Behind the scenes with author Kristie Cook's business partner - Chrissi Jackson!!!

Hey readers! As I mentioned recently throughout the month I'd be spending some time celebrating author Kristie Cook's exciting, amazing and EPIC series - The Book of the Phoenix! With the release of the second title - The Space Beyond right around the corner I've asked some friends, readers and the author herself to hang out here to talk up all things about one of my FAVORITE series EVER!

Today I have Chrissi Jackson, Kristie's business partner to talk with us about what she does behind the scenes. So, take a read and comment and don't forget to BUY and READ The Space Between to prepare for The Space Beyond's release on May 19th, 2014!!!

Title: The Space Between (The Book of Phoenix #1)
Author: Kristie Cook
Publisher: Ang'dora Productions, LLC, 393 Pages (April 5th, 2013)
From: the Author
Format: eARC
Add to: Goodreads
Order here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository, Amazon UK

NOTE: This is a "New Adult" novel. Due to mature content this title is recommended for ages 17+

Synopsis: New Adult Paranormal Romance by bestselling author Kristie Cook ** Mature Content ** Recommended for ages 16+ due to sexual situations and language

First installment of the Book of Phoenix series. Consistently rated in the top 25 New Adult & College Romance books on Amazon.com!

When Life Falls to Pieces, Answers Lie in the Space Between

Leni Drago can't make a smart decision on her own, according to her mother anyway--the few times she's tried resulted in disaster. When her uncle sends her on a dance tour in Italy to find her real self, she returns to an empty home and any evidence of his existence wiped out. Then things get even stranger, like the mysterious appearances of Jeric Winters--inked, pierced and a hit-'em-and-quit-'em type. He's one decision that should be easy for Leni. Or is he?

Jeric doesn't do girlfriends. Unless they're someone else's. He left the fighting cage and modeling for a reason, and girls who want more than a night of fun are distractions he doesn't need. Especially when they come with as much baggage as Leni carries. But he can't shake the gut feeling that he needs to know her. All of her.

To discover the truth behind their connection and their ties to a journal from 1989, they must face painful secrets from their pasts. And they must do so quickly because their own existences are falling to pieces.

Two love stories, one mystery and a paranormal twist that readers call "mind blowing." This first part of The Book of Phoenix takes you on a heart-wrenching ride as you discover the answers that lie in The Space Between.

Title: The Space Beyond (The Book of Phoenix #2)
Author: Kristie Cook
Publisher: Ang'dora Productions, LLC, (March 2014)
Add to: Goodreads
Pre-order here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository, Amazon UK

NOTE: This is a "New Adult" novel. Due to mature content this title is recommended for ages 17+

Synopsis: As members of the Phoenix, Jeric and Leni are thrust into their new lives, expected to lead Earth’s Guardians. But Leni struggles with trusting her own soul, and Jeric is more concerned about keeping Leni safe than meeting others’ demands. When Darkness swarms Lake Haven, they embark on their first mission with little preparation and no idea which soul the Dark hunts.

Born and raised in Lake Haven, Bex hopes to escape her small-town life, ideally in the arms of her soul mate. She knows he exists, and her heart aches with the need to find him. When her long-lost mama calls to announce she's knockin' on death's door, Bex reluctantly makes the trip to see the uncaring bitch (bless her heart), only to be knocked off her feet by the sexy and charming Dr. Mason Hayes. Is he really The One?

Leni’s soul felt an instant connection to Bex, but if Bex found her soul mate, she isn’t their mission. So who is, and why does Leni instinctively feel drawn to her? Can Leni even trust her intuition? And will Jeric step up and lead when the time comes orcontinue to hold them back?

If they don't learn to trust themselves and each other quickly, Darkness will claim them all…along with the rest of Earth’s souls.

Behind the scenes with Chrissi Jackson - Business Partner for Author Kristie Cook!

       Hi Everyone! I’m Chrissi Jackson, Kristie Cook’s business partner, publisher, cheerleader, alpha-reader, pastry chef, travel planner…oh yes, and her bitch. But we’ll get to that story later. First, a HUGE thank you to Lisa for inviting me to tell you a bit more about what it’s like behind the scenes with Kristie. I wasn’t quite sure what information you guys might be interested in reading, so I reached out to a few of the gals on Kristie’s street team (we’re taking applications now in case you’d like to join us: http://www.kristiecook.com/p/kristies-warriors.html) for ideas. I think we’ve come up with some fun information to share…so here goes!

Left: Kristie, Right Chrissi

          Q: How did you and Kristie meet?
          A: Kristie and have actually worked together in four different companies! She answered an ad nearly ten years ago to write a marketing plan for a company that I co-owned. In 2007 we decided to strike out on our own and had our first baby, a consulting business for Florida contractors. My background is engineering and working with optimizing systems and Kristie is a marketing whiz, but Kristie also has a great head for business and I’ve done sales for years, so there’s always been a strong mutual respect for what the other brings to the table. In 2010 Kristie asked me if I wanted to start a publishing company with her and baby number two was born! When Kristie’s books really started taking off we were able to sell our consulting company and put all of our energy into publishing.

