SOPHIE'S MIXED-UP MAGIC by Amanda Ashby

Okay, so I'm here to tell you about an amazing author--Amanda Ashby--with two, that's right TWO, books out this month! This is a new middle grade series, so be sure to snatch it up!

Sophie's Mixed-Up Magic: Wishful Thinking: Be careful what you wish for…

After eleven year old Sophie accidentally gets herself turned into a djinn, she starts to think that it might not be so bad after all. (Of course, that’s after she gets the whole orange skin problem sorted out.) Who wouldn’t enjoy having the power to grant wishes! But when Sophie develops RWD (Random Wish Disorder) and can’t STOP granting wishes, things get more than a little mixed-up!

Sophie's Mixed-Up Magic: Under A Spell: And that spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E… 

As Sophie gets used to her magic, her relationship with the adorable Jonathan Tait is blossoming. There’s only one problem: Jonathan’s twin sister, Melissa. She’s a total mean girl who seems intent on making Sophie’s life miserable. On top of that, Melissa somehow seems to sense that Sophie has powers–and manages to bind Sophie to her in a totally self-serving way. Can Sophie figure out a way out of this–without ruining her chances with Jonathan?

And Amanda is here to tell us a bit about herself, her books, and her writing.

The Twitter version: tell us about your book in 140 characters or less:
An adorable story about an 11 y/o girl who gets turned into a djinn the day before she starts sixth grade #amustreadforeveryone #seriously

Have you always wanted to be a writer? 
No, only because I had no idea that ‘regular’ people could be writers and so it wasn’t until my late twenties that I even realized it was something that I could do.

What made you decide to go that “extra step” and seek publication? 
I’m very lazy so if I’m going to do something then I want something to show for it! (Anyone who writes a book AND gets it published is the opposite of lazy. Just sayin'.) And so for me, the moment I decided to write a book, it was always with the view to one day being published.

Quick! You’ve been chosen to go on Survivor. What luxury item do you take? 
Kindle with a zillion books on it! (Not sure they have a way to recharge that thing in the tropics, but...)

And the most important of all: bacon or chocolate? 
Chocolate (though I do love bacon as well!) ((Of course she does. It's impossible not to!))

More about Amanda: Amanda Ashby was born in Australia and after spending the last sixteen years dividing her time between England and New Zealand, she’s finally moved back and now lives on the Sunshine Coast. When she’s not moving country, she likes to write books (okay, she also likes to eat chocolate, watch television and sit around doing not much, but let’s just keep that amongst ourselves, shall we?). 

She has a degree in English and Journalism from the University of Queensland and is married with two children. Her debut book, You Had Me at Halo was nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice award, and her first young adult book Zombie Queen of Newbury High was listed by the New York Public Library’s Stuff for the Teen Age 2010. Her latest release, Fairy Bad Day, has been selected by Voya as one of their Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers 2012 and is a SCBWI Crystal Kite Award finalist for the Australia/NZ region. To find out more, please go to www.amandaashby.com.

See? Hope you'll pick up your copy of both book 1 and book 2 of this new middle grade series.