# Two books under two bucks!



## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

I'd like to introduce two books: one is an uncomfortably intimate novel, and the other is a grab-bag of short fiction.

The novel, _Homefront_ (linked in my signature, and just $0.99), semi-autobiographical, allows a glimpse behind the yellow ribbon at the grittier reality you've not heard much about. Mia is the anti-poster-girl for those waiting at home for deployed soldiers. Unlike what you see on TV--yellow ribbons, smiles in the face of pain, valiant stoicism--Mia is one of the real people left behind. And as you take this journey with her, you're exposed to very real, rarely explored, and often conflicting emotions and behaviors, all from an unapologetic and unsentimental point of view.

A cab driving former English professor, an acerbic but somehow charming alcoholic Vietnam veteran, an anti-war soldier, and a morbid mother in-law come together in a realistic, sensual, unapologetic, and sometimes darkly humorous tale of waiting for a soul mate to survive a war deployment.

One of the most powerful and brilliant books I have read in a long time. It is an intimate and personal look into a soul bared raw for us all to see, and it's sometimes difficult to not feel like an unwelcome voyeur, especially when you find yourself quick to want to judge. I don't think that anything I can say will really do the book justice, so the best thing I can tell you is make this the next book you read. I recommend _Homefront_ to, well, everyone.- Pop Culture Zoo

Called "stark and beautiful" by Feministing.com, _Homefront_ (a Backword Book) was recently profiled in the _Stars and Stripes_ newspaper:

"Tsetsi's [protagonist] Mia sends her boyfriend mercurial rants, refuses to answer his phone calls, fights with him over the time he spends talking to his mother and even finds herself wishing he were dead." [link to the rest]

_The Leaf Chronicle_: "The novel is completely engrossing, a totally spellbinding escape into another world. The story is full of achingly real characters and details. I felt a growing dread in my gut as the number of pages I had left to read dwindled." [link to the rest]

Backword Book _Carol's Aquarium_ ($0.99, and also linked in my signature to the Kindle version) is a collection of short fiction. Stories range from fish-in-a-box to a tense prison visit to a mother considering abandoning her daughter to the most uptight couple in the world discovering earthy, passionate lust.

Story lengths vary from flash-fiction shortness to standard short story length, and pieces are a combination of unpublished, previously published, and award-winning fiction.

Thanks for the space to share this with you!

-Kristen


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

P.S.

I read on another thread somewhere on Amazon that people are curious about whether books are available in other formats...

Homefront is on Kindle, Smashwords, and Scribd, and Amazon also sells it in print.

Carol's Aquarium is only on Kindle right now, but I'm working today on getting it to Smashwords and Scribd, as well. A print version might take a little while.

- Kris

P.S. Happy Labor Day! Hope everyone's grilling something yummy.


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

Woohoo! Update: "Carol's Aquarium" now on Scribd and Smashwords.

(If any more of these places to publish pop up, I just don't know what I'll do...)

And a reader review of "Homefront" to help you get your Kindle sweaty: (for those of you with Kindles - DO your hands get sweaty holding them? I wonder about this.)

"I really want to encourage people to pick up Homefront. The war in Iraq is ... the engine for an incisive look at separation, loss, fidelity, guilt, and uncertainty. I really enjoyed this book on the level of both content and style, and would rank it with other portraits of women under pressure, such as my favorite [Margaret] Atwood novel, Cat's Eye, and Janet Fitch's Paint it Black. Anyone who enjoys either of those authors, or Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife, should definitely give Homefront a read.

"I should also mention that Homefront concludes with one of the more satisfying endings I've read recently. I should have seen it coming, but didn't. I love it when that happens."

- James Viscosi


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## Christopher Meeks (Aug 2, 2009)

Welcome to Kindle, Kristen. I see that you, I and a few others from Backword Books will be on Stacey's interview show on Friday. See you then.

Also I notice that "Homefront" has already moved up the sales charts for the Kindle to be #2 in Morals & Responsibility. That's an interesting category.

