Read my next book "Ki$$ & $ell" for FREE

by brittany geragotelis

I know better than anyone that you can rack up a pretty big bill buying up all the books you want to read. This is the complaint I get most often from avid book-readers, especially teens: I don't have the money to buy another book. And as frustrating as it is to hear this as a writer (especially since a lot of e-books are the price of your fave drink at Sbux) it's hard to argue during this economy.

So, I've decided to give 100 lucky readers a chance to read my upcoming novel, Ki$$ & $ell, for FREE!

Arielle Sawyer is freaking out because she's the last in her class to be kissed.
Frustrated and wanting to get it over with, she and her friends decide to sell
her first kiss on eBay! Suddenly, this former wallflower finds herself the focus of everyone's attention. But as her popularity grows and her friendships start to weaken,
Arielle finds herself wondering why she put the post up in the first place.
In the end there will be a winner, but will Arielle's first kiss end up being
everything she's ever dreamed of?

But here's the catch.

If you want to read Ki$$ & $ell for free, I'm going to need something from you, too. I need you to review it in return. Now, I'm not telling you to give it a glowing review....but hey, if that's how you feel, then I want you to tell others about it! However, if you don't like what you've read, then I want you to include that in your review as well. All I ask is that you review it and try to be thoughtful when writing your review (No attacking, please).

If this sounds like something you'd like to participate in (you must have an e-mail account and be able to write reviews on Amazon or Goodreads; kids, ask your parents in advance please), then here's what I'll need from you!

--Make sure you have a device you can read an e-book on (nook, kindle, etc)
--E-mail me at bookslayerpr@gmail.com with the following information:
            *Full Name
            *E-mail address
            *Age
            *Your preferred type of e-reader
            *A sentence stating that you'd like to read the book for free, and intend to write a review
            on either Amazon or Goodreads about it when you're finished.
--Once I've sent the book your way, please read it as soon as you can, and then write a review of it. This can be anything from two to three sentences to three paragraphs. Length is up to you. Then, upload your review to either Amazon or Goodreads. You can post to both if you wish.

That's it! Easy peasy!

Like I said, I'm only going to give away copies to the first 100 people who e-mail me and agree to write a review, so be sure to reach out ASAP!

5x5,
B.

ONLY 5 DAYS LEFT to donate to my fan-funding campaign!

by Brittany Geragotelis

Time's running out to show your support! There's only 5 days left to pledge to my fan-funding campaign. If you haven't checked it out yet, the money we're hoping to raise will go toward helping me self-publish my next book, Ki$$ & $ell, as well as marketing, editing, publicity, etc....basically everything it takes to get the book out there to you all.

And there are perks to donating, too! Here are some of the cool things you can get for pledging:

*An autographed copy of Ki$$ & $ell
*A Ki$$ & $ell T-shirt
*A personal review of your book
*NAME A CHARACTER!!!

Remember, no amount is too small and we're about halfway there....and less than a week away from the end of the campaign. Please help get this book published! Thank you in advance for all your help and love, and don't forget to DONATE HERE.

5x5,
B.

Choose the book cover for my next novel, Kiss & Sell!

by Brittany Geragotelis

I recently unveiled my fan-funding project to self-publish my next novel, Kiss & Sell, asking my fans to donate to the cause. Well, now I need your help in another way. After narrowing 21 covers down to just three...I'm still stuck on which to go with.

Soooo, since you all have such fabu-luxe taste, I was hoping you'd weigh in on which is your fave. The one with the most amount of votes will become the official cover for Kiss & Sell!

Cover Option #1

Cover Option #2

Cover Option  #3

Please leave your choices in the comments below! And don't forget to donate to my fan-funding campaign here.

5x5,
B.

Help Fan-Fund my next book!

by Brittany Geragotelis

If you attended BEA (Book Expo of America) this summer, you no doubt heard the term "Hybrid Author." Basically, it describes an author who chooses to both self-publish AND traditionally publish their books. Considering that I got my start in self-publishing and then transitioned into traditional publishing, the idea of choosing how my books are published on a project by project basis is really appealing.

So, I'm happy to announce a new writing project I'm working on. And for this one, I'm asking for all of my fans to get involved, too! I've officially launched a fan-funding campaign over on Wattpad, to self-publish my next book, called Kiss & Sell.

Kiss & Sell is a fun novel about a girl who feels like she's the last one in her class to get kissed, so she and her friends decide to sell her first kiss on eBay.

In order to ensure that this story gets told, I'm gonna need your help. I'm asking people to donate to the cause: $5, $10, $100, whatever you can afford is greatly appreciated. AND there are cool rewards for every level of support, like T-shirts, autographed books--you can even name a character!

And if you can't give money, you can still help out by mentioning this project on your social media! Remember, every little bit counts when it comes to showing the love.

Thanks in advance for your love and support!

