You are cordially invited to the launch party for The Carnival of Wishes and Dreams!
Saturday, February 16 1-3pm
Barnes & Noble
Creekside Town Center
1256 Galleria Blvd.
Roseville, CA 95678
916-788-4320
The Carnival of Wishes and Dreams- Launch Party!
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Upcoming Events
The Wondrous World of Violet Barnaby released out into the world this week, and I couldn’t be more excited to share Violet’s story with you! If you’d like a signed copy of Violet, here is a list of places I’ll be this fall:
September 23, 2017 @ 1-3pm
Barnes & Noble
6111 Sunrise Blvd. Citrus Heights, CA 95610
916-853-1511
September 29, 2017 @ 7pm
Barnes & Noble
Bella Terra
7881 Edinger Ave. #110 Huntington Beach, CA 92647
714-897-8781
November 18, 2017 @ 11am-1pm
Face in a Book
4359 Town Center Blvd. #113
El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
916-941-9401
Truman State University Children’s Literature Festival
Kirksville, Missouri
April 20th
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Pitch Wars 2017- Bring Forth the MG!
Greetings! I am Jenny Lundquist and I couldn’t be more excited to be a pitch wars mentor this year than if I won the lottery! (Hint, Hint: Did you catch the “than” in blue?) If you are wondering what the heck Pitch Wars is, please click here for a description.
First things first: I am looking for ONLY middle grade manuscripts. If you have a completed middle grade manuscript, keep reading!
Who Am I? I am the author of multiple middle grade and YA titles, including Seeing Cinderella and The Charming Life of Izzy Malone as well as the soon-to-be-released The Wondrous World of Violet Barnaby and I am represented by Kerry Sparks of Levine Greenberg and Rostan Literary Agency. I live in Northern California and I love coffee and hate housework.
My Wishlist:
I am looking for contemporary, magical realism, or for a good mystery. I tend to love books that are humorous and heartfelt, but I also love books that are more literary as well. I am also a sucker for a manuscript with a really good “voice.”
Not For Me List:
-Horror
-High Fantasy
-Historical
-Scifi
-Novels-in-verse
-Books with animals as main character
-Paranormal
-Superheroes
-Steampunk
I realize my “Not For Me” list is pretty long, but I’m really clear about the type of manuscript I’d like to mentor this year, and I just want to make sure you are subbing to the mentors who are the best fit for you.
Books I Have Enjoyed Recently:
GOODBYE STRANGER- Rebecca Stead
THE TRUTH ABOUT JELLYFISH- Ali Benjamin
THE TRUTH ABOUT TWINKIE PIE- Kat Yeh
THREE TIMES LUCKY- Sheila Turnage
ABSOLUTELY TRULY- Heather Vogel Frederick
What You Can Expect From Me:
If I end up mentoring you I would like our time together to mimic the relationship between an author and her/his editor as much as possible. To that end, I will read your manuscript and provide you with my reactions in real time as I read via track changes. I will also provide an editorial letter addressing big picture issues such as plot, structure, pacing, character development, etc.
Once you’ve had a chance to revise based upon my notes, you can submit your book to me a second time and I’ll do a second read through and provide another round of comments and editorial notes to tie up any lingering issues to get your book into the best shape possible.
If you think your manuscript is perfect and aren’t willing to work hard, then I am not the mentor for you. But! I do recognize that this is YOUR book, and it’s up to you to make the final call on any suggestions I make. I will also be available to answer questions and/or provide encouragement via email or Skype or both, whatever works best for you.
*Due to time constraints, I may not be providing feedback to any submissions that I am passing on. Just FYI in case that makes a difference to you.
And that’s it for now! If you have a contemporary, magical realism or mystery that you’d like to sub I hope you will consider me!
Best of luck!
To Find Out More About the Other Middle Grade Mentors…
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2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. |
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14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. |
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26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. |
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Read An Excerpt of The Charming Life of Izzy Malone!
Fall is in full swing in my neck of the woods. The leaves are turning, the temperature is dropping and the stores are decked out for the holidays. And that means…The Charming Life of Izzy Malone releases really soon! Which also means…I’ve got an excerpt to share with you!
