A Dedication to the Troops

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army, army wife, books, candy, children, children's book, crowdfunding, deployment, Glassboro, indie, jellybeans, kickstarter, kids, military, military kids, New Jersey, NJ, picture book, support, troops

Welcome home ceremonies after 10 months in Iraq.

My name is Maggie Pajak. I am the author and publisher of the illustrated children’s book,“Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night.” I made up this story years ago when my husband was deployed in Iraq in 2005.

This story was the bribe that got my son to sleep in his own bed at night. Sleep was hard to come by as it was, not knowing what news I would wake up to with the thought that my husband could be in harms way. Having a two year old rolling around all night in your bed didn’t exactly bring a restful night’s sleep either.

As the parent on full-time “night-night duty,” I read more than my share of bedtime books that year. One night I decided to mix it up a bit and came up with this silly story about a boy and his love for jellybeans.

THIS BOOK IS MORE THAN A STORY

Me and my giggly son

To me this book is more than a story about two brother’s love for jellybeans – ALL of them and their plan to get Mom to let them eat them morning, noon and night. It is more than a lesson of moderation and letting your kids learn a lesson on their own.

To me it brought a few giggle-filled moments with my son at the end of some very long and trying days.

It is for this reason I decided to dedicate the book, not just to my husband and our son, but to all of the troops and their kids.

I know my son and I were not alone. I know I was not the only parent on full-time “night-night duty.” I know my son was not the only child missing their parent. And I know I was not the only wife missing their husband.

Dedication page in “Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night”

To the left is an image of the dedication page in my book, “Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night.” It displays a pic of my son Matthew (who’s 10 now) holding a pillow with a photo of my husband in uniform back when he was deployed in Iraq. I hope that “Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night” can bring some levity to others as it did for me and my giggle son those many years ago and as it did for my younger son Andrew (5) while my husband was deployed in 2011.

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Download a free sample of “Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night” on Kickstarter here.

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My Kids Want A Puppy, Seriously!

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books, candy, children, children's book, cooking, dads, Easter, Facebook, holiday, Humor, indie, jellybeans, kickstarter, kidlit, kids, Maggie Pajak, military, moms, Pajak, parents, pets, picture book, publishing, puppy, self publishing, siblings, support, troops

What does a kid need to do these days in order to get a PUPPY?

Haven’t you heard? It’s get Facebook likes, that’s what!

Help get the project “Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night” on Kickstarter get 10,000 Facebook “likes.”

Just click on the Kickstarter project page HERE and then give it a “like” and if the project page gets 10,000 likes, my kids will get to eat jellybeans morning, noon & night AND get a puppy!

Seriously!

Hope you are having a SWEET day!

Maggie Pajak

Author

Jellybeans, Morning, Noon & Night

Are You a Good Egg or a Bad Egg?

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books, candy, children, children's book, cooking, dads, Easter, Glassboro, holiday, indie, jellybeans, kickstarter, kidlit, kids, Maggie Pajak, moms, New Jersey, NJ, parents, picture book, publishing, reward, self publishing, support

Ever wanted to have your child, family pet or picture of yourself immortalized in a children’s book – here is your chance!

Author Maggie Pajak has just announced a new reward level for her Kickstarter campaign, “Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night:”

GOOD EGG REWARD!

For being a “Good Egg” you get a picture of your choice included on one of the seek and find eggs in the Easter Egg Hunt Game in the book, “Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night.”  Your “Good Egg” will be located on the game page in the back of the book and hidden on one of the story pages that readers will have to seek and find. How sweet is that?

In addition to the above, this reward level for a pledge of $200 also includes:

• A thank you as a “Sweet-tooth Backer” on the official book website: http://jellybeansmorningnoonandnight.com/sweet-tooth-backers
• A rubber bracelet printed with: I LOVE JELLYBEANS MORNING, NOON & NIGHT
• A postcard of an early version of the book cover signed by the author
• An e-book copy of “Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night” for iPad
• A jellybean shaped container of Jelly Belly jellybeans net weight: 0.9 oz. (approx. 22 beans)
• A hardcover copy of the book “Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night” that includes the new Easter Egg Hunt Game and autographed by the author
• A chef hat embroiderd with your child’s name on it
• A white children’s apron
•  A hardcover copy from the first limited edition print run of the book “Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night” autographed by the author.

Kickstarter Conversations Interview with Author Maggie Pajak

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books, candy, children's book, Easter, Glassboro, holiday, jellybeans, kickstarter, kidlit, kids, Maggie Pajak, moms, New Jersey, NJ, parents, picture book, pledge, reward, self publishing, support

To read this interview in it’s entirety, please CLICK HERE.