5x5,
B.

So close I can taste it...

by Brittany Geragotelis

My friend and co-worker who edits all my books, just returned Painless to me after having looked at nearly all of it. (And to answer your question: Yes, she is a saint for doing this six times now. Thanks Marisa! Couldn't have done it without ya!) So, I've got her copy in my hands and am planning on spending my Labor day weekend making her edit changes. We were only able to talk briefly yesterday as we ran out to grab lunch, but it sounded like she liked it! She said that it definitely has a different feel and voice than any of my other books; this is good news, since Painless is way edgier than anything else I've written.

Now that I have her edit suggestions, I just have to make the changes and then create my list of agents to send it out to. I'm planning on sending them to a few agents who were interested in Ki$$ & $ell, but ultimately didn't love it enough to take me on, but expressed interest in my writing. Then, I'll go through my list of other YA agents and see if I can find anyone who fits the vibe of this book. Once I send out my query letters, I'll have to sit back (patiently) and wait for the responses to come trickling in. This is always the hardest part. Dealing with rejections (because let's face it, these are much more common than yeses) and getting your hopes up only to be let down...

But I'm getting ahead of myself (and apparently I'm getting a little pessimistic, too). The point is, after this weekend, I'll be ready to send stuff out and then hopefully, if the stars align, I'll get that elusive acceptance e-mail saying, "We read your book and love it. We've got to have you as a client." To which I will humbly say, "Thank you. Where do I sign?"

I'm so close now, I can practically taste it!

5x5,
B.

Advice from a blonde pop star

by Brittany Geragotelis

One of the cool things about my job is that I get to meet a variety of celebs. Through work I've gotten the chance to meet Meg Cabot (Otherwise known as my writing hero!), Danneel Harris (Pictured with me here; Sooo sweet & the lucky girl is dating "Supernatural" star Jensen Ackles!) and Bring It On & Stick It writer/director, Jessica Bendinger (My sister-soulmate; you'll never meet a more humble person from Hollywood).

photo credit: Matisse

Don't get me wrong, though--it's not like there's a celebrity in our office every day. But every once in a while we do get the occassional surprise guest. Yesterday, the pop singer, Matisse (pictured left) stopped by. In case you're not familiar with her, Matisse (real name, Brittany Smith), got her start as one of the John Frieda Twins. She and her twin sis, Alex, started their own pop group called "Brit and Alex," and had a hit on the Step Up 2 soundtrack. After becoming pretty popular over in the UK, Brit's sis decided to quit the biz, leaving Brit wondering if her dreams as a singer were over.

First off, Brit is a really sweet girl. With a sunny smile and platinum blonde locks she perfectly fits the part of pop star. She's got a quiet disposition though, which is interesting since she's such a dynamic performer. You can tell she thinks through her answers before she gives them, and she's worked hard to get to where she is.

photo credit: Matisse

While we were sitting there and chatting about her impending singing career and her latest single, "Better Than Her" (which has already hit #16 on the charts), the conversation quickly turned to how she came to be "Matisse" and dealing with the rejection that comes with following your dreams. She explained that after her sister left their group, Brit suffered from a serious identity crisis. Her fans knew her as a part of a duo and without her sis, she wasn't sure people would buy her as a solo artist. So, she reinvented herself as an artist, under the name Matisse, named after the artist who didn't conform. The point was, despite the setbacks she had, she kept pushing forward.

This is something that I find myself doing every day. See, all I've ever wanted is to be a published author. It's been my dream since I was little. And when I moved to NYC, the first phase in my dream came true: I got a literary agent. He was a great guy and believed in my writing, but after failing to sell a few of my books (and having a lot of interest for one at Harper Collins Childrens), we went our separate ways.

Long story short, I thought this was a sign I wasn't supposed to be writing. Dumb, I know. After about 9 months of no writing at all (besides at work), I felt myself being drawn back to writing. What I learned from that experience was that I really don't have a choice: I'm a writer. I'm good at it, and I have stories to tell. So, the past 2 years, I've been hard at work and have finished 2 more books and am in the middle of my latest, Painless.

I've been sending out queries for one of my books, Ki$$ & $ell, and have received 8 requests for partials and fulls--but mostly rejections. I'm not going to lie--The rejection is hard. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, but that's SO not the case. It's especially hard when I review so many books for work that just aren't good. As time goes by and my dream remains just out of my reach, I'm constantly wondering whether I should give up....

But I don't. And it's stories like Brit's and Meg Cabot's (Meg's said before she hit it big, she got a rejection every day except for Sunday--and that's because the mail didn't come on Sundays) and countless other people who are in creative fields (actors, singers, writers, etc), that keep pushing me forward. I need to have faith that eventually my book will be at the right place at the right time and things will all work out the way they're supposed to.

So, all in all, it wasn't such a bad day at work...

5x5,
B.