Welcome to Day 20 of the 4th Annual March MG Madness! Today we are celebrating Heidi Schulz and her fun Hook's Revenge Series...
Hook's Revenge
(Hook's Revenge #1)
by Heidi Schulz
9/16/14
Disney-Hyperion
Captain Hook's feisty daughter hits the high seas to avenge her father's death at the jaws of the Neverland crocodile in Heidi Schulz's spirited middle-grade debut.
Twelve-year-old Jocelyn dreams of becoming every bit as daring as her infamous father, Captain James Hook. Her grandfather, on the other hand, intends to see her starched and pressed into a fine society lady. When she's sent to Miss Eliza Crumb-Biddlecomb's Finishing School for Young Ladies, Jocelyn's hopes of following in her father's fearsome footsteps are lost in a heap of dance lessons, white gloves, and way too much pink.
So when Jocelyn receives a letter from her father challenging her to avenge his untimely demise at the jaws of the Neverland crocodile, she doesn't hesitate-here at last is the adventure she has been waiting for. But Jocelyn finds that being a pirate is a bit more difficult than she'd bargained for. As if attempting to defeat the Neverland's most fearsome beast isn't enough to deal with, she's tasked with captaining a crew of woefully untrained pirates, outwitting cannibals wild for English cuisine, and rescuing her best friend from a certain pack of lost children, not to mention that pesky Peter Pan who keeps barging in uninvited.
The crocodile's clock is always ticking in Heidi Schulz's debut novel, a story told by an irascible narrator who is both dazzlingly witty and sharp as a sword. Will Jocelyn find the courage to beat the incessant monster before time runs out?
goodreads / amazon / b&n / indiebound
The Pirate Code
(Hook's Revenge #2)
by Heidi Schulz
9/15/15
Disney-Hyperion
Fresh off a fearsome encounter with the Neverland crocodile, Jocelyn Hook decides the most practical plan is to hunt down her father's famous fortune. After all, she'll need the gold to fund her adventuring in the future. (And luckily, Hook left her the map.)
But the map proves to be a bit harder to crack than Jocelyn had hoped, and she's convinced that the horrible Peter Pan might be the only one with the answers. Of course, he doesn't really feel like helping her, so Jocelyn takes the only reasonable course of action left to her: she kidnaps his mother. Evie, though, is absolutely thrilled to be taken prisoner, so Jocelyn's daring ploy doesn't have quite the effect she'd planned for.
Along with the problem of her all-too-willing captive, Jocelyn must also contend with Captain Krueger, whose general policy is that no deed is too dastardly when it comes to stealing Hook's treasure. And with the ever-shifting Whens of the Neverland working against her as well, Jocelyn, Evie, Roger, and the rest of the Hook's Revenge crew have their work cut out for them.
In this rambunctious showdown between characters new and old, Jocelyn puts her own brand of pirating to the test in a quest to save her future and those she loves.
Praise for Hook’s Revenge:
★ “Schulz’s debut novel is a rollicking page-turner that’s more than just an action-packed adventure.” —School Library Journal, starred review
★ “The real charm here is in the unnamed narrator, whose arch and clever diction and open disdain for children make him the perfect purveyor of Jocelyn’s story . . . Readers will delight both the story and the storytelling.” — BCCB, starred review
“Jocelyn is spunky, flawed and endearing.” —Kirkus
“This entertaining take on the Peter Pan story neatly blends action-adventure and comical and heartfelt moments.” —Booklist
Essential Items for Middle Grade Writers
by Heidi Schulz
Something to Write With
Some use paper and pen while others, like myself, prefer a laptop. Having easy access to the Internet is helpful for research, you know. Right now I’m, uh, researching runaway lamas and whether that dress is white and gold or blue and black. (Definitely white and gold. I think. But to be sure, I’d better look again.)
Peace and Quiet
Do you hear me? I said I need QUIET! Important work going on in here!
Every time I sit down to work, it’s the same old story: one of our backyard chickens starts pecking at my back door. I’m sure you know the feeling.
A Good Pair of Headphones to Block Out Distractions I’m Talking to You Sarah Jane Go Lay an Egg and Leave Me Alone
Now, where did I put mine? Ah, there they are, in this drawer, which also holds paperclips and postage stamps and highlighter pens—is that one dried up? I’d better test them and, oh dear, I’m out of post-it notes. I’ll just make a quick run to the office supply store.
Highlighters and Post-its and Fancy Pens and Index Cards and New Thumbtacks and Dry Erase Markers and an Adorable Wall Mounted Chalkboard and Magnets and Rubber Bands and Funny Shaped Paperclips and Metallic Sharpies and a Label Maker and Self-Inking Return Address Stamps and…
Writers need office supplies. NEED THEM.
A Love of Middle Grade Books
I certainly have that. Middle grade books speak to the part of me that still hopes to find Narnia in a wardrobe, suspects my acceptance letter to Hogwarts is merely delayed, and believes in happy endings. The most important reading of my childhood was done in middle grade books. They made me feel safe, connected, understood, less alone in the world, and that whatever the challenge, I could be victorious—all things I desperately needed at that point in my life. It is an honor to write them and a joy to read them.
Truly, this is the most important thing on the list.
Well, this, and new office supplies.
Heidi Schulz is a writer, reader, and giraffe suspicioner. She lives in Salem, Oregon with her husband, co-captaining a crew made of their teen daughter, a terrible little dog, and five irascible chickens. Her debut novel for middle grade readers, HOOK’S REVENGE, published by Disney•Hyperion, is available now. A sequel, HOOK’S REVENGE: THE PIRATE CODE, will follow in September 2015. Bloomsbury Kids will publish her picture book debut, GIRAFFES RUIN EVERYTHING, in Spring 2016.
Win copies of both
Hook's Revenge and The Pirate Code!
Disney-Hyperion has generously offered one copy of Hook's Revenge and one ARC of The Pirate Code for one winner.
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