Popular releases tomorrow!

W-O-W--WOW!

I can't believe the *fourteenth* Canterwood Crest book releases on Tuesday! This was a series that started with one book in mind that I wrote in 2009. Ya'll know the story, but I'm feeling nostalgic. I was 19, a senior in college with a full course load and I heard about National Novel Writing Month. It was late October 2006, and NaNo is November 1-30, so I had no ideas, no outline--nothing. I jumped into it and started writing my first ever novel.

Tidbit: It was a YA novel called "High Jumps at Collins Academy" first. :)

I wrote my butt off and actually crossed the 50,000 word mark on or just before November 30. My draft was UGLY. I mean, it was seriously scary! But editing on my own, later edits with my ex-agent and edits from my first editor, Molly, got the book on track. That one book turned into a four book deal and after Molly left S&S (I got the call on my birthday!) I got the greatest gift: High Jumps, now Canterwood Crest, was under the guidance and editorial input of Kate Angelella.

Everything changed after that. Call it two girls clicking over a story. Or maybe it was the beautiful photos. Or the insane, nonstop marketing. Or the schedule of writing a bi-monthly series for a while. All of those things, and more, came into play into getting my series from one book to 20. Those were all important components, but it was, without a doubt, the edits from Editor K that got us to where we are: over 500,000 copies of the series in print.

I am ever so grateful to Kate and Simon & Schuster for embracing a girl with a desperate need for horses in her life, but being unable to do so unless I could write about them. Canterwood allows me to live vicariously through my characters and I couldn't be more immersed in Horse World. Best part? I got to see Kate pet her first horse. Nice coincidence, huh? :)

I'm busy working on MASQUERADE and Kate had her hands full with projects and will soon be editing my book.

I sincerely want to thank all of Team Canterwood for your support. I would NOT be able to live my dream without you. If you could only know how grateful I am!

Let me know if you spot POPULAR! I'm going to be spending release day in Rochester, MN, so I'll sign copies at Barnes & Noble, take pics and let you know where the books are in case you live nearby.

xoxo

Half a million!?

You guys! Thanks to *YOU* and I mean, each and every member of Team Canterwood, there are half a million Canterwood Crest books in print. Talk about insane! What great news for a stressful week.

We're getting ready to leave for Mayo #3 on Saturday. Thank you all for chiming in on the Facebook page and saying you'll take 10 seconds out of you day to send good thoughts to Kate during her surgery next Tuesday. We love you all.

I think I'm going to take a break from work and watch GOSSIP GIRL: season one with Kate. We're starting at episode one. We both stopped watching after two or three seasons, but I loved the first.

Hugs!

~J

Scandals, Rumors, Lies chapter one!

Team Canterwood member of awesome Sophie was the first to spot that chapter one of SCANDALS, RUMORS, LIES is up on Simon & Schuster's Website!! Major yaaay! Thank you, Sophie!

Here you go and I hope you enjoy! :)

Chapter 1

1 DECISIONS, DECISIONS

ONE BOX TO GO.

I kneeled in front of a cardboard box that I'd shoved in the corner of Brit's—well, our—room. It was the only box left to open after I'd moved into Orchard Hall two weeks ago. I stared at the scissors in my hand, clenching them and waiting for the chest crush to come when I thought about how I'd moved out of my old room. The space I'd shared with my ex(?)–best friend and roommate, Paige Parker.

But, instead, the sadness was only a twinge. Fourteen days wasn't enough for us to even begin to reevaluate our friendship, but it was enough to allow me to realize that I liked living with Brit.

And I was ready to unpack the last box and make this room completely mine, too.

I slid the scissors along the tape at the top of the box and pulled out summer clothes that I hadn't needed to unpack right away since it was mid-October. The tank tops, shorts, and T-shirts fit into the top drawer that Brit had cleared out for me in our dark wooden dresser. I slid the drawer closed and stood back, hands on my hips, surveying the room as mine for the first time since I'd moved in.

