Good News Friday: A New Website and a New "Zone"

I love good news Friday! And today, I'm thrilled to announced that after several LONG months, my sparkly new website is LIVE!

www.JessicaBrody.com

I've been wanting to redesign my website for years and I finally took the plunge. And up until now, I've always designed and (semi-adequately) built my own. Because I figured it was a good way to save money and I was, after all, semi-adequate at web design.


But then recently I read this book called THE BIG LEAP: CONQUER YOUR HIDDEN FEAR AND TAKE LIFE TO THE NEXT LEVEL by Gay Hendricks. And he has this great philosophy about "Living in your Zone of Genius." Essentially, we all have FOUR zones:

The Zone of Incompetence - stuff we can't do at all, even if we tried...e.g. for me this would be singing opera, speaking Swahili, blogging regularly, and cooking.

The Zone of Competence - stuff you can do fairly well, but there are others who can do it WAY better than you. This is where my web design would come in. As well as my inexplicable desire to always want to try to fix my computer myself, before inevitably calling someone six hours later when I'm tired, sweaty and about to chuck it out the nearest window.

The Zone of Excellence - stuff you do extremely well and probably have been doing well for years but it's not exactly what you've always dreamed of doing. For me, this is the stuff I did at my old job, financial models, building pretty spreadsheets, crunching numbers, etc.

And finally, there's your...

Zone of Genius - And no, I'm not talking about some mythical place where all the Geniuses from the Apple store hang out after working, making fun of all the technically incompetent people in the world. Your Zone of Genius includes all the stuff that doesn't feel like work. That you could do all day, every day and never get tired or bored. The place where you really are at zen with yourself and the world. For me this is brainstorming new book ideas and seeing them come to life on the page!

And the book says that we should make a conscious effort to always live in our Zone of Genius and find ways to escape our Zone of Competence and even our Zone of Excellence as much as possible.

So...long story short (too late, I know!): It was for THIS is the reason I decided to finally hire a web design company to build my new website. (The awesomeness of Hanee Designs) Since building websites is clearly in my Zone of Competence (and sometimes even in my Zone of Incompetence) so that I could spend more time living in my Zone of Genius. Meaning, spending more time brainstorming and writing books!

And this website is the result. So I'm especially proud of it for several reasons. And I do hope you enjoy it!

www.JessicaBrody.com

Oh, and I should also note that the new website, which went live yesterday, features the FIRST EVER RELEASED synopsis of the first book in my forthcoming teen sci-fi trilogy. It's called UNREMEMBERED and you can read all about it here!

Happy Friday everyone! And here's to living in your Zone of Genius all day, every day!

- Jessica

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Good News Friday: New Cover!

Hi, guys.

I can finally reveal the cover for my May 22, 2012 release, Small Town Sinners Unbreak My Heart (Oops! I'm distracted, people!) Here it is. I'm smitten. Hope you like it!

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Good News Friday: Baby!

I missed my TFC post this week (sorry!) but I have a good excuse, I promise! Baby June is here, almost three weeks old, and so delightful. She has a big library already and will definitely be a Teen Fiction Cafe girl before I know it.

Happy Friday!

xo,
Melissa

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Good News Friday...continues!

As Friday leaves down under and enters Northern America, the good news continues!

Thanks to Amanda for the lovely shout out about my newest release! I'm thrilled to announce that my new young adult novel, MY LIFE UNDECIDED releases THIS week! And I'm very proud to be sharing such a kick-arse release week with Amanda Ashby and Alyson Noel (hands down two of the coolest peeps I know!)

Below is a book summary for MY LIFE UNDECIDED and the aforementioned (by Amanda!) "movie-style" book trailer that I produced for it! I hope you all enjoy!

BOOK TRAILER:



BOOK SUMMARY (From the Inside Flap):

PLEASE READ THIS! MY LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!

Okay, maybe that was a bit melodramatic, but I’m sorry, I’m feeling a bit melodramatic at the moment.

Here’s the deal. My name is Brooklyn Pierce, I’m fifteen years old, and I am decisionally challenged. Seriously, I can’t remember the last good decision I made. I can remember plenty of crappy ones though. Including that party I threw when my parents were out of town that accidentally burned down a model home. Yeah, not my finest moment, for sure.

But see, that’s why I started a blog. To enlist readers to make my decisions for me. That’s right. I’m gave up. Threw in the towel. I let someone else be the one to decide which book I read for English. Or whether or not I accepted an invitation to join the debate team from that cute-in-a-dorky-sort-of-way guy who gave me the Heimlich Maneuver in the cafeteria. (Note to self: Chew the melon before swallowing it.) I even let them decide who I dated!

