Friday, March 16, 2012

Debut of the Month - All About Croak + Giveaway!

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Book Profile

Name - Croak (Goodreads)
Author - Gina Damico
Genre - Paranormal
Release Date - 20th March 2012
Available - The Book Depository

Sixteen-year-old Lex Bartleby has sucker-punched her last classmate. Fed up with her punkish, wild behavior, her parents ship her off to upstate New York to live with her Uncle Mort for the summer, hoping that a few months of dirty farm work will whip her back into shape. But Uncle Mort’s true occupation is much dirtier than that of shoveling manure. 

He’s a Grim Reaper. And he’s going to teach her the family business. 

Lex quickly assimilates into the peculiar world of Croak, a town populated entirely by reapers who deliver souls from this life to the next. Along with her infuriating yet intriguing partner Driggs and a rockstar crew of fellow Grim apprentices, Lex is soon zapping her Targets like a natural born Killer. 

Yet her innate ability morphs into an unchecked desire for justice—or is it vengeance?—whenever she’s forced to Kill a murder victim, craving to stop the attackers before they can strike again. So when people start to die—that is, people who aren’t supposed to be dying, people who have committed grievous crimes against the innocent—Lex’s curiosity is piqued. Her obsession grows as the bodies pile up, and a troubling question begins to swirl through her mind: if she succeeds in tracking down the murderer, will she stop the carnage—or will she ditch Croak and join in?

The Insider's Scoop
How I Pitched Croak

I met my eventual agent at a pitch conference, which was a four-day workshop extravaganza wherein people from all over the country came to work on their pitches and present them to real live editors from real big publishing houses. I was absolutely terrified, because at the time, no one had read my draft of Croak. Not a single person other than me knew what my book was about. Even my husband was in the dark until the very night before the conference, when I pitched it to him. He nodded in a stoic manner and said little (as he always does), so even then I couldn't tell if it was a good idea or not.

But it was too late. I had sent in the check and I was going to the conference, dammit. On the first day we went through some brief introductionss, and then the workshop leader gave us a speech about how there's pretty much no way in hell any of us are going to get published. But not in a mean way - he was just giving us the cold, hard facts. And I actually appreciated that. All of the research I had done, the books I had read on how to get published - they all said it was hard, but ended with some sort of YOU CAN DO IT! cheerleading routine. It was refreshing to hear something along the lines of "Well, there is a small chance that you will be successful, but it is very small. And it will take a TON of work. So you better be in this for the long haul."

From there, we began to pitch our ideas to the group, one at a time. To be honest, it felt a lot like American Idol, or any one of those other talent reality shows. We'd get up in front of everyone, show them our stuff, and then prepare to be judged - and judged with brutal honesty. But again - that was a good thing. Mine, unlike several others, was met with relatively positive reactions, and it was only then that I started to think, hey, maybe I could make a run for this thing after all.

The next day we started pitching to actual editors, and holy banana, that was scary. It was even worse than the day before, because these were people who could actually get you somewhere, who could very well be the key to your ENTIRE FUTURE. So, you know, no pressure or anything.

Fortunately, the editors all liked my pitch. UNfortunately, none of them specialized in YA. So it seemed that the whole thing had been for naught, except that I got a lot of good feedback out of it and the motivation to keep going in the right direction. Until...one person who had been sitting in on the pitches - a woman that had been introduced, but I hadn't been able to hear who she was - started to pipe up and say that she loved my pitch. And then she gave me her card. Turns out she was an agent who DID specialize in YA, and by the time I got home that evening, she had already emailed me to request the full manuscript. And then I DIED.

Fast forward many moons later - and here I am with a book! And even though I literally just typed out how it all happened...I'm still not really sure how it all happened. Insanity.


~Giveaway~



Gina is giving away a signed ARC of CROAK, a scythe pendant, and some bookmarks!

Rule of Entry -
- International
- Ends 16th of April
- Must be 13 or older
- Optional Entries :
   * Leaving comment on either of Gina's posts +1 each
   * Follow Me on Twitter +1
   * Follow Gina on Twitter +1
   * Tweeting Giveaway +1
   * Follow Badass Bookie +2



a Rafflecopter giveaway


Badass Bookie

48 comments:

  1. I have been dying to read this book a lot, Lisa! Croak sounds awesome and interesting! Thank you so much for the chance to win! <3

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  2. Thanks for the awesome giveaway! I can't wait to read this book =)

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  3. I love the publishing journey! You can really sense Gina's trepidation as well as her hope and faith and I LOVE the sound and cover of Croak!

    What an original concept!!

    Thanks so much!

