Happy Friday! Don’t forget to get in the running for one of THREE sets of the Miracle Books series. Get details HERE.

Hey, guys, before we get into a few weeks of I’m So Sure giveaways, I have a few copies of Just Between You and Me left to put in your hands. But this deal is for those of you who just LOVE to post reviews on sites like BarnesandNoble.com, Amazon, etc.  If you are one of those crazy people (and teens, you must have purchased a book at Amazon in your short past to be able to post a review), then please email me  ( jen at jennybjones dot com). So here are the requirements to get your free copy of Just Between You and Me:

1. Post a review at the .com sites, esp Amazon. You know Amazon–the place that feeds my addiction.

2. Post the review(s) within a month of receiving book.

3. Be honest. I am not sending you the book in exchange for a guaranteed fabulous review. (No, that’s what personal checks and gift cards are for.) If you like the book, please say so. If it makes you want to barf and cleanse your palate with another reading of Twilight, then say that.  Honest reviews only. I promise I won’t talk badly about you on my blog. (Just at family dinners.)

4. I have ten copies available for review. First ten to email get the books.

5. Just a reminder that JBYAM is not a YA book. The characters are really, really old. I mean ancient. Like 30. So it is teen appropriate…but just zit free.

6. Yes, as a matter of fact it DOES feel awkward to send out this request on my blog. Thanks for asking.

Okay, now that my commercial is over with, let’s talk. Is anyone going to see This Is It, the Michael Jackson documentary? I am. Does that make me a dork? I think that probably just makes me someone who lives in a town with nothing going on this weekend. I do think it will be interesting. I saw a peek on Oprah, and I was kind of hooked. The guy really was a perfectionist. I so relate….ha.

Anyone dressing up for any Halloween (or fall) parties? I am abstaining this year. A few years ago I went as one of the NPR girls from an old Saturday Night Live skit. The year before that I went as Katie Holmes and carried around a green alien baby doll who wore a t-shirt that said Suri. That wasn’t very nice. I’m not proud of that. Okay, yes. Yes, actually I am. Y’all, it was good. What are you guys dressing up as?

What’s the best Halloween/fall costume you’ve ever had? My favorite as a kid was Princess Leia. One of my students asked me if I had the side buns. Well, yeah. It’s a must. I remember when I was in upper elementary and middle school there was a series of years where it was a big trend to dress like punk rockers. But we all just looked like really short hookers. It wasn’t a good costume.  One year I was also a mime. I had a painted white face and a beret. I had to wear this garb for a piano recital. At the time I wished I could’ve mimed my piano solo.

So I’ve been watching with envy and growing bitter jealousy the post and pics of those of you getting snow. Some of you are even in “blizzard” conditions, and I’m trying not to hold it against you. But it’s hard, you know? It’s real hard. But the Farmer’s Almanac (next best book after the Holy Bible) says that Arkansas has a chance of lots of wintery precip in November. And friends, November is just days away. BUT…it could also just be a rainy November. Could go either way. Only one of those ways is the Lord’s way–and that will end in white, fluffy goodness. If you would like to add snow in Arkansas to your prayer list (right after your request for good health, a cure for diabetes, and an end to skinny jeans), I would be so grateful.  I kind of have a “feeling” about this winter. And there are all these signs that things could go my way. It will be interesting to see if my “feeling” and the spoons in the persimmons are right.

If you’re interested in writing YA, Publisher’s Weekly had a great article this week. Basically, YA is kicking butt in these tough economic times. WOOO!!! You can read the article HERE.

I get quite a few catalogs. One of them is Anthropologie. I love their stuff–though have never purchased anything. Their are really whimsical. And expensive.  Their home stuff is especially great. Except for this. Need a place for that iPhone? Well, look no more. Check THIS OUT. And it’s only $98.00. What a steal. Because nothing says “I love my iPhone” like a piece of a tree.

