Jennifer A. Nielsen's Blog, page 15
March 12, 2020
CORONA, AUTHORS, INDIES, and YOU
Unless you are living under a rock (and if you are, it’s probably because you are self-isolating there) then you’ve heard about this pandemic called Corona Coronavirus COVID-19, which I will lovingly refer to as “Bad Ugly Germs” or BUG, for short.
Some of your schools have shut down thanks to the BUG, or they will soon. They’ll open again soon, I hope, but in the meantime, WASH YOUR HANDS.
Seriously, go wash them right now. I’ll wait…
Okay, now that you’re back, let’s talk about how the world is shutting down for business. This has some real-world impacts on indie booksellers, authors, and on you.
INDIE BOOKSHOPS: It was already tough to be an indie bookseller, but the BUG presents a serious threat to their survival. Please order from your local indie wherever possible – they will mail the book out to you, and the money will stay in your community. Trust me, you want your money to stay in your community right now. You just do. I’ll put in some links below of how to find the nearest indie to you.
As always, if you order any of my books from The King’s English Bookshop in Salt Lake City, I will sign them and personalize them if you want, and they will mail them out to you. If you’re a local type, they even have some innovative ways of safely getting books into your hands.
And honestly, what better way to wait out the BUG than by devouring a great story? More on that below…
AUTHORS: For teachers, librarians, and readers who were planning to attend conferences and festivals this spring, please believe that we as authors are just as disappointed not to meet YOU! It also means we miss the chance to share our new releases, our ARCs, and our enthusiasm.
Hopefully they’ll be back for the next event!
YOU: For most of us, school is still in session, or work is still a thing, and we continue to do whatever it is we do – in small groups, of course. By the way, if you haven’t washed your hands in a few minutes, feel free to do so now.
Anyway, if when you do have to self-quarantine, consider grabbing a book. There are so many great books and authors out there to discover. If you’d like to read one of my books, then the links below are all to The King’s English Bookshop.
THE CAPTIVE KINGDOM (the BUG had better be long gone by then, but you can still pre-order)
Need to find your most local Indie Bookshop? CLICK HERE
https://www.indiebound.org/indie-book...
March 8, 2020
THE WARRIOR’S CURSE – Winners!
Thank you, my friends, for your support and enthusiasm of The Traitor’s Game series, especially with the release of THE WARRIOR’S CURSE last week! Here are the winners:
Brittany T
Auburn N
Issabelle
Saira
Sue
Here is an update of what I’m doing now:
Obviously, I’m promoting THE WARRIOR’S CURSE – please consider starting the series, continuing the series, or finishing the series.
Part of that will include a book signing on Saturday, March 21st at the Barnes & Noble Southtown in Sandy, UT. I’ll be there from 2-5 ish. If you are a local type, please come by for an entire Authorpalooza event.
On October 6, the fourth book of the Ascendance Series will be released, called THE CAPTIVE KINGDOM. Look forward to a lot of exciting things in anticipation of its release. In the meantime, if you have not read THE FALSE PRINCE, or its sequels, THE RUNAWAY KING and THE SHADOW THRONE, please do so!
I am writing book 5 of that series right now…
This week, I will also turn in edits for RESCUE, a historical about a girl in Nazi-occupied France who must make the decision to risk everything she knows to complete a spy mission that, if successful, will save her father from a German POW camp. That should be out in about a year.
Thanks to all for your continued support of my writing. You are the reason why I write!
March 3, 2020
The Warrior’s Curse is Released!
THE WARRIOR’S CURSE is out TODAY!!!
Okay yes, I know I’ve done a terrible job of talking about this book’s release, but I promise it’s because I’ve been busy with some other exciting writing.
However, if you haven’t started The Traitor’s Game series because you like to wait until all the books are out, now is your chance! Keep reading…
If you started book one and didn’t get around to book two, THE DECEIVER’S HEART, then keep reading…
If you read book two and cannot wait to find out what happens to Simon and Kestra, then please get your copy of THE WARRIOR’S CURSE and all your questions will finally be answered.
