rgz Seattle HOST: Deborah Reber Reading

Hi, readergirlz!

I went to see Deborah Reber promote her new book, Language of Love, at University Books in Bellevue. Deborah shared the inside story: she wrote her book under contract, and went through the whole back-and-forth of the editorial process. Then, shortly before pub date, her editor told her the house had decided not to publish any more romantic comedies. They were going to cancel her book.

For an author, that's like putting a year's worth of work through the shredder. It was not a good day, Deborah said.

However, Simon Pulse realized Deborah's book was too good to lose. So with a little creative thinking, and a little genre-shuffling, they were able to package it into a two-book collection titled Love, Love, Love. And now it’s on the shelves, with the coolest cover ever. For the inside story on that, check out Melissa Walker’s blog post.

Here’s a picture of Deborah and me, above, with her beautiful book.

See you soon, girlz!

Our Seattle Host, Stephanie Guerra, teaches children’s literature, young adult fiction and a seminar in writing instruction at Seattle University. She also heads a volunteer creative writing program at King County Jail, and researches and speaks about literacy instruction for at-risk and incarcerated young adults. Stephanie lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband and children. Her debut young adult novel, TORN, will be published by Marshall Cavendish in spring of 2012.

Cover Stories: The Language of Love by Deborah Reber

Happy week o' Valentine! The Cover Story feature today is actually about two books. Deborah Reber, author of The Language of Love (one of the books in this two-book set) is here to tell the story behind the cover of Love, Love, Love, which also includes a book by Caroline Goode called Cupidity.

"If the cover story for my book Language of Love were to be made into a movie, it would have

as many twists and turns as any good romantic comedy.

"It all started with this cover, below right, which I LOVED. This original cover was illustrated by Ann Zeak, who has designed covers for the more than two dozen Simon Pulse Romantic Comedies, the series to which Language of Love originally belonged.

"In developing this cover, Simon Pulse asked for guidance regarding the physical description of my main characters Janna (Emma Waston pre-pixie haircut) and Julian (a scruffier version of a Zac Efron/Chace Crawford blend) and any insight I could provide on the setting for the book or a scene that might make for a good cover. And this is what they came back with, right.

"I absolutely love this cover, especially the color scheme, the adorable rain jacket and rain boots, and Seattle's landmark Space Needle in the background. The scene portrayed on the cover stems from the night that Janna and Julian fell in love. Awww...

"But then this cover went away..."

Read the rest of Deborah's Cover Story at melissacwalker.com.

rgz Seattle HOST: Deborah Reber! (With Giveaway!)

Hello, Readergirlz!

It's been a while since I've done one of my favorite things - going to book events and telling you about them. That's changing now, though, because it's an exciting time for book releases in Seattle!

On Wednesday night, I got to gather with other local YA writers and friends (including divas Holly and Martha!) to celebrate the release of Deborah Reber's first novel!

You've seen Debbie around here before. She's also the author of a bunch of non-fiction books that we here at readergirlz highly recommend, plus she runs an amazing blog called Smart Girls Know.

Love, Love, Love is actually two books in one: Debbie's Language of Love, plus Cupidity by Caroline Goode. If you're a fan of the Simon Pulse series of romantic comedies, I can guarantee you'll love both!

Here's what Language of Love is all about, from the back cover:

Janna is quickly adapting to life in Seattle as a high school exchange student from Hungary. Or at least Julian, the cute boy she met in a coffee shop, thinks she is. The truth is, he overheard Janna using a phony accent, and now she's stuck playing the part ... Will Julian want to be with the real Janna? Or will she discover that lies don't always translate to love?

To celebrate, Debbie hosted a super-fun party at Secret Garden Books. There were hot-pink cupcakes and Valentine's Day Peeps! She also put together a quiz about other love stories set in Seattle. Guess what? I won the quiz! Which means I have a copy of Love, Love, Love to give away!

Leave a comment on this post and I'll choose a random winner (US only)! Plus, I also won a raffle prize that I'll throw in! It's a copy of Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, which Debbie worked on. You've got from now 'til next Saturday, the 12th, at noon pst to comment and win both! Please leave an email address in your comment so I can let you know if you won.

Me, Debbie, Peeps and the giveaway books

Now, I'm off to get in a Valentiney mood with Love, Love, Love!

Story Secrets: LANGUAGE OF LOVE by Deborah Reber + giveaway!

I'm very pleased to welcome author friend Deborah Reber to the blog today to chat about her first YA novel, LANGUAGE OF LOVE!

But Debbie is no stranger to writing for teens: she's written a bunch of fabulous books to empower teen girls and help them connect to their purpose and passions,
like IN HER SHOES, CHILL, and she compiled and edited the amazing teen-authored memoir series Louder Than Words (you might be familiar with titles ALEXIS, RAE, and HANNAH).

Welcome, Deborah!