Well, it turns out there are some things in life you simply can’t choose or have chosen for you—like who you fall in love with. And now everything’s more screwed up than ever.

But don’t take my word for it, read the book and decide for yourself. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll scream in frustration. Or maybe that’s just me. After all, it’s my life.

EARLY REVIEWS:

"Brooklyn is a sympathetic protagonist with whom teens will identify. Her journey is fun to read, and decision-challenged readers will learn an important lesson about self-acceptance along the way."
--School Library Journal

 

"Brody taps into a universal human desire...An amusing coming-of-age story with many funny moments...[Brooklyn's] flustered, off-the-cuff narration should keep readers as invested in her actions as her blog followers are."
--Publisher's Weekly

 

Thanks everyone for sharing my Good News Friday! 

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Good News Friday: MY LIFE UNDECIDED Trailer!

Hey everyone! TGIGNF! (Thank Goodness It's Good News Friday!)

So excited to announce that my new "movie-style" book trailer for my next book, MY LIFE UNDECIDED (June 7, 2011) is now up online! Check it out below!



These book trailers are a labor of love for me and I'm so proud of the way this one came out. I hope you'll help me spread the word by tweeting and embedding!

Thanks!
Jessica

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Good News Friday!

Hoorah! It's Friday. Which means "Good News!"

And I'm so excited to share mine this week because I've had to keep it "mum" for months! But now the mumness is over and I can sing out and do my happy dance in public!

As reported in Publisher's Weekly this week, I recently sold four new books to my publisher, Farrar, Straus, Giroux Books for Young Readers (an imprint of Macmillan Children's)!!!

The first three are part of a new sci-fi/love story trilogy, starting with the first book titled, UNREMEMBERED. (A sixteen year old girl awakes amongst the wreckage of a devastating plane crash with no memories--the only clue to her identity is a mysterious boy who claims she was part of a science experiment 100 years in the future) And I've also sold another one of my contemporary stand-alone titles (along the vein of The Karma Club and my forthcoming, My Life Undecided). This fourth book is not yet titled.

Also, the Unremembered trilogy was optioned to producer Doug Davison (The Departed, The Lake House, The Ring, How to Train Your Dragon) with screenwriter Whit Anderson attached to adapt it as a film. Doug and Whit are both also attached to the recently-announced reboot of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie.

SQUEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

If you want the full details (including more info about the Unremembered trilogy), you can read Publisher's Weekly's write up here: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/book-news/deals/article/45329-deals-week-of-11-29-10.html

And now, I better go. I have a LOT of books to write! :)

Happy weekend everyone! I'm off to do more happy dancing. :)

XXOO,
Jessica

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Good News Friday: The Contemps!

New Book Challenge alert!

The Contemps is a group of 21 YA authors with contemporary novels releasing over the course of a year. I just joined this group (which also includes TFC's own Elizabeth Scott), and we've got a challenge for readers all over. If you commit to reading 18 of these 21 releases over the next year, you're entered for the chance to win all 21 books! Here are the rules/how to enter.

Then snag this badge for your facebook/blog/myspace page:



Happy Good News Friday!

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Good News Friday: British Karma!

Hey all! So excited to post my very first Good News Friday blog!

The Karma Club has just been released in the UK this week! Hoorah!

Check out the fancy schmancy new cover they gave it!

Totally different than the US cover but I love it just as much!

And here's the summary the UK publisher gave the book:

Don't Get Mad
Get Even...

Maddy always thought she understood how karma worked -- do good things and you'll be rewarded; do something bad and you'll get what's coming to you. But when Maddy's boyfriend, Mason Brooks, gets caught with Heather Campbell, and absolutely nothing happens to either of them, it seems like karma has let Maddy down badly.

That's why Maddy and her best friends, Angie and Jade, decide to start The Karma Club -- a secret society -- in order to 'help' karma along. Sometimes, though, it isn't wise to meddle with the Universe...

And here's the UK version of the trailer that I made:

So if you or anyone you know lives across the pond, make sure to check out a copy at your local bookstore! Or order it online at Amazon.co.uk by clicking here!

More information about both the US and UK edition can be found on my website: www.jessicabrody.com

Thanks all!

Jessica

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Good News Friday: Librarians!

On Monday, I'm doing a signing at the American Library Association's national conference in Washington, D.C. Of course, part of the fun will be wandering the convention floor and getting some signed books myself once my signing is over. But part of the reason I am so excited to go is . . . librarians! They rock!

