Jennifer A. Nielsen's Blog, page 2
May 12, 2022
LINES OF COURAGE – Meet Dimitri
Today, you will meet the fourth character from LINES OF COURAGE. But first, I hope you have pre-registered for the launch party on Wed, May 18th at 6 pm Mtn / 8 pm ET. If you haven’t signed up yet, it is FREE, and you can sign up HERE!
Dimitri is far too young for war, but the Tsar sent him there anyway. Like many other Russian soldiers, Dimitri and his friend, Igor, were never given weapons. If they want one, they need to find one for themselves. That is their task now…
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“Let’s go find some weapons,” Igor said, following Dimitri up the ladder.
The sun was just peeking over the horizon as they climbed to the top, revealing a soft mist hovering only centimeters above the ground. This land might have been beautiful before the war tore it apart. Now it was simply . . . haunted. Dimitri flattened himself to belly crawl over ice and snow and frozen patches of mud. The mist may have offered some protection from the enemy, but it also gave the enemy protection to sneak closer, unseen. Dimitri fully expected, at any moment, a German soldier would leap out directly in front of him, and there he’d be on his belly, with no way of defending himself.
Dimitri heard a sound to his left and startled, then noticed it was another man from his company. That man raised a finger to his lips, then pointed ahead. He had seen the rifle he wanted.
He crouched low to get to it faster. Dimitri shook his head, motioning for the man to get down, but he continued forward, disappearing into the fog.
Seconds later, a machine gun fired from the enemy lines, and Dimitri heard a body fall. He laid even flatter on the ground, covering his head with his hands, then heard Igor whisper, “Without a weapon, we’re all as good as dead anyway. Come with me.”
That was it. No mourning for the man who had fallen, no time to think about who he had been, who he had left behind. Up here, there was only the base instinct to survive.
Which would be more difficult now. The Germans knew they were here.
Dimitri nodded back at Igor, held his breath, then kept his body as low as possible to belly crawl beside Igor. Any available weapons were somewhere past the barbed wire fence that ran along the trench line. Once they crossed it, they’d be even more exposed.
Igor pointed ahead. “See that mound of earth? That’s where we’re going. Follow me.”
Moving no more than he had to, Dimitri glanced out past the mound. Even if he tried to look beyond the fog, there was still nothing ahead. Sixty meters from where they lay was the German trench. It was quiet there, too quiet. They were watching.
“I see two rifles,” Igor said. “One is closer to you, the other is straight ahead of me. This is our chance.”
They shook on the agreement, then each crawled out from their sides of the mound. The idea was to move fast and be unpredictable, but Dimitri had no sooner left his side when he knew something was terribly wrong. The ground was vibrating. He knew what that meant.
Hundreds of Germans had gone over the top and were now racing toward the Russian trenches. Toward them.
Now reaching that weapon was not just an order from his commander; it was a matter of life or death.
Dimitri leapt to his feet and began running, but he had taken no more than five steps before a meaty German crossed directly in his path. Dimitri twisted to avoid him but the German raised the butt of his rifle and crashed it down on Dimitri’s head. Colored stars filled his vision. Dimitri fell to the ground and everything faded to darkness.
The last thing he remembered was the pounding boots of soldiers around him. German boots. Russian boots. Then nothing.
If you have not already purchased your copy, I hope you will consider doing so now. I’m very proud of this book, and I think it’s one that you are going to love!
As always, if you purchase through The King’s English, before checking out, ask for the book to be signed. I can personalize it to you as well, if you ask. After I sign it, they will send it to you.
May 11, 2022
LINES OF COURAGE – Meet Juliette
Today, you will meet the third character from LINES OF COURAGE. But first, I hope you have pre-registered for the launch party on May 18th at 6 pm Mtn / 8 pm ET. If you haven’t signed up yet, it is FREE, and you can sign up HERE!
Here is an excerpt from LINES OF COURAGE. During a fierce battle, Juliette has taken refuge in an abandoned home. Little did she know that others would enter the same home, coming from the enemy’s side of the line.
Every muscle of Juliette’s body froze while she listened for any clue as to who might have entered the home, or how many people were here. No matter how loud the battle was outside, all Juliette heard were the footsteps walking up the stairs, cautious and slow. They were checking the house for anyone from the enemy side of the lines.
