GCC Presents Amanda Ashby and SOPHIE'S MIXED UP MAGIC!

Sophie’s Mixed-Up MagicA middle grade series by Amanda Ashby
Book One: Wishful Thinking (May 31st Puffin)Be careful what you wish for…After eleven year old Sophie accidentally gets herself turned into a djinn, she starts to think that it might not be so bad after all. (Of course, that’s after she gets the whole orange skin problem sorted out.) Who wouldn’t enjoy having the power to grant wishes! But when Sophie develops RWD (Random Wish Disorder) and can’t STOP granting wishes, things get more than a little mixed-up!
 Book Two: Under a Spell (May 31st Puffin)And that spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E…As Sophie gets used to her magic, her relationship with the adorable Jonathan Tait is blossoming. There’s only one problem: Jonathan’s twin sister, Melissa. She’s a total mean girl who seems intent on making Sophie’s life miserable. On top of that, Melissa somehow seems to sense that Sophie has powers–and manages to bind Sophie to her in a totally self-serving way. Can Sophie figure out a way out of this–without ruining her chances with Jonathan?

Book one and two are a simultaneous release and watch out for book three in October…
Amanda also stopped by for a short interview about the books!
Welcome, Amanda! Can you tell me about your book in seven words or less?Cute, funny and covered in Cheetos crumbs! Other than your main character, who's a favorite character of yours in your novel and why?I love Malik. He is Sophie’s dead djinn guide, who looks like Zac Efron and is addicted to Cheetos and American Idol. He also has crazy taste in clothing and gets Sophie into so much trouble it’s not funny! What's one piece of writing advice you would give to aspiring authors?Be yourself and find your voice. It’s so easy to think that everything we write is terrible and that everything someone else writes is brilliant, but it’s important to have faith in ourselves and what it is we want to say!
 What did you write when you were a teen? Did you journal? Write poetry? Write overly literary or emotional stories? Or avoid writing altogether?The last one! I loved creative writing at school but it wasn’t something that I ever did in my spare time and it wasn’t until my late twenties that I even realized that ‘regular’ people could write books. I should add that I’m a very slow learner!!!
 What's the last book you read that you really loved?The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Everyone had been talking about it on Twitter but I didn’t read any reviews so it wasn’t until I started reading it that I really understood what it was about. It was so bright and smart and sad all at once that I cried like a baby for most of it!!!
Thanks so much, Amanda, and congratulations on your releases!


Amanda Ashby was born in Australia and after spending the last sixteen years dividing her time between England and New Zealand, she’s finally moved back and now lives on the Sunshine Coast. When she’s not moving country, she likes to write books (okay, she also likes to eat chocolate, watch television and sit around doing not much, but let’s just keep that amongst ourselves, shall we?) She has a degree in English and Journalism from the University of Queensland and is married with two children. Her debut book, You Had Me at Halo was nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice award, and her first young adult book Zombie Queen of Newbury High was listed by the New York Public Library’s Stuff for the Teen Age 2010. Her latest release, Fairy Bad Day, has been selected by Voya as one of their Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers 2012 and is a SCBWI Crystal Kite Award finalist for the Australia/NZ region. To find out more, please go to www.amandaashby.com