Cindy Callaghan (born c. 1976) is an American author of children's books who has written several middle-grade novels. Her first book, '' Just Add Magic'', was adapted into an

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television series by the same name.

Early life

Callaghan grew up in Oakland and

Franklin Lakes, New Jersey Franklin Lakes is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 11,079, an increase of 489 (+4.6%) from the 2010 census count of 10,590, which in turn reflected a ...

. While living in Oakland, she attended Heights Elementary School before her family moved to Franklin Lakes. Callaghan transferred to Colonial Road School, and later attended Franklin Avenue Middle School and Indian Hills High School, where she graduated in 1988. After high school, she attended the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

to study film. She later went to the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 ma ...

where she graduated with a bachelor's in English and French in 1992. She went on to earn her

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

degree from Delaware in 1996.

Career

Callaghan worked in the pharmaceutical industry for nearly 20 years. She lives in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington (Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

which also serves as the setting of some of her books. She began writing her first book, '' Just Add Magic'', in 2003. The book tells the story of the 12-year-old main character Kelly Quinn and her two friends who find an old book containing magical recipes. In 2010, ''Just Add Magic'' was published by

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's Aladdin Mix. Callaghan also wrote a second book ''Sydney MacKenzie Knocks 'Em Dead'', which initially did not get picked up for publication. In October 2013, Simon & Schuster published another book by Callaghan entitled ''Lost in London.'' The book is a mystery about a girl named Jordan who embarks on an adventure in London. In 2014, Callaghan followed that with another book set in Europe; ''Lucky Me'', republished in 2016 as ''Lost in Ireland'', is about a teenage girl who travels to Ireland in the hopes of breaking a string of bad luck caused by a

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. Callaghan published three more "''Lost In''" books: ''Lost in Paris'' in March 2015, ''Lost in Rome'' in August 2015, and ''Lost in Hollywood'' in 2016. In January 2015, Amazon Prime Video released a pilot episode of ''Just Add Magic'' to determine if a full series based on the book would be produced. As of 2014, Callaghan served as a consultant on the show, writing outlines and giving guidance to the producers. The series was picked up for a full season set to air in 2016. In June 2016, Amazon extended the television series for a second season. The second half of Season 2 of the series was released in January 2018. In 2017, Callaghan's ''Sydney MacKenzie Knocks 'Em Dead'' won the Agatha Award for Best Children's/Young Adult. In 2018, Cindy's Potion Problems (Just Add Magic) won the Agatha Award for Best Children's/Young Adult Mystery. In 2020, Callaghan will be releasing a new book titled ''Saltwater Secrets''. Callaghan lives in

which also serves as the setting of some of her books.

Bibliography

Just Add Magic

*'' Just Add Magic'' (2010) *''Just Add Magic 2: Potion Problems'' (2018)

Lost In...

*''Lost in London'' (2013) *''Lost in Ireland, previously titled Lucky Me ''(2014) *''Lost in Paris'' (2015) *''Lost in Rome'' (2015) *''Lost in Hollywood'' (2016)

Standalone

*''Sydney MacKenzie Knocks 'Em Dead'' (2017) – 2017 Agatha Award Winner

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Callaghan, Cindy Living people 1970s births Year of birth uncertain Place of birth missing (living people) People from Franklin Lakes, New Jersey People from Oakland, New Jersey American women children's writers American children's writers Writers from Wilmington, Delaware Novelists from Delaware University of Southern California alumni University of Delaware alumni 21st-century American women