Such as Juliette.
Then, in German, “Leer.”
More German followed, faster than Juliette could follow, and so many voices all at once, some laughing, others calling out what seemed to be orders exchanged. She had to get out of here, and fast. But how?
The window! The window of this room had been broken out. If Juliette could get to the window, she could crawl through it just as she had crawled through that gap in the fence. From her position, Juliette could see the jagged edges of glass. It was worth a few deep scratches to escape.
She slid one hand out from beneath the bed and shifted her body toward the edge, then quickly pulled her hand in again as tall black boots entered the room. Whoever wore those boots must have told some sort of joke because when he finished, others out in the hallway were laughing. The soldier quietly repeated the joke to himself as he walked over to the bed and set something down on it. Juliette heard a rustling sound and then what appeared to be the cooing of birds. Why would he bring birds inside a home?
The soldier stood where he was for a minute while the wings continued to flap, then walked over to the same open window where Juliette had planned to escape. She angled her head enough to catch a quick look at the bird, a pigeon. He stared at it for a few seconds, then chuckled some more and walked back to the bed.
He started to lift whatever was on the bed, then the boots paused again and he stepped back. Juliette’s breath caught in her throat. Why was he stopping? After a moment of silence, the soldier knelt on all fours and looked under the bed, his eyes immediately connecting with hers.
He’d found her.
If you have not already purchased your copy, I hope you will consider doing so now. I’m very proud of this book, and I think it’s one that you are going to love!
As always, if you purchase through The King’s English, before checking out, ask for the book to be signed. I can personalize it to you as well, if you ask. After I sign it, they will send it to you.
May 10, 2022
LINES OF COURAGE – Meet Kara
Here is an excerpt from LINES OF COURAGE. Kara and a superior officer on board the ambulance trains, Corporal Bryant, have been in the field to rescue injured soldiers. However, an explosion near them has now injured Corporal Bryant. Kara is his only chance to return to the train alive.
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Kara began feeling around for fallen branches. She needed two sticks as long as Corporal Bryant’s injured leg and as straight as possible. When she had what she wanted, she knelt beside him again. “I’m going to brace your leg. It will hurt, but you’ve got to let me do it.”
“How old are you?” he asked.
“Nearly fourteen.”
He lifted his head. “No thirteen-year-old is going to set my leg!”
“I said that I’m nearly fourteen, and I’m not setting your leg, only bracing it. Now, stop whinging and let me work.”
He nodded and she knelt beside his feet to begin working. Kara reached to the bottom of her dress, already torn from where it had snagged on a branch earlier, and ripped off a long piece.
“Captain Stout won’t like that you ruined your dress,” Bryant said.
“Captain Stout will have bigger reasons than this to be angry with me.” Kara slid the fabric beneath his leg and the branch, then began to wind them tightly together. He cried out at first, and she said, “Tell me about the shells. How did you know to tell me to get down?”
He gritted his teeth, breathing heavily until she asked the question again, more forcefully. “If it’s a longer whistle, two or three seconds, then it still has a ways to go before it lands. Very short whistle, directly overhead. It’s about to go off.” He stopped to breathe again. “Enough!” he shouted. “This won’t work.”
“It will work!” Kara said. “Be angry if you want, but I’m going to do this before another shell lands!”
He drew in a sharp breath, then said, “The shrapnel from an exploding shell is dangerous, but what got me is the blast wave of air. You shouldn’t be out here, Kara.”
“If I wasn’t, who’d be saving your life right now?” Kara smiled at him and finished the last knot on his leg. But the question she had intended to ask became lodged in her throat.
Because overheard, she had just heard a very short whistle, followed by a thud as the shell hit the ground.
Kara whispered, “Bryant, what does that mean?”
If you have not already purchased your copy, I hope you will consider doing so now. I’m very proud of this book, and I think it’s one that you are going to love!
As always, if you purchase through The King’s English, before checking out, ask for the book to be signed. I can personalize it to you as well, if you ask. After I sign it, they will send it to you.
