!

FRIENDS. I HAVE A NEW BOOK COMING OUT ON MARCH 6th.

That’s right, next Tuesday, March 6^th, PACIFICA sets sail. This book has been an emotional journey for me, and I’m glad to finally be able to share it with you.

You see, this book has been a long time in the making. It didn’t come along in nice, sequential order after METALTOWN. It actually began years ago, and was woven into the stories passed down by the women in my family.

A bit of history…

To truly understand the origins of PACIFICA, you need to understand a little about me. I’m half-Japanese. My great-grandmother, Haru Tanaka, was a school teacher in Hawaii when Pearl Harbor was bombed, and it’s with her that this story begins.

On December 7^th, 1941, she watched the planes painted with the Rising Sun fly overhead, thinking they were part of the American military’s training exercises. She quickly realized they were not when one crashed into a nearby house. In the hysteria that followed, she was escorted, at gunpoint, to an immigration station in Honolulu, where she would stay for two months for her own “safety,” without even a change of clothes. After that, she would bounce around various detention centers, pleading for someone to believe that she was innocent, until finally being moved to an internment camp in Crystal City, Texas. There, she ate meager rations, bathed under supervision, was subjected to American loyalty tests, and waited for infrequent, screened letters from her children, until the end of WWII.

She returned home to Hawaii to find her house and job gone, and her children the subjects of a racism that would scar my family for generations.

This is my history—who I am. And since I process the world through a lens of fiction, I knew writing my story would look very different. When I closed my eyes to imagine her life, I saw a survivor—a bright light in a world in ruins, the ground quaking beneath her feet, the sky filled with lightning. I saw her friends being ripped from their homes and their families, with no indication of where they were going. I saw drowned cities, and islands made of trash, ruled by those who could survive their banishment.

I saw the fighters. I saw hope.

I saw Pacifica.

A bit of research…

I knew I would be writing a world post-polar ice cap melt, and when I imagined this setting, I knew my main character would have to sail. She would be tenacious and gritty, able to survive the blistering effects of climate change.

So naturally, I made her a pirate.

But I knew little about pirates, and even less about the key to her lifestyle—sailing. So I set out to learn.
Now, I love book research. Not only is in an integral part of adding depth to your story, it can be so fun. During the ARTICLE 5 series, for example, I learned to ride a motorcycle and did a ride-along with the cops.

But in order to make Marin’s experience as genuine as possible, I knew I needed to get on a boat. So I contacted the Davis Island Yacht Club near Tampa, Florida, and met with two incredible ladies, Carrie and Terry, who run a women’s sailing program.

They were so awesome. So patient. (If you’ve done book research, you know how important that is.) They gave me elaborate answers in simple terms, and never laughed, even when I asked about bizarre scenarios, like if you could kiss on the underside of a capsized boat. (You can, but it wouldn’t be very comfortable because the “rudder” and “keel” would get in the way.)

Here are my top ten takeaways:

1. Sailing has its own language, and if you don’t know it, you’re screwed if something bad happens.

2. Sailing is like driving, except you navigate by a compass and all the parts of your car are in Klingon and there are no roads and you can drown and things may spontaneously creep up from beneath to ground you. Like rocks. Or the reef.

3. There are actually pirates in the Caribbean. Most of them are drug runners who steal your boat, use it to transport drugs, and then sink it before the authorities can catch them.

4. People really do say, “Hoist the main,” “Trim your sail,” “Unfurl the jib,” and even “Hard to starboard.”

5. Sailing is peaceful, soothing, and utterly terrifying.

6. Real sailors don’t wear boat shoes. Most of them wear tennis shoes or go barefoot. (Yes, I asked.)

7. The number one sailing injury: getting hit in the head by the boom. BOOM, you got boomed.

8. In many sailboats, you shower in the same stall as the toilet, or “head.” The toilet gets all wet. This is okay.

9. In bad weather you simply need to “reef your main” and ride it out. Sorry about your luck.

10. Sailors kick ass.

Here are some photos of my fantastic expedition!

The 37′ boat that became my classroom.

I’M SAILING! Ok, kind of. I’m holding onto the steering wheel in any case.

Sailors use “charts” like this one to navigate direction and depth of water

The “head.” Where toilet and shower are one.