The room was bigger than my old one and had glossy hardwood floors, a whiteboard with notes written in neon-colored markers, and soft cream-colored eyelet curtains that swayed gently in the breeze through the slightly open windows. Above the window panes, Brit had twinkly star-shaped lights that made the coziest shadows at night. My feet sank into the pink plush carpet and I sat down on my desk chair.

A key turned in the doorknob and Brit, carrying a FedEx box, stepped inside. She looked every inch runway-ready in her tall black boots with skinny jeans tucked into them and a ribbed, plum-colored V-neck sweater. She may have looked it, but Brit wasn't from New York City like many of the students at Canterwood Crest—she was a small-town girl like me. A fact that had definitely fast-tracked our bond.

"Hey, Sash," she said. Her smile brightened her almond-shaped eyes when she looked at me. Her glossy, long black hair was in a side braid.

"Hey, looks like you got the box you were waiting for," I said.

"Yep!" Brit put the box on the floor, nodding. "My parents got us Halloween decorations for our room. Stephanie had them in her office and I almost ripped the box out of her hands."

I laughed, pulling my light brown hair into a loose ponytail. "Halloween is our favorite holiday."

"And hello—it's in two weeks!" Brit brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Since it is a Sunday and all of our homework is done, want to decorate?"

"Hmmm …" I pretended to think about it. "Yes!"

Brit and I kneeled on the floor beside the box and she sliced it open. She pulled out a layer of black and orange tissue paper. Plastic spider confetti sprinkled onto the carpet and we giggled. A note was under the layer of paper.

Brit—Happy Halloween! Dad and I hope you and your new roommate like the decorations. We miss you! Xoxo, Mom and Dad

"Let's see what we've got," Brit said. She reached into the box and started handing me items. There was a giant cardboard cutout skeleton to hang on our door, a set of plastic tombstones with funny names like "Barry A. Live," "Reed N. Weep," and "Otta B. Alive." There were two pairs of fake wax fangs and a giant bagful of mixed gum and candy bars. I wanted to dive into the orange M&M's immediately.

Brit handed me a giant rubber spider with an orange sticker that said SQUEEZE ME! on its stomach. I did, making it squeak. Brit and I laughed. I looked at the spider, unable to either stop the flashbacks to last Halloween or stop thinking about how different things were now. Last year, Callie, my ex-BFF, and I had been dressing miniature horses up in costumes for a charity auction. Paige, my other BFF, and I had spent days leading up to Halloween watching funny-slash-scaryish (read: no blood!) Halloween movies and eating a ton of candy corn. This year, well, Callie hadn't been a part of my life for a while and that had been painful enough. But now, with the possibility of losing Paige completely, there were moments when I didn't know what to do. But having Brit definitely made things easier.

"Sash, isn't this cool?" Brit handed me a sheet of vinyl window decals. They had jack-o'-lanterns with different faces—some creepy, some silly—plus bats, ghosts, black cats, and a few stars.

"These are so fun. They're going to look great."

Brit got up and plugged in a pumpkin that looked real. She pushed a button on the cord and a warm glow came out of its eyes, mouth, and nose. It looked perfect on our small end table.

"Love it," I said. "I'm going to start the window clings."

I took a sheet from Brit and pulled up the blinds, letting sunshine filter through the glass. Standing back, I stared at the window, deciding where to place each cling. This was obviously very serious. A laughing ghost fit at the corner of the window, angled and looking just right.

Brit and I spent another hour arranging the decorations exactly as we wanted them. We laughed and chatted the entire time as if we'd been BFFs our whole lives. Some days, I'd questioned the decision to move out of my room with Paige and there had been nights that I'd been awake for hours wondering if I'd made the right decision. But now, looking over at Brit and feeling comfortable and stress-free in my own space, I knew I'd made the right decision.

"And I think we're done," Brit said. She stepped back and surveyed the room, hands on her hips.

"I think you're right!"

