Feature Book of the Week # 4 False Prince by Jennifer Nielson

False Prince

by Jennifer Nielson

THE FALSE PRINCE is the thrilling first book in a brand-new trilogy filled with danger and deceit and hidden identities that will have readers rushing breathlessly to the end.

In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king's long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner's motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword's point -- he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage's rivals have their own agendas as well.

As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner's sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.

An extraordinary adventure filled with danger and action, lies and deadly truths that will have readers clinging to the edge of their seats.

A Guest Post by Jennifer Nielson

Fight the Good Fight

When I sign copies of THE FALSE PRINCE for fans, my signature line usually says, “Fight the good fight.” A few months ago, I signed a book that way for a fifth grader and then asked her, “Do you know what that means?”

She eyed the boy next to her in line. “You want us to fight?”

The boy looked nervous. I think he swallowed his gum.

“Ack! No! I want you to read, not bleed!” (Okay, I didn’t actually say that, but I thought it.)

She had missed the meaning of the phrase entirely. So this is how I explained it to her. And also to the boy next in line, since he still seemed worried about getting jabbed.

There are things in life worth caring about. Good things worth defending, and yes, worth fighting for. Not a fight with fists – there’s already too much of that in the world – but instead, a fight with ideas, with passion, and with your heart and soul. And if that thing is important enough, then it becomes a good fight.

Maybe for you, that thing is the idea that you can succeed in life, even if others think you won’t. Maybe it’s a fight against unfairness, against cheating, or the fight to protect others who can’t defend themselves. Maybe it’s something you want to change in the world. Yes, even if it’s just changing your own small corner of the world.

The good fight means you have a reason to say, “For this idea, I will not back down, or give in, or give up. For this idea, I will never stop fighting to win.”

In THE FALSE PRINCE, Sage is fighting the good fight. To defend a servant girl. To protect the country from treason. And to survive a twisted contest where he must either impersonate the missing prince, or be killed.

Your good fight may not be on that level of danger (In fact, I hope it’s not!), but you can still put everything you have into succeeding. Stay strong. Stay caring. Fight the good fight.

About the Author

For as far back as Jennifer can remember, she has shared her brain with imaginary characters. She figures it’s okay if she talks to them as she’s working on her stories, as long as they don’t start talking back.

Jennifer began writing in elementary school. Her first attempt at a full-length story was in 6th grade when she wrote about a girl who becomes trapped in her daydreams and that world becomes real. Not a bad idea, you say? Wrong. It was pretty awful, but Jennifer liked it at the time. She even called a locksmith to do research on how to pick locks. When he found out she was only 11, he ended the call and the story got set aside, unfinished.

But she began other stories, writing in spiral notebooks or plucking out keys on an electric typewriter (yep, she’s that old). Stories of a boy who tries to sell his annoying sister, of a celebrity who gets stuck in a small town (think Disney’s Cars, only with humans), and several other stories that all eventually wound up in a box in the back of her closet. She also drew cartoons and made up poems about the people in them. Jennifer has taken steps to ensure the cartoons never see the light of day again.
Jennifer has always loved reading and for most of her childhood, kept a tall stack of books at the side of her bed. She loved the Hardy Boys and Encyclopedia Brown series’, but her favorite childhood book was The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken. Her favorite book in junior high was The Outsiders. That book’s author, S.E. Hinton, published The Outsiders at the age of 17. Jennifer set a goal to be published sooner.

Jennifer didn’t make her goal, not even close. She got heavily involved in local theater and in school speech and debate competitions. The theater entertained the characters in her head, and the speech and debate filled her desire to never stop talking.

Jennifer completed her first book in her early 20’s. She told a neighbor she planned to be published one day. The neighbor smiled back like Jennifer had a greater chance of landing on the moon one day. That was understandable. The first book was pretty bad.

So was her second. And third. The fourth wasn’t terrible, but by then Jennifer had decided she was writing in the wrong genre. The characters in her head had changed from adult romantic suspense to young adult and children’s fantasy characters. Jennifer had to change her writing too.
Jennifer’s debut book was ELLIOT AND THE GOBLIN WAR (Sourcebooks, Oct 2010). That series became known as The Underworld Chronicles. The next series she released was The Ascendance trilogy, beginning with THE FALSE PRINCE (Scholastic, Apr 2012). She will also write the sixth book of the Infinity Ring. (bio info retrieved f rom author's website)