My So-Called Life vs. My Real Teenage Life

Last week I had a terrible horrible cold and was forced to miss a mini-vacation with my fiance to see his best friend in Kansas. Instead I stayed home and watched a lot of TV. One night I did a marathon of My So-Called Life, which definitely got me thinking about this week's topic of the week at TFC: friends and boyfriends.

I watched a lot of shows and movies about life in high school in grade school and junior high, just wondering if my life would be that way once I got to high school. I watched the original Degrassi, the original Beverly Hills, 90210 (I guess I'm dating myself here) and the movie Dazed and Confused (I was so glad my freshman year didn't start with hazing rituals like in that movie!). None of them ended up reflecting my high school experience.

Then, My So-Called Life came on the air. It was a freaky mirror for my experience. The main character Angela Chase was going through her fictional sophomore year of high school the same year I was going through my real life sophomore year of high school and we were having a *ton* of the same experiences.

I didn't have a real life Rayanne Graff (or a Rickie, I *really* wish I had a real life Rickie!), but the thing is I had an inner Rayanne. Sophomore year, I really wanted to break the mold and start living my life the way I felt on the inside. I didn't want to be the shy, studious girl anymore; I wanted to unleash my inner punk rocker and meet fellow punk rockers and party and have fun. While Angela on MSCL was dyeing her hair 'Crimson Glow,' I put a big blond streak down the middle of mine. I also alienated my long-time best friend-- my real life Sharon Cherski--when I decided I wanted to start hanging out at Scoville Park, where all the kids like me seemed to congregate.... and the Jordan Catalano boys.

The thing I laughed the hardest about while watching my MSCL marathon last Friday night was Angela's hopeless infatuation with Jordan. I remember being fifteen and relating so hard to that crush; it was so serious. It broke my heart when the song she thought he was singing about her was really about his car. Now I shake my head and smile knowingly and say, "Of course it's about the car, duh!"

TV gave me some bad boyfriend role models I have to say. I lusted over Jordan Catalano and Dylan McKay growing up and when I dated their real life counterparts, I always wound up getting hurt and/or in trouble. My three high school loves were all in the Jordan Catalano mold-- rebels without causes, boys who cared more about their bands/cars/friends/drug habits than me, but for some reason I thrived on the teenage lust and heartbreak. Why oh why, do we not realize that the Brian Krakow nice boy next door is what's good for us?

Of course, I'm marrying the nice boy. We eventually grow up and learn our lesson. However I think my nice boy still has his Jordan Catalano qualities. I laughed at the car song thing extra hard because even though my fiance Scott is a sweetheart, I have no doubt that if he were a songwriter, there would be more love songs for his car than for me.

And even though I appreciate the nice boy, I've found I still mythologize the bad boy. I was tickled pink when I got the back cover copy for Ballads of Suburbia and it read "...and she fell in love with the gorgeous bad-boy Adrian, who left her to die that day in Scoville Park...." (Yeah, my book is set in my real-life teenage place). I thought, I did it!!! I created my own Jordan Catalano!!!!

What about you? Did you date or are you attracted to the Dylan McKays and Jordan Catalanos of your high school? What do you think draws us to these bad boys?

Oh and if you want a chance to win an ARC of Ballads of Suburbia and read about the Jordan Catalano I created, I'm running a contest on twitter all week and the deets are here.

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Built-in Friends

My family is just wrapping up a week-long reunion, and since this week's theme at the Cafe is "Friends," I thought I'd share some photos of sibling friends and cousin friends. The first photo is of my cousin Holly and me. I don't get to hang out with her as much as I'd like to because we live on opposite sides of the country, but when we get together we have a great time. She taught me how to wakeboard this last weekend. And those two crazy chicks in crazy hats are my sister and me. For those of you who read Miss Match, the friendship between sisters Sasha and Maddie is based on our friendship. The third photo captures a rare peaceful moment among my three boys. They fight a lot, but they're the best of pals. The one at the bottom is my husband and his brother right after they ran the BAM triathlon yesterday. They work together and play together and don't seem to get sick of each other.

Are you lucky enough to have a cousin or sibling you're friends with? Do share!

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GNF - Australia and New Zealand here I come

As a lot of you know I live in New Zealand and my books come out in the US which means that I never get the pleasure of seeing them on the shelves. Well that's all about to change since I recently found out that Zombie Queen of Newbury High will be coming out in Australia and New Zealand on August 31st with Penguin. Yay!

I can't begin to tell you how happy this has made me. Not least since now people I went to school with might see it and go, 'but hey, don't I know that name from somewhere?'. What? I'm author, you don't think I'm going to waste my bendy imagination just on books do you?????

So that's my good news, I hope everyone else has been having an equally kick ass Friday!

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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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In The News: Teens Making a Difference

Pretty much anyone who knows me knows I'm passionate about making a difference in the world. So much so that it'll be a regular feature on my own blog starting next month. With that passion in mind, highlighting a terrific teen volunteer in the news seems like a natural fit for TFC's awesome In The News topic.