*****

LANGUAGE OF LOVE is about a shy girl named Janna whose “bad influence best friend” convinces her to impersonate a Hungarian exchange student in order to keep the interest of Julian, a cute boy from another school. At first she thought her prank was harmless - Janna didn’t expect to like her outgoing alter ego so much, and she certainly didn’t realize that Julian was “the one” for her until she’s in way too deep. That’s when things really get complicated…

I’m soooo excited about LANGUAGE OF LOVE because it’s my first stab at writing YA fiction. The book is part of Simon Pulse’s Romantic Comedies series, which they’ve just rebranded by packaging two novels in one book. So Language of Love is actually paired with Caroline Goode’s Cupidity in a new book called Love, Love, Love.

Holly Cupala: Great title, too! So where did the idea come from?

Deborah Reber: How many of us wish we could be someone else every now and then – try on a more interesting persona and see what happens? I wanted to play with that idea, and thought back to an episode of the original Beverly Hills 90210 where Brenda is spending the summer in France with Donna and fools an American boy into thinking she’s French. And the story just evolved from there...


Find out more of Deborah's secrets and enter to win LANGUAGE OF LOVE here...

~Holly Cupala

Louder Than Words, edited by Deborah Reber

Did everyone catch the first 3 books in the Louder Than Words series? Chelsey, Marni, and Emily's memoirs are now in print in one volume! So if you missed them, be sure to check out these nonfiction works written by teen authors, beautifully edited by Deborah Reber.



Then find the next three releases: Rae, Hannah, and Alexis. Peek at the world of severe anxiety, drug addiction, and victimization by an online predator. You will be captivated by the truth as you race from one work to the next. Brava to the girls for their honesty and fine writing, and to Deborah for her tight editing.



You can visit the website for full information and a chance to submit your own story. rgz who write, step up!

Louder Than Words, The First Collection
HCI Teens, 2010

Deborah Reber rocked the drop! #operationtbd

Deborah, the author of CHILL and editor of the LOUDER THAN WORDS teen memoir series, left CHILL at the Wallingford branch of the Seattle Public Library. See?

She tweets here: @DeborahReber:
 
And her website is here.

Writing (and Reading) Opportunities!

Just a heads up on three very cool things-to-know:

1. As mentioned in I Heart Daily this week, Deborah Reber is looking for her next set of teen authors to write memoirs for publication! (Just like Chelsey's, left.) Go here to find out more.

2. Little Willow pointed us to Gilda's Club NYC, which is launching the "It's Always Something" teen essay contest, where teenagers can submit essays about their experiences with cancer -- in any way. First prize is a $250 Apple gift card. Go here for the rules.

3. Pulse It is the new social networking site from Simon & Schuster for teenagers (14-18 only), and each month you can choose one of two available titles to read for free on their website. Pretty darn cool. This month's titles? Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan and Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush (which are both part of the I Heart Daily + Pulse It October contest).

Happy reading and writing, everyone!

Teen Writers, Get Published!

I saw this announcement on The Story Siren's blog, and thought some readergirlz (and writergirlz?) would like to know...

TEEN NONFICTION BOOK SERIES
Real girls. Real experiences. Real life.
The Series

This new nonfiction series for teens from HCI Books is a collection of single-author books written by current teenagers (ages 13-19). Taking a cue from teen reality favorites like Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul and the classic diary Go Ask Alice, these memoirs will give teen writers with important stories to tell a voice.

Some say that truth is more interesting than fiction, and that’s what this teen series will demonstrate. Each book in the series will present one girl’s personal experience through her own eyes, and each story will focus on the author’s personal journey. That journey might be anything from realizing something important about oneself to being faced with a seemingly insurmountable life challenge and getting through to the other side. At their core, books will be about change, growth, self-discovery, and identity.

How It Works

Authors will work closely with the editorial director to figure out the scope of the book and the story and create an outline for the book. Using existing writing, such as journal or blog entries, is fine, and in many cases, the writing may stem from journal entries from the authors.

Once the outline is complete, each author will complete and deliver a first draft to the editorial director, who’ll then work closely with the author to edit and get the manuscript ready for delivery to the publisher.

How to Apply

Interested writers should email editorial director Deborah Reber with the following information:

A description of what your nonfiction story would be about...in your description, please give a sense of the overall theme of the story and details regarding the personal journey you want to share with the world. Are you writing about a specific event and the affect it had on your life? Or is your focus an emotional journey or change over time? Put yourself in the readers' shoes...what would they take away from your story? Write as much about your story as you like.

1-2 writing samples that demonstrate your style, tone and writing ability. You can submit nonfiction essays, journal entries, or fiction pieces, but please, no poetry. Send your best stuff!

A couple of sentences describing the role writing plays in your life.

* Send submissions and application materials to deborah AT deborahreber.com.*

Payment

Each author will receive a flat fee for the writing of her book, as well as complimentary copies of her book.

About the Editorial Director

Deborah Reber is an author of books for teens and tweens, including Chill: Stress-Reducing Techniques for a More Balanced, Peaceful You, In Their Shoes: Extraordinary Women Describe Their Amazing Careers, and the teen series from Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, The Real Deal. To find out how to apply, email Debbie at deborah AT deborahreber.com.

This reminds me a little of Red: The Book (though RED is a collection of essays and these are single-author books). RED is now out in paperback (and is completely awesome!).