Jen Malone
ABOUT ME
Sure, I could give you my business resume (and my formal bio is below in pink if you just want to skip there), but where's the fun in that? Wouldn't it be more enjoyable for all of us if I told you a few random things about, well, me? Thought so. Here ya go:
1. My college boyfriend wanted to go to Europe with me the summer after graduation. Then he broke up with me (don't worry- we're now friends on Facebook). I decided to get revenge on him by one-upping his trip plans, so I saved for a loooong time until I could finance a solo round-the-world trip that took me to forty-three countries over ten months on approximately $23 a day (free advice: do not try to save money by sleeping in an ATM kiosk during Spain's annual Running of the Bulls). My favorites were Nepal and Prague. Somewhere in here is a lesson about revenge and boys, but who cares, because NEPAL!!!!!
2. I met my husband on the highway. Literally. He passed my car and I made a face at him (I was with my BFF and we sometimes- fine, often- did silly stuff like make faces at total strangers). Then HE made a face back at me the next time we passed, which was both nerdy and cool. I happen to like nerdy and cool. So I wrote my BFF's cell phone number (because this was the Dark Ages and I didn't own a cell phone yet) on a piece of paper and held it up to the window. He called. We married. There was some dating in between.
3. My twin boys are soooo identical that they won second place in the Most Identical contest at the International Twin Festival. You should definitely check out the International Twin Festival sometime. Best people watching around.
4. I also have a daughter. Despite having won no medals, she's more of a diva than both boys combined. I completely applaud this. Until she's a teenager and then I am in So. Much. Trouble.
5. For a bunch of years I worked as a publicist for 20th Century Fox. It was super tough work. I "had to" walk the red carpet alongside George Clooney, hang in a hotel room with a shirtless Mark Wahlberg (so what if his wife was there too) and sleep in Oprah's hotel room at The Four Seasons (she'd checked out early and, I mean, we'd already paid for the room, so...).
6. Many, many, MANY years ago (when the longest thing I'd written was a grocery list) a psychic touring a movie set I was working on told me I would write a book with a purple cover and live in a big white house by the water. Imagine my surprise when I first laid eyes on the cover Simon & Schuster designed for AT YOUR SERVICE. Beach house, here I come!
7. I have a teeny tiny, make that HUGE, thing for hedgehogs.
Still can't get enough of me? I believe I hear my children snorting. Anyhoo... you can visit FUN STUFF for an interview, a list of online musings, and links to my blog(s).
If you happen to be here on official business, first, let me assure you that I do not make a habit of sleeping in ATM booths. Second, here is my "formal" bio:
Jen Malone is the author of over a dozen middle grade and young adult titles including The Arrival of Someday (HarperCollins), The Sleepover (Simon & Schuster), Wanderlost (HarperCollins), and Follow Your Art (Dreamworks Animation/Penguin Random House). Jen once spent a year traveling the world solo, met her husband on the highway (literally), and went into labor with her identical twins while on a rock star's tour bus. These days she saves the drama for her books. You can learn more about Jen and her books at www.jenmalonewrites.com. Find her on Twitter and Instagram @jenmalonewrites.