Colette Ankenman
Founder, Baragwanath Blessings

16 year old Colette Ankenman is a great example of teens making a difference. Three years ago, Colette founded Baragwanath Blessings, a non-profit that provides hand-knitted hats and blankets to babies in need.

As with most volunteer efforts, Colette's work started small, hand-knitting the donated items herself. But her efforts have grown to include 150 volunteers. So far, she's managed to send more than 2,000 hats and blankets to Baragwanath Hospital, the Johannesburg, South Africa hospital that inspired her to found the non-profit. Baragwanath Hospital is one of the largest hospitals in the world, but also one of the poorest. So poor, in fact, that they often must send babies home wrapped in items like newspaper instead of the cozy blankets most of us think about when we think of babies.

It's dedication like this that makes a difference in ways many of us never even think about. But to those babies and new moms, Colette is showing them that someone cares. Congratulations to Jefferson Award winner Colette Ankenman for changing her world!

** Read more about Colette's story at: http://cbs5.com/local/Jefferson.Awards.Ankenman.2.1039093.html

** Read more about the Jefferson Award for Public Service (founded by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Senator Robert Taft, Jr. and Sam Beard) at: http://www.jeffersonawards.org/

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In the News Tuesday

As an author and freelance writer, my heart goes out to Laura Ling and Euna Lee. These two courageous journalists braved the terrors of the Chinese/North Korean border to bring the world a story on refugees fleeing North Korea. It's unclear what actually happened on the border-- Family members say had no intention of crossing over into North Korea-- but both were arrested and recently received 12 years of hard labor.

I have a feeling hard labor in North Korea is a wee bit different from making license plates.

US diplomacy experts believe the women are being held as a bargaining chip in the increasingly tense talks concerning North Korea's use of nuclear weapons.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee aren't the only journalists who have been detained or killed in the line of duty. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 738 journalists have been killed since 1992. Hundreds more have been detained, with more than 100 a year since the year 2000.

The detention or murder of foreign correspondents in unstable nations make big news, but it often overshadows how dangerous these areas are for local journalist. Five Somalian journalists have been killed so far this year and just this week a Guatemalan journalist was shot in Chiquimula.

My typical writing day includes a few interviews with doctors or other experts via email or phone, lots of coffee and petting my kitties.

These people are HEROES.

In lighter news, the winner from my cheesy contest two weeks ago is Joyce Lanksy!

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Newsworthy!!!

I've been fascinated over the last 8 weeks how Britains Got Talent entrant Susan Boyle has become internationally famous - thanks to You Tube. What is it about Susan that makes everyone love her? I remember seeing the first time she came on stage and my jaw dropping when she began to sing. Memories of Paul Potts from two years previously springs to mind.

I worry about how she'll cope. The media, so quick to lift her up are just as quickly trying to knock her down.

Another awesome contestant, who reached the final but not the top three was 12 year old Shaheen. Check this out..... wow..... and he's only 12. And how right was Simon Cowell when he stopped his performance initially. And the media even had it in for him, because he'd performed on stage in the past..... and their point is?????

So what are you views on the way the media treat people like Susan or Shaheen?

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On my bookshelf

This is just a quick post today since I'm knee deep in revisions (okay, who am I kidding, it's more like neck deep with no sign of improvement for another couple of weeks) so I thought I'd just do a quick rundown of everything that I've been reading. Lucky you guys!!!!
Anyway, first up is Willow by Julia Hoban. It's now into it's third print run and if you haven't read this book then honestly you must. It is so beautifully written and the story is so moving and honest that I quite literally couldn't put it down. Plus, Julia is one of the nicest people you could ever meet!

I wasn't quite sure how I could follow something as great as Willow but luckily I had The Hunger Games at hand by Suzanne Collins and that was equally amazing. And in fact after reading two such great books in a row I just wanted to run up to strangers on the street and insist that they go out and buy them (though an interesting side fact - apparently not all strangers like being accosted by deranged authors who might've forgotten to brush their hair or put make up on. Weird, huh).

I've also just finished Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead which I enjoyed a lot and have passed onto my friend's Twlight obsessed fifteen year old daughter. Then I took a bit of a side tour and read Jill Mansell's Rumour Has It and Janet Evanavich's Plum Loving, because when it comes to humor, no one dos it like Jill or Janet!

Next up is Heroes of the Valley by Jonathan Stroud which I started reading ages ago but it got pushed aside and then there is Carrie Ryan's amazing zombie book The Forest of Hands and Teeth which I've been looking forward to for so long and I know it is going to be fabulous.

So that's my reading. What about everyone else? What are you reading.

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More Good News For Friday!!

Major Congrats to Sara and Lauren for all their good news!!  And since today's the day for sharing, here's mine:

EVERMORE is at #3 this week on the New York Times Best Sellers List for Children's Paperbacks-making for 17 weeks in the top 4!!! It's also at #92 on the USA Today list, and #2 on the Publisher's Weekly Children's Fiction list!!!