Read the first few chapters HERE
Liked the excerpt and want to buy the book? You can place a pre-order at the following retailers:
Happy Holidays Everyone!
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Pre-Release Giveaway for The Charming Life of Izzy Malone!
Update: The giveaway is now closed, and winners have been chosen.
It’s hard to believe, but The Charming Life of Izzy Malone—my middle grade novel about a mouthy middle school misfit who, through joining a special charm bracelet club (and racing a giant pumpkin!) discovers the best friends of her life—releases in just over a month! Of all the main characters I’ve written so far, Izzy is my favorite. Her spunk, persistence, humor and vulnerability was a blast to write, and I am so excited for everyone to meet her. With that in mind, I’m hosting a couple of pre-release giveaways!
Giveaway #1: For anyone who pre-orders The Charming Life of Izzy Malone, simply email me at jenniferlundquist@gmail.com to let me know you bought the book and you will be entered into the giveaway. One lucky winner will receive:
- $25 gift card to Barnes & Noble or Amazon (winner’s choice)
- 5 copies of The Charming Life of Izzy Malone and swag
- A 10-page critique of an unpublished manuscript (can be given away as a gift if winner is not an aspiring writer).
You can pre-order Izzy on Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or IndieBound
Giveaway #2: For those who don’t pre-order, there’s a giveaway for you too. Five lucky winners will receive 1 copy of The Charming Life of Izzy Malone and swag. To enter this giveaway, you’ll receive an entry each time you:
- Tweet about the giveaway
- Facebook about the giveaway
- Add Izzy to your TBR list on Goodreads
- Request your local library carry Izzy (worth two entries)
I work on the honor system, so email me at jenniferlundquist@gmail.com (or leave a comment below) to let me know how many entries you’ve received. Both giveaways run through Monday, November 28th. Winners will be randomly chosen and notified on November 29th.
Update: The giveaway has closed, and winners have been chosen.
Ready? On your mark, get set…go!!
Cover for The Charming Life of Izzy Malone
In case you haven’t already seen it, the cover for The Charming Life of Izzy Malone is out and in the world!
I am beyond excited for you guys to meet Izzy. The release date has been set for November 29, 2016, so we still have a few months to go. In the coming months, I’ll be offering up a few copies on Goodreads, so be sure to add Izzy to your TBR list if you want to be notified about current giveaways.
Izzy Malone isn’t your typical middle schooler. She wears camouflage combat boots, the stars are her only friends, and after a month she’s set a new record for the most trips to her principal’s office.
But Izzy’s life isn’t so charming these days. The kids at school think she’s a mouthy misfit, her musical prodigy sister gets all the attention at home, and no one takes Izzy’s determination to compete in her small town’s Great Pumpkin Race seriously.
When Izzy’s antics land her in hot water, her parents enroll her in Mrs. Whippie’s Earn Your Charm School. At first Izzy thinks it sounds stupid—her manners are just fine, thanks—but Mrs. Whippie’s first assignment proves intriguing. Tucked inside a letter is a shiny charm bracelet and instructions telling her she will “Earn Her Charm” by performing a series of tasks. For each task Izzy completes, she’ll receive a charm to place on her bracelet. “Complete them all,” the letter says, “and you will have earned a prize unlike any other.”
Soon Izzy’s adding charms to her bracelet. But when a task goes seriously awry and threatens to derail her mother’s budding political career, Izzy has her hands full proving she’s not an emerging juvenile delinquent. Add in some middle school mean girls, a giant pumpkin that could be the answer to all her problems, and discovering she might have a crush on the boy she accidentally punched in the face, and Izzy may just pull it all together and Earn Her Charm. And she’s about to find out the best kind of friends are just like stars: Bright and beautiful, appearing just when you need them, to shine a little bit of light on a dark night.
What do you think of the cover? It makes me want to climb a tree!
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Announcing My New Middle Grade Series!
