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What do you review?
I review young adult books. I do not review self-published books. You know who you are. Don't send hate mail. Its just a personal thing. When I was little, it was my birthday and somebody shut down Disney World just so all the Self-Published book could frolick. And I just...I just...I'm in therapy for this, okay?
I also review books for readers in the 20-30 year age bracket. Books about some health related issues I'll throw in the pile. I even enjoy some how-to books. I like to learn how-to do things. I'm a handy kind of gal.
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An article of mine was published this morning on LemonDrop.com
Check it out here!
"Real 'Community' -- What Community College Is Actually Like"
(I'm furiously excited about this!)
Today is the LAST DAY to enter the Hush Hush Giveaway!
Winners announced on Halloween!
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A) Pillows
B) Sewing Machines
C)Boyfriends who are asking for it.
D) All of the above.
At some point earlier this year, in response to my medical crisis I started blaming my pillows.
Yes. Pillows.
It was so obvious. they were the reason I was so sick. They probably were full of toxins, and feathers with avian flu, and dust, and dust mites. My pillows were killing me. They had to go. Immediately.
Remember, the Hush,Hush giveaway contest is still going on! Second entry on http://www.ilanawrites.com
- Mood:
chipper
Just head to http://www.ilanawrites.com for more info!
Readers of Becca Fitzpatrick’s debut novel are unlikely to remain Hush,Hush about the next big thing in young adult lit. Setting the new standards for heavenly hunks is Patch, a fallen angel whose only desire is to become human. While on earth he takes an interest in fellow classmate, Norah Grey. Since they met, Norah finds herself the victim of several near-death encounters. Although she finds Patch’s bad boy antics anything but charming, he always seems to be around to save the day . When at last Norah finds herself succumbing to his peculiar come-ons, she starts to wonder what exactly he’s pursuing her for.
I’ve got no doubts that Hush, Hush will leave readers with the same jealousy over Norah Gray as they did over Bella Swan. Expect many high school girls to be despondent and uninterested in anything but the book in their hands as Hush, Hush mania explodes.
Boys? Start pulling out the leather jackets and tattooing on those angel wings!
Want a Hush, Hush poster for your room or locker? YOU ARE IN LUCK, SIR! Because I have two beautiful ones to give away! (Thank you Simon & Schuster! And Becca! And UPS for not mucking them up!)
How to Enter:
1. Leave a comment on http://www.ilanawrites.com with your email mentioning the latest young adult book you read and who it was by.
Extra entries:
2. Add me on twitter and tweet: “ RT @IlanaJacqueline HUSH,HUSH Poster giveaway on www.ilanawrites.com ! (1 extra entry)
3. Blog about this giveaway by mentioning it or linking to it. (2 extra entries)
Make sure you leave a comment on www.ilanawrites.com letting me know how many entries you submitted with links to your twitter/blog.
Winners will be announced on Halloween morning!
PLEASE LINK ALL BLOG ENTRIES/TWEETS to http://www.ilanawrites.com!
- Location:The Office of Awesome
- Mood: excited
Lee Bantle's, David Inside Out
2009-07-30
DAVID INSIDE OUT
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For most of us, high school is a balancing act. For David Dahlgren, it’s a disappearing act. Drudged down by the shame of his conflicting feelings, David tries to find a way to make a part of himself just go away. He thinks maybe he can outrun it on track team, or even drown it in the affections of his adoring girlfriend, Kick. Unfortunately, these hopeful delusions vanish when his unwanted feelings focus themselves on fellow teammate, Sean. Sean’s contradictory advances seem only to fuel David’s doubts. Their relationship merely confirms what Mom always says, “You can’t love someone else, until you love yourself.”
David’s turbulent journey into sexual self-acceptance is a familiar one to many young men and women. Lee Bantle hit’s the nail on the head with this poignantly intimate young adult novel.
Interview with author Lee Bantle, below!
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______________________
Check out www.ilanawrites.com for more!
Authors Are You Ready To Successfully Sell Your Book?
Marketing your book online doesn't have to be a hit-or-miss production. You can take control of your sales and success and attain the best-selling status your book deserves. You are your greatest advocate when it comes to your novel.