The room was spectacularly spooky with orange, black, and silver in every corner.

I stood, a slight chill making me shiver, and thought about how different this Halloween was going to be from last year.

© 2010 Jessica Burkhart

Rival Revenge is complete! Woo!

Oooh, yay! The final draft of RIVAL REVENGE is in Editor K's hands. Yaaay! Book #7 is a wrap. Well, till copyedits anyway. But by then, I'll be loong into HOME SWEET DRAMA.

Now, to tackle the to-do list that seemed to come out of nowhere and become quite long. It involves lots of vlogging. And video making. And Website updating. I like. :)

Uh, but first...I might watch the NEW MOON trailer. Just one more time. One. As a sparkly (haha--it's true!) reward.

Super Sparkly News!!!

Right now, I feel like I've consumed ALL of these:


Because...

My amazing editor, Kate Angelella, who is a total , has decided that she's willing to put up with my overly caffeinated phone calls, Twittering in her presence and my obsession with R Pattz and has asked me to write books 9-12 in the Canterwood Crest series!!

Dance party! :)

This means Sasha and friends get to ride on for four more books!

To everyone who made it happen (again!!) I'm so, so grateful and am thrilled to have all of you on Team Canterwood! Aladdin MIX = awesome.

I'm in total shock right now and can't even find the words to express how happy I am to be able to continue the stories of Sasha and her friends. I *never* thought I'd have twelve books. Never. And it would not have happened without the amazing, continued support of people who've backed me all the way.

I looked back through my blog and my last book deal was in December. So many things have changed since then, but my intense love for my books hasn't. If anything, it has grown because of the wonderful fans who love the books and show it!

And this time last year? I was squeeing on the phone with EK when she sent me the cover for TAKE THE REINS, my first book.

Insane.

*breathes*

The books will continue on the bi-monthly pub schedule, so stay tuned for dates, covers and all of that fun stuff coming soon.

Again, I want to thank Kate for working side-by-side with me on this crazy schedule, for loving the books as much as I do and for listening to all of my insecurities and being the first one to know that I can do this. I'm beyond grateful to you for everything.

Mention on Fuse #8

Apparently, I live in a cave. I completely missed this. Thanks so much to Elizabeth Bird of School Library Journal's Fuse #8 for picking Canterwood Crest as the first runner up for the "bests" of the fall 2009 Simon & Schuster preview. I'm honored, Elizabeth. Thank you! :)

PS- Did you guys see the new line up for the NYC Teen Author Carnival? It's INSANE. Come join us!

The Rock and the River in the NYT

On Sunday, the New York Times is reviewing The Rock and the River. This is super sparkly news because my editor, Kate Angelella, edited this book. The Rock and the River was the first book Kate ever acquired and that speaks to her talent as an editor. Kate is not only the hardest working editor, but she also has an intense passion for her projects. The Rock and the River will be the first of many books on Kate's list that will achieve this level of recognition.

Congratulations, Kate!!

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!

Bye!

Tomorrow, I'll be in the air on the way to St. Louis. And, well, Memphis for a 50 minute layover. My plane leaves at 7am, so that means I'll be on my second Diet Coke by 6am. Yes, I drink soda before coffee in the morning. I'm weird like that.

I'll be speaking at the Missouri Writers Guild conference. I'm so looking forward to meeting Celeste Perrino-Walker, my awesome editor at Listen. See you Friday, C!

It should be a fun conference! Pics and possible video to come. :)

Also, my friend Tiana made this GORGEOUS slideshow for the Canterwood books. Tiana, thank you! I love it!

Charm gets fan art

Isn't that gorgeous? Salina aka I'maCowgirl at Girls Horse Club drew Charm. It's Charm's first piece of fan art and I'm in love with it. Look at the detail on the bridle and the relaxed expression on Charm's face.

