Seeing Cinderella Launch Video!

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Jenny Lundquist

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the launch party for Seeing Cinderella, told their friends about it or tweeted or facebooked about it. You guys are rock stars and it means a great deal to me! It’s been a very exciting few weeks. The launch event was a huge success and they actually sold out of books! Thanks especially to the staff at the Citrus Heights Barnes and Noble, they were amazing. It was incredible to sign books at the same store I took my son to for story time. Below is a quick video to show you how the launch went (or click here):

Thanks again to everyone, especially those who joined the photo gallery.

And now, I’m heading out for my first-ever writing retreat to work on another project. Anyone have suggestions on what to bring? I’m thinking I may need to stock up on chocolate and coffee…

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Seeing Cinderella Releases Today!

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Jenny Lundquist

A year and a half after signing my contract with my publisher, the release date for Seeing Cinderella has finally arrived! I spend my days using words to craft stories, hoping that I can somehow make others see the people and the places in my imagination. But there aren’t enough words in the English language to accurately describe how crazy, awesome, cool and terrifying today feels. And I’m so incredibly grateful to all of my friends and family who have walked with me through it all this past year. (Especially to my sister Lisa, who fearlessly spammed almost every single one of her facebook friends to tell them about Seeing Cinderella.)

Seeing Cinderellla CoverSeveral years ago I came up with the idea for a pair of magic glasses that could read people’s thoughts. That was the easy part. The more difficult task was deciding which character to give the story to. What girl needed those glasses? Initially I set out to write a story about an aggressive eighth grader who didn’t always “see” how her actions affected others. But it didn’t stick. Sometimes we choose our characters, and sometimes our characters choose us. So instead I ended up with Callie Anderson, a shy seventh grader who’s terrified to start middle school because she’s certain  everyone will laugh at her and think she’s a nerd.

I’ve blogged before about how my friend Cara gave me a mailbox with a letter inside. It was written to me from Cara’s seventh grade self. This is part of what it said:

“Your book inspired me to be a better person. Thanks for using your God-given talent to help me see the “Cinderella” in me!”

Now, Cara hasn’t read my book (because I’m just evil like that, and have made my friends wait), but as I’ve reflected on her words it has reminded me of a few lines in Seeing Cinderella. There are several passages that I like, but this one is by far my favorite:

At that moment, I figured out my favorite part of Cinderella’s tale. And I realized it wasn’t the pumpkin carriage, the killer dress, the Prince, or even the ball–magical as that all was. No. My favorite part was when Cinderella chose to step out of the attic. When she walked down those stairs to the Prince’s men below and showed everyone her true self. When she chose a future different from what she’d always believed was possible. (pg 201)

I guess when I think about who I wrote Seeing Cinderella for, it was for the girls who don’t see the Cinderella in themselves. And by “Cinderella” I don’t mean a girl who needs a boy/prince/man to rescue her, but a girl that deserves to be treated like the amazing, image-bearing person she is. The girl that stands in the shadows and wonders if anyone will ever see her. It’s my greatest hope that girl–and those like her–will read Seeing Cinderella and go forth and choose a future different, and better, than what they’ve always believed was possible.

For those of you that choose to read Seeing Cinderella and meet Callie in the coming weeks and months, thank you. I hope you like Callie.

Because I certainly do.

*And, if you’re not sick of me yet, here are some other places I’ll be hanging out today.

Over at Laura Pauling’s blog I discuss why I write upper middle grade.

Over at the Lucky 13’s blog, I discuss my sleepover superstition.

Over at Saundra Mitchell’s blog, I take the 9 Spot Challenge.

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Launch Party for Seeing Cinderella!

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Jenny Lundquist

Seeing Cinderella bookHello everyone! It’s hard to believe, but after a year and a half of waiting, Seeing Cinderella releases in two weeks! To celebrate, I’d like to invite you to my launch party! Details are below:

March 31, 2012 1-3pm (Saturday)
Barnes & Noble
6111 Sunrise Blvd
Citrus Heights CA 95610
RSVP on Facebook if you want

Come prepared to eat some munchies, meet some cool people, and have a great time. Feel free to RSVP on facebook or just show up if you want. Hope to see you there!

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A Few Good Things

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Jenny Lundquist

As Seeing Cinderella’s release date approaches, things have gotten a bit more crazy in my world. Emails, scheduling book signings, emails, blog requests, emails, and the dailiness of trying to be present to my children…well, let’s just say there’s been a lot to do. Did I mention the emails?