The galley. Complete with a “gimbaled” stove that stays upright as the boat “heels” or tilts

Now, I turn it over to you…

Thank you again for making my dreams possible. Without you, reader, I would not be able to write this story of my heart and my history. I hope you love it. I hope it makes you feel something. I hope wherever you are, you know that I am grateful for you.

And now, shamelessly, I present the buy links.

You can purchase Pacifica at any of these lovely locations:

• Joseph Beth Booksellers (Personalized copies can be shipped to you!)

Upcoming Events:

***NKYA Book Fest, March 3rd, Kenton County Public Library, Erlanger Branch

***PACIFICA Launch Party!! Joseph Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH, March 6th 7PM (If you would like books signed, you can order through them, and they will ship! Just contact the nice people that work there!)

***Tuscon Festival of Books, March 10-11, Tuscon, AZ.  Panels and signings both days!

***Bookstore Signing, Interbang Books, Dallas, TX, March 27th, 7PM.

***Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2), Panel and signing Sunday, April 8th.

***The Origin Event, Austin, TX, November 3rd

***I love doing school visits! Contact me by email to set up an in-person or Skype visit.

One last thing…

I recently changed my newsletter sign-up reply to include a welcome email from me. If you signed up recently and did not see it, check your spam folder! If you signed up before the last month or so, I’ve offered a bonus scene from either THE GLASS ARROW (from Daphne’s POV) or from ARTICLE 5 (featuring Sean and Rebecca – this scene has SPOILERS if you have not completed the entire ARTICLE 5 series. Also, it’s a bit steamy, so please request only if you are 14 and up.). I’m offering this to everyone who subscribes to my newsletter as a thank you,* so if you’d like to read one of the scenes, please reply to my newsletter and let me know which one you’d like.

*Please remember they are not professionally edited, and please don’t post them online or send them out. If your friends want to see one, tell them to sign up for my newsletter! Thanks!

Happy Sailing!
Kristen

Hello friends,

Well, we did it. We made it through 2017. Maybe it was a good year for you—if it was, I’m glad. If it was difficult, I am genuinely sorry, and I hope the next is better. Which is kind of the point of this email.

I’m sitting here at my laptop, listening to my not-so-tiny puppy chew god-knows-what, while my husband grades papers for college students, and my kid is sleeping upstairs. I should probably be writing about current giveaways (which I will later), and writing updates, and all the bookly things, but instead I’m having a moment, and feeling truly grateful for the life I have.

I write books for a living. Some of you might have read them. That’s a thing that at one time I never thought would happen.

Some of my books are taught in schools. If you’re reading this, maybe I spoke to your class this year. Some of my books are in other languages. If you’re translating this, well, I’m impressed.

I’m telling long stories in a world where social media and character count rules. And I’m able to do that, because of readers.

Thank you.

When the day is done, I hope that my books touch someone, mean something to someone, give them strength or help them process the world like I do. But the truth is, you have touched me. You believing in the power of stories has made my dream possible, and that is no small feat.

Here’s what I hope for you when the day ends.

I hope you are safe, healthy, and happy. I hope you know you’re valued, and that even if you’ve dipped into the dark thoughts that you don’t matter, you remember that these thoughts are wrong—at the very least, you’ve made a difference to me.

I hope you love yourself and someone else. I hope if your heart is broken, it mends, and you find peace.

I hope you find a place in this world where you are not afraid, and that you know you are wanted and important. I hope your parents/kids/siblings/friends make you laugh so hard you cry, and cry so hard you laugh again.

I hope you know kindness matters. And equality matters. And freedom, of all kinds, is important. I hope you know your stories, the building blocks of your life, have worth. That it doesn’t make a difference who you love, as long as you love. That you are not alone in joy or pain, and there is an other side to all the ugly things that threaten to dim your shine.

I hope you take care of your beautiful brain, and if you feel anxious or depressed, manic or suicidal, lost, afraid, or even if you hear and see things other people don’t, you feel no shame in talking about it, or asking for help. I talk about it. I ask for help. It works.

I hope you know that if you respect me, I will respect you.

I hope this world is ready for all the wonderful things you will do.

Taking a page from my friend Aya in Glass Arrow: You are worth more than all the stars in the night sky.

XOXO,
Kristen

I’m going to be talking about the meaning of this book to me and my family in the coming months, but for now, I’ll leave you with this:

For too long our people have suffered, plagued by overcrowding, disease, and lack of work. We have only just survived for too long. Now we must take the next step and thrive.
Pacifica.
A new beginning.

