Some celebratory shopping

I got some exciting news yesterday! It led to the purchase of the suuuperfun hoodie and the tank below from the place where, um, most of my paycheck goes--VS's PINK line.

The news? Take the Reins earned out its advance! Yay! It wouldn't have happened without *you,* the readers, and my ridiculously talented editor, Kate Angelella.

We decided some celebratory online shopping was in order, so I snagged that doodle zip hoodie and the pretty tank. I love that mix of blue and gray! Plus, I'm always cold, so I can't get enough hoodies.

Again, I'm so grateful that Take the Reins is doing so well and in it's . . . 6th (?--I should check that . . .) printing. I'll be working as I start to feel better on Initiation this weekend and I'm counting down the days until Chosen releases in May. I've got a lot of fun giveaways during release week! :)

Anyone else a PINK fanatic? What's your go-to store when you want to celebrate with clothes, accessories--whatever?

Happy book birthday, TAKE THE REINS!

Wow. It's crazy to think that two years ago on January 27, TAKE THE REINS was released into the world. I was a total newbie author with a four-book deal and had no idea if I was doing anything right. The only thing I knew for sure: I had a book that I loved and was passionate about.

I have to first thank Molly McGuire for acquiring the series. Then, all thanks, praise and hearts go to Kate Angelella for turning a four book series into twenty books including a super special. It's rare to find an editor who turns books such as THE ROCK AND THE RIVER into an award winner and a commercial series like Canterwood into a long-running series. I am incredibly grateful to Kate for the countless hours she has put into my books. But she wasn't just focused on Canterwood or award winners. She stayed at the office till 11 many nights (I was there!) and worked all weekend on her projects. I'm friends with several of her authors (hello, Lauren Barnholdt!) and wish they could have seen her in action.

Now, as TAKE THE REINS is almost 2 years old, book 12 has just released--ending Sasha's reign as the narrator of Canterwood. It's an exciting, happy, sad thing all at once!

I cannot wait until May when you will all get to meet our new narrator in the JUMBO sized super special. (Seriously, it's HUGE.) :)

I'm working on #13 INITIATION and Kate and I are preparing to bring you something amazing in between waiting for Canterwood--our new e-book novella series--WELLINGTON PREP. More details to come as we move forward on this new venture.

Thank you all, Team Canterwood, for sticking with me since the first book. I owe you many thanks because you allow me to do the job I love. Thank you. <3

Here's the post I wrote in 2009. :)

In the FAB Lane's review of Take the Reins

Check this out!

In the FAB Lane reviewed TAKE THE REINS and they're giving away a copy. :)

Thanks, guys!

Exciting news!

Editor K gave me the go ahead to share the news that TAKE THE REINS went into its second printing! Yaaay! I'm super excited about it and thank you to everyone for supporting the book. I so appreciate it.

Also, I have finished copies of BEHIND THE BIT, which comes out May 19. I'll take pics and will post them soon.

The blog is a little quiet since I'm finishing up edits on BEST ENEMIES. But regular blogging will resume soon. :)

Happy Monday!

Take the Reins an April 2009 ALAN pick

Great news! :)

Take the Reins is an April 2009 pick for ALAN. Yay! Thanks so much to Julie M. Prince for reviewing the book.

Fellow S&S author Lisa Schroeder's Far From You is also a pick for this month. Yay, Lisa!

A sweet review

Melissa at Kidliterate reviewed Take the Reins. Thank you, Melissa! Check out her thoughts here.

:)

rambling thoughts on marketing a series

Megfuzzle on LiveJournal was cool enough to review Take the Reins AND post a pic! That's Mac, her horse, and he's reading TTR too. :) Love, love this pic.

Yesterday, I traded my ancient, falling apart Gateway laptop for a pink (!) Sony. OMG. I'm in love with it. Have I mentioned that it's pink? Uh-huh. :) It's pink. I've been playing with it and transferring all of my stuff from one comp to the next.