Summary: Simon and Kestra are hurtling down paths ever farther from each other as the battle for control of Antora rages.
Simon, newly king of the Halderians, is pressed on all sides by royal duties. Harlyn Mindell is his betrothed and intended queen, but Simon can’t give up hope for a life with Kestra.
Kestra, exiled, feels her magic growing — and despite everyone’s warnings, she knows she must embrace it. That power is the key to the kingdom’s future.
Both still strive to defeat the evil Lord Endrick, but danger awaits them on the murky road forward. And is a common enemy enough to help them survive — or to carry them back to each other?
Jennifer A. Nielsen delivers breathtaking twists and shocking revelations in an epic and action-packed third installment of The Traitor’s Game.
Sooooo…On Sunday, I will announce up to five winners for a copy of one of these books. How do you win? You can do any of the following:
Purchase a copy of any of these books.Call your local library – if they do not have one of these books, ask them to order it in.Post on your favorite social media about this series.Recommend the series to a friend (like a serious recommendation, not just a casual mention, y’know?)
AND…there will be a grand prize winner, who will win the entire series PLUS an advance reader’s copy of Book 4 of the Ascendance Series, THE CAPTIVE KINGDOM.
You may enter up to four times, once for each item above. I’ll trust you if you post in the comments below for which of the four things you did.
Winners will be posted Sunday night, March 8, by midnight EST. Entries must be from US, Mexico, or Canada, or have a US address for delivery.
February 3, 2020
Mary Higgins Clark Tribute
SE Hinton was the author who first made me want to write, but once I became an adult, Mary Higgins Clark was the author who made me want to become published. I devoured her books, one right after another, to the point where I began to see the structure, her technique. I studied the way she surprised the reader, how she could end a chapter in a way that compelled me to turn the page. Her stories taught me how to use tension, suspense, and pacing. I admired how she stayed true to the stories she loved, and also true to herself.
I began writing adult women’s suspense because of Mary Higgins Clark. Now mind you – what I wrote wasn’t any good, but at least I was writing something. Everyone has to start somewhere, and I started because of her.
Not long after, I learned that a local writer’s conference had invited Mary Higgins Clark to be their keynote speaker. Honestly, I couldn’t believe it, that I had the opportunity of being in the same room as her.
I had to be there. HAD. TO.
I went with a plan. Ambitious, maybe. Stupid, definitely. But I was so new, so naïve, that I thought it was worth a try. In the signing line, I passed her a note in an envelope explaining how important she was to me, how inspirational she was to my writing, and then I told her about my current manuscript. I asked if she might consider reading and endorsing it.
Young as I was, it never occurred to me then that she probably received hundreds or even thousands of fan letters, and requests like mine by the gross. She owed me nothing.
Yet a few weeks later, I received a letter from her, thanking me for the kind words I’d offered, and for the opportunity of reading my manuscript. She had to turn me down, but she assured me of her wishes for my success one day.
She could have made me feel small, or embarrassed, or she could have ignored my request altogether. Instead, she took the time to read my letter and to reply. I decided from that moment on that whether or not I ever became an author of her caliber, I definitely wanted to become a person of her caliber. I still want that.
Mary Higgins Clark died at age 92, on January 31, 2020. She published 56 books in her life, and over 100 million copies are in print in the United States alone. The world has lost a kind and generous woman. But a part of her will live forever within the pages of her many great books.
January 19, 2020
THE WARRIOR’S CURSE is Coming!
It’s almost time! Book 3 of THE TRAITOR’S GAME series will be released on March 3rd – only six weeks away!
For those who might have missed this series, here’s a quick recap.
THE TRAITOR’S GAME
The rebellion needs a magical artifact hidden somewhere within the Dominion’s walls. They’ve chosen a prized daughter of the Dominion, Kestra Dallisor, to retrieve it. But she has no intention of betraying her king and her family, and secretly plans to bring down the rebellion instead. Gradually, she begins to understand the rebellion and realized they might be right. Now she has a choice. She can either save her family or save her country, but she will not be able to do both!