--Chris


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

Chrismeeks said:


> Welcome to Kindle, Kristen. I see that you, I and a few others from Backword Books will be on Stacey's interview show on Friday. See you then.
> 
> Also I notice that "Homefront" has already moved up the sales charts for the Kindle to be #2 in Morals & Responsibility. That's an interesting category.
> 
> --Chris


Thanks, Chris! Yes, I'm pretty excited about Friday. It'll be the first time we've all "met" with voices. It's kind of like going from silent films to a talkie.

And Morals & Responsibility _is_ a most interesting category...didn't see that one coming.


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

"Homefront" is now #1 in Morals and Responsibility.

I think I can explain why, as confused as I was before. Link to blog entry, invisibly subtitled "couldn't 'immorality' just as easily be called 'honesty'?".

I see it's also #1 in Feelings & Emotions. Today, anyway. I have a feeling it could become addictive to watch these category rankings change, just to watch the trend.

("Homefront" is #15 in Interpersonal Relations - and, that's probably the one I would have thought would be the smaller number. Hm. Fascinating!)

Re: Carol's Aquarium - its first review ended up posting not on Kindle, but on Scribd: "Every so often I read a book and remember how important good writing is." - Kathleen Fitz. (Thanks, Kathleen!)


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

Kristen Tsetsi said:


> I have a feeling it could become addictive to watch these category rankings change, just to watch the trend.


Yes, you'll go quietly nuts. But we all do it.


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

JimC1946 said:


> Yes, you'll go quietly nuts. But we all do it.


How's a girl supposed to get any writing done with such compelling distractions tempting and taunting her?

I'm going to have to find a way to lock myself out of the Interwebs.


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

Kristen Tsetsi said:


> How's a girl supposed to get any writing done with such compelling distractions tempting and taunting her?


I'm thinking of spending all my time on the forums and outsourcing my writing to someone in India.


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## RJ Keller (Mar 9, 2009)

Now that's an idea!


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

rjkeller said:


> Now that's an idea!


Stop laughing. My outsource writer Raju is already working on my next book: _Stop and Smell the Samosas_.


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

Hey, if hiring writers to write your books for you is good enough for James Patterson...


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## rocky mountain reader (Jul 8, 2009)

Kristen Tsetsi said:


> Hey, if hiring writers to write your books for you is good enough for James Patterson...


James Michener did the same many years ago.


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

Raju is finishing up his my review of Carol's Aquarium. After I look over it, I'll post it later today on Amazon.


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

JimC1946 said:


> Raju is finishing up his my review of Carol's Aquarium. After I look over it, I'll post it later today on Amazon.


Thanks, Ra...er...Jim!


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

Note: both of these books will stay at $0.99 until October, when they'll both go up to $2. Just fyi. 

(My husband has been supporting me so I can sit at home and write, but I'd like to be able to help out even a tiny bit, if I can.)


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

Kristen, one simple thing that you (and any other author) can do is ask people you know to click on your tag boxes to put a checkmark inside. That will make your books more visible in searches. Also, while people are on your book page, they can click "Yes" the review is helpful (for good reviews, of course!). This makes your reviews more credible if other people think the review is good.

A couple of simple things that may help indirectly to increase sales.


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

Excellent advice. Thank you.

After reading it, I went to my "Homefront" page and clicked "yes" on all the reviews.


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

JimC - quick question for you. You read "Carol's Aquarium"...is it something you would categorize as "teenager"?

I'm so curious, because I certainly don't write for teens (not that there's anything wrong with them), but it's ranking oddly high in that category. (It's ranked in other categories that make sense to me, but "teenager" has me perplexed and confounded!  )


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

Kristen Tsetsi said:


> JimC - quick question for you. You read "Carol's Aquarium"...is it something you would categorize as "teenager"?


No, I didn't get any feeling that the stories were primarily about teenagers or were aimed at teenagers.

I've wondered about that, especially since at this time, you're #1 in that category:

*#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle Books > Parenting & Families > Parenting > Teenagers*

If I remember correctly, when you upload a Kindle file, the DTP gives you three choices for categories. It may be that you accidentally clicked on the wrong dropdown item.

I'm pretty sure you can go back to DTP, click on your book title, and edit the categories.