May 8, 2022
LINES OF COURAGE – Meet Felix
This week, I want to introduce you to the five kids from LINES OF COURAGE. But first, I hope you have pre-registered for the launch party on May 18th at 6 pm Mtn / 8 pm ET. If you haven’t signed up yet, it is FREE, and you can sign up HERE!
Here is an excerpt from Felix’s story as he and his mother try to escape Lemberg before the Russians arrive:“Can we walk faster?” Felix was so nervous, he hardly could breathe.
“If we went any faster, we’d be running,” Mama replied.
“Then let’s run. I’m afraid, Mama. I wish Papa were here.”
She picked up speed. “Me too. But I will protect you, and you will protect me, yes?”
Felix shrugged. “You aren’t strong like he is, and I’m not brave like he is.”
“I am strong,” Mama said. “In my own way. And you must learn to be brave, because the world will demand that of you now.”
Felix knew he had lost the argument, but that didn’t mean he was wrong. He began to hurry even faster until finally he saw a lone automobile on the street ahead.
“That’s our driver,” Mama said. “Run on ahead. Ask the car to wait until I can get there.”
Felix hoisted his heavy bag even higher and began running. Mama wouldn’t be far behind, but he worried that the driver had become impatient. He shouldn’t have been. The bells had not yet rung eight o’clock. They were early.
Yet even before he reached the square, the automobile began to drive away.
“No!” Felix dropped his bag and ran forward until he crossed directly in front of the automobile. “We’re here. We’re ready to leave!”
The driver dimmed his lantern. “Get out of my way or I’ll run you over.”
“My mother is Frau Baum. She paid you to get us out of Lemberg.”
The driver laughed. “Someone else paid me more.”
Then he revved his motor and started forward, forcing Felix to step aside. He stared at the passengers’ faces as they drove past, wondering who was sitting where he and his mother should have been.
What were they supposed to do now? There was nothing, no good option. No option at all.
If you have not yet seen the book trailer, you can watch it below.
And if you have not already purchased your copy, I hope you will consider doing so now. I’m very proud of this book, and I think it’s one that you are going to love!
As always, if you purchase through The King’s English, before checking out, ask for the book to be signed. I can personalize it to you as well, if you ask. After I sign it, they will send it to you.
May 3, 2022
LINES OF COURAGE – 14 days away!
It’s almost here, my friends!
LINES OF COURAGE will be released on May 17th – just two weeks from today!
I hope you will join me for the virtual launch party on WEDNESDAY, MAY 18 at 6 pm Mtn Time / 8 pm Eastern Time. You must register to join, but registration is free. You can register HERE. I hope to see you there!
LINES OF COURAGE tells the story of five kids from five countries over the five years of World War 1. I’ll tell you more about the kids in my next post, but until then, I hope you enjoy the book trailer, created by my awesome hubby.
If you have not already purchased your copy, I hope you will consider doing so now. I’m very proud of this book, and I think it’s one that you are going to love!
As always, if you purchase through The King’s English, before checking out, ask for the book to be signed. I can personalize it to you as well, if you ask. After I sign it, they will send it to you.
April 10, 2022
Massive LINES OF COURAGE Giveaways!
But today, I’m asking you to consider pre-purchasing a copy of your own. There are three reasons why…
I genuinely think this is a great book with stories you will really enjoy.My publisher is working hard to promote this book. I want them to know that their efforts paid off so they will continue to promote my work. And…to be honest here, although my other historicals have sold very well, none of them have ever hit the New York Times List before. I would love for LINES OF COURAGE to be the first.For all of these reasons, pre-sales matter a lot. However, in gratitude, I want to give back as well.
If you pre-order a copy, email me with where you pre-ordered it from (jen@jennielsen.com), and I will send you: a signed sticker, a LINES OF COURAGE magnet and bookmark, and a scratch card with some really cool prizes you could win.
The prizes include: A Free Zoom visit for your class, book club, or a personal writing consult with you; A mug or a tote bag featuring all of my books, a LINES OF COURAGE puzzle, a necklace featuring any book cover of mine, a super miniature copy of THE FALSE PRINCE, an insider’s peek on a project I’m working on now, getting to be the first to hear some really amazing news, a signed copy of any of my books, a gift card to the indie bookstore of your choice, and MORE! One grand prize will be a free visit to your school or your child’s school for an assembly or class visit sometime in the upcoming school year.