After today's phone interview, I think I've tapped all of the local press. I'm kind of glad to take a step back from that now and get back to my REAL job--writing. It had to go on the back burner while I did PR. Then again, going out on interviews broke up my crazy writing schedule and I've met a lot of cool people. I do think I got better (well, at least I hope so!) as the interviews went on. I felt less grilled and more as if I was talking to friends by the end.

But things are settling down now and I'm trying to get back on track for book five. I won't have enough time to really figure out what "worked" PR-wise for TTR that I can shift over to CHASING BLUE, but I hope to be much better at PR when BEHIND THE BIT releases.

I wonder how marketing will be different for CB. It comes out on March 24--just 8 weeks after TTR. So, obviously, I can't get the same newspapers and magazines to cover me so soon after January. I'm guessing I should start looking for different markets. Maybe let the bigger, statewide magazines know that local mags and newspapers have covered me and use those clips to get their attention. Hmmm. Seems like a phone call to Publicist Nicole will be necessary. :) She will have Answers.

Tomorrow is my last day at Girls Horse Club! We've having so much fun over there and I love all of the girls! They're so smart and funny. If you're a young writer looking for writing advice, definitely check out the thread.

And thank you to everyone who has emailed me about the YOUNG RIDER article. You guys are the best! You're so sweet to take time to write me and I'm emailing each of you back, I promise. :) I don't think it says so in the article, but YOUNG RIDER was one of the first places I queried. Poor Lesley Ward got an awful query from me and she sent a polite rejection back. That was in 2003. And guess what? I still have her rejection letter! :)

And, if you haven't heard by now, Alyson Noel's EVERMORE is on the NYT Best Seller list and the USA Today Best Seller list. Seriously awesome, Alyson!! :)

Tomorrow, Sarah MacLean is here and she's answering questions about THE SEASON. Sarah's super awesome, so def check back for that.

Canterwood Crest in Young Rider Magazine

I finally found the March/April issue of YOUNG RIDER at my local Books-a-Million. See that “true story” bit at the bottom left corner? That’s the article about Canterwood Crest. If you see the issue, check it out. There’s a Canterwood giveaway inside, tons of pics and a fun Q&A. A few girls have already emailed me about the issue--thanks for saying hi! :)

Big thanks to Lesley and Allison for running the article!

Yesterday, I met Jennifer from Tallahassee Magazine. We had a great chat at Starbucks and talked about Canterwood, mean girls and more. Thanks for interviewing me, Jennifer!

I've got a phone interview with the Lake City Reporter on Thursday. That means I don't have to get dressed in my fancy interview clothes. Or, maybe I still will...I kind of like the idea of getting out of my usual writer clothes even for a phone thing. :)

I just finished the outline for Canterwood Crest #5 and feel that relief of, "Oh, good. I didn't forget how to outline or come up with ideas." :) I *always* have that fear when I open a blank Word doc to start an outline. I'm convinced of the following:

1) I'll have zero ideas.

or

2) My ideas will be super awful.

and

3) Agent A and Editor K will be like, "Um. What is this?"

But I made it through the outline. Whew.

And, finally, big congrats to agent sis Lauren Barnholdt! She posted a bunch of great news yesterday, including a new YA sale. Yay, L!

Thanks, Tallahassee!

First, thanks to S&S for featuring me on the author page. How awesome! And I love my quote, LOL. Maybe I shouldn't have told people that I greet animals. :)

Yesterday, I meet the awesome Jessi for an interview for the NE Chronicle. That was so much fun. :) Thanks, Jessi!

Then, I drove around and visited Tallahassee's Borders, Books-a-Million and Barnes & Noble. Borders and BAM were sold out of TTR, but more are on order. B&N had two copies left, which are now signed. In purple. Just in case it matters. ;)

Thanks so much, Tally people! I'll keep visiting stores and signing stock as they come in. The local support has been amazing--thanks!

Next week, I meet with a writer for Tallahassee Magazine. It's a gorgeous local publication and I'm super excited to be included in an upcoming issue.