Though as I've gotten older, I don't visit the library as much as I used to (the wonders of the Kindle!), as a child, the library was magical to me. BOOKS. Row upon row upon row of books! And since books were my life . . . the library was just about my favorite place. And they were FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the library in my hometown, when I was kid, there was a limit to how many books you could sign out at one time if you were under twelve. I think the limit was six. Unfortunately, if I signed out six on Friday, by Sunday morning, I was done with all six of them, which meant a long Sunday and most of Monday without something new to read. So my mother spoke to the librarian (again, they ROCK!) and the librarian waived the limit. Problem solved . . . I had plenty to read.

Once I was all grown up and an author . . . I've was asked to speak at "Friends of the Library" event here in Richmond, Virginia. I also did a signing at the summer reading festival at the main branch downtown. I'll be honest . . . I don't "love" signings. But for the library? Sure, I'll love it.

So that's my Good News Friday . . . I'm spending time with librarians on Monday. Anyone else fond of those quiet places book lovers call home?

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UPDATED Good News Friday - the review and YALSA!

My good news today is the first online review of TRANCE (that I've seen, anyway)... She calls TRANCE a "heart-racing, breath-taking, unstoppable read" Yay!

Oh! Also - the bindup of the DEATH BY... books hit the shelves this month and I just saw it at my local Kroger grocery store - on the bestseller shelf, at #16!

(This is a bindup titled, THE DEATH BY BIKINI MYSTERIES and includes the books DEATH BY BIKINI, DEATH BY LATTE and DEATH BY DENIM.)

Edited to add: Wow. I am so out of it. This list was updated May 24th, but I just now realized I'm on it! YALSA announced the finalists for the 2011 Popular Paperback List and both DEATH BY BIKINI and DEATH BY LATTE were nominated in the Crime Scene category!

Happy dancing in Ohio...

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Houston, We Have Cover!

OK,I already posted this on my blog but I'm excited about it, so I think it qualifies for Good News Friday. I got the cover art for TRANCE. Woot! Happy Friday, everyone!

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Good News Friday: New Books to Write!

The news is out, but I had to make it official by throwing some confetti on TFC!

Melissa Walker's SMALL TOWN SINNERS, the story of a small town girl who is excited to star in Hell House, her church's annual haunted house of sin, until a childhood friend reappears and makes her question her faith, to Caroline Abbey at Bloomsbury Children's, at auction, in a two-book deal, by Douglas Stewart at Sterling Lord Literistic (NA).

I'm pscyhed! Happy weekend!

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GNF: The Lauren Edition

I love that on Fridays we can post good news here and I love it even more when I actually remember to do so. On May 16 Compulsive Reader wrote a fabu review of Crazy Beautiful.
My favorite lines:

Crazy Beautiful is an unexpected love story that deals with far more than just those breathless moments of first love, but delves deeper into the finer aspects of choices and consequences, second chances, and forgiveness. The emotions that Baratz-Logsted evokes in Crazy Beautiful are painful and raw, but authentic and exhilarating as well. Crazy Beautiful is a concise, entrancing, and completely consuming read, punctuated by smart humor and wonderful characterizations that especially cause Aurora and Lucius stand out. In its own unique way, Crazy Beautiful is a compelling, bittersweet, and memorable read with a love story so persuasive that it will keep you coming back again and again.

The full review is here.

This excited me because 1) it's the first review I've seen; 2) I have nothing but the highest respect for Compulsive Reader (no surprise there!); and 3) it's nice to have this as a bulwark against the first bad review, because we all know no one gets out of this business without suffering the slings and arrows of the occasional bad review.

So how about you? Got any GNF to share???

Be well. Don't forget to write.

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Good News Friday: Lovestruck Summer Release!

My new book is out this week! Yay! It's just $5.99 so, hello, go snag it! Summer beach reading = super fun.



Oh, and come join the Cover Stories party at my blog, with contests and stories from Sarah Dessen, Siobhan Vivian, Beth Kephart, Jenny Han and TFC's own Sara Zarr.

Happy Good News Friday!

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More for Good News Friday!

Congrats to Alyson for her fantastic EVERMORE news (below)! If you haven't already read the book, I highly recommend it! I can't wait for BLUE MOON!

And to Sarah - Italian! Molto bene!!! And I love the cover for ONCE WAS LOST. Can't wait for it, either!

My good news today is a great Booklist pre-release review for DEATH BY DENIM, calling it "heart-pounding" with "taut suspense" that "will propel readers to the neat ending." Yay!

You can see more early reviews here, here, here, and here.

Celebratory countdown and giveaways going on right now on my blog!

Happy Friday, everyone!!

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