But in the midst of it all, I had a few good (no, great!) things happen last week:

For those of you that didn’t see it on Facebook or Twitter, finished copies of Seeing Cinderella arrived on my doorstep! It has a title page, an acknowledgments section, and a bio! Ladies and gentlemen, I have written a real, live book!

I also turned thirty-six last week, and my son decided to wrap a present that he made himself. This was his birthday message to me:

Now, my son hasn’t actually read any of my books yet, but I don’t care. He’s awesome, and everyday he turns more and more into someone I not only love, but someone I really like, too.

Then over the weekend I went out with Journey Girls and my friend Cara Lane gave me one of the most thoughtful gifts I’ve ever received:

She bought me a small mailbox and inside sent me a letter from her junior-high self thanking me for writing Seeing Cinderella and telling me what an impact it had on her. She said she officially wanted to be the first person to send me a fan letter. Who can ask for a better friend than that?

So in the midst of all the emails and and all the work that goes into launching a new book, I want to remember that I’m incredibly blessed to be in this situation, and that I have the best friends and family in the world to support me. Today, I’m grateful for all the good things, and all the great people in my life.

So that’s me. What are you grateful for today?

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Don’t Wait to Pursue Your Dreams

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Jenny Lundquist

Last week I had the privilege of speaking at a PTSA meeting for W.E. Mitchell Middle School. It was great to be there. (Thanks especially to Emily, Paige, and the other students I met–talking to you guys afterward was the highlight of the night for me). Some of the students even wore “magic” glasses in support of Seeing Cinderella.

As I thought about what I wanted to share with the students, I kept coming back to one thought: Don’t wait to pursue your dreams.

Me speakng at Mitchell Middle School

I may have started writing seriously at the age of thirty–but I knew almost two decades before that I liked to write. When I was in fifth grade, my class took a field trip to the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Now, I remember almost nothing about the trip itself. What I do remember is the next day when my teacher announced we’d be participating in an in-class essay contest. We were required to write two paragraphs describing the center and our field trip. The top two winning essays were to be published in the school newsletter.

I’m not a competitive person. You never want to have me on your sports team, because I will spend the entire time talking and annoying everyone. But I remember being seized that day with what I would now define as “publication fever.” I was going to beat the rest of my classmates, and win that contest. I spent every single second of the allotted time crafting and polishing my two paragraphs until they were the best they could be.

And guess what? I won! I can’t tell you how great it felt to see my name beneath my article the next month in the school newsletter. But just as important, I discovered I’d actually liked the process of writing the essay itself (even if there was NO WAY I would’ve ever admitted it to my teacher).

I’d like to say I went home that day, and started writing stories, or started keeping a journal. I’d like to say I stepped out and in middle school joined the student newspaper or pursued writing in high school and college, but I can’t. Nope, for reasons that I’ve discussed earlier, I didn’t. It wasn’t until I turned thirty that I finally wised up and decided to go for it.

So, that’s what I found myself telling the students last week. If there’s something you love to do, don’t wait. It’s never too early to start pursuing your dreams.

What about you? Was there (or is there) something you loved to do in middle or high school? Are you pursuing that now?

Posted in Life, Middle School Life | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

We Have A Winner!

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Jenny Lundquist

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the YAmazing Race With MGnificent Prizes and to everyone who entered my giveaway of an ARC of SEEING CINDERELLA.

And, without further ado, the winner is….  Jaskirat@SeeitORreadit

Congratulations Jaskirat! I will contact you shortly and get the ARC to you. For everyone else, the Apocalypsies may host another race sometime in the summer and I will probably participate. And I may do one final giveaway before SEEING CINDERELLA releases on March 2oth.

Posted in Giveaway | 1 Comment

YAmazing Race with MGnificent Prizes!

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Jenny Lundquist

Welcome to the Seeing Cinderella stop on the YAmazing Race with MGnificent prizes, a crazy whirlwind blog hop beginning at 12:00pm EST on Monday, January 16th, featuring over 50 debut authors and prize packs consisting of ARCs, gift certificates, swag, and more! If you haven’t yet been to the Apocalypsies website, please click here to start from the beginning and read the complete rules. Now on to the race!