If you believe in your book--- believe that you have worked hard enough, inoculated every page with your intense passion for the subject you write about, feel as though you know your audience, and are dedicated to the cause of getting the RIGHT kind of PR and readership, then I can show you how to make your vision a reality.
I'll teach you how to sell your books through a series of marketing strategies that I, as a teenager, a reviewer, and a published author, feel are the most influential.
I'm embarking on a new six-month newsletter that can be sent to you-- brimming with strategies, Q+A's with published authors, literary agents, and publishers, teen book reviews, release dates, and advice to accompany personal consultations by phone or email. These invaluable consultations will center around a marketing campaign that is right for you and your novel.
You are the one in control of the future of your finished novel. You CAN get pre-orders that will astonish your publishing company. You CAN get teens excited about your sequel. You CAN move forward and open so many more doors for yourself and your novel.
Many authors feel completely adrift when it comes to advertising. I can't tell you how often I hear, "I'm a writer. I write. I have no idea how to market my book, I'm an artist not a car salesman." To authors who feed me that line I tell them to stop. To look at their book--particularly their published books, and tell me that they couldn't find anyone to believe them when they said they were going to make it as a writer. If writing isn't persuading others to see the world the way that you do, then what is it?
You can do this --if you have the power and the knowledge. You will be the one selling this novel at the end of the day. Would you like to be guided? I can guide you, but you're the only one who can make others believe in you and your work. Take credit for the burgeoning phenomenon that you are.
Claim it. Own it.
Then sell it.
Shawn Decker, author of MY PET VIRUS gets cover of Today's Teen Magazine
"As a first-time author, I was fortunuate to cross paths with Ilana Jacqueline online. I was impressed by her accomplishments, and responded to an online query which resulted in an interview by Ilana and a cover story for Today's Teen.
Ilana is one of the most professional people I've dealt with since my book was published. Her love for the work she does shines through."
-Shawn Decker
www.mypetvirus.com
I've been working for a teen magazine since 2004 helping to spread the word about outstanding authors and the incredible new wave of teen literature which has middle and high school readers spending their Friday evenings sunk against bookshelves at their local Barnes and Nobles.
With publishing companies investing in more appealing packaging, advertising in glossy teen magazines and sending their writers on nation-wide book tours it seems there is no better time to dive into the business that is growing like wildfire.
My job has been to weed through the stacks and pluck the roses from the crabgrass, and get those roses on the cover of our magazine. As a reviewer I painstakingly critique every book that authors or publishing companies send to me--and to be perfectly honest few of them never make it past the front door.
Want to find out why these books are getting the bin before I ever make it to the first page?
That, I can help you with.
- Learn how to use Myspace to get readers!
-Learn how to build your website!
-Learn what attracts agents and publishers!
-Learn how to please critics!
-Learn the basics of query letters and submissions!
-Learn how to start marketing campaigns with national appeal!
-Learn how to garner the attention of the media!
-Learn how to avoid scams in the industry!
-Learn about up and coming publishing companies, literary agencies, and book stores!
-Learn about merchandising!
-Learn how to get your book on summer reading lists!
Newsletter and Consultations
The newsletter includes insider information on the young adult publishing industry, author or agent interviews, book reviews, marketing strategies for published and unpublished authors, and release dates of upcoming teen books.
A 6-month subscription to the newsletter is $120.00. A one-hour private phone consultation with Ilana Jacqueline is $120.00. A half-hour consultation by phone is $60.00. As an introductory offer all private phone consultations will receive 50% off the first 6-month newsletter subscription.
-Quick start your marketing campaign with a two- hour phone consultation for $200.00.
To schedule a consultation please send an email to IlanaWrites@msn.com
New interview with Nico Medina. New reviews of Better Than Yesterday and Street Pharm. New SCANDELOUS article on student-teacher relationships!
Tomorrow I'll be at Borders in Boca, FL to interview Karen Luddy about her new book SPELLDOWN. Hope to see some of you there for her signing!
I’ve read a lot of great and not-so-great book lately and I thought it was about time I fill you all in.