And then there’s this beautiful coffee mug. It’s only $18! If you had been at any garage sale in the 80s, you could’ve had it for twenty-five cents.  Don’t forget to stock up on your Christmas ornaments, too. Like THIS ONE. That’s gonna look great on my Pirates of the Caribbean Christmas tree.

Actually I don’t put up a Christmas tree because I’m too lazy to clean it up. (And Miller would just eat it and then barf on it.) But now I’m rethinking that idea. What about THESE TREES? Three inch trees! Yeah! Deck the halls!

Have a great weekend. Do let me know your fave Halloween costumes. I’m gonna work on my moonwalk and write a book. Possibly all at the same time.

JEN

Before we even get started, four words: Adam Lambert’s album cover.
You know what else that cover needs? A unicorn.

Just when you thought it was safe to shop at the mall…Ashley and Mary Kate Olsen are now designing for JCPenney.  Go ahead and put THIS outfit on your Christmas list. Or THIS one.  But don’t buy THIS one because I’m already on a wait list (along with Eddie Vedder), and if we all showed up to the same New Year’s Eve party in it, then that would just be embarrassing.

Don’t forget I’m giving away three SETS of the Miracle Girls series by May Vanderbilt and Anne Dayton. I think this is a good YA series, so get in the running. Last day to enter the drawing is Friday at midnight. See the juicy details on Monday’s blog. The third book in the series, A Little Help From My Friends, is the final installment. It’s the story of Zoe Fairchild, a junior in high school. Zoe’s parents are having some major issues. They’re kinda hippie-ish, and Zoe calls them by their first names. If I had called my mom by her first name, I probably would’ve spent my growing up years sleeping outside in my playhouse. (Oh, shoot–I hear parents coming. I have Oreos in my teeth. Someone get these things OUT of my STEELY GRIP!!!)  (Oreo teeth update: parents walked on by. Whew.)  Anyway, Zoe has a boyfriend, but Mr. Tall Dark and Slightly Rebellious comes on the scene. And for once the female protagonist doesn’t stay away. That’s what I liked about this book. Because don’t we always pull for the (slightly/kinda) bad boys?  Yet how often does the girl in a Christian fiction novel do anything but say, “Get thee behind me, Boy Who is Not Perfect.” Often. (For those of you who read the Stephanie Plum books, I’m Team Ranger.) But I won’t tell you if it’s for keeps. In fact, I’ve probably said too much already. But I thought that was a total selling point.  Anyway, if you’d like to read more about the book, you can see a summary and first chapter after my signoff.

So I’m at parent-teacher conferences (day two…) right now as I type this. So far I’ve talked to two parents, emailed half a dozen teachers, shared my bag of Oreos I bought in a moment of weakness, and dog-eared every page of the new Pottery Barn catalog. And I still have over two hours to go. So bored….

What do you guys do when you’re bored but can’t turn on the TV, plug in your iPod, or practice your break dancing head spins? I should grade papers, but I don’t want to. I should plan some lessons. But I don’t want to. I should map out my next chapter…but I don’t want to. Because it’s hard to get into anything when a visitor could swing by any second. I must be ready. I must look busy…yet not be busy. I know…I’ll go eat.

Okay, I’m back. It’s baked potato night. I don’t even want to talk about what last night’s selection was. And we know I’ll eat ANYTHING. But last night I waited ’til I got home and had (you’ll never guess…) cereal.

Bored. Bored. Bored.

Hmm….what to do. Did you know Justin Timberlake had to get a restraining order today? I swear it wasn’t me. It’s SOOO hard to stalk people from Arkansas. One of the drawbacks of living in this state. But easy access to pork rinds makes up for it.

Okay, if the fact that I had to retire all my khaki pants this week won’t make me put down the cookies, maybe this will. Have you seen this little kid? That ain’t right. That just ain’t right.

Thanks to my friend Rhonda, the queen of good comics, for passing on this one with the message: Even God wears flip flops.

Amen, sister. Is it socially acceptable to get an entire comic tattooed on my butt?