Hugs to Salina for creating such beautiful art. Salina, you're super talented and I hope you keep drawing. Thank you so much for this--it means a lot! <3

Book Chic and Chasing Blue

Book Chic shows off Chasing Blue, the note I wrote to him in sparkly blue AND talks about our summer plans to stalk our author friend Maggie Stiefvater. Maggie has likely already hired security to thwart our plans.

Check out the first two a half minutes of the video to catch that. Thanks, BC! :) YOU ROCK!

Chasing Blue is out early! :)

Well, it appears that Barnes & Noble is the first to release CHASING BLUE. Yep! I haven't actually seen it Out There, but their site says it's shipping.

Amazon is also in stock! That means I'll resume my book stalking ways. I'd just stopped doing that, too. :)

Yaaay! As always, thanks to AA, EK and S&S. <3


About the book:

Home (Bitter) Sweet Home

Now that Sasha Silver and her horse, Charm, have proven that they're worthy competitors for the Canterwood Crest equestrian team, Sasha's psyched to get back to school...until self-proclaimed It girl, queen bee, and owner of the I'm-so-way-better-than-you-are attitude, Heather Fox, is assigned as Sasha's riding partner.

Not. Good.

And when Heather starts spending a little too much QT with Sasha's almost-boyfriend, Jacob, their partnership is put to the ultimate test.

Canterwood Crest Academy fan site--no way

OMG.

There's a Canterwood Crest Academy fan site. *dies*

Someone actually set up pages about admissions, dorm rooms, stables and classes. So. Cool.

Thank you, HorseGirlMishi! :)

Photo shoot on Monday--eep!

Yesterday, I got a call that Tallahassee Magazine wants to take pics for the article they're running soon. Exciting. They asked where I do most of my writing and said they'd like to take pics of me at my workspace.

Mad. Cleaning. And stuff shuffling.

Like crazy. For some reason, whenever I think of photos of authors in their workspace, I always think of Meg Cabot in a tiara. Or her new author pics.

At least I've got the signing on Saturday, so I can't stay home and clean/rearrange things. Anyway, they'll be here at 9am on Monday. Sunday will be spent choosing The Outfit. Yes. (And Mandy Morgan, I WILL be wearing the killer boots!) ;) Mandy told me to definitely wear them to an interview and they seemed to be lucky. So I'll keep wearing 'em.

Now, I'm off to a meeting to talk last minute details for the Books-A-Million signing. It's almost here!

Canterwood Crest #5 title reveal!

Best Enemies (Canterwood Crest #5) is now up on Amazon. Cool! It's scheduled to release on October 20, 2009. I really love the title, too. Editor K came up with that and when I heard it, I was like, "Yep! Love it! Don't change it!" :)

The cover isn't ready for showing yet, but it's gorgeous. Trust me. It's so good that it's sick, actually. :)

And, seriously, thanks again to everyone emailing me about Take the Reins and Young Rider! You guys are so sweet! :)

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!

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

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.

Someone likes my book! :)

That's my new friend, Julia. I about died when I saw this pic. So. Sweet. Thank you for reading, J!! :) I'm feeling all special because someone other than friends or family like my book. Woo!

Want more pics? I posted some of my visit to Simon & Schuster. They're on yesterday's post.

Also...this is a new non-fiction horse book from Aladdin. It's called YOU AND YOUR HORSE: HOW TO WHISPER YOUR WAY INTO YOUR HORSE'S LIFE and it's by Dandi Daley Mackall. It's packed with great tips on riding, horse care and everything a young rider needs to know. Plus? It has TAKE THE REINS on the back, which is super cool.





And!! Twilight has a DVD release date! March 21! Woo! E! is predicting midnight madness.

January Author of the Month at Harmony Book Reviews

I'm sooo excited to announce that I'm the January Author of the Month (AOM) at Harmony Book Reviews! Yaaay! Thank you, Harmony, for choosing me. I'm honored and super-excited!

Want to read Harmony's announcement? Check it out here!

P.S. She said, and I quote, "the book is fab." OMG! :)