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

In the dropdown categories, there should be one for short stories.


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

JimC1946 said:


> In the dropdown categories, there should be one for short stories.


Hm - will check it out. Thanks, Jim.


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

Just a quick bump to let you know 'Homefront' is one of the books that will be given away in a contest Backword Books is having.

The grand prize to go to the winner is package of seven signed books by Backword authors: _Homefront_ by Kristen Tsetsi (that's me!), _Spam & Eggs_ by Andrew Kent, _The Brightest Moon of the Century _by Christopher Meeks, _Threshold_ by Bonnie Kozek, _Broken Bulbs_ by Eddie Wright, _Waiting for Spring_ by RJ Keller, and _North of Sunset _by Henry Baum.

Second prize, which goes to 7 different entrants, is a single one of those books.

The rules are these: We want to hear your thoughts about self-publishing in a blog post. What is your general opinion of it? How likely are you to do it again? Do you think it will change the face of publishing in the future? That sort of thing. The drawbacks of self-publishing are welcome as well.

Each of us has our book on Kindle, but sometimes - like when it gets cold and wintery and you have hot chocolate and marshmallows - you just want to hold that paperback in your hand.

For further instructions and to enter, go here.

Good luck!


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

Kristen, I don't understand this: "1. The post links back to www.backwordbooks.com, as well as the URL for this contest."

You say "We want to hear your thoughts about self-publishing in a blog post." Does this mean an entrant must have their own blog?


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

JimC1946 said:


> Kristen, I don't understand this: "1. The post links back to www.backwordbooks.com, as well as the URL for this contest."
> 
> You say "We want to hear your thoughts about self-publishing in a blog post." Does this mean an entrant must have their own blog?


Ideally, yes. Let me check on that, to see whether - if we were allowed to dedicate a thread to it here - those without blogs but who come here can somehow participate.

Good question, Jim - thanks.


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

Yes!

You  may certainly enter if you don't have a blog. Just follow what you can of the instructions. That is, let the Backword site know where you posted your thoughts (you could like to the thread post, for example).


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

While I know the sales rankings at Amazon can be...fickle?...I'm still thrilled to say "Homefront" and "Carol's Aquarium" both made the list of Kindle's top 100 indie books. So, if you're reading this and you're one of the people who bought one or both of those books, thank you so much for your interest and I hope you're enjoying it/them!

Also on the list are R.J. Keller and Chris Meeks (fellow Backword Books members and Kindle Board participants) and Stacey Cochran - Book Chatter host!

It's exciting to be in such great company, I must say.

"Homefront" and "Carol's Aquarium" (links to both are in my signature) will continue to sell for $0.99 until October (when they'll go up to $2). And if you're looking for paperbacks - 7 free ones! - please scroll up a few posts and take a look at the Backword Books contest.


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

Okay: The Backword Books contest (to win 7 signed paperbacks) has been posted in the Special Deals and Discounts forum. click here for guidelines.


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## Lynn McNamee (Jan 8, 2009)

_Homefront_ is featured in my blog today!

Very nice book, worth far more than the itty bitty $.99 she charges. 

Grab your copy now as you may be paying $9.99 for her next one!


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## meljackson (Nov 19, 2008)

I just grabbed it. Now to find time to read it!

Melissa


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

RedAdept said:


> _Homefront_ is featured in my blog today!
> 
> Very nice book, worth far more than the itty bitty $.99 she charges.
> 
> Grab your copy now as you may be paying $9.99 for her next one!


Ha! Thanks so much - I'm glad you enjoyed it even if the characters might not be people you would choose to be your friends. 

And thanks for buying a copy, Melissa!


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## Lynn McNamee (Jan 8, 2009)

Kristen Tsetsi said:


> Ha! Thanks so much - I'm glad you enjoyed it even if the characters might not be people you would choose to be your friends.


ROFL! Well, I don't think Mia would want me as her friend, either. I could hear me talking to her now, "Girl, you need to get up off your


Spoiler



ass


! Suck it up and deal! Any kind of human being would be sending a care package every three weeks. Tell his mom to stuff a sock in it!"