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Welcome back to another Kickstarter Conversation!  Today it’s my pleasure to be speaking with Maggie Pajak the writer and mother behind the latest Kickstarter book project, “Jellybeans Morning, Noon, and Night.”  Thank you for joining us today Maggie.

Thank you for having me. It’s a pleasure to get the chance to talk to you about my book. As a mom of boys, I’m usually talking about Nerf guns, Spongebob or Minecraft.

[Laughs] Well I’m normally talking about “My Little Pony” with my daughter so I know what you mean. With a name “Jellybeans” it’s pretty obvious you’re either a candy campaign or a children’s book, would you care to describe your project?

Although the name, “Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night” is a sweet title, the book is more than about candy.

I wrote this book several years ago when my husband was deployed in Iraq. This story was the bribe that got my son to sleep in his own bed at night. Sleep was hard to come by as it was. Having a two year old rolling around all night in your bed didn’t exactly bring a restful night either.

So, to me this book is more than a story about two brother’s love for jellybeans and their plan to get Mom to let them eat them morning noon and night. It is more than a lesson of moderation and letting your kids learn a lesson on their own. To me it brought a few giggle filled moments with my son at the end of some very long and trying days.

***To read this interview in it’s entirety, please CLICK HERE.***

Thank You Sweet-Tooth Backers!

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books, candy, children's book, dads, Easter, holiday, indie, jellybeans, kickstarter, kidlit, kids, Maggie Pajak, moms, parents, picture book, pledge, publishing, reward, self publishing, support

Kickstarter is an all or nothing funding platform for creative projects. Project creators set their project goal and time limit and if their goal is not met within their time limit (usually between 30 and 60 days), then no funds are released for the project. Author Maggie Pajak has brought her book, “Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night,” to Kickstarter with a minimum goal of $5,000. Pledge levels start as low as $1 and rewards vary from thank you’s and ebooks to a hard copy of the book, personalized embroidered chef hats and of course – jellybeans.

If you have a sweet-tooth, have small children and want to share a few giggled-filled moments with them or just want to support “Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night get printed, you can make a pledge for some sweet rewards and learn more about the Kickstarter publishing project here.

Thank You to All The Sweet-Tooth Backers!

• Joy Cooper
• Chris Rios
• Harry Blitz
• Ira Warhaftig
• Bruce Genung
• Denise Tessmer
• C. Expert
• Jenny Bellizia
• Erin Best Margolin
• Koren Imperatore Tabay
• Robert O’Malley
• Gloria Garcia
• Laurie Hess
• Kelly Wehr
• Kelly Wister
• JOJE
• Kathryn Tessmer
• Sara Key
• Supporter of the Indie
• Marisa

For a complete list of backers, click here.

No. 1 On KickTraq Children’s Book’s HOT LIST

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books, candy, children, children's book, cooking, dads, Easter, holiday, indie, jellybeans, kickstarter, kidlit, kids, Maggie Pajak, moms, Pajak, parents, picture book, pledge, publishing, reward, self publishing, support

The children’s indie book, “Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night,” is number one on the KickTraq Hot List for children’s books projects on Kickstarter. Click here to view book!

KickTraq Hot List for Children’s Book’s as of January 16, 2013

http://www.kicktraq.com/hotlist/publishing/children’s%20book/

Knock Knock! Who’s There?

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books, candy, children, children's book, cooking, dads, Easter, Humor, indie, jellybeans, kickstarter, kidlit, kids, Maggie Pajak, moms, Pajak, picture book, pledge, publishing, support

Check out this children’s book publishing project on Kickstarter here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jellybeans/jellybeans-morning-noon-and-night

Here Are Your Rewards – What’s Your Flavor?

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books, candy, children, children's book, cooking, dads, Easter, gifts, Glassboro, holiday, jellybeans, kickstarter, kids, Maggie Pajak, moms, New Jersey, NJ, Pajak, parents, picture book, pledge, publishing, reward, self publishing, siblings, Writing

Click your flavor below to make your pledge and get your reward!

         

         

         

ABOUT THE KICKSTARTER PROJECT

I’m an Army wife, mother and children’s book author of the book “Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night.” I am really proud of accomplishing this goal on my own but now I need some outside help.

I am asking for support for my children’s book publishing project on Kickstarter. There are only 33 days left to pledge to show your support. If you can’t pledge, then SHARING this info with YOUR fans, family and friends would be support enough.