Street Pharm by Allison can Diepen-- Street Pharm is an urban drama centered around an ambitious 16-year-old hustler. Ty Johnson is taking over his father’s thriving drug- dealing empire. He’s young and yes, he is getting kicked out of high school-- but in the real world he knows how to get what he wants without getting caught. Everything is going well, and he thinks he’s on top--but a new hustler’s in town and he’s looking to bring down the king of the streets.
Van Diepen’s real life experiences with teaching at-risk teens in one of Brooklyn’s most dangerous public high schools, has clearly given her a powerful voice.
Secrets of a Model Dorm by Amanda Kerlin and Phil Oh-- Phil Oh and Amanda Kerlin shine in this high-gloss, heavy drama memoir. Throw an assortment of gorgeous girls, competitive castings, and a mutt named Tom Ford into a tiny model dorm in the heart of NYC and you’ll get 272 pages of glamorous mayhem. Read More @ my myspace
My Pet Virus by Shawn Decker--In his hilarious debut novel, Shawn exposes his "pet virus" for the world to see. My Pet Virus: The True Story of a Rebel Without a Cure shows Shawn's path to acceptance surrounding hemophilia, AIDS and long-distance relationships. Shawn conquers everything life puts in front of him with a positive attitude. Read more @ http://www.ilanawrites.com/id115.html
Past reviews @ www.ilanawrites.com :
Weight of The Sky by Lisa Ann Sandel
Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez
Stake That! by Mari Mancusi
Saint Iggy by K.L Going
Goy Crazy by Melissa Schorr
I Don't Want To Be Crazy by Samantha Schutz
Recently Received:
Any Place I Hang My Hate--Susan Isaacs
The Girlfriend Project-- Friedman
Boot Camp-- Strasser
Returnable Girl --Lowell
Beastly--Flinn
Angel’s Choice--Baratz-Logsted
Dancing in Red Shoes Will Kill You-- Cirrone
Blessings In Disguise Reshonda Tate Billingsley
Alfred Kropp--Yancey
So Not The Drama Paula Chase
Big Brothers Big Sisters
by Ilana Jacqueline / Today's Teen -- December Issue
Step one you say we need to talk / He walks, you say sit down it's just a talk/ He smiles politely back at you /You stare politely right on through /Some sort of window to your right /As he goes left and you stay right /Between the lines of fear and blame /And you begin to wonder why you came
Everyone has heard How To Save a Life, the hit song by The Fray. It’s laced with beautiful piano, a harmonious beat, and a hypnotic passionate voice. Maybe you’ve downloaded it on your iPod and use it as background music as you jog. Maybe you’ve got it blasting from your computer as you finish up calculus homework. Either way, you’ve all heard the song. But have you heard the lyrics?
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend /Somewhere along in the bitterness /And I would have stayed up with you all night /Had I known how to save a life
One summer, while working at a camp for troubled teens Issac Slade, who would later become The Fray’s lead singer, met a boy deep into recreational drugs and alcohol. Many had approached the teen with efforts to save him.
“They would come against him, like an enemy.” Issac said in an interview, “and he told me all he wanted was for someone to come alongside him and be a friend, a helper, a companion almost. Just someone who was on his team, and he never really got that, you know? And it really made me think about my approach to somebody else and how I would want someone to approach me as, if I was doing something wrong.”
Let him know that you know best/ Cause after all you do know best /Try to slip past his defense/ Without granting innocence /Lay down a list of what is wrong /The things you've told him all along /And pray to God he hears you
Issac Slade hasn’t ever performed life-saving surgery. He hasn’t run into a burning building to save a trapped child. Even so, with a small act of compassion Issac Slade has saved a life.
While a select few of us are piled with life-saving conversations on a weekly basis, some of us are never granted the ability to shock someone out of complacency, to pull someone out of confusion, to grant them a clearer view of the world. Someone of us will never change a life. Some of us will never save a life.
Community service may seem like a chore to teenagers. And to some teens, all that’s important is to get as many as hours as they can, give universities the impression that they’re good people, and move on with their lives. I can almost grant this understanding, I can almost see how some people can believe that what they say and what they do and the conversations they have and the advice they give is ineffectual to anyone. These people, more than those who have had nothing given to them, but everything hard earned, are the ones in need of life-saving.