THE DECEIVER’S HEART
Kestra has a chance to help with the war against the evil Lord Endrick, but it will require her to get magic, and magic always corrupts its user. No one is closer to Simon than Kestra, and he knows the rebellion needs her, but now he must confront the fact that the person he is falling in love with is not the person she will be once magic takes hold.
THE WARRIOR’S CURSE
Has the magic begun to corrupt Kestra, or is she simply being manipulated by others who wish to use their magic for their own purposes? Whatever the reason, Simon has to do what he thinks is right, and so will she. The problem is that it may now place them on opposite sides or the war.
Credit: Ireland RawlinsonPlease consider reading the first…or the second book, or pre-ordering the third. I hope you will love it as much as I do!
THE WARRIOR’S CURSE Pre-Order
The King’s English (signed copies available)
December 31, 2019
Happy 2020!
Happy New Year!
I am so excited for 2020! Here’s a little of what I’m looking forward to:
Jan 6, 2020 Deadline for a new historical novel I’m working on. This one will be set again in World War 2, and I’m very excited about it.
March 3, 2020 The third and final book of the Traitor’s Game series releases. It’s called THE WARRIOR’S CURSE and will be an epic clash between Simon and Kestra.
Oct 6, 2020 The fourth book in the Ascendance Series will release. Called THE CAPTIVE KINGDOM, fans of Sage and the world of Carthya will see him return to face his most difficult foe yet.
Somewhere in between, I will finish the historical, write the fifth Ascendance book, start a new historical and start to put a new project, BLACK INK, together.
Since this will be a year of completing one series and continuing another series, I hope you will consider checking out any of the books that came before.
And my New Year’s wish for each of you: to read great books, and to write them, if that’s your thing. To build new friendships and strengthen old ones. And above all, to be happy, to choose happy, even if everything around you seems bleak and hopeless. Be happy and share happiness with those who need it.
Credit: Underlined.comMake 2020 your best year ever!
December 22, 2019
Happy Holidays 2019!
Congratulations to this week’s winners: Eloria Pelton and Jamie Bellew!
I hope that everyone has a happy holiday season, in any way you celebrate, or for whomever celebrate it.
If you somehow missed this week’s big announcement, yes, there will be a fourth book of the Ascendance Trilogy Series. It will be released on October 6, 2020. The Kindle version can be pre-ordered now, but the book itself isn’t yet available.
To answer a few questions:
Yes, it is a sequel.
Yes, a fifth book is planned.
No, there is no additional movie news.
Yes, I hope you’ll love it!
If you want something to read before then, THE WARRIOR’S CURSE, the third and final book of the TRAITOR’S GAME series will be released on March 3. Please start the series, continue the series, or finish it!
December 17, 2019
Book 4 of the Ascendance Series!!!
My friends, THIS IS THE SUPER SECRET PROJECT! Today, Publisher’s Weekly announced Book 4 of the Ascendance (no longer a trilogy) Series: THE CAPTIVE KINGDOM, coming in October 2020.
This spring, Scholastic will also release new paperback covers in a box set for the first three books of the series. If you have not yet read these books, please do, because I cannot wait to share the fourth book with you.
Please check out the PW article HERE, and in the meantime, soak in these amazing and beautiful covers!
December 15, 2019
The Most Wonderful Time…3
Thanks to those who posted to social media last week. This week’s winner is Saidy Walker!
This is the final week of the contest, and one in which I want to talk about The Ascendance Series.
Book 1 is THE FALSE PRINCE.