Unfortunately, all reviews are subject to the reviewer's opinion. 

However, that's why I really enjoy my new format. Regardless of what I thought of the characters, I was able to give an honest 5 stars to your writing style.


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

RedAdept said:


> ROFL! Well, I don't think Mia would want me as her friend, either. I could hear me talking to her now, "Girl, you need to get up off your
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> ...


Every THREE weeks! I think when Ian was deployed I sent a package once a week and a letter every day without fail. I was obsessive about communicating with him.


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## Lynn McNamee (Jan 8, 2009)

Kristen Tsetsi said:


> Every THREE weeks! I think when Ian was deployed I sent a package once a week and a letter every day without fail. I was obsessive about communicating with him.


Well, it's nice to know that you are not like Mia.  

I just threw 3 weeks out there. I guess I was thinking a big package with so much crap in it that he still wouldn't be finished eating it in 3 weeks.


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

RedAdept said:


> Well, it's nice to know that you are not like Mia.
> 
> I just threw 3 weeks out there. I guess I was thinking a big package with so much crap in it that he still wouldn't be finished eating it in 3 weeks.


To be honest, certain parts of her were very much like me. For instance, the crappy cab-driving attitude.  The goal, more than anything, was to communicate the strength of an overlapping multitude of emotions, many of them powerful and passionate. But, I also wanted to create a character who wasn't necessarily a hero type, or your standard as-seen-on-TV Military Supporter, but more of a real person going through something not often explored by the media. Maybe even someone people don't like. (You're not the first to not like her.  )


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## RJ Keller (Mar 9, 2009)

That's what I like most about the book. Mia _isn't _ a typical fictional 'hero' nor a stereotypical military spouse/girlfriend. She's very real, very human.


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

Why, thank ya, Kel! 

I had the same reaction to Tess.


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

Just a reminder - _Carol's Aquarium_ (which has been receiving exceptional reader reviews - thank you, readers! I'm so happy you're enjoying it) and _Homefront_ will both be getting a price hike this month. Until then, they're still just $0.99.

What readers are saying about

CAROL'S AQUARIUM

(From Smashwords) Lea Tassie on Sep. 25, 2009 : 4/4 stars
_Kristen is an excellent writer. Her stories are written as short stories should be written: spare and without a single unnecessary word. Some of her imagery is delightfully original. For all of you who like literary short fiction, this is a must._

(From Scribd, where 3/3 readers give it 5/5 stars) 
*LizzyHalim*

So splendid.....Every words make me so keen to read it till the last. 
*
kathleenfitz *

_Every so often I read a book and remember how important good writing is. The way you describe and move paragraph-to-paragraph is fantastic. _

*From our own Jim C. (from his Amazon review)*

_I was extremely impressed with Ms. Tsetsi's writing skills and her originality. She has a remarkable ability to create scenarios and settings that evoke emotional response by the reader and the need to interpret the story from the clues that she has left us. I give "Carol's Aquarium" 5 stars because of this. _

HOMEFRONT (Amazon reviews: twenty 5/5 stars, two 4/5 stars)

*Vara Scott*
She doesn't give you what's expected at all. Loved this book!

*From a review posted by Red Adept*
This author's prose is a beautiful thing to behold. Her descriptions and depictions of emotion are wonderful and vivid. Much of this work has a poetic charm that is a joy to read.

*John McDonald*
Occasionally, a book comes along that you know you will want to share before you've finished the read. _Homefront_ is such a book.


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## Edward C. Patterson (Mar 28, 2009)

I just got me the whole Tsetsi library.  

Ed Patterson


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

Edward C. Patterson said:


> I just got me the whole Tsetsi library.
> 
> Ed Patterson


The "whole" two-book library? You spend-happy fool!  (Thanks, Ed. I hope you enjoy. As soon as I finish writing this most impossible thing I'm writing now, I'm taking two weeks to READ. Read and read and read. Your stuff included.)


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

Kristen Tsetsi said:


> The "whole" two-book library? You spend-happy fool!


That reminds me of a joke that Georgia Tech alumni tell about the University of Georgia: There was a fire in the UGA library, and they lost both books.

