Jennifer A. Nielsen's Blog, page 16
December 1, 2019
IT’S THAT MOST WONDERFUL TIME AGAIN!
It’s time again for the annual holiday giveaway. This year, the focus is on sequels! Did you start a series and leave off from continuing it? Or did you want to start a series but never quite got around to it?
If so, winners have their choice of any of these books.
THE FALSE PRINCE
If you have not read this book yet, please do!
Sage is determined to live by his own rules, making his way through thievery, wit, and a fair bit of luck. That changes when he is captured by a nobleman and forced into a contest with three other orphans. One will be chosen to impersonate the missing prince of the kingdom. The other boys will be killed, because they know this treasonous plan. Despite the danger, Sage may have his own ideas about how to survive.
THE RUNAWAY KING
There are consequences for what Sage does in THE FALSE PRINCE. And it will begin with an attempted revenge from a former friend/rival.
THE TRAITOR’S GAME
On her return home from a long absence, Kestra Dallisor is captured by members of the rebellion, who are forcing her to betray her family. Rather than comply, Kestra has a secret plan to bring down the rebellion itself, including her captor, Simon Hatch. That becomes more complicated when she begins to question whether the rebellion is right. And even more complicated still when she begins to question her own feelings for Simon.
THE DECEIVER’S HEART
Simon and Kestra’s relationship only becomes more complicated when secrets are revealed about Simon, and when Kestra has to make a choice that may threaten everything the rebellion has fought for.
RISE OF THE WOLF
The first book of the series, MARK OF THE THIEF, introduced you to Nicolas Calva, a mining slave who accidentally discovers the magic of the Gods. Now the entire Roman empire is seeking to control him, but no one more than General Radulf.
In Book 2, the pressure only becomes worse as Nic’s enemies form around the Praetors – those determined to serve the goddess Diana as she makes war against the other Gods.
WRATH OF THE STORM
Nic finds himself at the center of a war of the Gods, and those who wish to bring about the fall of Rome are about to throw everything they have at him. Now, Nic must not only try to save himself, but his friends, Crispus and Aurelia as well. Or will they be the ones to save him?
For this week’s giveaway, simply tell me the top 2 books on your wish list. Your answers will not affect who wins – I’m just curious! Winners will be randomly drawn.
The contest will end Saturday Dec 7 at midnight EST. Because of the number of anticipated winners and international shipping costs, winners must have a US address for shipping.
November 9, 2019
Today, in History
Today marks two very important anniversaries in German history. One is as awful as the other is wonderful. Between these two, we see the darkest part of human nature, and those who gave us hope for a better tomorrow.
On November 9, 1938, the Nazis launched Kristallnacht, or “Night of Broken Glass.” This was the first major step of what would eventually become the Holocaust. Nazi soldiers throughout Germany and Austria smashed the windows of Jewish-owned businesses, homes, schools, and synagogues, killed at least one hundred Jewish people, and arrested approximately 30,000 Jewish men, sending them to concentration camps for several months.
Although other countries protested Germany’s actions, no serious consequences came to the Nazis. This may have led them to greater confidence in conducting the Holocaust over the next several years, an event resulting in the murder of more than six million Jews and many other targeted populations.
However, today also marks an anniversary that I will never forget: the day the Berlin Wall came down. The East German government had meant to create a gateway through which a limited number of people with approved papers could visit the west and return again to the east. But the gateway was flooded with more people than the border guards could manage. Eventually they stood back, powerless against the spirit of a people who had caught the scent of freedom and now were demanding more.
I remember sitting at the dinner table with my mom as we watched it all happen on television. We were literally stunned. Nobody had expected this turn of events, and nobody knew what the end result of it would be.
But there was great power in watching the people themselves refuse to be imprisoned by their own government for even one more day. Their actions were a powerful lesson to all of us – that each of us is in control of our own lives, and we will not accept that life behind anyone else’s walls.
A NIGHT DIVIDED is the story of Gerta Lowe, whose family is divided the night the Berlin Wall goes up, and what she intends to do to bring them together again.
RESISTANCE is based on the true story of the Jewish teenagers in Krakow who fought back against the Nazis.
And, since I’m plugging my books, if you haven’t yet read WORDS ON FIRE, the story of the Lithuanian book smugglers, please do. Anderson’s Bookshop in Chicago lists it on their Mock Newbury list for the year, and it was a best book of the month on Amazon.
September 30, 2019
WORDS ON FIRE is Released!
To those who have pre-ordered WORDS ON FIRE, asked your library to stock it, bought it at a Scholastic Book Fair, or in any way helped to support this book, thank you!
Booklist gave it a starred review, saying that “[Audra’s] transformation from a shy, retiring child to a courageous and creative young woman as she employs her father’s magic tricks to help her work is marvelous to see. She is surrounded with complex and well-rounded characters, and the plot is gripping and moves swiftly. Audra’s story deserves a place on the shelf next to Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars and Marcus Zusak’s The Book Thief.”