The first book I ever wrote featured a sixth grader desperately trying to navigate the newness of middle school life, while trying to hang onto her best friend. To make her BFF happy, she joined a clique of girls called The Charm Girls, recognizable by the charm bracelets they wore. It was a good first effort, but not publishable, and so to this day the story languishes on a retired hard drive in my closet. But I never lost my interest in writing a story featuring a charm bracelet. With that in mind I’m happy to announce that the following blurb appeared today in Publisher’s Marketplace:
Jenny Lundquist’s THE CHARMING LIFE OF IZZY MALONE, the first in a series, about an 11-year-old misfit whose parents enroll her in a unique at-home charm school that sets her off on a series of adventures, to Alyson Heller at Aladdin, in a two-book deal, by Kerry Sparks at Levine Greenberg Rostan (World).
The first book is set to release in the Fall of 2016, and for those of you looking for a few more details, I’ve listed a couple paragraphs from my synopsis:
Izzy Malone isn’t your typical sixth grader. She’s the class outcast, and wears camouflage combat boots and tie dye skirts; the Big Dipper and Orion are her two best friends; and she’d rather climb trees or shoot hoops than talk about boys and makeup; and after only a month of middle school she’s set the record for the most trips to the Principal’s office.
When Izzy’s antics land her in some hot water, her parents enroll her in Mrs. Whippie’s Earn Your Charm School. Izzy thinks it sounds stupid, but when Mrs. Whippie’s first letter arrives it’s way different from what she was expecting. Tucked inside the letter is a shiny bracelet and instructions telling her she will “earn her charm” by completing a series of tasks. For each task completed, she’ll receive a tiny charm to put on her bracelet. It’s not long before Izzy is adding charms to her bracelet and dealing with middle school bullies, her first crush, and finding out that she’s not nearly as odd—or alone—as she thought.
I am thrilled to be working with Aladdin/Simon & Schuster again, and I’m thrilled to be working on this story in particular. I’ve long been interested in charm bracelets (I have one of my own), and how we sometimes use them to tell the story of our life. I’m looking forward to developing Izzy’s character and helping her build her story, experience by experience, charm by charm, and becoming a little more confident in who she is.
Do you own a charm bracelet? If so, what charms do you have on it?
The Opal Crown Releases Today!
It’s hard to believe, but The Opal Crown, the second and final book in The Opal Mask series, officially hits bookstores today! For the past week I’ve been walking around with a sense of deep gratitude, knowing that this day was coming. Of all the books I’ve written, I don’t think I’ve ever felt more grateful to see this one launched out into the world.
Here’s why: I started journaling images and ideas for this series nearly ten years ago, before I began any of my other published works. By the time I sat down to actually write the opening scenes of The Princess in the Opal Mask, I knew where Elara and Wilha would eventually end up. And I also knew that place was far from where I would leave them at the end of that first book. What I didn’t know, was if I’d ever have the chance to show the world the true ending of Elara and Wilha’s story.
When an author begins writing a book that she/he hopes to turn into a series, there is little that’s certain. We don’t know if an editor will acquire the first book at all, and if it is acquired, there’s no guarantee said editor will want a series, as opposed to a stand-alone title.
But I found a willing partner in my editor and my publisher, Running Press Teens, and I couldn’t be more grateful for them, and for all of you who have cheered me on as I wrote The Opal Mask books. It means the world to me. The story of two girls, raised in vastly different circumstances who have to come together to fight for their kingdom and the right to choose their own destiny has captivated my imagination for a long time, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little sad at the thought that my time working on this story is done.
But! I am so excited to show everyone where these two girls end up. And with that in mind, today I’m offering everyone the chance to read the first two chapters of The Opal Crown for free here on my blog. Simply click on the link below.
Read the first two chapters of The Opal Crown!
Purchase The Opal Crown from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, or Indiebound.
Thanks for stopping by! And remember that The Opal Crown blog tour still has a few days to go, where we’re giving away books and a $25 gift card to Amazon. The tour schedule can be found here.
Also, if you are in northern California this weekend, come join me for The Opal Crown launch party at Barnes & Noble in Citrus Heights! Details are here.
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Welcome to the Halloween Book Trail!
Hello! Welcome to the first ever Halloween Book Trail, organized by the always 
awesome Zoraida Cordova, and running from October 27- Nov 1! I’m Jenny Lundquist, the author of The Opal Mask series and I am on The Looking Glass Trail!
