Ready to dive into a world where vulnerability meets edge? My upcoming interactive novel, Raising Women, is an immersive journey into the raw and real, and in addition to the book releasing in just over a month, I've got something else that's extra special for you.

Many women will remember cootie catchers (millennials will anyway. Maybe older or younger too? I'm not sure how much they did or didn't play this game). You'd write down colors and numbers and futures and ask your friends to pick, and then you'd all laugh at their tragic outcome. If someone was lucky, they might get rich. (Where are those girls at? I could borrow some money.)

In case you're out of the loop, cootie catchers are origami figures that are used as fortune tellers. The outer parts of the cootie catcher are typically labelled with colors or numbers that a player chooses from, and the fortune teller moves the little paper device, counting numbers based on what was chosen,and then land on the four inside flaps. One of those gets chosen and read aloud. There you go. That's your future, all predicted over the course of twenty seconds.

I'm excited to share that you can now download the exclusive cootie catcher inspired by the book for free! This cootie catcher will offer you predictions straight from the novel. The outer layer of the cootie catcher had a word related to the book, inside you get some numbers to choose from, then you finally get your fortune. This game is not just a trip down memory lane though — it’s a new way to engage with the heart of the story. With each fold and fortune, you’ll explore the darkly delightful twists and turns of your own journey.

Print this, cut it out, and enjoy!

And here are directions on how to put it together in case you forgot.

We're getting so close - just over a month away.
Pre-order here!

And check out the Raising Women site for downloads and other things.

I'm here to share with you the Raising Women book trailer.

We're getting so close - just over a month away.
Pre-order here!

And check out the Raising Women site for downloads and other things.

Video clips shot by the forever wonderful Lindee Robinson Photography.

I love experimenting, and playing with different forms. Last year I decided I wanted to write a piece of literary fiction that incorporated an interactive fiction form (I'll blog more about writing in this way soon). Then this last December, I just dove in and decided to do it - I started writing Raising Women. It wasn't planned; I had just finished a fiction workshop for my fall semester and had another one in the winter semester and was in the middle of writing other things, but for two weeks I just decided to write this. I knocked out most of the first draft then, then revisited it a few months later to finish it. Many rounds of editing and revising later, and I'm extremely excited to reveal the cover and announce that Raising Women will be released on October 11th!   Learn more about it here. Look out for more blogs about how I wrote this, what I love about it, and other fun freebies that are coming soon.