And, perhaps most exciting of all, I turned in Triple Fault (Canterwood Crest #4) to Agent A yesterday. Now I'm staying busy by plotting CC #5 (it has the coolest title!) and am not driving myself crazy with "she's going to hate it" thoughts. :) Not at all.

I also can't seem to ignore my new YA WIP. It keeps bugging me and I'm finally like, "Fine! Okay! Okay! I'll type just a little bit."

What's everyone working on?

Yay and thank you Jen!

Thank you, thank you to Jen (wldhrsjen3 on LJ) for her sweet review of Take the Reins. You rock, Jen! Thank you! :)

I was especially nervous to have Miss Jen read my book because she's a horse fanatic too. But she did ask me to name her new horse, if she gets another, so I think I passed.

Off to:

Meet an extern for my interview
(We're meeting at Starbucks and I'm going to get hyped on caffeine.) :)
Sign stock at Barnes & Noble
and Books-a-Million
and Borders

Choosing interview clothes? Argh!

On Thursday, I'm being interviewed by the NE Chronicle--a sister publication of the Tallahassee Democrat. The local press has been super receptive to running articles about Canterwood and I so appreciate it.

I'm excited and that means I've been spending too much time in my closet choosing clothes. Yeah, did I mention they're taking pics? Uh-huh. I won't be able to decide what to wear until about an hour before the interview.

But I think I've narrowed it down to:

black pants
the most awesome boots ever (I can't, like, walk in them. But they're pretty!)
a sweater of an undecided color

Or, if I'm feeling casual:

dressy black shirt
dark skinny jeans tucked into the most awesome boots ever

And really, they're not going to get my legs in the shot. Hmm.

After the interview, I'm going to visit Borders, Books-a-Million and Barnes and Noble. They restocked TTR, so it's off to sign those copies. Alyson Noel (author of EVERMORE) has been roadtripping around CA to sign stock too. It's soo fun! Alyson makes me feel like a slacker though 'cause she's doing a hundred mile radius. :)

There was something else...but I forgot. *grins*

And...

The winner of the Dover giveaway is... Harnessphoto from LiveJournal. :) Yaaay! Harnessphoto, please email me (jessica [at] jessicaburkhart [dot] com) your address!

Favor?

If you've read Take the Reins and have 2 minutes, I'd sooo appreciate it if you could review it on Amazon. Long. Short. Whatever you feel like. But honest reviews, of course! :)

If you review it, let me know and I'll send you a signed postcard if you'd like one.

Thank you, guys!!

Take the Reins at the Lip Smacker Lounge :)

Check it out! :)

I've been waiting a while to share this! I've teamed up with Lip Smacker and they've featured TTR as a PDF download, which is super cool. I'm pretty much obsessed with Lip Smacker products and so (surprise, surprise) is Sasha. I'm super excited!

Plus, girls can leave comments about the book. Fun! :)

Thank you to everyone (LR, VW, KA, BB) who made this happen! Yay!

Also, If you're in Tallahassee and you're looking for a copy of Take the Reins, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million and Borders are currently sold out. They're on reorder, though, so definitely check back. I'll be visiting the stores to sign the stock when they come in. :) Thanks so much to everyone who picked up a copy in Tally! You all rock.

22 and review! Party!

Take the Reins was reviewed in the February/March 2009 issue of Discovery Girls! Thanks so much to Jan Fields! :) Ahhh! So exciting! It makes the perfect birthday gift!!

Yep, I'm 22 today! Woo! Birthday and book launch in one week = crazy fun.

Last night, I did a drive-by signing at my local Books-a-Million. Yep! I signed the four-copies they had on shelves and it was so fun!

Take the Reins is here!! And a giveaway!

La, la, la! It's finally here!!!!!

!
!
!