Sage is a thief and an orphan and is doing just fine on his own. But when he is taken away by a regent to the king, Bevin Conner, he begins to understand that he has just become part of a dangerous and treasonous plot. Three other boys have been taken as well: Roden, who is strong and ambitious. Tobias, who is smart and plotting. And Latamer, with a good heart, but a sick body. One of these boys will go on to impersonate the missing prince of the kingdom, now heir to the throne. Sage wants no part of it, but he also understands that the boys who are not chosen will be killed, so that no one else will ever discover this plan. However, it turns out that Sage may have a plan of his own…
If you haven’t read this book, please do. And if you’ve only read this first book, please go on to the second book, THE RUNAWAY KING, or the third, THE SHADOW THRONE, though I promise you, I will only make things harder on Sage each time.
Some of readers’ favorite quotes for this series are listed below.
THE FALSE PRINCE
“Master Graves was incensed and said, as punishment for my disruption, I would have to write my letters an extra ten times that day.
“Ten times the better I’ll know them, then.” I said. “How strange that you should punish me by ensuring I come out more educated than Roden, who has tried to obey you.”
AND ALSO…
“I never denied being a fool. That’s the difference between us.”
THE RUNAWAY KING
“Above all else, I think that you are a compulsive liar.”
My laughter was tense, but sincere. “Hardly. In fact, I consider myself a compulsive truth teller. It’s only that everyone else seems compelled to misunderstand me.”
AND ALSO…
“Erick: “I think I may grow to hate you before this is over.”
Sage: “But you don’t already and that’s got to be some sort of record.”
THE SHADOW THRONE
“Nobody gives you respect in this life. You must take it, you must earn it, and then you must hold it sacred, because no matter how hard respect is to attain, it can be lost in an instant.”
AND ALSO…
“Villains and plots and enemies are simple things to me. But friendships are complicated, and love is harder still. It has wounded me deeper than a sword ever could.”
If you want a chance to win any of the books in this week’s giveaway, post a favorite quote from any book you love. Winner’s will be posted next Sunday.
And if you want to order any of these books, links are below.
Indiebound
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
December 8, 2019
That Most Wonderful Time…2
This week’s winners were:
Emma Caira Denée Tyler Allison
Congratulations to the winners – if you did not win a book, that’s all right. You have two more chances to win!
On March 3rd, 2020, I’ll release the third and final book of the TRAITOR’S GAME series. That title is called THE WARRIOR’S CURSE, and it will be epic.
In THE TRAITOR’S GAME, we meet Kestra Dallisor, daughter of the chief advisor to Lord Endrick, a king who is believed to be nearly immortal due to his abilities with magic. Kestra is captured by the rebellion and forced to work with rebel Simon Hatch in obtaining a dagger believed to have the ability to kill Lord Endrick. However, Kestra may have other plans instead to bring down the rebellion.
THE DECEIVER’S HEART is Kestra and Simon’s continuing story in which an attempted assassination of Lord Endrick goes horribly wrong and threatens everything each of them are fighting for, and what they want most. They must learn to work together when the world around them is being torn apart.
THE WARRIOR’S CURSE will prove the ultimate test for Simon and Kestra’s love. For each of them to get what they want, the other will have to die. Yet there is no going back now.
If you have not read the first two books, I hope you will check them out. And if you have, you can pre-order THE WARRIOR’S CURSE now!
To enter, please copy and paste from below in whatever social media you use. One entry for each post you make. Comment below to let me know where you posted it! Winners will be posted next week, same rules as this past week.
FACEBOOK:
This week, author Jennifer A. Nielsen is giving away signed copies of THE TRAITOR’S GAME and THE DECEIVER’S HEART in preparation for the third book, THE WARRIOR’S CURSE, coming out on March 3rd, 2020. Follow her author page, and you can enter too!
TWITTER:
Look! @Nielsenwriter is giving away signed copies of THE TRAITOR’S GAME and THE DECEIVER’S HEART this week! Follow her on Twitter to enter too!
INSTAGRAM:
Follow @Nielsenwriter to win signed copies of THE TRAITOR’S GAME and THE DECEIVER’S HEART. The third book, THE WARRIOR’S CURSE, will be out on March 3rd, 2020.