If you are a person who believes that they know where they’re going. Someone who can see through the thicket of issues layered like burly fabric on top of the latest fashions– someone who believes that there are lives out there to change. I believe I might have something to interest you.
It’s called being a mentor and it’s something that Issac Slade knew could make a difference in today’s world. One of the leading organizations for youth mentoring is Big Brothers Big Sisters. Since 1904 this organization has brought together those who can give and those who can receive with astonishing results.
A study done in 1992 and 1993 proved that 46% of children in the program were less likely to begin using illegal drugs. 27 % were less likely to begin using alcohol. 52 % were less likely to skip school, and 36% less likely to skip a class. There was a marked improvement about performance in schoolwork. One-third were less likely to hit someone. And most got along better with their families.
This is the effect a little guidance can have in someone’s life. It doesn’t take much more than friendship, companionship, a little attention to change the life of someone else. Be aware of the difference you can make, of the difference you have made. Get involved– save a life.
To find out more go to bbbs.org or call 888-412-BIGS.
Rainbow Boys
*melts*
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Book Reviews
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Playing God: An Inside Look at Cult Life: This article was published by Today's Teen in the 2006 September issue. Playing God details the history and current ideals of The Children of God, a cult now located in over 90 countries world wide. This article also tells the story of Ricky Rodriguez and an ex-member named Andrew.
Page 2
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-Ilana Jacqueline
September issue is done.
The October issue will star the MTV books including The 310 Series, Plan B, Wuthering High, The Pursuit of Happiness, Cruel Summer, Oh My Goth, and Such A Pretty Girl.
The November Issue will star books about growing up, or so dubbed “The Growth” on my sticky note, which includes but is not at this time limited to: Weight of the Sky, Generation SLUT, Dress Your Family in Corduroy And Denim, Nailed, and Street Pharm.
There are also two other spreads I’m working on but I don’t have enough books for either of those yet, but they include The Mental Disorder spread which so far has I Don’t Want To Be Crazy, and From Panic to Power and the Cutesy spread which so far only has Gossip Girl and The Love Series.
I’ll probably be requesting more ARC’s but I want to finish reading the four on my shelf first. Wow, I didn’t realize I’d read mostly everything I have by now. I’m pretty much all set for the first few months.
Gwen and I also discussed some of the articles I’ll be doing for the next few issues. I’ll be doing an article on Florida’s foster care system, and I’ll be doing a spread on plastic surgery, and then I’ll be doing an article on The Boys and Girls Club.
THE REALITY CHICK BUZZ THE BOOK contest!
The PRIZES:
(1) Your choice of either an iPod Shuffle, OR a fifty dollar Amazon.com gift certificate
(2) An autographed copy of REALITY CHICK by Lauren Barnholdt
(3) A copy of the August issue of Teen People, which lists REALITY CHICK as a Can't-Miss Pick for August
(4) Free tuition to a session of Lauren's YA writing class
THE CONTEST:
STEP ONE: Simply copy and paste this whole message (including the info about the contest) into any blog, message board, email list, or myspace bulletin.
REALITY CHICK by Lauren Barnholdt is NOW IN STORES!
Going away to college means total independence and freedom. Unless of
course your freshman year is taped and televised for all the world to
watch. On uncensored cable.
Sweet and normal Ally Cavanaugh is one of five freshpeople shacking up
on In the House, a reality show filmed on her college campus. (As if
school isn't panic-inducing enough!) The cameras stalk her like
paparazzi, but they also capture the fun that is new friends, old
crushes, and learning to live on your own.
Sure, the camera adds ten pounds, but with the freshman fifteen a given anyway, who cares?
Ally's got bigger issues -- like how her long-distance bf can watch her
loopy late-night "episode" with a certain housemate...
Freshman year on film.
It's outrageous.
It's juicy.
And like all good reality TV, it's impossible to turn off.
IN STORES NOW!
