New Max Quick review; Highlands Elementary and OC Book Fair Readings

First up: REALLY nice review of MAX QUICK: THE POCKET AND THE PENDANT from a member of the Maine Children's Book Award committee ... this could lead to something big! :)

"This book was first brought to my attention by my friend, Linda, who serves on the Maine Student Book Award committee with me. She had a fifth grade boy who brought this book to her claiming it was "the best book I've ever read!" He asked her to read it. She did. Then she brought it to our committee, shared her story and asked if others would please read it. She and I are both committed to listening carefully to what kids are saying about books so I promised her I would read it, even though I felt like all I was reading was fantasy/sci-fi stuff...not my genre of choice. But a promise is a promise...and so I opened the book....and did not put it down until I had finished the last page!"

More here: http://thebookmavenshaven.blogspot.com/2012/02/book-reviewthe-pocket-and-pendant-max.html

Next up: a bunch of snaps of my visit to Highlands Elementary: enjoy!

New reviews, Guest Author Posts

First up, a new review from The BK Club at Memorial Library. 

This is a perfect book for older readers who liked Rick Riordan’s The Red Pyramid, and other action adventure novels.

Next, a guest post by author Mark Jeffrey (that's me :) ) where I talk about maintaining consistent rules in fantastical settings -- and how to do that without losing the suspension of disbelief.  This was on a VERY popular YA book blog, so this was quite an honor.

My thinking here was that force = mass x acceleration; since acceleration is a function of time, if time tends towards zero, then force tends toward infinity. So I had to be careful to apply this rule consistently. For example, when the kids try to start a car, the engine immediately seizes up and dies. This is because the engine is meticulously designed to operate within normal physics: the amplified physics of the Pocket throw it out of whack.

And another review on BookDads.com, another VERY popular top YA book blog.

Max Quick reads like a video game in Mark Jeffrey’s fast-paced, action-packed modern day sci-fi adventure, Max Quick: The Pocket and The Pendant.  This book will keep young adults (and adults, too) glued to the page as the plot leaps and whooshes.  It’s no surprise Max had millions of downloads as a digital audio book. Full of vivid imagery and dialogue, one can easily picture Max Quick on the big screen or as a video game.  This book is the first in a series, and it will be sure to captivate many young adult readers.

Finally, something we don't see a lot of these days, but still very gratifying: a major new review of of MAX QUICK 2: THE TWO TRAVELERS podiobook. 

Be aware: The Two Travelers is a much bigger, darker book than it’s predecessor.  While The Pocket and the Pendant is suited and even targeted towards tweeners, I would definitely recommend The Two Travelers for an audience a few years older. And it’s BIG. The content spans many well spent hours.

And some new reviews of MQ2 also popped up on Podiobooks.com recently:

By: Arri
I thoroughly enjoyed Max Quick 1 which I listened to quite a while back. Just finished MQ 2 and have to say "Wow, brilliant thought provoking story. But also the performance by Mark is uncommonly great! After some thought I believe this pretty much my favorite on Podiobooks.com. I can't recommend this enough! I'm sure you'll have fun in these worlds with these characters. With luck we'll see the third installment before too long. Thanks Mark.

By: Traeonna
I cannot express enough how happy I am you've chosen to podcast the second book in this series. Like the first book, I've enjoyed this one immensely and am on my third read (now with my 9 year old son listening along). I love the cast of characters and the story always has me on wanting more. I highly recommend this series for both adults and children. I do not read paper novels as much as I used to due to issues with dyslexia, so I am so happy that more and more authors are podcasting them for free (as buying audiobooks is quite expensive if you "read" a lot). I also like that this is a story both my son and I can enjoy. It's smart enough to keep adults engaged in the story as well as entertaining enough to keep the kids interested. Another wonderful book and we both look forward to the next book.

By: Robin
I cant wait for Book 3 to come out on Podiobooks. I have thoroughly enjoyed the forst 2 books but really want to know what happens next. All excellent ratings for story and narration quality. Keep up the good work.

 Lastly, a little anecdote from today I posted on the MQ Facebook page, but repeat here as well ..

Popped into Manhattan Beach B&N to sign copies of MQ -- register person says: "Sold out! That book goes as fast as we restock it!" Checks computer, all LA-area stores save Promenade are sold out (!)

Some New Pictures

These were sent in by several readers recently: enjoy!  Oh, and there's one of me holding up my Junior Library Guild Award.  MAX QUICK: THE POCKET AND THE PENDANT is a 2011 selection, which means it is in the top 5% of books they evaluated ... and 95% of their selections go on to win major awards (!) so this is a great honor!

*Update: One more new pic! This is GABE with his copy of 'POCKET'!

Max Quick: New Promotions + News for First Month!

(This email below went out recently to publishing influencers ... thought I would share here also! :) )

I'd like to get your feedback on a new application for reading free chapters of a book on Facebook. Please take a minute and try out the Free Chapter on the following page:

http://bit.ly/mqchapter

The above is a free chapter on Facebook for HarperCollins' new book Max Quick: The Pocket and the Pendant by Mark Jeffrey.

The free chapter on that page is actually a Facebook application. It lets anyone easily show a free chapter on their Facebook page. It supports both Kindle and PDF formats. Pretty much everything you see can be customized.  Mark's also using our Book Giveaway application to give away 4 signed copies of Max Quick each week between now and July 13th. You can enter the giveaway at:

http://bit.ly/maxquick

About Max Quick


MAX QUICK: THE POCKET AND THE PENDANT is a new hardcover young adult novel from HarperCollins.  After just one month, it is already getting rave reviews from celebrities, editors, best-selling authors and grassroots readers alike.