Books to Borrow…Books to Buy calls it “Riveting, fascinating, and bearing important messages about resistance against oppressors, courage, and the irrefutable importance of words, books and culture…a masterful offering of a little-known piece of history.”
Anderson’s Bookshop in Chicago has already included it on their 2019 Mock Newbery List. Thank you, Anderson’s!!!
And speaking of Anderson’s, I’ll be at Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville, Illinois on October 6 at 2 pm. If you are in the area, I would love to see you there.
If you haven’t yet seen Scholastic Clubs and Fairs’ book trailer for WORDS ON FIRE, check it out HERE.
If you wish to get your own copy of WORDS ON FIRE, please support your local indie first. But other links are included below.
THE KING’S ENGLISH (Signed copies)
September 8, 2019
WORDS ON FIRE Book Trailer!
WORDS ON FIRE will be released on October 1, 2019. Scholastic Clubs and Fairs has put together a truly fabulous book trailer.
Credit: Scholastic Clubs and Fairs
Thanks to everyone for your contributions! Congratulations to this week’s winners:
* Miranda Watson * BN100 *
I have two public events listed, in Portland, Maine and in Brigham City, Utah. A third is coming in Chicago. If you can get to one of these, I’d love to meet you!
September 2, 2019
THE GREAT SUMMER GIVEAWAY CONTINUES!
Thanks to all who entered last week. The winners are:
Laura Thorny * Anja * Olivia Neale
If your name wasn’t there, no worries – there’s another chance this week! First, let me share a favorite quote of mine from WORDS ON FIRE!
To enter this week’s giveaway, will you leave a comment with a favorite quote from any of my books? If you haven’t read any…well, I hope you will…but until then, it’s totally fine to share a favorite quote from any other book!
If WORDS ON FIRE sounds like the kind of book you’d like to read, links are below to get your own copy. It’ll release on Oct 1st.
If not, consider reading THE TRAITOR’S GAME, or its sequels, THE DECEIVER’S HEART (available now) or THE WARRIOR’S CURSE (coming on March 3rd).
If not, try THE FALSE PRINCE, and if you have, maybe you’d like to read the sequels, THE RUNAWAY KING and THE SHADOW THRONE! Did you know, by the way, that THE FALSE PRINCE paperback is on Amazon for only $3.31!
THE KING’S ENGLISH (Signed copies)
August 26, 2019
DOUBLE TROUBLE, and a Giveaway
Most of you know that I rarely talk about other books or authors on my blog – I can barely keep up with my own books! BUT…
I’m a big fan of Joanne Levy, who many of you likely haven’t heard of because she writes for a slightly younger age, but I’ve never read anything of hers that I haven’t loved. Tomorrow, she’ll release her next novel, DOUBLE TROUBLE, about a girl in a new town who wants so much to make a new friend that she makes a big mistake – she introduces herself as a twin. Can she pull off this story, and this new double life?
Definitely check this one out!
If you do, leave a comment below of where you went to learn more about the book (checked at your library, checked a website, went to Joanne’s blog – whatever). That’s it – that’s all you have to do!
Post your answer below and that will enter you to win a copy of WORDS ON FIRE or any of the books pictured below – your choice (you knew I’d get around to mentioning something of my own, right?).
WORDS ON FIRE is my next historical, about Audra Zikaris, who risks her life to become a book smuggler, in hopes of saving her country, her family, and everything she has come to believe in. This book will be released on October 1. Links are below if you want to pre-order a copy today.
THE KING’S ENGLISH (Signed copies)
August 12, 2019
WORDS ON FIRE (and other Updates)
Congratulations to this week’s winners of the Great Summer Giveaway, Korbie and Anthony!
The giveaway will continue next week – this week I’m going camping with the family! Wish us luck!
Until then, here is a quick update on my writing world:
WORDS ON FIRE will be released on Oct 1 – only 50 days away! I don’t have many public events planned, though I should have a couple up very soon on my Events page. So if you want a signed copy of this book, or any of my books, if you can’t attend a live event, you can always get a signed copy through The King’s English Bookshop (link at the bottom)
2. I just turned in edits this morning on Super Secret project – and intend to celebrate by going out with the husband for a bowl of pho (I’m sorta obsessed with pho right now). Though to be fair, we’d be having pho for lunch whether I was celebrating or not.
Super Secret project probably will not be announced for several months. So until then, let me tease you with this…
The end of the final page.3. THE WARRIOR’S CURSE, the third book of the Traitor’s Game series will be released on March 3, 2020. If you’ve been following the series, then I hope you are looking forward to this final book, because it will be epic!
4. Having just turned in edits, I’ll begin research on a new World War 2 historical novel right away, but I also have some other fun plans going on. Nothing much I can talk about yet, but please know it’s all very exciting and potentially awesome, and if anything develops, I will report it here first!