Backers receive rewards for their level of pledge. Some of the rewards include a copy of my book, jellybeans and more. Pledges can be as little as $5. Anything you can do to help with my publishing goal would be greatly appreciated.

To me “Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night” is more than two brother’s love for jellybeans and their plan to get Mom to let them eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is more than a lesson of moderation and letting your kids learn a lesson on their own. To me, it brought a few much needed giggle-filled moments with my three year old son at the end of some very long and trying days while my husband was serving overseas in Iraq.

Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Maggie Pajak

Author, Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night

info@jellybeansmorningnoonandnight.com

New Jersey Mom and Army Wife Brings Her Children’s Book to Kickstarter

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books, candy, children, children's book, cooking, dads, deployment, Easter, Glassboro, holiday, jellybeans, kickstarter, kids, Maggie Pajak, military, moms, New Jersey, NJ, parents, picture book, publishing, self publishing, siblings, troops, Writing

Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night – Children’s Book Not Just for Easter

Author Maggie Pajak

To Author Maggie Pajak, her book titled “Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night” is more than a story about two brother’s love for jellybeans – ALL of them and their plan to get Mom to let them eat them morning, noon and night. It is more than a lesson of moderation and letting your kids learn a lesson on their own. To Maggie Pajak it brought a few much needed giggle-filled moments with her three year old son at the end of some very long and trying days while her husband was serving overseas in Iraq.

She shares, “I know that “Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night” can bring that same levity to others as well, which is what I hope this Kickstarter project will be able to help me do.”

The Crypto-Capers Reviews: “This story is an interesting version of teaching children that too much sweets can make you sick. This story is told in a simple and fun way without preaching to the reader about not eating too much sweets and any other kind of food that is bad for you. The author takes a different and more subtle approach where the children find out in their own way really without the mother saying anything at all, though her actions is what speaks the loudest. She goes along with their plan only to fulfill her own. Very clever! Children between the ages of 4-8 will adore the illustrations while learning a valuable lesson of moderation.”

Kickstarter is an all or nothing funding platform for creative projects. Project creators set their project goal and time limit and if their goal is not met within their time limit (usually between 30 and 60 days), then no funds are released for the project. This not only protects those that back the projects, but encourages them to share the project with others to help the project get funded so they can help ensure they will receive their pledge reward. Pajak has set her Kickstarter goal at $5,000 so she can start to share her jellybean story with the world. Her pledge levels start as low as $1.

If you love jellybeans, have small children and want to share a few giggled-filled moments with them or just want to support Maggie Pajak with her publishing goals, you can make a pledge and learn more about her Kickstarter publishing project here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jellybeans/jellybeans-morning-noon-and-night.

If you’d like more information about “Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night” or would like to interview it’s author, Maggie Pajak, please send an email to: info@jellybeansmorningnoonandnight.com.

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Maggie Pajak is a graduate of Rider University. Professionally she has worked as a marketing director for a magazine publishing company for 12 years. Prior to that she was a public relations representative for a plastics company for 5 years. She resides in Glassboro, NJ with her husband Chris and her two children Matthew (10) and Andrew (5).

From Idea to Illustration: An Unexpected Journey

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books, candy, children's book, cooking, dads, Easter, editing, holiday, illustration, jellybeans, Maggie Pajak, moms, Pajak, parents, picture book, publishing, self publishing, siblings, Writing

I want to share some of the amazing before and after photos of the book, “Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night.”

To help provide my illustrator with some direction for the illustrations in the story, I spent an afternoon taking pictures of my kids acting out each of the scenes in the book. Given this was my first book and most importantly a gift to my children, I also wanted the characters in the book illustrated in the likeness of my kids. So this helped provide the illustrator with a guide to follow when creating the characters in the book.

Above and below are some before and after images. To the left is an actual photo of my kids that I Photoshop’d with a pencil sketch filter and to the right is what the illustrator turned the photo into.

Now this was one the most unexpected lessons learned along this book publishing journey – illustration!  I naively thought that the illustrator would just draw the scene, scan it into the computer, add my words and the page would be done. WRONG! So so wrong.

Every illustrator is different, but with technology these days an illustrator can do so many things with Photoshop layers.  Some pages in “Jellybeans Morning, Noon & Night” are made up of over 100 layers. The layers on many pages added depth to the scene or gave me the flexibility to change something if I didn’t like it, without having to re-draw the entire page. (Like I said – I was very naive).

Looking at the before and after images now just makes this journey all the more worthwhile. Look at how far this “idea,” this silly “story,” has come – from and idea to an AMAZING illustration.