Launch Party!

On Friday, April 5, my school hosted my launch party for THAT TIME I JOINED THE CIRCUS--and it was awesome! So many people turned up...we had a balloon twister, acrobat, and some amazing face painting. The circus snacks included hot dogs and popcorn. I signed so many books--and no one said no to a circus sticker!

Circus party!

Love that they started reading AT the party! 

I did not try this

Jacki with balloons and friends...

So amazing to share my book launch with so many friends, colleagues, students, and even lots of former students!

My seniors are circus animals

My students all grown up!

My popular book (and sticker) table :)

It's a Real Book!

TTIJTC! I got to sign loads of copies at the Scholastic store at 557 Broadway...

 ...and then caught my first glimpse of my book out in the wild, on the shelves at Books of Wonder at 18 W. 18th St. in NYC! 

Blog Tour!

This week is the Blog Tour for That Time I Joined the Circus! 

Tour schedule:

Tour Dates: March 27 – April 10

3/27: Blog Tour Kick Off – Through the Looking Glass

3/28: Literary Exploration: Book Review

3/29: The Book Cellar: Author Favorites List

3/30: Nick’s Book Blog: Guest Post – Top Five YA’s and Top Five TBR

3/31: The Hollow Cupboards: Guest Post – Authors/Stories that Inspired Me the Most

4/1: Forever 17 Books: Top Ten Guilty Pleasures

4/2: Emilie’s Book World: Favorite Circus Attractions

4/3: Novel Sounds: Author Playlist

4/4: Nawanda Files: Author Interview

4/5: Hobbitsies: Advice for Teen Writers

4/6: Through the Looking Glass: Book Review

4/7: The Book Vortex: Guest Post – Seven Random Facts about JJ Howard

4/8: Stalking the Bookshelves: A Day in the Life of JJ Howard

4/9: Word Spelunking: Author Interview

4/10:The Busy Bibliophile: Top Seven Things I Would Like to Collect

4/11: Through the Looking Glass – Wrap Up Post

I hope you'll stop by these blogs to visit me this week!

Book Fair!

That Time I Joined the Circus arrives at my school’s book fair!

It’s load-in day at my school…the circus has arrived!

I wasn’t sure if the book would be out in the Scholastic Book Fairs before its hardcover release this April 1. But here it is! My friend in our high school library Michele cracked open one of the boxes and we set them all up, and then she snapped my picture. It’s so amazing/crazy (cramazing?) to see something that started as an MS Word doc on my laptop turn into forty-eight individual, shiny new books. Still can’t wait for the hardcover release, but so excited that the book fair version has finally arrived at my school. Some of my students have been hearing me talk about this project since their freshman year, and now they’re seniors! It’s been a long trip…can’t wait to take the next step in this crazy circus trip ;}