📚Kyla’s Musings: A book I wrote in 2020 FINALLY has a cover
She’s here at last and she’s BEAUTIFUL!!!
Hi friends!
In case you missed the big news… I have a THIRD book coming out this year and she has a cover at last!!!
The cover reveal!
I just revealed it this week and I was so touched by the wonderful reception :’) Thank you so, so much for all the love and enthusiasm y’all have shown. And it’s incredible to see how excited everyone is for this story! And the biggest thank you to my amazing friends for helping me share the news online❤️❤️
My first two books The Fraud Squad and Valley Verified are both adult/young adult novels. So May the Best Player Win is my debut into the world of children’s novels. It’s suitable for adults, teens, and preteens—which means parents can read it together with their kids😊
Here’s a quick summary:
The game is on in this fun-filled middle grade debut about chess, girl power, and performance anxiety in sports!
The clock is ticking for May Li, whose middle-school chess team just earned a victory at the state championship—and with it, a ticket to nationals. What’s even more exciting is that May got an award for being the top female player and a splashy feature in the biggest chess magazine in the country.
May should be thrilled. But some of her teammates, including her supposed-to-be-friend Ralph, aren’t too pleased with the attention she’s getting—and they’re even questioning her skills. Backed into a corner, but not one to back down, May makes a move as bold as any of her chess tactics: She bets Ralph she can win the school’s internal tournament and be chosen as team captain for nationals.
The crown is May’s for the taking . . . except she’s starting to crumble under the weight of everyone’s expectations. Anxious feelings begin to affect her performance and, what’s worse, eat away at her love for the game. Now May is left to wonder: Can you still play for fun when you’re playing to win?
Fun fact: I actually wrote this book way back in 2020, long before I got an agent, a book deal, or even thought it was possible to become a published author. If anyone’s interested, I would love to share more about how this book came to be—how I wrote the first draft in just 1 month; how I did a MASSIVE rewrite where I completely changed the age group; how I eventually sold the book to Penguin Random House; etc. 😊
Let me know if any of those topics are of interest to you, or what else you’d like me to write about!
Appearing on TV?! 😳
Recently, I’ve also been invited to speak about my book Valley Verified on some of my favorite television channels! Such as CBS, Fox, Kron4, etc. It’s an incredible honored to be considered and I’m very grateful for all the media support shown for me and Valley Verified.🥰
That said, it is nerve-wracking appearing on live TV, and worrying about how I look, how I sound, where to look (there are so many cameras!), etc. And in the case of CBS when they came over to my house to film, I was also worried about how the place looked.😅
However, once I start talking about my book, I’m back in my comfort zone and forget that I’m even in an interview. The hosts were all amazingly kind and put me at ease with their warmth. It still blows my mind that I got to speak to the same people whom I’ve been watching on TV for so long.
(But the moment I walk off set, the adrenaline rush fades and I’m sharply reminded that: Holy, I just talked about my book to thousands of people I can’t even see. And then I feel jittery all over and realize that the back of my neck is clammy with sweat. Very glamorous :) )
A few more media appearances to come, so keep your eyes peeled 😉 As always, I’ll share the news on Instagram first!
An excerpt of Valley Verified
Mochi Mag, one of my favorite online publications, recently shared an excerpt of Valley Verified! Give it a read if you haven’t already💕
This was a really fun scene to write and also one I hope my family never reads… You’ll understand why when you read it.🙈
And that’s all from me for now, friends. Let me know what topics you’d like me to write on next😊 And thank you again for all your support for Valley Verified, May the Best Player Win and just me as an author! I appreciate it and you so much.
All my best,
Kyla