Blue skies. Green grass. Clear ocean water. An island paradise like the ones that existed before the Melt.

A lucky five hundred lottery winners will be the first to go, the first to leave their polluted, dilapidated homes behind and start a new life. It sounds perfect. Like a dream.

The only problem? Marin Carey spent her childhood on those seas and knows there’s no island paradise out there. She’s corsario royalty, a pirate like her father and his father before him, and she knows a con when she sees one. So where are the First Five Hundred really going?

PACIFICA is available for preorder at any of these lovely locations!

AND, that’s my first book coming out in 2018. Did you know I’ll have another? YES! I HAVE A NEW BOOK DEAL. I can’t wait to share Brynn’s story with you!

Also, ICYMI, did you know that Cosmopolitan picked THE GLASS ARROW as one of the 12 Best Dystopian Books You Should Read if You Like the Handmaid’s Tale? Well they did! I’m so thrilled!

That’s it for now! Have a great day!

Kristen

What a wonderful launch it has been! I’m so thrilled with how METALTOWN has been received, and so, so grateful for all of you who have taken the time to check it out. This story is close to my heart for many reasons, and seeing people hold it in their hands for the first time has been an incredible experience. Truly, thank you.

Now, I have some exciting news! I’ve partnered with 12 of the 2017 debut YA authors to give away many of their incredible new books! (Believe me, these books are going to rock. I’ve been talking to the authors and just WHOA. There is some talent coming your way in 2017!) Each month, I’ll be featuring one of the debut authors in my monthly newsletter. That week I’ll pick a newsletter subscriber to win a copy of the new featured book (in some cases these will be ARC’s, in others, finished copies), and also one of mine. The winner will be notified by the email address I send the newsletter to. Extra points of course for sharing the contests on Twitter, Instagram, etc. I am just so thrilled about making new book friends that I want to share All The Books with you. You’re going to love them, I know it!

To sum up: Sign up for my newsletter, repost or RT my announcements when they come up, and win new books! That’s all there is to it! If you haven’t signed up, you can HERE.

First up in January…

Thanks for PRESSING BACK with me! And Happy Holidays!

Hugs,
Kristen

METALTOWN has an amazing trailer! Have you seen it? Love it.

METALTOWN has a super fun quiz. Take it! Tell me who YOU fight for!

My newsletter has all sorts of fun stuff – exclusive giveaways, deleted scenes, all sorts of stuff. You don’t want to miss it. Sign up HERE.

METALTOWN has a glorious study guide in the back pages that meets Common Core Standards. Teachers, librarians, and book clubbers – you won’t want to miss this!

I have written a short story for METALTOWN, which you can find HERE! This follows Matchstick (one of the characters in METALTOWN) and a young reporter named Caris. More METALTOWN? You got it!

I still have tour dates left for 2016 and would love to see you. Here they are:

And of course, you can order METALTOWN at any of these lovely locations. It’s on sale now!

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• JOSEPH BETH BOOKSELLERS

Tomorrow my fifth young adult book comes out, and I’m feeling a lot of things right now, but mostly gratitude. For my supportive family, for my publisher, for my agent and editor, and for all of you who’ve read my books and may one day read this next one.

It doesn’t feel that long ago that I was writing query letters trying to find an agent. I still look at that pile of two hundred (plus) rejection letters and remember the sting of each one. I remember the day I looked at the calendar and realized I’d been trying to publish a book for ten years. Ten years. Once upon a time I thought this dream would never happen, that all these stories I imagined would stay trapped in my laptop. I thought I was strange for dreaming of different worlds, and thought I was stupid for ever trying to put them on paper.

Then one day, one person took a chance on me. And then another. And another. And now here I am, sitting here on the eve of my next book release, thankful that I’ve gotten this far, and still petrified that someone will tell me this ride is over. If writing a book is like climbing a mountain, publishing is like standing on the edge of a cliff, hoping a strong breeze doesn’t push you off. It’s magnificent, and it’s terrifying, and given the choice, I would nothing else.

I love writing, and every day I get to is a gift. I would not be able to continue to do this without you, so thank you, reader and book friend, for making my dreams a reality. You haven’t just given me the means to see my words on paper, you’ve given me the ability to be my true self, and there is nothing as magical or validating as that.

So thank you. If we ever meet, expect a hug.

Kristen