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!

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 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 :) 

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!

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!

Guest Posting

"Being a writer is a dream. It’s a top-of-the-bucket list, thing-to-do-before-I-die, can’t-believe-I-get-to-see-it-on-a-bookshelf dream. You are doing something that people aspire to. Even when the blank page is taunting you. Even when the twenty-third rejection rolls in. Even when you’re squishing rewrites in with a million other things. You are part of something amazing. Feel that with all your heart. Know that it’s true no matter what. You are a writer."

...That's me, guest posting over at My First Book. It's my first guest posting experience, and has been super cool (and a total privilege!) Check it out, and say hi to Misha!

Everything is possible!

Want Anika Moa at Your Wedding?

The talented, charming, and utterly kick-ass Anika Moa has donated this experience as a charity auction for Women's Refuge.

This is your chance! If you're in NZ (and getting married :)), you've got until Friday August 12 to get your bids in!

Check out the auction here.

(The winner even gets a designer wedding gown to boot!)


Everything is possible!

Feel Good Words

Have you checked out Free Rice?
It's the addictive online vocabulary game that makes you feel good!

For every answer you get right, Free Rice donates 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Programme to end hunger. Super cool!


Started: 2007
The current total? 91 255 368 390

Click to play...
Show off your vocab...
Learn new words...
Watch your donations grow... 

Win-win-win-win  - love that! :)


If you haven't been played before, woohoo - I get to introduce you*!
If you haven't played for a while, check out the new subjects - there's art, math, languages... brilliant!

You can boost the daily total right now! Go! 


*Apologies in advance to your WIP!

 Keep kicking ass!