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.
About the book:
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?
Excerpt:
“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?”
“You
blew out a match.”
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.”
Reviews:
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
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.
Hi Violet. Thanks for sharing the info about my giveaway. Your readers can enter to win here: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e650cb7717/
ReplyDeleteGood luck everybody!