One of the reasons I love Halloween is because it’s pumpkin season. I am an unashamed pumpkinholic. In my kitchen right now I have frozen pumpkin waffles, pumpkin pancake mix, pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin bagels, pumpkin cream cheese, pumpkin kringles, pumpkin tea, pumpkin chai tea, pumpkin cider, pumpkin cornbread mix and pumpkin cereal. If loving pumpkin is wrong, I don’t wanna be right!
For today’s Hallowtastic fun, I will be offering up a copy of The Princess in the Opal Mask, as well as a copy of its sequel, The Opal Crown, which releases this week on October 28th!
About The Princess in the Opal Mask: 
Every Fairy-Tale Ending Has a Price. . .
Orphaned as a child in the crumbling village of Tulan, Elara is determined to learn her true identity, even if it means wielding a dagger. Meanwhile, in Galandria’s royal capital, Princess Wilha stands out as someone to either worship or fear. Though no one knows why the king has always made her conceal her face—including Wilha herself. Wilha has recently been betrothed to the son of her father’s greatest enemy and hopes that journeying to a new kingdom will provide a new start, though she’s heartbroken at the handsome knight she must leave behind…
When Elara is implicated in an assassination attempt that threatens the peace between two kingdoms she’s forced to prove her loyalty—by impersonating Wilha. However, with dangers within and without the castle circling, both girls will need to decide if brighter futures are worth the binding risks.
Order The Princess in the Opal Mask here!
About The Opal Crown:
Action, romance, sibling rivalry and court intrigue combine for a page-turning read in this sequel to The Princess in the Opal Mask, which VOYA called “engaging and action-packed.”
In the year since she was betrothed to the crown prince of Kyrenica, no one has suspected that the Masked Princess has been a decoy. That Elara, the secret twin sister, has been pretending to be Princess Wilha all along. The royal family has kept Elara’s identity hidden from the world, and for the girls, swapping lives has not been easy. Galandria is quickly declining, and the sisters continue to be a pawn in the Guardian’s ever-changing endgames.
But the stakes rise when Elara and Wilha’s younger brother, Andrei, takes the Galandrian throne after their father’s death, and he reveals the girls’ deception to Kyrenica’s royal family. Viewed as traitors, Elara and Wilha realize they are now fighting for their lives—and for their country. However, with only one crown and one throne to overthrow, Elara and Wilha must decide who will become queen. Or rather, the next savior for their people.
Order The Opal Crown here!
Enter the raffle copter giveaway below. One lucky winner will be selected Nov 2nd!
Happy Halloween, and thanks for stopping by! To keep going through The Looking Glass, visit the website for the fantabulous Suzanne Lazear!
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Announcing The Opal Crown Blog Tour!
It’s hard to believe that The Opal Crown releases in less than two weeks! I am super excited to announce that the lovely ladies at Two Chicks on Books have put together The Opal Crown Blog Tour, which will begin on Monday, October 20th and run through Friday, October 31st. The tour will consist of guest posts, interviews, reviews, and a special extra scene I wrote just for the tour.
There will also be a tour-wide giveaway of a $25 gift card to Amazon, as well as five finished copies of both The Opal Crown and The Princess in the Opal Mask. So be sure to visit each day’s post and enter!
Tour Schedule:
October 20, 2014- Tales of the Marvelous will post a review.
October 21, 2014-Reading Nook Reviews I’ll be discussing my Dream Cast for The Opal Crown and give my Twitter pitch for the book.
October 22, 2014- A Dream Within a Dream will post a review.
October 23, 2014- The amazing ladies at Two Chicks on Books will post an extra scene I wrote especially for the tour.
October 24, 2014- The Paige-Turner will post a review.
October 27, 2014- Over at A Backwards Story I’ll be discussing masquerades, fairy tales, and Pinterest.
October 28, 2014 (Release Day!) Bibliophilia, Please will post a review.
October 29, 2014- Stories & Sweeties will post my Top Ten List of Fairy tale Inspired Movies.
October 30, 2014- Jessabella Reads will post a review.
October 31, 2014 (Happy Halloween!)- Over at Me, My Shelf and I I’ll be discussing my favorite part of writing fantasy.
Don’t forget, there will be chances at each stop to win copies of the book, as well as a $25 gift card to Amazon. And stop by here on release day, October 28th, where I’ll be posting the first two chapters of The Opal Crown!
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