Oh, and the audio version of EVERMORE is now available--you can listen to a sneek peek HERE!

And reviews are coming in for BLUE MOON--(in stores July 7th!!)--getting the 5 Star Gold Award from TeensReadToo who says:

"I really enjoy sequels, but they make me nervous, especially when I loved the first book as much as I did EVERMORE. But Alyson Noel surpassed all my expectations, and not only is BLUE MOON an amazing sequel - it sets the bar for the rest of this series very, very high! When I reached the last page of this one, all I could say was “wow!” . . .There were numerous twists that kept me guessing. Just when I thought I had things figured out, I would get pulled in a new direction, which kept the book fast-paced and full of suspense - I had to keep turning the pages. . .Another highly recommended book from Alyson Noel, I can’t wait to read more about Ever and Damen. THE IMMORTALS series is one you’ll want to get your hands on!" 5 Star Gold Award- TeensReadToo

And 4 Stars from Romantic Times magazine who writes:

“In the second installment of the bestselling and captivating Immortals series, gutsy young heroine Ever is faced with the twin teenage terrors of isolation and alienation. Noel does an excellent job exploring Ever’s growing fears and her determination to save lost love Damen. This author is on a roll!”4 stars Romantic Times

I also have an interview in this month's Romantic Times, but since my scanner is on strike I'll just say that it's about the research I've done for THE IMMORTALS series, and it's on page 71!

And speaking of interviews, I also did one this week for OC Arts & Culture that you can read HERE. 

And last but not least a reader made an IMMORTALS series forum that you can join HERE, and Free Book Friday is seeking your questions for an upcoming interview I'm doing over there--so anything you want to know about my books, me, or whatever--click HERE and check out the sidebar to see how to submit!

That's it from me--what about you??

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GNF - Zarr edition

Congrats to Lauren for all her good news!

Here's some from me:

Random House Listening Library invited me back to record the audio version of Once Was Lost, and of course I said YES, so it's off to the studios in CA this summer with the same fabulous director who guided me through Story and Sweethearts. (And how did I get that gig? Like this.)

Also, I just found out that the movie option for Story of a Girl has been renewed, which means there's still momentum behind this thing and I am optimistic that it's going to happen, and that it's going to be great.

And my final bit of good news: the original Star Trek TV series is available on Netflix Watch It Now. I am cable-less and depend on Netflix + my Roku box to give me TV. Now I can have my very own ST marathons, whenever I want. And that is good news indeed.

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Good News Friday!

I sometimes forget we have this feature now, but today I managed to remember!

So here's my good news for the week:

Amazon Canada has picked all four of The Sisters Eight books as part of their 11-book list of Summer Reading for Kids.

And regarding Crazy Beautiful, The Compulsive Reader has an early review that includes: "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." Full review here.

That's it!

How about you? Got any good news to share?

Be well. Don't forget to write.

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Curtain Call

So this week at the café we’re blogging about movies, books, TV, & music—and the truth is, I haven’t indulged in many of these lately—I’m a little behind.

As for books, well, despite TBR piles that seem to be multiplying while I’m not looking, the only one’s I’ve read recently are my own (revisions!) and the ones I use for research (pyschics, mediums, ghosts--oh my!). Though I did take part in a book signing last Sunday with a lot of really cool book writers, at one of my absolute favorite bookstores—so hopefully that counts for something?

(From L to R: Mary Pearson, Marlene Perez, Debborah Lytton, Kathryn Fitzmaurice, Alyson Noel, Debby Garfinkle)

And Movies? Well as much as I love a good matinee and big a tub of popcorn, the last movie I saw in the theatre was “Slumdog Millionaire,” the last one I saw on the airplane was “Doubt,” the last one I saw on Netflix was “An American Werewolf in London”—so clearly I have some major catching up to do where movies are concerned!

And I’m afraid it doesn’t fair much better for TV. Even though it seems like I should be far more proficient here since TV watching is pretty much what I do once I’m done writing for the day, one look at my DVR list (98% full anyone?), and you’ll know I’ve got a lot of catching up to do here as well. Though I did just work out while watching an old episode of “Deadliest Catch,” which brought me down to 96% full. Progress, right?

But music? I’m there!  I’m constantly downloading from iTunes, (except for a brief period this morning when I was in iPod Hell), and my list is crazy eclectic. Lately I’ve been going through a vintage Aerosmith faze- downloading the live version of “Train Kept a Rollin’”, “Crazy,” and “Cryin’,” –those last two are also great videos by the way!  But just a week before I was downloading Jefferson Airplane, Crosby Still & Nash, and the new Green Day—though by next week, I'm sure I'll be downloading the soundtrack to "Hair" since I'm going to see it in NYC!

So how about you?  Seen or read or listened to anything good lately? Your suggestions are needed!

 

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