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The Munchkins
Book 1
by Candice Zee
Genre: Upper Middle-Grade Fantasy
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“Has all the “ingredients” for a fantastical, magical, YA story that also caters to adults who absolutely love the Potter-esque world that happens maybe twice in a lifetime.” – Reader Views
Thirteen extraordinary children with mysterious powers.
Their loving and protective father.
And a sociopathic neighbor who knows them better than they know themselves.
When Capricorn Munch and her twelve siblings appear outside a children’s home, no one, including themselves, knows who they are or where they came from. At ten years old they stop aging, as she and her siblings develop powers that gift them with incredible abilities, like healing wounds and manifesting objects. They keep these powers secret and their adoptive father restricts their use. Capricorn strives to live a normal life, blissfully playing with her favorite sisters, witty and bold Allie, empathic and wise Breezy, and giddy and sweet Hazy.
But now a sudden threat has intruded on their carefree lives: Their next-door neighbor, a man who calls himself Big Boss. Capricorn watches fretfully as Big Boss encroaches on her family like a malevolent force, feeding hostility between her siblings and causing them to be reckless with their powers. Capricorn knows Big Boss is plotting something sinister and can only pray it doesn’t end in ultimate doom for her and her family.
“Told in a fast-paced narrative voice with complex characters, the exhilarating fantasy will keep readers guessing until the very end—all while falling in love with the quirky cast. The book deserved to be made into a movie or a web series.” – The Prairies Book Review
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**On Sale for Only .99cents 3/14 – 3/31!!**
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What can we expect from you in the future?
The next book I’ll be publishing is the second book in The Munchkins series, titled Capricorn’s Journal: My Family’s Fight for Survival. The second book is already written because I wrote the first and second book together originally, but split it up when I realized the word count was way too high. It just has to be edited by myself and my editor, but I’m aiming to have it published either at the end of the year or at the beginning of next year. In fact, at the end of The Munchkins, there is a snippet of the beginning of the first chapter of the second book.
In every interview I’ve given so far though, I’ve been giving everyone this heads up: The second book is much more YA than middle grade. It is much darker and more intense than the first book. The Munch children go through a lot of trauma together, which the first book hints at, but the second book really delves into. The kids have to pull together and really depend on each other in order to survive. So it’s intense reading and not really suitable for young children due to the grave subject matter. A third book will follow the second, but that one isn’t written yet, although the Munchkins backstory and general outline are all mapped out.
Do you read yourself and if so what is your favorite genre? What are you currently reading?
I read a lot of nonfiction, mostly in the social-sciences genre. I’m passionate about social justice, so I try to educate myself as much as I can. When I want to just read something for fun though, I’ve been a huge fan of horror and thriller novels since I was a teenager. When I was growing up, Christopher Pike’s books and R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series were my go-to reads. Two of my favorite horror authors now are John Saul and Dean Koontz. My favorite author of all time is probably Stephen King. I’ve read many of his books and short stories, and he’s definitely influenced my style of writing. The Munchkins is filled with elements of suspense, and Big Boss is like a villain straight out of a horror novel. He is evil with a captial E.
I am currently reading The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix, How to Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston, Do Better: Spiritual Activism for Fighting and Healing from White Supremacy by Rachel Ricketts, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson, and Evicted by Matthew Desmond. I just finished The Perfect Family by Robyn Harding and The Institute by Stephen King. You can follow me on Goodreads if you want to see what else I’ve been reading at https://www.goodreads.com/candice_zee
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Candice Zee is a middle-grade and YA fantasy writer who first dreamed the idea of The Munchkins as a child while playing make-believe with her brother in Wilkes-Barre, PA. She is an early childhood teacher with an M.Ed. in Elementary Education and has taught for over twelve years in Pre-K, Kindergarten, and primary grade classrooms. Like Casey Munch in her book series, she is passionate about creating a more just and equitable world. She savors vegan food, loves board games and podcasts, relishes horror movies and novels, devours social science nonfiction, spontaneously belts out tunes from musicals, and does some of her best writing while drinking coffee at 1 AM. She lives in Cleveland, OH with her wife Dana and their dog companion Solstice. The Munchkins is her debut novel. More information about her book series and the characters can be found at www.munchkinsbooks.com.
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