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  4. That's awesome! I'm so excited to read Croak. I wonder if she likes the show Dead Like Me...

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  5. I've been wanting to read Croak for such a long time already!!! And who wouldn't want to read about Grim Reapers?!?!?! Haha, thanks for the giveaway!

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  6. I'm really interested in this one! CROAK seems like a pretty good read. Thanks for the giveaway!

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  7. wao, this is such an amazing giveaway and thank to it i discovered your blog, it's really nice, i'm following you :3

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  8. Thanks for the giveaway! This book sounds awesome! :D

    Angie @ Pinkindle Reads & Reviews

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  9. I think that is the way to do it. Just go for it and don't look back. You sent in the check and it made you go forward. YaY for you!

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  10. What a wonderful giveaway! I'm really eager to read this one. Sounds really refreshing.

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  11. Thanks for this awesome giveaway! This sounds like a great read. I have it on my TBR list.
    -Maritza R

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  12. You make it sound like it was easy. I bet it was a lot harder than that. Sheez, just showing up at the conference took guts. Then standing up in front of everyone-that's my worst nightmare! Isn't there a less painful way to do the pitch thing???? Good luck with the novel!

    Heather

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  13. Yay!! another giveaway!! this book looks pretty interesting!

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  14. I really have a good feeling about this book...
    Thank you for the giveaway

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  15. Wow! Thanks for this amazing giveaway!

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  16. This book sounds great!! Love the cover.
    Sounds like a scary but great experience, thanks for sharing it and thank you for the international giveaway :)

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  17. I love the idea of this book! I really want to read it soon...Thanks for the giveaway x

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  18. Thanks for the giveaway! This book sounds awesome! :D

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  19. I love post!!!! You do make it sound easy...but also scary at the same time! Awesome giveaway, can't wait to read Croak myself!

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  20. I love the idea of this book! sounds so interesting! I can't wait to read! Thanks for the giveaway!

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  21. I really loved the post! It really helps knowing more about the book publishing industry.

    Thank you for the giveaway!

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  22. Can't wait to read Croak! Thanks for the giveaway!

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  23. Wow the story sound sooo good!! hope I would have the opportunity to read it!!
    Thank you so much!

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  24. Such an awesome post! Thanks so much for such an awesome giveaway! I've heard so much about this book and it sounds fantastic <3

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  25. Thank you for this Awesome Giveaway! I think the book is great and so is the necklace! :)

    -Riz B.
    clarissa(dot)bulatao(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  26. Thanks for the giveaway!! I've been so wanting to read this book and who wouldn't love a necklace to go a long with it : )

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  27. Croak sounds like a fabulous book, I can't wait to read it. Thank you for the giveaway.

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  28. Thanks uou a lot for this international giveaway. the book seems very original

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  29. I'm dying to read this book! Thank you for open this giveaway to int. followers as well!!!I'm so excited for this opportunity THX a lot =)

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  30. I totally want to read it! And cover is so amazing :)

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  31. I am super excited to read this book! I have been for a while now!

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  32. This book sounds so great!

    I love the cover art, it reminds me of Dead Like Me. :)

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  33. Thanks for this giveaway! The YA Scavenger Hunt got me really excited to read this book :).

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  34. Thanks for the giveaway. I have really been wanting to read this book, it just looks so good.

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  35. Awesome giveaway. Sounds like an interesting read. Totally looking forward to it. :)

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  36. I cannot wait to read Croak. It sounds like a snarky new version of death, that will delight readers. Thank you for the giveaway.

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  37. Croak sounds like my kind of book!

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  38. Thanks for making it international!

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  39. Croak sounds great! Thanks for the giveaway.

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  40. I love Reapers and cannot wait to read Croak :P
    Loved the The Insider's Scoop.
    Thank you for the hyper-super giveaway! :)

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  41. How cool is that cover???
    Thank you for the giveaway!

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  42. Hmm. I have a signed copy of the book, and I will soon have a second after she comes to MA. I wonder what the necklace looks like though.

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  43. thanks for the giveaway, this book looks great!

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  44. I've been so excited for this one! My boyfriend picked up my holds the other day from the library... and he wont give me Croak until he finishes it. :(

    Thanks for the giveaway!

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  45. I really like hearing about how authors went about getting published! I'm sure that it was a lot of hard work, but now it's all worth it: the book is out into the world! :)

    I haven't read it yet, but I'm going to try and pick it up in a few weeks... :)

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  46. Thanks for sharing what must have been a scary part in your publishing career! I can't wait to read Croak :D

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  47. I want this book now
    Have been dying to read it

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