Okay, that’s all from me today. Have a great rest of the week. Here in Arkansas we are about to float away–days and days of rain. Very uplifting for the spirits. Don’t forget to chime in for the drawing Friday night. And don’t forget to workout–like a six year old.

See you Friday!

JEN

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
A Little Help from My Friends
FaithWords (October 15, 2009)
by
Anne Dayton & May Vanderbilt

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

ANNE DAYTON graduated from Princeton University and is earning her master’s degree in English literature at New York University. She works for a New York publishing company and lives in Brooklyn.

MAY VANDERBILT graduated from Baylor University and went on to earn a master’s degree in fiction from Johns Hopkins University. She lives in San Francisco, where she writes about food, fashion, and nightlife in the Bay Area.

Together, the two women are the authors of Miracle Girls series

ABOUT THE BOOK

Zoe is used to being overlooked. As the youngest and shyest Miracle Girl, she was happy to fade into the background last year. But when she sheds her baby fat and shoots up four inches the summer before her junior year, everything changes. Now she’s turning heads at school, and this new attention is beginning to strain her relationship with her sweet, serious boyfriend, Marcus.

Pressure builds when Zoe’s assigned partner for history class is Dean Marchese–a handsome New York transplant who isn’t afraid to show her how he feels.
Just when she needs her three best friends the most, the Miracle Girls are suffering from boy troubles of their own.

Even Zoe’s rock-solid home life begins to shake underneath her when her parents’ relationship frays in the face of serious financial burdens. As this uncertain year of growing pains comes to a frenetic head, the quietest Miracle Girl must find her voice at long last and take control of her own destiny . . . with more than a little help from her friends.

If you would like to read the first chapter of A Little Help from My Friends, go HERE

I love Giveaway Monday. Not quite as good as Toast Your Tuesday with Twix or Find Five Bucks in Your Pocket Friday, but still a decent day. This week the folks at Faith Words have generously donated THREE sets of the YA series The Miracle Girls. I’ll talk about the third book on Friday, but I do like this series. Cute covers, cute girls, and it’s relevant YA lit. These novels are not sugary sweet nor are the characters too perfect. In fact, as I was reading A Little Help From My Friends, just yesterday, I came across a kissing scene.  So what else do you need to know about THAT book? Who wouldn’t want it?

Okay, so to win one of THREE sets of this series, you must answer this question: You just won 20 million in the lottery (just suspend any moral protests for now, m’kay?). What is the first thing you buy for SOMEONE else? I’d buy Miller the Puking cat a new stomach. Or maybe I’d just buy him a new owner. To get in the running for the books, you must leave your answer in the comments by Friday at midnight, Turkmenistan time. I will announce the THREE winners Monday.

I have parent teacher conferences tonight. And tomorrow night. Instead of saying my prayers that the parent meetings will go well, I am praying for good food. The school always feeds us and sometimes it doesn’t go so well. And on nights like these, food is all you have to cling to. Well, that and the contraband People magazine you have hidden under your gradebook.

I’m So Sure isn’t quite out yet (Nov. 1st!), but we just got one of our first reviews. Thanks to Deena of the blog A Peek At My Bookshelf for reading it in advance and spreading the word. You can read her take on I’m So Sure HERE.

Miller has been his usual charming self lately.  Last week I had company coming over for dinner and was scrambling to clean the house before they got there. I hear this explosion in the kitchen (which actually is not anything new) and hear Miller scrambling to get away. His contribution to house cleaning time? Spilling kibbles all over the kitchen floor.

“Wow. That is a huge mess somebody is gonna have to clean up. I don’t have opposable thumbs….so it’s not me.”

“Maybe if I don’t make eye contact with her, she won’t think I did it.  I am not looking….still not looking…”

“Oh, forget it. I’m not cleaning it up. I’m outta here.”

Miller is also all sorts of help when it comes to laundry. I usually just dump my laundry on the floor of the living room, then sit down and watch some TV.  Puker Kitty decided to lounge among the towels so he could also catch up on his Glee.