Sorry, I couldn't help it.


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## RJ Keller (Mar 9, 2009)

I know a recent UGA graduate. I'll have to lay that one on him.


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

I've got hundreds more if you need them...


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

Ian went to George Mason, so I can probably still use this on him. It's close enough.


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

Carol's Aquarium, a collection of short fiction (some of it very, very, very short) is just $1.00 for Kindle.

Stories in this collection include fiction prize winner and Pushcart Prize-nominee "They Three at Once Were One," fiction prize winner "Becoming an Oates Girl," and fiction prize winner "Burn Everything but the Heart." Short stories and microfiction-some previously published, some appearing here for the first time-come together in a series of fearless illustrations of the things that make us human.

"There isn't a bad story in the bunch." - POD People

Homefront, a novel, is $1.99 for the Kindle.

Homefront's true-to-life characters and their complex and unexpected relationships bring to life the hell, the horror, and the humor of living alone and driving a cab in a small military town during a war deployment.

"One of the most powerful and brilliant books I have read in a long time. Make this the next book you read."- Pop Culture Zoo

"Her sentences are as true as a bullet whizzing past the ear and her dialogue has the accuracy of a recorded conversation that was perfectly eavesdropped." - Former news correspondent and bestselling author James C. Moore


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Kristen, I merged your new post with your existing thread as we allow just one thread each. . . . .please use your browser to place a bookmark/favorite so you can find this thread again when the time comes to post news.

And, as a reminder, here are the rules of the forum. . . . just 'cause we like to make sure we put 'em in every thread. 

We invite you to use your book cover as your avatar and have links to your book and website in your signature. Be sure to read the fine print below. Don't forget to bookmark this thread (using your browser's bookmark/favorite function) so you can update it. Although self-promotion is limited to the Book Bazaar, most of our authors have found the best way to promote their books is to be as active throughout KindleBoards as time allows. This is your target audience--book lovers with Kindles!

Thanks for being part of KindleBoards! Feel free to PM us if you have any questions.

Betsy & Ann
Book Bazaar Moderators

_The fine print:
Please add to your existing book thread when you have news about your book rather than start a new one, it helps the members who are trying to follow you. You may have a separate thread for each of your books. We recommend you bookmark your post so that you can find it in the future.  You may respond to all posts, but if there have been no member posts, we ask that you wait a week before "bumping" the thread by posting back-to-back posts of your own. And we ask that Amazon reviews not be repeated here as they are easy to find at your book link. Also, full reviews from other sites should not be posted here, but you may post a short blurb and a link to the full review instead. All this, and more, is included in our Forum Decorum. From time to time our site rules may change; be sure to check Forum Decorum (http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,36.0.html) for the current guidelines and rules. _


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

bookmarks! Yes - I always, always, always forget to do that, and the search functions on forums are not Kristen-friendly. Thanks for merging the two.

- Kristen


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## Christopher Meeks (Aug 2, 2009)

Nice to see you back on here, Kristen. I'm THOROUGHLY enjoying your book, Home Front. Sorry to be taking so long with it, but I power up the Kindle every weekend and read more. Mia's desire and flaws and self-destructive tendencies is making the story compelling. A few months back, I listened to Janet Fitch's "Paint It Black," and your Mia has many parallels with Fitch's protagonist. I wish I wasn't having so many student papers to read, but your book is my treat.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Hmmm.... I just tried to buy _Home Front_ and Amazon tells me it doesn't exist.... does anyone know what's up with this book? Is it still available? Perhaps undergoing revision or something?


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## Christopher Meeks (Aug 2, 2009)

The book has been picked up by a publisher and it will be coming out again soon. I'll have the author, Kristen Tsetsi, provide more information. It's a great book.


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## Kristen Tsetsi (Sep 1, 2009)

Thanks for the email, Chris.

Susan, thank you for your interest! Chris is right - Homefront has been picked up by a publisher and is being repackaged for a late summer release as Pretty Much True... . I'm told it will be a Kindle book, but I'm not sure when. I'll post an update when I have one.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Thanks, Kristen, and congratulations!  And thanks to Christopher for forwarding the query.


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