The original online audiobook received over 2.5 million downloads.

And MAX QUICK is already keeping good company:

Here's a video of literary legend Margaret Atwood speaking with author Mark Jeffrey about MAX QUICK at Book Expo America 2011!

Oscar Nominee Abigail Breslin was recently asked in a nationally syndicated interview about her favorite books.  After mentioning 'Anne of Green Gables', she said, "Oh, and the Max Quick books.  I'm on the last one of those so I'm kind of sad about that."

MAX QUICK is a 2011 Junior Library Guild selection.

More Rave Reviews:

- A 4.25 star average with over 200 ratings on Goodreads.com!  Read their comments for yourself!

“Jeffrey’s descriptions of how time has stopped will stop readers in their own tracks. Plenty of action-adventure appeal.”
-- Booklist

"Riveting.  MAX QUICK is not what you expect, no matter what you expect."
-- New York Times Best-selling Author Scott Sigler

"This fast-paced adventure ... will keep readers turning the pages.  What Max and his friends learn ... raises philosophical and ethical questions about free will ... The incorporation of figures from Sumerian mythology adds an interesting element that may appeal to fans of Rick Riordan's 'Percy Jackson' series."
-- School Library Journal

"An imaginative and occasionally thoughtful addition to the middle grade speculative fiction cannon, and genre fans will look forward to ... the next installment in the series."
-- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"A fabulous, fleet-footed adventure that goes by in a whoosh."
-- New York Times Best-selling Author Kirstin Miller (The Eternal Ones, KIKI STRIKE series)

 "A fresh, fun fascinating idea deftly brought to life.  With all its deeply felt adventure, MAX QUICK should quickly captivate young readers."
-- James Jennewein and Tom S. Parker, authors of the Ruin Warriors trilogy.

About MAX QUICK: THE POCKET AND THE PENDANT

When time stops all over the world, creating 'the Pocket' of time wherein basic physics are strangely altered, only Max Quick and a few other kids seem to unaffected.  While the rest of the world remains frozen around them, Max -- and Casey, Ian and Sasha -- find that it is up to them to discover how this has happened and reverse it. Along the way, they encounter 'quantum' Books, ancient artifacts and other clues to the riddle of stopped time.  And Max finds that his own true identity may not be what he once believed.  Now he must embrace his past to save the future and prevent the very world from being altered forever ...

FOR MORE INFO ON MAX QUICK:     MaxQuickSeries.com

Buy the book here at these retailers

Agent Contact: Margaret O'Connor:  margaret@InnisfreeLiterary.com

Author Mark Jeffrey: mark.jeffrey@gmail.com

First 12 Days of Max Quick + MQ iPhone App!

Well it's been a crazy 12 days since the release of MAX QUICK: THE POCKET AND THE PENDANT.  People are sending me pictures of themselves with the book (and please keep them coming! mark.jeffrey at gmail dot com), a couple of them are to the left. 

I've done a book blog tour and have posts in several places around the web, I will post a comprehensive list in a few days.  I talk about the 'road to publishing' and many other facets of the novel.  The trick was writing something different and special for each book blog.  If you Google my name, you'll see some of the interviews and guest posts pop up.  Think of it as a scavenger hunt! :)

So now onto the big question: HOW IS THE BOOK SELLING?

Well, so far, it's selling really well!  How well?  I don't know yet.  It's not easy to pull that info together.  I'm told it takes a good two months to really know that.  It was a solid first two weeks, I do know that.  And I have all of you to thank for that. 

On the other hand, it's not on the NY Times Bestseller's list yet either. That much I'm sure of.  But then, I didn't expect it to be.  Not THAT fast.  This kind of book takes time for people to discover it and for word of mouth and word of mouse to drive sales.  It took Harry Potter a good year to reach the list.  

So please, a few things:  If you haven't posted a review on Amazon, please do.  Reviews help a LOT. That goes for Goodreads as well.

And if you enjoyed the book, please do tell your friends about it, in real life and online.  Facebook it, Tweet about it. 

(Look at it this way: the sooner this book starts selling well, the sooner Book 2 and Book 3 can be off my computer and in your hands! :)

Last, THANK YOU once again for Likeing it, buying it, all that.  I do really and truly appreciate it, and every bit does make a difference -- I can tell you that for sure sitting where I am.  All that 'every vote counts' thing?  I understand it a LOT better now. ;)

Ok!  Now onto the NEXT bit of fun -- we've released the OFFICIAL MAX QUICK iPHONE APP! Here's a screeny screenshot snappy snap thing:

So what comes with this new and wonderful toy?

- Planet Furious songs!  Yes you heard me!  And now you can actually hear an original Planet Furious song played by the band -- both 'in studio' and unplugged versions!

- Planet Furious 'Backstage Pass' -- take a picture of yourself and make a badge to get all area access to any PF concert!

- Special Wallpaper with the Max Quick logo, the Planet Furious logo and the Serpents & Mermaids logo!

- Quick soundbites of characters from the book speaking some of their most recognizable dialogue read by a master audiobook actor (That would be me, actually ;) ) 

- Other surprises you'll have to download to see

So click to get it now!

Thanks once again for your support.  Can't thank you enough.

- Mark