“Will you fast forward through the white teacher dancing? He makes me uncomfortable.”

While my cat is special in the head and doesn’t have the average number of kitty brain cells, he occasionally likes to break out in a good fight. With sheets.

“Egyptian cotton, you are no match for me!”

“Five hundred thread count, your feathery softness is a mockery to my kung fu skills.”

In other picture news, I thought I’d share some of the food I “had” to endure during How-To speech week. It was rough, I tell you. Like this cinnamon roll.

That’s not just zoomed in. That cinnamon roll is the size of a dinner plate. And it was allll mine. I did take it to the teacher’s lounge and share it. But not before grabbing a big bite out of the center–where the good stuff is.

And check out these cupcakes.

Aren’t they cute? Spiders. Spooky!

And I got to sample lots of cookies.

It’s a tough job, but I feel like it’s my responsibility to sample student food just to make sure it meets my high standards of flavor and safety.

You know, I get asked a lot how I balance teaching with book writing. I rely on my high tech organizational tools, of course.

That would be my hand after a day of speeches. That was a note to email a friend and stop by Old Navy. And the whip cream? I have no idea. A kid said the words “whipped cream” in a speech, and I wrote that down instead of whatever it was I actually needed to remind myself. But a few containers of Cool Whip never hurt anyone.

A few weeks ago my electricity went off. I got under the kitchen cabinet where I keep some random dishes and the candles. I couldn’t see well, so I knocked everything over and out of place. Including a bag of flour.

I have no idea what the flour was doing with the dishes. Kind of like those moments where you stick the cereal in the fridge and try to put the milk in the cabinet? I guess that’s how it got there. Anyway, who knows how it landed in that particular cabinet. All I know is I spilled it. All. When the lights eventually came back on, I took a picture of the mess. (Clearly I was looking for ways to put off cleaning…)  It was a huge disaster. Another disaster from that night was that all the candles I had to light were variations on fall scents like cinnamon, maple, pumpkin pie, etc. The smells combined and took over the entire neighborhood. By the time the electricity came on, I was too high on waxy fake sugar to even care. I had to pop three Tylenol and call it a night. I have since purchased a battery powered lantern. One that doesn’t smell like grandma’s kitchen times one thousand.

Have a great week. Be sure and enter the drawing for the Miracle Girls books. And happy birthday to my sweet four year old niece. And my dad. Oh, and my sister. And anyone else born in October.

JEN

Happy Friday! Thanks so much for your “what are you reading” comments. I loved hearing what you guys are into right now. I’m about finished with A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck. I’m liking it. If you’re interested in writing, you gotta check him out. The plot isn’t really doing it for me in this one, but the book is still so clever and so well written that I’m still loving it. I keep marking pages I need to share with people. (One of the perks of being my friend. “Ohmygosh. If she shows us ONE more quote from that book…”)  I also skim-read a romance novel yesterday that got a top pick from a major reviewer group and….the book is awful. I mean AWFUL. Like was someone on DRUGS when they reviewed this?  And next up is Kate DiCamillo’s The Magician’s Elephant because fabulous author and friend Natalie Lloyd recommended it on her cool blog.

Did you see last week where Maria Shriver (first lady of California, Arnie’s wife, a Kennedy) was photographed talking on her cell in the car? This is illegal in the State of Arnold. And what did Schwarzenegger have to say? He said, “There will be swift action.” He said that. In public. About his own wife. Yeah, that swift action at my house would be Arnold sleeping outside with the neighbor’s Doberman.

Is anyone seeing Cirque du Freak this weekend? It got a great review in our local paper. Which now makes me interested.

Today’s question of the day in class is: You just found a genie in a bottle. He/She/It offers you only one wish. What is it?
(Of course this led into the whole discussion of “why just one? You can’t do anything with one.” So of course I had to say, “These are hard times. Even for genies . . . Everyone is cutting back.”)  Here are some of their responses:
I wish to be batman.
I wish to find love. (from a boy)
I wish my mom back to life.

