Summer Book Talk: Day 4 - KTeen

Hello Lovely readers for the fourth day in The Summer Book Talk Event that is hosted by Majibookshelf along with Annja from Kindle and Me and Amber from Books of Amber! If you saw the introductory post you would know what this event is all about, and if not then click here and read up! For today, we have another publicist interview but from Kensington Teen this time! Why not check out the publicist's side of the publishing story? Also, be sure to check out previous dates and the other two blogs for other fun stuff! 

The KTeen imprint publishes young adult titles that reflect the emotionally authentic teen experience by featuring unique voices and imaginative storytelling, all with an underlying, universal theme of self-discovery.

"In other words, we publish kickass books you want to be reading!" They have published books such as the Mythos Academy series by Jennifer Estep, The Bound trilogy by Erica O'Rourke, Awkward by Marni Bates, and much more!

Hello Alexandra! Let's get this interview started!

1. As bloggers/readers, we only know our side of it - the part involving ARCs. Could you please tell us more about your role as a publicist for books and what it involves?

Actually, I don’t work specifically as a publicist here at Kensington. I am the Digital Content/Marketing Manager—which basically means that I oversee most of our digital publishing and marketing. Since the online space has so many dedicated bloggers, I’m lucky enough to interact with them, provide early copies (ARCs), and help them create buzz for the books they love most (and the ones we love most too!) We have an amazing publicity department here as well, that does a great job reaching out to dozens of different channels—both online and in print.

2. How did you get into the publishing industry? Is it as glamorous as it seems to us bibliophiles? 

I always loved to read—and I started writing “books” when I was just about 5 years old, so you could say I was destined for this. It’s not an easy industry to break into, and I spent a long time trying, but I finally got my “big break” when Steven Zacharius (CEO, Kensington) and Laurie Parkin (VP & Publisher, Kensington) hired me. My husband thinks it’s very glamorous, but to me it’s just the job I’ve always wanted with the chance to not only read more books than I could ever finish while working with the amazing authors who create them, but also to share my excitement with the blogosphere and online retailers—so that they might love these books and authors too.

3. What’s a typical day at work like? 

Every day has something new in store—new books, new authors, new ways to interact with readers online. It keeps my job very fresh…and very busy! Between working with online retailers, managing our social media and eBook production, and developing digital marketing strategies, every day is hectic—but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

4. Tell us your top 3 favorite books. 

This is a hard question, because much like my three favorite Beatles songs, they change all the time. But the first three that come to mind are:

 1)  The Stand by Stephen King  

 2) Persuasion by Jane Austen

 3) The Hungry Season by T. Greenwood

I couldn’t possibly have a list where I didn’t include the entire Harry Potter series, which I also love more than I can describe. In fact, my bridal bouquet and wedding party flowers were made from the pages of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

                                              

<<< Omg how epic is that?  

                                                                                         

5. Could you tell us about a few exciting upcoming titles from Kensington Teen?
We have a great deal of exciting books that are coming up, but right now, I’m really happy to be working on KTeen and many of the new and continuing series that we publish. I’m a huge fan of Brigid Kemmerer’s Elemental Series, and the new book, Spark, will be coming in September. In addition, Nina Berry’s first book, Otherkin, will be on sale in August…so there is a lot happening in our YA program that I’m looking forward to reading and sharing with our amazing group of fans.

Also, some current and upcoming Kensington Teen titles include:

   

are offering ONE paperback of STORM by Brigid Kemmerer along with a Mythos Academy bookmark (US/Canada)!

         

Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys - all the ones she doesn't want. Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread those lies about her. Then she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot. Chris is different. Way different: he can control water just like his brothers can control fire, wind, and earth. They're powerful. Dangerous. Marked for death. And now that she knows the truth, so is Becca.

Secrets are hard to keep when your life's at stake. When Hunter, the mysterious new kid around school, turns up with a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time, Becca thinks she can trust him. But then Hunter goes head-to-head with Chris, and Becca wonders who's hiding the most dangerous truth of all. The storm is coming.


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Make sure to come back for the rest of the days in the Summer Book Talk event! As for today, we've also got another publicist interview at Anja's blog and Amber's blog! Be sure to head over there! 

We've got a guest post done by US! at Anja's blog, where you get to discuss with us about the YA trends, the beautiful, the ugly, and the damned! Head on over to Kindle and Me blog for an awesome discussion!  All you have to do is click on the button to the right.

At Amber's side, we've got an interview with debut dystopian author Diana Peterfreund. She is the author of the recently released novel "For Darkness Shows the Stars". This novel has a twist of one of Jane Austen's novels. You don't want to miss it! Head on over to Amber's blog by clicking on the button to the right