Finally, thank you for being readers, and for your support! If you wish to pre-order WORDS ON FIRE, please support your local indie first. But other links are included below.
THE KING’S ENGLISH (Signed copies)
August 4, 2019
Great Summer Giveaway Week 4
Congratulations to this week’s winners:
Carrie * Mary Roseann * Renee
In WORDS ON FIRE, Audra Zikaris would have been happy to remain with her family on their small farm. But when her parents are arrested for smuggling, Audra is forced on the run with a small package they begged her to deliver in another village. So begins Audra’s entry into her own world of smuggling. Not for the books, or even to save her country…at first. But because it may be the only way she can ever bring her parents home again.
This is an early conversation Audra has with the recipient of the package, Milta Sabiene.
Milda put her hand on my shoulder. “If you’d like, you can stay here with me. You can come to this school, learn about the books.”
“No . . . thank you.” My chest tightened. I refused to learn from a school that taught from books that got my parents arrested. Nor could I ever learn from something that had nearly gotten me killed. I’d return to the forest alone before I opened the pages of any book.
Now Milda folded her arms and her tone became stern. “Let’s make an agreement, then. You don’t have to go to the school, but you cannot tell anyone about it either, or about the books you saw.”
“What will happen to my parents now?” I asked. Even the question sent shudders through me.
Milda frowned. “I’m afraid it’s not good, Audra. They’re not likely to be released. If they’re lucky, then they’ll be sentenced to a prison here in Lithuania.”
Prison? That was if they were lucky? A lump formed in my throat. “And if they’re not?”
“Siberia,” Lukas breathed.
I turned to him. “Where is Siberia?”
“You don’t want to know,” Lukas said.
“Hush!” Milda scolded.
But Lukas didn’t seem to notice Milda’s warning expression. He said, “Siberia is on the far eastern side of Russia. It’s cold on a good day and below living temperatures all other days. Even if you escape the prison, you’ll soon realize the place itself is a prison. There’d be nowhere to go.”
I had to force myself to swallow that thought down, and it landed in a deep pit in my stomach. Siberia sounded so awful, and so far away, I’d never be able to find them, nor would they ever escape, if they even could survive such an awful place. “They might send my parents there?”
To enter this week’s contest for any of the books pictured above, will you tell me the name of a book that had a powerful impact on who you are?
Winners will be announced on August 11. International entries are okay, but winners must be able to provide a US or Canadian address.
Or, you may wish to preorder WORDS ON FIRE today. Please order from your local indie first.
THE KING’S ENGLISH (Signed copies)
July 28, 2019
Great Summer Giveaway Week 3
Thanks to all of you who shared/liked/followed/retweeted this past week. It was enough to qualify three books to be given away plus I’m adding a fourth book since the number was close and you were all so awesome! The winners will be personally contacted.
The giveaway continues this week for any of the titles shown above.
In the late 1800’s, Lithuanian smugglers began sneaking something into their country, hoping to get past the Russian soldiers who occupied their land.
This was very difficult.
To succeed, you would have to pass through three layers of security.
First, how to get through soldiers so close that they could reach out and touch each other?
Then soldiers close enough to see and hear each other.
And finally, soldiers on patrol who might show up anywhere at any time, looking for you.
If you were caught, the best you could hope for was a whipping. More likely, you would be sent to Siberia, never to return home again.
But what could possibly be worth so much risk? What would you smuggle in that you’d consider more valuable than your own life?
That is this week’s question. Answer below for your chance to win.
Winners will be announced on August 4. International entries are okay, but winners must be able to provide a US or Canadian address.
Or, you may wish to preorder WORDS ON FIRE today. Please order from your local indie first.
July 21, 2019
Winners + This Week…
In celebration of the coming launch of WORDS ON FIRE, the Great Summer Giveaway is off to a fabulous start! Thanks to all who entered, and congratulations to the winners of the book giveaways:
Becky Laperle * Adeline Kaufman * Shaina
If your name wasn’t chosen this week, no worries – there will be more giveaways!
This week, you’ll find the giveaway on my Author Page, Twitter, and Instagram. For every 50 new followers, I will give away one book. Those who follow me or who spread the message are automatically entered to win.
Want to enter on Facebook? Like my Author Page for one entry, or tag me into a Facebook post about this contest for a second entry. If any of your friends like my page, they are entered too! Same rule apply for Instagram.
Want to enter on Twitter? Follow me for one entry, or tag me in to a Tweet about this contest for a second entry. If any of your friends follow me, they are entered too!
Simply let people know that by following or liking, they are eligible to win any of the books pictured below.
This week’s winners (and the next contest question) will be announced on Sunday, July 28. International entries are okay, but winners must but be able to provide a US or Canadian address for shipping.
If you want to preorder WORDS ON FIRE now – please shop at your local indie first. Here are other links you may use.
THE KING’S ENGLISH (Signed copies)