I wish to read every book in existence.
I wish for swine flu to go away.
I wish to be immortal.
I wish to be able to fly at super sonic speeds.
I wish Donald Trump was my personal servant.
I wish (said quiet girl) for all the crickets to die. (After this we all just kind of paused. And stared.)

Student: I want an unlimited supply of Gatorade and sunflower seeds.
Me: Gatorade and sunflower seeds? That’s what you’d want?
Student:And chips.

Student: Can we wish for more wishes?
Me: No.
Student: Then I wish for another genie.

Student 1: World peace
Student 2: World peace
Student 3: World peace
Student 4: World peace
Student 5: World peace
Student 6: World peace
Student 7: World domination

So my friend works for a very large corporation. If you go to her office, it is just row after row of cubicles. It’s like The Office times a million. So this week was breast cancer awareness week. Today they had a contest to see which team could decorate their work area the best.

It’s amazing what you can do with balloons. Especially when there is a good cause involved–and paid free time at work to do it.

This is the Patron Saint of Breast Cancer…and Pink Snuggies. He’s comfy AND inspirational.

Love his humble pose. Or maybe he’s just playing air guitar. A really understated air guitar.

Here’s a view of the cubicles.

Kinda reminds me of my high school prom for some reason. Someone does some real good draping.
I don’t really know what this is.

But I like it. Love the guy in the back who looks like he’s about to snort laugh. Or barf.

I hope you have a fabulous weekend. You definitely want to come back next week. I’ll be giving away copies of entire SETS of the Miracle Girls series–the third book just came out. And I just happened to have received my copies of I’m So Sure, so I’m so sure I’ll be handing out some of those as well. Bon weekend!

JEN

Blog will be random today. I am le pooped and have Mushy Brain Syndrome. So far the only treatment is chocolate. And cereal. If you’re on Twitter/Facebook this is old news, but this weekend I caved and bought a box (Family size of course) of Fruity Pebbles. Yesterday afternoon I threw them in the trash. Yesterday evening I dug them out of the trash. Proud, proud moment…

Thanks for chiming in on the book cover discussion. You guys picked some great ones. One I forgot to mention that I love is the cover for The Invention of Hugo Cabret, a book I ADORED. (Though I always mess up and say, “Hey, have you read the Invention of Hugo Chavez? But trust me, this book is not about the leader of the Bolivian Revolution.) Is that not the best book cover? It’s art.

When I worked in a small school, we all traded funny emails all the time. Not like forwards, but smarty comments to staff memos, questions, etc. I really miss that. At the super grande school I teach at, our faculty is so large we can be pretty distant (read: boring). So any small measure of humor pretty much makes my day. Last month one of our asst. principals sent out an email that asked if any of us wanted to teach a mini-class on technology. Not only am I a techno moron, but I have no technology in my classroom. As a speech teacher, I don’t even have a digital projector for PowerPoints. (I know, right?)  I have an old, clunky outdated overhead projector. So I emailed back and said, “How about a class about how to make the most of your 1986 projector?” My princpal replies: “You are lucky to have even that. Not everyone does.”  He was right.

Fast forward a month or so later, and we get an email today that lists the upcoming teachers of our technology sessions. My name was on there. Here is the class listing:
Pod Casting
InterWrite Boards
One-Note
Advanced Gradebook
SharePoint
Journal in Outlook
PDF Files
How to Make the Most of Your 1986 Overhead Projector

Very funny. The genuine techies were probably totally impressed, I’m sure. They haven’t used an old school projector since carbon paper went out of style.