Check out Lauren on the web at www.laurenbarnholdt.com or on her myspace at www.myspace.com/laurenbarnholdt
STEP TWO -- Email Lauren at lauren (at) laurenbarnholdt.com and let her know you've posted about the contest and the book, and you'll be entered to win the prize pack! The winner will be picked at random on September 1st. The more places you post, the more entries you get. Have fun and good luck!!!
Why not? Teens today are intelligent, politically
aware, business-oriented, civic-minded,
sophisticated... It makes perfect sense for
them to have their own newspaper in which to
express what’s on their minds. Today’s Teen
encourages teens to share their thoughts,
concerns, opinions and dreams. At the same
time, the paper gives them an opportunity to
hone their writing and creative skills, work in
a team environment, and learn about deadlines
and responsibilities. An added bonus -
Today’s Teen provides educators, parents
and the entire community with the opportunity
to view life through their teen’s eyes, and to
send in comments of their own as well."
Why you should advertise in Today’s Teen...
"1. Teens spend more than $125 billion dollars annually, on everything from movies,
magazines, clothing, personal hygiene (hair and nails), electronics, food,
and coffee, to books, traveling, and gifts for friends & family.
2. National surveys indicate that more teens today are reading newspapers
than ever before. It makes sense that they should have one of their own.
3. Thousands of teenagers read Today’s Teen in print and online at
www.todaysteenonline.com.
4. Today’s Teen is distributed to more than 350 locations including area high schools, middle schools,
alternative schools, universities and specialty stores frequented by teens and their parents, such as book
stores, test prep centers, clothing boutiques, fitness centers, shoe stores, hair and nail salons, sporting
goods stores, restaurants, ice cream shops, etc...
5. The newspaper can also be found in the offices of doctors, dentists, orthodontists, dermotologists,
psychologists, attorneys and many other professional practices.
6. The paper features monthly articles from college students at UF, UCF and several other Universities.
Teens look forward to reading about everything having to do with college life.
7. Advertising shows your support of the teen voice in our community.
8. Not-for-profit status pending - your ads and any donations of goods or services may be tax deductable."
I really hope all you authors consider our magazine as a potential place for ads! We really do have a quite a following down here, and our readers are especially looking for book reccomendations and reviews.
We've even got some events/displays in negotiations with area bookstores like Borders and Barnes and Nobels. They distrbute our magazine as well just so you know! Teens around town do walk around our bookstores with the paper in their hands.
To hear more about our advertising rates you can email me at Ilanawrites@msn.com or call at 561-542-1105. Check out our website at www.todaysteenonline.com
-Ilana Jacqueline
www.ilanawrites.com
www.todaysteenonline.com
(In other words, please fund my paycheck.)
I finally finished that cult article. Complete with Ricky Rodriguez story, interview with an Xmember of the family, and "happy words!" for about a page near the end. Complete and shipped off to Today's Teen and another magazine called Skeptic Magazine which I caught a sniff of from watching Dateline (they had a segment and showed an article from it) I sent a query to the editor who said he was looking for cult articles so I sent mine right along. All 2753 words of it.
So I'm all set for Today's Teen September Issue I've got five book reviews, an interview and the cult article.
Now I've got to set up for the next issue. I'm thinking (and this is just a though, not an actual decision) that I'll save the I Don't Want to Be Crazy review for a while because I want to have a whole layout on mental disorders review spread sometime in the near future. I'm getting some books in now about anxiety disorders...I've got to see what else I can incorporate into that spread.
I definatley want to go ahead and get the reviews out for A) Saint Iggy B) Beth Killian's new novels C)(mabye) Edward Tulane. The Miaraculous Journey of Edward Tulane which is a book my mother's been pushing on me for a few days. If she loved it then I will too, I think.
And then for actual articles I've been hanging on the idea of something like.."Humanizing the Employee: Minumum Wage Won't Cover Therapy Bills" Sort of an inside look at teen jobs and how we treat waiters, and busboys, and basically any working store/resturant people under the age of 20. Because we really aren't kind.
Then I start the new section of the other paper on August 19th, but I think they assign articles. Which is fine...I can take assignments. Hopefully though they'll let me do a lot of book reviews..
My book is coming along. I'm on page 16. Which is like nothing, but at least I'm making something like a dent in the manuscript.
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