That's right! TAKE THE REINS officially hits stores today! OMG! Seriously, if you're my agent, editor, friend, someone I've known for five minutes--I'll apologize now because you're going to be getting a very hyper/excited phone call from me. Possibly more than one. And I will not apologize! :)

I've been waiting for this day since early spring 2007 when TAKE THE REINS sold. I've gone through a lot in two years--personally and professionally--and those experiences only make me appreciate this moment even more. It's surreal to think that my book is out there. Wow. Just wow.

I can't say enough that I'm surrounded by the best people in the business--my Trident Media Group and Simon & Schuster families. I wouldn't have made it here without them--thank you! :)

Last night, I read though my 2006 posts documenting the writing of TAKE THE REINS. They're funny and often embarrassing--like an old journal--but I'm glad they're still there. They remind me that I've grown as a writer, but I still have a loooong way to go. Cheers to that!

So....

To kick off the official release day festivities, Dover Saddlery has ponied up a $25 gift certificate for me to give away. I'll also include a personalized postcard to you or the person of your choice.

You don't need to own a horse to shop at Dover. They've got tons of horse-themed gifts such as books, DVDs and more.

Ready for the rules? Yes, there must be rules!

1. The giveaway will run for a week starting today! It will end on Tuesday, February 3 at midnight.

2. For an easy chance to win, leave a comment here (Blogger) and/or on this same entry cross posted to my LiveJournal.

3. Want more chances to win? Leave another comment on this post (or on the LiveJournal one) with a link to your mention that TAKE THE REINS releases on January 27. You can make it a Facebook note, MySpace bulletin, vlog, blog post--whatever you like! The more mentions of TtR you make, the more entries you get in the contest. Keep coming back with the new link every time you mention TtR. If you've already done it, remind me in the comments and you'll have an extra entry.

4. Or, snap a pic of you with TtR or of TtR at a bookstore. Send me your pic (and whether or not I can share it on my blog--I'd love to post it!) for an extra entry.

5. Steal this banner! Click on it and it'll take you to Photobucket where you can nab the code of your choice. Put it up and let me know! By the way, there are other banners (smaller ones) to grab, too.



6. Review (love it or hate it--be honest!) TAKE THE REINS on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Millon or any other book site. Put the review link in the comments.

7. You decide! Get creative! :)

Now, the fine print...

The prize will only be mailed to a US address. Sorry, everyone else!

I'll draw the winner on Wednesday, February 4. Check back then for the name. You'll have one week to email me (jessica [at] jessicaburkhart [dot] com) with your name and address.

Good luck, everyone! :)

Special thanks to Dover for providing such a great prize!

Cover story up at Melissa Walker's!

Fabulous author and friend Melissa Walker posted my story about how the Canterwood Crest covers were designed. Check it out!

Thank you, Melissa!

Tomorrow, tomorrow!

Even though many people have spotted TAKE THE REINS in stores, tomorrow is its official release day! Woo!

I'm trying (unsuccessfully) to stay focused on the TRIPLE FAULT draft. But really? I want to be out there looking for my book and, you know, shoving it into people's hands. :)

My local paper, The Tallahassee Democrat, is running an article tomorrow. I'm excited to see it and will post the link.

If you e-mailed me and I haven't responded, I will! Promise! Your email is flagged for a response and you'll get one. Before spring. Kidding.

How do you stay focused when you're waiting for something? Share!

Whitebrook Farm and Bri Meets Books

Two quick things...

I talked horse books and TAKE THE REINS over at Whitebrook Farm. Thanks so much to Mara for interviewing me.

I also stopped at Bri Meets Books for an interview. I spilled the truth about how Editor K makes me cry when we talk ideas. *sniff* Go read it and you'll see what I mean! ;) Thanks so much, Bri!

Rambling about Take the Reins release

Canterwood Crest in the Effingham Daily News

Yay! The Effingham Daily News posted their article about Canterwood Crest! You can read the online version here. I used to live in Dieterich, IL, which was about 10 minutes from Effingham. But I went to school in Effingham and spent a lot of time there.

Thanks so much to Bill Grimes for writing the piece! :)