          Q: So this ‘bitch’ thing…?
          A: LOL, well, when we sold the other company we went for a long walk on the beach to reflect on our past accomplishments and to try to come up with a game plan for the future. We had a few different directions we could take—should we bring on other authors, should we do specific consulting services for authors, or should we focus everything on Kristie and her books? I kinda laughed and said, ‘at least for now, I’d really just like to be your bitch!’ (meaning, of course, that I wanted to focus all of my energy on growing her brand and making her as successful as possible—I’m actually not very bitchy at all) but it’s a silly thing that makes us giggle, and it really does encompass the ‘whatever needs to get done’ role that I try to take.

          Q: What are some examples of things that you do—and do you have a favorite part of the job?
          A: I’ll take the last part of the question first. I’ve always loved to read and from the very first time I read Promise (back when it was actually a combination of Promise and Purpose) I was a huge fan of Kristie’s work. Having the honor of being the first person to read each of her stories is precious to me. I especially love when I finish the first draft and we get to go through and brainstorm pieces and parts where Kristie might want to do some adjustments. Often times the conversations will go off on a tangent that will trigger something in her head that will end up being a fun addition to that (or a different) story.
          As far as what I do—there really isn’t a typical day. I handle all of our QuickBooks entries, expense tracking, royalties, bill paying, etc. Although there are only four main retailers that we work with (Amazon, iBooks, Kobo, and Nook), some retailers provide a different payment for each country where you have sales so there are currency conversions and all sorts of fun stuff to calculate, and the more books in our portfolio the more entries there are! I also do all of the ebook formatting, which was especially fun earlier this year when we did Curses, Fates & Soul Mates with Raine Thomas, Lynn Rush, R.K. Ryals, and Rachael Wade. Each author had their own way of doing things, so bringing consistency to the formatting and layout of the stories was a bit of an undertaking. I loved getting to work with such a fun, talented group of ladies.
          Beyond that, I do travel planning for each of the shows that we attend, including airfare, hotel, train, and car booking as needed, but also researching people and building relationships that can allow me to schedule appointments with retailers, vendors, translators, bloggers, and whomever else is available at the conferences. I create a ‘bible’ for each trip with a day-by-day agenda that can at times be scarily detailed. Sometimes there may be a wee bit of OCD that comes to the surface!
          On the marketing side of things, I work with Kristie to plan out promotions and get things scheduled with vendors like BookBub. The marketing side of this business is so robust, that we both are attacking it as much as we can. From Facebook posts to Tweets, to sending out some of the prizes and gifts, to working with the street team, to reaching out to retailers, to designing and ordering some of the swag…and I’m sure I’m forgetting a bunch as there are a lot of onesie-twosies that pop up every day :)

           Q: Is there a worst part of the job?
          A: Oh yes. Hands down it’s dealing with pirates. I know the blood, sweat, and tears that are involved in the creation of these stories. And then to see people showing such disrespect to Kristie (and to all of the other authors out there) by stealing their work…it makes me fume! Some pirates even have the audacity to SELL the books of authors at a ‘discount’ so they’re making money off of the books but not paying the authors or publishers a dime. Hopefully at some point there will be a better system in place to stop these evil, horrible thieves, because right now they’re popping up like Whac-a-Moles.

          Q: Any truth to the rumor that Kristie sometimes uses a bit of poetic license by including friends in her books? Are you one of them?
          A: I think it’s fair to say that Kristie may ‘borrow’ the names of certain people along with a fun trait or two when creating some of her characters. Alexis’s BFF, Blossom, has a bit of me in her (I bake a damn good cake!).But besides that and a physical attribute or two…that’s where the similarities end. It’s also fun to see where she has taken the time to weave little private jokes here or there into the stories. You guys will see a fun private joke when you get to Chapter 4 of The Space Beyond. Let’s just say it may ‘quack’ you up!


          Well, I think I’d better get back to work. We’ve got a book coming out soon, in case you’ve forgotten…so there are a lot of details to cover between now and then. Please grab The Space Beyond as soon as you can. I really do think that it’s Kristie’s best work to date. But have tissues ready! Oh, and if you haven’t read part 1 of The Book of Phoenix, The Space Between, what are you waiting for?

Chrissi, thank you SO much for giving us a sneak peek into the behind the scenes going's on for this amazing author! Love having BOTH of you here on my blog and I can't wait to help celebrate tons more on into the future!

About the Author:

Kristie Cook is a lifelong writer in various genres, from marketing communications to fantasy fiction. Besides writing, she enjoys reading, cooking, traveling and riding on the back of a motorcycle. She has lived in ten states, but currently calls Southwest Florida home with her husband, three teenage sons, a beagle and a puggle. She can be found at www.KristieCook.com.

Find Kristie Online:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads