2012 Fireworks!

Thank you all for making 2012 such an amazing year :) 

Thank you to the beta-readers (Sian Young, Alyssa Young, and Jane Linsdell) for their support and enthusiasm (plus plus plus!), agent Jessica Regel for her persistence – and the emails that always give me goose bumps, Vladimir Nikulin and Vera Simon for gorgeousness inside and out (you’ll see their work more and more!)...

Photo by Vlad & Vera

...the magical Claudia McKinney from PhatPuppy for taking gorgeous to the next level, the tour hosts, sponsors, and management team for the launch of The Jelly Bean Crisis (particularly Charlotte Russell and Susie Barber for their incredible support)... 

A tour prize winner

...thank you to the reviewing teams at LitPick and Readers Favorite, the dedicated (and super scary!) Goodreads community, the organizers and participants of the Book Blast, the librarians, the tweeters, the Likers, the Frienders and the bloggers, and all of the readers and reviewers, who not only read my books, but also took the time to share their thoughts with the world (and sometimes just with me :)). Thank you all so, so much!


So, what’s next? It’s definitely the perfect time of year to start thinking big and going for those red jelly beans! And while my plan is to disappear into new drafts and edits for a while, there has already been a suspiciously exciting email that might change that…! My advice? Make the big, delicious plans – and then be completely open for even bigger ones to jump out! 

“The universe will give you so much more than anything you can dream of!” 
- Total Blueprint for World Domination

Art by Niobe Carter

Bring it on, 2013!

Everything is possible!

12/12/12 Announcement: $100 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!

Giveaway time! 12/12/12 - 12/21/12 

Over the next week, book bloggers from all over the web will be hosting The Jelly Bean Crisis book blast with a $100 prize in time for Christmas!

It's super simple - use the Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway :) 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A huge thank you to Kathy from I Am A Reader, Not a Writer - she is a passionate reader, a dedicated blogger, and her sites are just gorgeous! Kathy has been amazing in supporting my books, and organizing this giveaway.

Good luck and I'll see you back here on the 18th for the winner! 

Free books!

There is a place where you can get free books right now. Paperback, hardcover, actual hold-in-your-hands books! (Along with ebooks, audio books, DVDs, CDs, great advice, and snuggly corners!)

A giant brain on the doors? LOVE!

Free books! As many as you can hold, as any as you can read. Libraries change lives. I know it.

As a kid I was sure that if I could just live at the library, my life would be perfect. I could work my way through the shelves, learn everything about everything, read every single book, and live a thousand lives.

Even though I don't live at the library (yet!), I still love staggering home with a stack of books, or curling up in a secret corner that I'm sure no one knows about but me. 

A library is a place you can find the world - but better than that, it's a place you can find yourself.

So of all the awesomeness that comes with my books existing in the real world, for me, knowing that they are in libraries is THE BEST.

Why, fancy seeing you here!

That my spine might jump out at a reader? That my book could be in someone's pile of library jewels? That my words could make a difference to someone I'll never meet? Pfooooar! I can’t tell you how much pride and awe I feel that my books live in libraries. 

The Jelly Bean Crisis will be heading for libraries before Christmas, and I just visited Total Blueprint for World Domination at the Garden Place Library in Hamilton. SO COOL!

Free books! As many as you can hold, as many as you can read - new books, classics, banned books, secret finds, - and now mine!

*squeal* 

Everything is possible!

Bake That Book (That Teenage Feeling)

A huge thank you to Sarah from That Teenage Feeling. For her meme "Bake That Book" she takes her inspiration from YA, and this week? It's The Jelly Bean Crisis!

Everything is possible!

Molly Brown London Giveaway Winner

Her daughter blowing a thank you kiss.

The winner of the Strawberry Jelly Bean Necklace from Molly Brown London has sent through a photo of her adorable daughter (and fan of pink!) wearing the necklace.

<< It is so lovely to see the necklace's new home!

A huge thank you to Molly Brown London for the international giveaway, and for being so incredibly supportive and fun to work with!


And thank you so much Jolene from Washington for sending through the gorgeous photo :)

The Jelly Bean Crisis Blog Tour Map

This is the The Jelly Bean Crisis Blog Tour Map! It's clickable and includes links to all of the review sites and gorgeous people involved in the tour. I LOVE that the whole world really is just a few clicks away!
(I've had such an awesome response to The Jelly Bean Crisis Blog Tour Map that I'm going to keep an updated one on the website for reviewers - if you want to be involved, contact me :))

Everything is possible!

The Jelly Bean Crisis Tour Winners

First up: Thank you so much to everyone who made The Jelly Bean Crisis blog tour so amazing :) A massive thank you to the incredible reviewers and tour hosts, all of the readers, commenters, Tweeters and behind the scenes supporters - you made those six days some of the best of my life :) 

And now... the tour prize winners!

The Strawberry Jelly Bean Necklace from Molly Brown London:
Jolene A – Bothell, Washington.

The Monster Jar with thousands of jelly beans:
Alicia E – Birmingham, Alabama.

Print copies of The Jelly Bean Crisis:
Jaime H – Sturgis, Michigan.
Denise Z – Medford, Oregon.

EBook copies of The Jelly Bean Crisis:
Nora, Natasha, Eileen, Emily, Sangita, Alison, Melissa, Jaime, Dale, Christy, Abby, Holly, Mandee, Carlla, and Alicia.

Congratulations!!!!!! Your prizes are on the way!

Tomorrow I'll post up The Jelly Bean Crisis Blog Tour Map so you can see how much of the world jumped in for the fun :) 

The Jelly Bean Crisis Tour Update

Did you win the Molly Brown London strawberry jelly bean necklace? The monster jar of 4.2kg if jelly beans? You own copy of The Jelly Bean Crisis? Keep an eye on your email! The winners will be contacted the winners in the next few days :) 

Squeeeeeeeeal!!!!!

Everything is possible!

The Jelly Bean Crisis Book Blog Tour Schedule

The tour schedule is here!!! *squeeeeal* 

Already today there have been amazing reviews, favorite quotes, and a kitten - and we're only just getting started! (When you're checking out the posts, remember to enter the Rafflecopter and be in to win!)

Win a gorgeous Strawberry Jelly Bean Necklace from Molly Brown London's award winning Jelly Bean Collection.

Everything is possible!

The Jelly Bean Crisis Book Blog Tour

This is it! The Jelly Bean Crisis Book Blog Tour is here!!!!!

There will be bloggers from all over the world, and giveaways of gorgeous jewellery from Molly Brown London, thousands of jelly beans, plus paperbacks and ebooks!

I'll be back with a list of the bloggers for each day - check out their blogs and enter to win :)

Everything is possible!

ARCs out, chocolate in!

The ARCs (Advance Review Copies) are being sent out to readers and reviewers. 

It's real! It's real!

The Jelly Bean Crisis will be published in just under a month, and it is super cool to see the book appearing on so many cool book blog sites this week :)

Moments of unfathomable awesome like these call for one thing: chocolate!

Tonight's chocolate is a block of the newest Cadbury creation - chocolate with jelly beans (of course!), chocolate candy, and pop rocks. Wooohoooooo!

Ooh, and I'll be posting the tour schedule this week - thanks AToMR! 


Everything is possible!

Bacon Taco Shell

Have you seen the bacon taco shell??? Whoa. 

http://www.neatorama.com/2012/04/06/bacon-taco-shell/

Just add chicken. And cheese. And sour cream. 
And fizzy drink (to dissolve it all!).

Everything is possible!

Goodreads Giveaway

Enter to win a paperback of The Jelly Bean Crisis before the official release!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Jelly Bean Crisis

by Jolene Stockman

Giveaway ends July 20, 2012.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Everything is possible!

Changing Teams

Zombies Vs. Unicorns by Holly Black, Justine Larbalestier, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Maureen Johnson, Carrie Ryan, Scott Westerfeld, Meg Cabot, Garth Nix, Kathleen Duey, Margo Lanagan, Naomi Novik.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I went into this book as a reader with boxfuls of MLPs. Sure, I’m scared of horses, and pretty sure my parents’ Shetland is trying to kill me. But unicorns? Sign me up! Team Unicorn all the way.

Now, I don’t know whether it’s the love-story-heavy Team Zombie, or the high-ick-factor on Team Unicorn, but somewhere early on in this book, I realized that I have grown up, moved on... and changed teams. I’m now a Zombieland, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Hollowland kind of girl.

Between the gorgeous undead love stories, heart-breaking end-of-days dramas and skull-cracking comedies, I’m sold. (But I think I’ll hang on to that box of MLPs, just in case ;)).

My favourite stories? Love Will Tear Us Apart by Alaya Dawn Johnson, Bougainvillea by Carrie Ryan, The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn by Diana Peterfreund, Inoculata by Scott Westerfeld.

Cover: The Jelly Bean Crisis

A huge thank you to all the bloggers, readers, tweeters, and absolute sweethearts who made Cover Reveal Day so awesome! I am grinning like a mad thing from all the AMAZING things people have said about the cover :). 

(Some of my favourite quotes? 
"HOLY SMOKES! That cover is gorgeous!" "It’s RAINING jelly beans!!! Come ON! *dies*" "Wow, I fell in love with the synopsis and I pretty much knew that the cover would rock." "Definitely my favourite cover (and title!) so far this year."... Actually, my favorite quotes might have to become a whole blog post!!! :P)

The book launch is August 1, and the blog tour is August 6-11. Sign up now!


Everything is possible!

Cover Reveal Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*happy dance*

Over the next 24 hours, you'll be able to check out the cover for The Jelly Bean Crisis here:
The Bookish Brunette
A Pocket Full of Books
Lindsay and Jane's Views and Reviews
Moonlight Book Reviews
Chapter by Chapter
So Simply Sara  
Artsy Musings of a Bibliophile
A Diary Of A Book Addict
StuckInBooks
The Magic Attic
Storybook Escape
The Bookish Babe
Hackaroo's Reviews
Kindred Dreamheart
YA-Aholic
A Written Rhapsody
Unabridged Bookshelf
The Book Barbies
Froggarita's Bookcase
The Reading Housewives
Kindred Dreamheart
There is a Book in my Bag
Sim Sational Books
Book Loving Mom
My Cute Bookshelf
Totally Bookalicious

Thank you so much to my amazing tour manager Julie Brazeal, and to the super sweet bloggers who have jumped in to be part of the reveal!
 
Everything is possible!

News

My fiction debut The Jelly Bean Crisis is on its way!

Insert squealing, fireworks, happy dancing, and jelly beans :)
Here's the info:
Publication: August 1
Cover* reveal: April 30 
Blog tour: August 6-11  
Sign up here.

And if you're on Goodreads you'll find it here.

* The cover is Phat Puppy Creations. Phat Amanda-Hocking-JL-Bryan Puppy, people!!!!

If you have any questions, shoot me an email :) 
Deep breath. Here we go!


Everything is possible!

If Dreamhunter was a cake...

Dreamhunter by Elizabeth Knox
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Very Inception. Delicate and beautiful imagery. I was nearly 300 pages in before I realised that there hadn't been a love interest! And I still didn’t care! Lucky for me I have the sequel, because I really want to know what happens next!

And if Dreamhunter was a cake? It would be a raspberry lamington – delicate, intricate, deceptively easy, smooth, and (surprisingly) Kiwi.

One more week of NZ Book Month - have fun :)

Everything is possible!

NZ Book Month: Thunder Road

Thunder Road by Ted Dawe

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

New Zealand YA fiction. Dark and shaken. Love the male POV, the Kiwi slang, the overall themes and feel of the book, and I really liked the ending. The content (drugs, cars, gangs) just made me sad... I guess I don’t mind crying over zombies and romance, but wasted lives just rark me up!


It's New Zealand Book Month! If you're in New Zealand, get your NZ Book Month voucher ($5 off your next book store purchase) here.

Everything is possible!

New Zealand Book Month

It’s March! So, in honor of New Zealand Book Month, I’m reading some Kiwi YA. I have to admit, after years of reading, writing, and breathing US YA, the Kiwi slang is a fair jolt (and I speak it!)

If you’re looking to check out some New Zealand books, here are some ideas:

• For YA paranormal romance, check out Margaret Mahy’s The Changeover.*
  *Forgive the 80's cover and focus on the 600+ 4 and 5 star ratings on Goodreads :)
• For a poignant (& funny!) MG book, read See Ya Simon from David Hill. #gotaranaki!
• For a literary gut-wrenching, dive into Keri Hulme's The Bone People.

This month, I'm challenging myself with male POVs, drag cars, and science fiction. I'm reading Thunder Road (Ted Dawe), Smiling Jack (Ken Catran), and Dreamhunter (Elizabeth Knox). And of course, there's a whole lot of Hairy Maclary being chanted around the house!

