There’s so much going on in the world of Mackenzie Blue! First of all, I’m so excited to announce that MACKENZIE BLUE has been selected as the Book of the Month for the Circle of Respect book club. If you haven’t checked out this campaign, you must! Go to www.circleofrespect.org, where you can learn more about this amazing program and download my podcast! You guys know how passionate I am about putting a stop to the horrible bullying going on right now. YOU can make a difference, and I want MACKENZIE BLUE to make a difference, too.

Second, I want to congratulate Katherine McNamara as the winner of the “Are You Mackenzie Blue?” contest. Katherine is such an amazing ambassador for the MACKENZIE BLUE series, and I can’t wait for all of you to meet her! Her web series debuts this summer, and I hope you all tune in!

Finally, we have a new game launching this week! That’s right, “Jen’s Beauty Booth” will be open for business by the end of the week. Look out for a special announcement in your inbox! We’ve had tons of fun playing the game over here!

As always, PLEASE feel free to email me. I love getting your letters. And I personally respond to each of you. Please keep spreading the word about Mackenzie Blue.

xoxo,

Tina

For those of you in the East Coast, I hope you’re enjoying this snow day as much as I am. I’ve been able to email all of my great readers back, and make some other updates to the site, so I hope you love it! It’s been so nice watching the snow fall all day. I’m getting a bit antsy now, though. I think I’ll head out for a walk in a bit.

So how are you guys spending your snow day? Email me! Just click on “Talk to the Author” and it will come right to my inbox! and keep posting your reviews of THE SECRET CRUSH online. I love reading them!

Have a great weekend,

Tina

I’m so excited about my new book, Mackenzie Blue: The Secret Crush! The Brookdale Crew is back and better than ever. With the musical, Zee’s crush on Landon, family pressures, and of course her relationship with her BFF Ally, Zee’s feeling a bit overwhelmed. I’m having my own Zee moment right now! I’m taking classes at Wharton Business School, writing more adventures, running my company…the list goes on and on. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed, but I just take it one day at a time. That’s what Zee does, and I hope you guys do that, too!

Thank you for all of your emails. I promise to email you back ASAP!

xoxo,

Tina

If you find that you generally end up spending all of your allowance money, there’s a great trick that can get you in the swing of saving your money. Start reminding yourself to save 25% of your allowance. For example, if you get $4, try to set aside $1. You’ll find that after awhile, you’ll have a ton of money saved up! If you have a savings account, you can keep your saved money in the account and earn interest.

Between kitchen cleaners, window cleaners, and bathroom cleaners, there seems to be a ton of chemicals being used in our homes. That’s why it’s a great idea to use non-toxic, eco-friendly cleaning supplies, like these Simple Green cleaners (www.simplegreen.com). You can get everything from all-purpose cleaners to car wash fluid that are biodegradable very safe to use.

Dear Diary,

Today after school Chloe’s mom took us to Wink and I had the chance to turn Kathi into a carrot by turning up the spray tan knob to “extra dark” while she was in the booth, but I didn’t. If the tables were turned, I have no doubt she wouldn’t have thought twice about it, but as far as I’m concerned, doing something like that is just BEGGING for bad karma. Karma’s like a boomerang: whatever you throw out there in the world –good or bad—comes back to you. And getting whacked in the head would hurt!

Zee

This weekend, I’ll be doing something very special! I’m going to officially meet my niece, Phoebe Moragne Washington. Isn’t Phoebe a great name for a character?! She just might show up in a future Mackenzie Blue book. I promise to post pics of us together as soon as we snap some!

Enjoy your weekend!

TW

I wish you all a happy and safe Halloween! What are your plans today? I’ve spent my morning writing and watching some of my favorite  TV shows I taped this week. It’s such a nice autumn day, I may even go for a run! My big plan for the evening: dinner with friends and then cheering on THE PHILLIES!!!!

Well, it’s time for me to get moving. I promised you more blogs, so I’ll be on here more often now. I’m so excited for THE SECRET CRUSH, and I can’t wait until I can post a few more sample chapters for you to read (those of you who have MACKENZIE BLUE already have a sample of THE SECRET CRUSH in the back of the book).

xoxo,

TW

It’s super exciting to be able to start saving your own money, whether it’s in an envelope stashed away in your room or in your trusty piggy bank, but it’s really important to open up your own savings account. With your parent’s help, you can set up a savings account in the bank, deposit you money, and actually earn interest on your savings! Interest means that by keeping your money in the bank, you will actually be earning a small percentage of your original deposit every day! Once you open up an account, you’ll be sent monthly updates so you can keep track of your balance and interest. This is a great way to understand your own finances.