A blog I check almost daily is Novel Journey. This past Monday they had a great post on middle level YA. I LOVE LOVE LOVE middle level books. They have the best covers (speaking of covers, not to mention today I went to a book store and there was a YA book with a puffy 3D cover. I totally ran my hand over it. I’ll probably get swine flu, but it will be worth it) and there are just so many great stories.  I was beyond thrilled to read this librarian’s take on the best books for 2009. Because little did I know, favorite YA author in the whole wide universe (including all those new planets that keep popping up) Richard Peck had a new book come out this year–a new addition to the Grandma Dowdel series. A Year Down Yonder, book two in the series, is probably my most favorite book of all time–YA or adult fiction. If you haven’t read it, you are missing out. Truly. After I read it the first time I made a ton of other people read it–even my grandmother–who was like, “Bring on another one!”  I mean seriously go get that book today. Grandma Dowdel is who I loosely based Mad Maxine on in the Katie Parker Production series. I think Grandma Dowdel could be one of the best characters in literature. Definitely one of the best in YA. Richard Peck is a genius, and he makes it look so easy. You feel like you are right there in the story and these are people you know. Anyway, book three is called A Season of Gifts. I had to go to Barnes and Noble to get it today. I am an Amazon addict, but I decided I couldn’t wait 5 days for it. I will let you know how it is. If you’ve read it and it was mediocre, don’t even tell me!!!

Did anyone see Where the Wild Things Are? I haven’t seen it yet, but it’s on my list. But then again, so is sleeping, and that hasn’t happened for most of the week.  Thus my rambling blog…and my Fruity Pebbles dependence. (Oh, the power of suggestion. Just got up and dug the box out of the trash AGAIN. It’s SUCH a good thing I’m not into drugs…I’d never get out of rehab. Dr. Drew would totally give up on me. Speaking of that, did you know the actress who played the little girl (youngest daughter) on Family Matters went on to be a stripper and addict and was on Celebrity Rehab? Urkel would not be impressed, little missy!)

You know what I love about Halloween? (BESIDES the candy) I love all the random games on the internet. Like this one. That could keep me entertained for hours.

Have you all seen this yet? It’s an office–all singing Backstreet Boys–on one take.

I love the guy who crawls OVER his computer all cat-like. For a second I thought he was gonna take it to PG-13-ville. Meeow.

Do you write Christian speculative fiction? ( We old timers still call this fantasy.)  If so, sharpen your pencils and fire up your keyboards. Check out this cool opportunity for unpublished speculative (cough**fantasy!) writers.

And if fantasy isn’t politically correct, don’t bother emailing and correcting me. I still say “chick lit” too. And so does Bridgette Jones.

We know I’m getting ready to read the new Richard Peck book, but I just finished The Help. This is a major best seller and destined to be a movie. I’ve heard the audio version is FABULOUS, and if you read the book that will not surprise you at all. This book is all about voice. Specifically voices. Three of them. It’s a story told in first person by three different women during the upswing of the civil rights movement of the early 60s. It’s not about politics. It’s about what civil rights (the lack of ) really looked like behind closed doors. Two of the narrators are African American maids. The other is young twenty-something Skeeter, who grew up having a maid. She lives the privileged life that feeds the other two narrators. Skeeter eventually gets the idea to write a book…about “the help.” And it’s about her journey, recruiting the maids for research to get their stories (in a time when an African American could be beaten to disfigurement for using a white toilet), and how their personal lives intersect. It is freakin’ brilliant. It’s long–I mean I thought it needed a little trimmy-poo, but it’s so worth it. I loved this book. It has tons of lines that just make you want to get out the highlighter. But yet it’s not TOO literary, you know?

Also I just semi-finished Graceling. I liked the concept behind this wildly popular and highly touted YA. But…I didn’t really get into the book. I was bored. Sometimes I think my taste meter is off. But I was bored. I also wasn’t crazy about Hunger Games, so take it for what it’s worth.

Anyway, that’s what I’m reading. What about you? AND have you read A Year Down Yonder? Cause if you haven’t, we need to do a giveaway. (And pray for your lost soul…) So you have two things to answer.

Can’t wait to read your answers. I get to find out what you’re reading WITHOUT doing the awkward blatant stare thing.
JEN