Ooh, and if you are in New Zealand? You can get the NZ Book Month voucher for $5 off your next book store purchase here.

Happy New Zealand Book Month :)

Everything is possible!

11 + 11 + 11 + 11 + 11

Okay guys, so I got tagged 5 times... That's 55 questions. The plan? 55 Pictures!

(Well, there were some questions where I got carried away, and some that doubled up, but you get the idea..!)

Thank you to my Taggers: Daisy, Gina, Chandara, Karina, Rossandra.

I give you (drum roll)..... 11 questions x 5 taggers x 1000 words* =Monster Answer Montage!

*Because apparently that's what a picture's worth..!


NOTE: The pics that have been removed will be replaced ASAP - thanks for your patience! 

I'm not going to tag anyone (!), but if something sparks for you, feel free to comment :) It's cool to see what we all have in common... Any fellow film fiends campaigning? Toastmasters? 80's kids? Griffon owners?

Everything is possible!

Let's have wedges!

Hi! Welcome Campaigners, Wanderers, Readers - I’m so happy that you’re here :)

I'm Jolene and I like fizzy drinks, shiny things, superheroes, and wedges with everything.*  Ooh, and I'm a writer :) Pull up a chair - we'll eat and talk!

*Everything = sour cream, cheese, bacon, sour cream, chilli sauce, sour cream, and a sprig of parsley so it’s totally good for you :) Wait, did I say sour cream? 

My first non-fiction, Total Blueprint for World Domination (yay Goodreads giveaway ==>) is a motivational book for teens – creating a step-by-step blueprint to achieve a dream world!

I'd love to connect with you anywhere else you are on the Campaign-trail, so feel free to contact me via Twitter, Facebook, or email. And if you’re keen to review / give away my book on your blog, hit the tab up top and I’ll send you an e-copy :)

See you soon - we'll have ice cream!

Jolene :)

Everything is possible!

Superhero Art

I love seeing images I know in a different way :) I'm so excited to have found the superhero art of UK-based illustrator and animator Liam Brazier http://www.liambrazier.com/. He creates the pieces using Photoshop's polygonal selection tool and then fills them in with colour. 

My dream library so has a full-wall Liam Brazier Superman!

Everything is possible!

Along Came a Spider

I'm scared of whales. Their tiny eyes, their flappy tales. It's the size, the sound, the whole shabang. That's right: I'm scared, and completely certain they will fly up onto land and eat me. (Yeah, yeah, I know about their "tiny throats" but that is total whale propaganda! Next thing you'll tell me they're beaching themselves "by accident"!) 

There are lots of ways to deal with fear, and the way I'm working with this one is by building up my whale resistance bit by bit. I watch the Frozen Planet ads through splayed fingers, shudder at the Bluebird commercial, and grit my teeth through various other "surprise" whales. Yep, I reckon about 300 years from now, I will be at peace with their existence :)

"The greatest super power is knowing yourself, and
using your powers to create the world that you want."
- Total Blueprint for World Domination.

I understand that most people aren't scared of whales, I know that this is one of the things that makes me me, but I'm just so curious! The idea that my brain can translate an object or situation into a pounding heart and sweating palms? Pretty damn cool! 

I found a picture of a cool way to dilute a fear by making it part of your everyday life. 
Warning: If you're scared of spiders, prepare yourself before you click the link! http://www.frugal-cafe.com/public_html/frugal-blog/frugal-cafe-blogzone/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/spider-in-shoe.jpg

I'm going to assume that those guys are (humanely) stuffed or plastic... Because what an awesome way to make kicking fear's ass a part of your day! Stomp it out!*

Trying to get over a fear of whales? Spiders? Heights? Do you have a fear that other people can't understand? One that doesn't even make sense to you?

*You know, as soon as they make shoes with whales in them, I'm there ;)

Everything is possible!

Sign Me Up

This is it. 2012.
Start now. Kick off your dream world.
Make BIG plans (in 12 months you'll be glad you did).
Take care. Let go. Move forward.
Fall in love with little things.
Create. Change. Grow.
Do better. Be better. Be AMAZING. (You already are, you know :))

Live like you're hanging out the car window: fresh, joy-filled, NOW.



2012? Blink out those bugs and bring it on!!!!!

Everything is possible!