SEEING CINDERELLA by Jenny Lundquist

Seventh grade is not going well for Calliope Meadow Anderson. Callie’s hair is frizzy, her best friend, Ellen, is acting weird, and to top things off, she has to get glasses. And her new specs aren’t even cute, trendy glasses—more like hideously large and geeky.

But Callie soon discovers that her glasses have a special, magical perk: When she wears them, she can read people’s thoughts. For the first time ever she’s answering all the questions right in math class, and gets a glimpse of what goes through people’s minds all day, including what Ellen—and her longtime crush—really think of her.

Crazy glasses aside, Callie has more drama to face when she’s cast as the lead in the school play—and instead opts to be an understudy, giving the role of Cinderella to Ellen. Can Callie’s magic glasses help her see her way to leading lady, or is she destined to stay in the background forever, even with her super freaky magic glasses?

Seeing Cinderella is available now for preorder!

Got all that? Store it away in your brain for the quiz ahead! And remember, you must complete ALL FIVE quizzes to be eligible for a prize pack.

But before you go – bonus contest! Simply leave a comment below to be entered to win a signed ARC (Advance Reviewer Copy) of SEEING CINDERELLA! The winner will be announced on Tuesday, January 24th!

Ready to move on? Hop over to the website of Elizabeth Norris to go to the next stop on the race!

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2012 New Year’s Resolutions

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Jenny Lundquist

After a great vacation visiting family in southern California I’m back and ready to dive into 2012! I had time to really think through some of the changes I want to make in my life this year, and, in no particular order, here they are:

1. Be more punctual. Given that I meant to put this post up last Monday, I guess I’m not off to a great start here. But it’s something I want to change. And by punctual, I just mean, “be where I need to be, when I need to be there, without going into panic mode to get there,” whether that’s being on time for a playdate, picking up my kids from school, or getting my behind back in the kitchen when the oven timer goes off. Right now when the fire alarm goes off in my house, my kids don’t even blink. They know it just means Mom burnt dinner again. I’m tired of running around feeling like I’m five minutes late to my own life.

2. Own less. I’m disorganized, I admit it. Some women can handle being a writer and a stay-at-home Mom with one hand tied behind their back (although frankly I don’t know how they get much typing done). But I’m not one of those women–and in 2011 I felt like my house was in a constant state of disaster. So instead of “organizing” my house I’m just going to give a TON of stuff away. Being the caring, compassionate parent I am, my first task was to make my kids walk out this value by giving away a ton of their stuff. Specifically, the tinker toy/light brite/K’nex/Lego/Lincoln Log stew that was oozing out of their storage bins. So, bye-bye storage bins. I thought they might hate me. But guess what? One week down and I think we’re all happier not to have our nightly fight over cleaning their room.

3. Try something new. I have a new writing project swirling around in my head. It’s different than any book I’ve ever written, and honestly, I don’t know if I have the skills as a writer to pull it off. But I’m going for it anyway.

4. Take better care of me. 2011 was a whirlwind. I finished revising/copyediting Seeing Cinderella (which is coming out in just a few months!!!!). I wrote a few hundred pages of a book idea I eventually abandoned. I wrote Plastic Polly and am almost finished revising it. I’ve tried really hard to stay present to my family as my writing life has grown. But something had to take a backseat and (besides my house) that meant any kind of fitness/healthy habits I had went by the wayside. So I decided to join many other writers, agents, editors, and bloggers and participate in Change Write Now, a challenge dedicated to building a healthier lifestyle. Here’s to a Healthier 2012!

So that’s me! At the end of this year I hope to share a post about how I’ve rocked my resolutions, instead of my usual pattern of forgetting about them by mid-January. What about you? What are your resolutions for 2012?

(Also, middle grade author Sarvenaz Tash interviewed me and is doing a giveaway on her blog of SEEING CINDERELLA you can enter it Here)

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And The Winner Is…

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Jenny Lundquist

Thank to everyone who participated in the Seeing Cinderella ARC and Funky Sock Giveaway! I had a great time selecting lines from the page numbers you chose. Using my super sophisticated method (which involved several slips of paper, an old beanie, and my husband acting as Vanna White) I have randomly selected a winner. So, without further ado, the winner is……

Melissa from Melissa’s Eclectic Bookshelf

Congratulations Melissa! I will be in touch with you shortly. To everyone else, thanks so much for participating!

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