Teachers, librarians, and book club members, I will also send you a copy of the Book Discussion Guide.
Additionally, you are all invited to join me for a virtual launch party for LINES OF COURAGE on Wed. May 18 at 6 pm MT / 8 pm ET. Registration is free and other prizes will be given away then. Please register now HERE!April 3, 2022
THE FALSE PRINCE 10 Year Anniversary!
Ten years ago, THE FALSE PRINCE was first released. I had told only a very few people that I was writing it and the day I sent it to my agent, I told my husband it would likely never sell, because it was a different kind of story with a rather…unique main character.
No one has been more surprised by the success of this series than I have, and for that, I thank every one of you.
This video is a compilation of art, pictures, and feedback you have sent me. Be warned, it absolutely has spoilers. The music is from Jocelyn, who was a finalist in the Ascendance superfan contest a few years ago. I will also be creating a second video, because you all sent in more than I could fit into a single song!
In other news, I promised you a short story. It’s still coming. I will get around to writing it as soon as possible, but for the next month, my attention will be focused on the release of LINES OF COURAGE. There are some great prizes for those of you who pre-order the book, or who have done so already. Stay tuned for that!
And finally, the first meme I ever saw for THE FALSE PRINCE after its release! Still one of my favorites…
March 21, 2022
As Ten Years Approaches…
My friends, we are coming up on the 10 YEAR anniversary for THE FALSE PRINCE. 10 YEARS!
As I talk more about that over the next several weeks, I’m asking you to send me your FALSE PRINCE pictures. Images of your much-loved books, images of you reading, your art, or maybe just some words about what this book or series has meant to you. Samples are below.
I will post what I receive, so please don’t include your last name on any visuals (and let me know if you don’t want me to post with your first name either). Sending me your images will mean I have permission to post the items, so if you are a minor, get permission from your parents first.
I won’t be holding an online party for this celebration, BUT I will be doing one in mid-May for the release of LINES OF COURAGE, and I hope you will join me for that! More information about that coming soon.
Please send your pics, art, and words to jen@jennielsen.com. I can’t wait to see them!
This is from Douglas – an amazing drawing of Sage, right?
The reader of this book was using tabs to try to track Sage’s truths vs. lies.
Awesome T-shirt based on word frequencies in the book.
I’ll put this on its side to make it easier to read in both directions. I loved this!
I mean, YUM!I hope you have pics, art, words, or memes to share as well! Send `em on to me (jen@jennielsen.com).
February 3, 2022
A Day in My Life…
Some of you may have seen this on Instagram. If not, I hope you will enjoy it!
As a reminder, in two weeks, I’ll be participating in the book launch for Heather Clark’s debut novel, LEMON DROP FALLS. One is virtual, the other is in Provo, Utah. Both are free. If you want to join me for either one, the info is below!
1) On Tuesday, Feb 15th, at 6:00 pm MST (8:00 pm EST), we will have a virtual presentation. Pre-registration is necessary but it’s free and you will definitely have time for Q&A. That link is HERE.2) For local Utah-types, on Thursday, Feb 17th, at 7:00 pm MST, we will be at the Provo City Library at Academy Square. Click the link to register. It’s also free. If we run out of seats, those who pre-registered obviously get priority so please do sign up HERE.
January 10, 2022
TWO LAUNCH PARTIES COMING UP!
This is an invitation to join me and debut author Heather Clark for a discussion of her debut middle grade novel, LEMON DROP FALLS (Which is awesome, so you’re going to want to hear all about it) and I’ll be talking about WORDS ON FIRE and an advance look at LINES OF COURAGE.
You have two options to participate.
1) On Tuesday, Feb 15th, at 6:00 pm MST (8:00 pm EST), we will have a virtual presentation. Pre-registration is necessary but it’s free and you will definitely have time for Q&A. That link is HERE.
2) For local Utah-types, on Thursday, Feb 17th, at 7:00 pm MST, we will be at the Provo City Library at Academy Square. Click the link to register. It’s also free. If we run out of seats, those who pre-registered obviously get priority so please do sign up HERE.
I hope to see you at one…or the other…or both!
