Money, Money, Money, Money....Money!

by Brittany Geragotelis

On Friday, I was walking home from the subway and found myself behind a woman who was talking loudly on her cell phone and carrying a small shopping bag. It's not like I was meaning to eavesdrop, but like I said, she was talking really loud and it would have taken more energy trying to tune her out then to just listen. So I did.

The girl was talking to a friend (I assume), and explaining why she was late to some dinner. Apparently, the woman who usually took over her shift at whatever job she had, was out of the office, so cell phone girl had to work later than usual. And then there was also the fact that when she was on her way home, she just had to stop in this little shop...and spend $500. She said she knew it was a lot, but heck, her birthday was this Tuesday (same as mine) and so she splurged.

Now I don't know about you (or about this woman really), but my idea of splurging is buying an overpriced cup of Pinkberry with chocolate shavings and strawberries. But it got me thinking about what it might be like to have so much money that burning $500 on a dress (yes, that's what the girl had bought) is nothing but an afternoon splurge.

Here are my top 5 splurges (If I were rich):

1. A weekend trip to Disneyland on a whim.

2. A larger apartment, with a dishwasher, washer and dryer, a walk-in kitchen and at least one bedroom.

3. A pink vespa.

4. A hidden door to go in my larger apartment.

5. A big, fat pink diamond ring.

What would be on your splurge list? Leave your list in the comments below!

5x5,

B.

Friday Likes & Gripes

by Brittany Geragotelis

Happy Friday everyone! Per usual, here are my Friday Likes & Gripes:

LIKES:

courtesy of ANTM

courtesy of ANTM

1. "ANTM" Celeb Sightings—Living in NYC, there are a ton of opportunities to see celebs in their natural habitats. Most recently, my boyfriend Matt was casting for a web show his company is doing and who should stop by to audition? "America's Next Top Model" cycle 4 winner Naima. And speaking of "ANTM" models, my co-workers and I see April from cycle 2 down near our office all the time. She's very pretty in person.
2. Greyson Michael—This kid's rendition of Lady Gaga's Paparazzi makes me actually like the song. Beautiful voice, adorable and talented...maybe the next Justin Bieber? Take a look at him singing below!

3. The word "Adirondack"—Ever get a word stuck in your head and you have no idea why? That's how it is with the word, Adirondack. Strange, I know. But for some reason, every once in a while, I'll get this word stuck in my head and I like it. I like the way it rolls off my tongue. I like the sound it makes and it's just fun to say. I didn't even know what the word meant until I looked it up on Wiki (apparently the Adirondack Mountains are a mountain range located in the northeastern part of NY). Another word I'm fond of: clavicle.
4. The book I'm working on now—I'm 240 pages into writing my latest book, Painless, and I can see the "The End" at the end of the book. If all goes as planned, I will finish writing the first draft within a week. And then it's on to rewrites and edits and then off to query my first agent (you know who you are)!
5. Jackson Pearce—you guys are in for a treat, because Monday I will be posting my interview with Sisters Red author Jackson Pearce. Her latest book is phenomenal and trust me, you'll want to learn more about the mastermind behind it!

GRIPES:

courtesy of ANTM

1. "America's Next Top Model"—Not that I don't think Krista will make a good model, but I really think Raina should have won "ANTM's" cycle 14. Well, I really thought Jessica should have won, but if it had to be between Raina and Krista, I really think it should have been Raina. She's a Brooke Shields/Denise Richards look-a-like, has a great, positive attitude and a look to die for. Come on, Tyra, wake up and smell the fierceness!

Review of The Rise of Renegade X

by Brittany Geragotelis

I'm always up for a good superhero story. I mean, who isn't? Superpowers, the battle between good and evil, suspense and thrilling fights...What more could you want, right?

I just finished reading the book, The Rise of Renegade X, the debut book by Chelsea M. Campbell. The premise of the book sucked me in from the start:

Golden City Publishing

Damien Locke knows his destiny—attending the university for supervillains and becoming Golden City's next professional evil genius. But when Damien discovers he's the product of his supervillain mother's one-night stand with—of all people—a superhero, his best-laid plans are ruined as he's forced to live with his superhero family

Going to extreme lengths (and heights), The Rise of Renegade X chronicles one boy's struggles with the villainous and heroic pitfalls of growing up.

All in all, I enjoyed this book. It was told from the perspective of a teen boy, and that had me feeling a little left out at times. The book is much more geared toward male teenagers and girls might not connect quite as much to the protagonist because of it. I also felt that the edginess of the novel didn't ring 100% true. It was as if the author threw random shocking sentences throughout in an attempt to get that edge-factor, but it felt a bit out of place compared to the overall tone of the book.

But still, the story itself was fun, light and a quick read. It's easy for the reader to sympathize with the angsty teen situations that Damien finds himself in and you want to root for him even when he's trying to be evil. I especially fell in love with the character, Sarah, the young girl who becomes Damien's sidekick, Cosine. She's nerdy, but felt like the most real character in the book. She's also the only one who doesn't have superpowers and instead has to rely upon her intelligence to beat the bad guys. And FYI, she may just be the most powerful of them all!

In the end, The Rise of Renegade X was a fun read. I'd recommend it to any teen (or adult) boy with a soft spot for caped crusaders.

5x5,
B.

Why not start a book writing club?

by Brittany Geragotelis

When I was walking home with my successful author friend, Deborah the other night, I mentioned to her that over a year ago I started a "Cool Girl's Writing Club." And as soon as I'd said it, she went crazy, asking if she could be in it. After I got over my initial shock, which went something like, "You've published nearly 20 books and have movies out there based on your writing. What could I possibly have to contribute to you?" we began to talk about what a book writing club can do for a writer. Here are a few of the highlights we came up with:

1. It's fun! There's something about getting together with other writers to talk about your craft that's totally inspiring. That excitement you get from reading a great book...well, that's what it can be like when you're talking writing with others who share your same passion. Our "Cool Girl's Writing Club" met once a month at a diner and we ate brunch while we talked about our various projects. Food, writing, books, friends....doesn't get much better than that.

2. It can be inspiring. A lot of book writing clubs do exercises whenever they meet. The "CGWC" did little writing exercises whenever we'd meet, just to flex our writing muscles. For instance, we'd each pick a random word or phrase randomly and write a page or two based on that subject. Then we'd read what we wrote out loud. There were times when some really cool story ideas came up that way and it was really good practice at the same time.

3. It's a good motivator. If you're having trouble staying on a writing schedule or even getting started in the first place, a book writing club is a great tool to getting you on track. When you're expected to turn in a certain amount of pages to the group by a specific time or do weekly e-mail updates letting your club members know what your page count is, it's a lot harder to slack on your writing. Nobody wants to have to admit that the reason you don't have your 15 pages written is because you chose to watch a bad Lifetime movie instead.

4. Your club members are good sounding boards. Part of the beauty of being in a club full of writers, is that they're all readers. And this means that you have a built-in group of people ready and willing to read your projects and sound-off on them. If you're having trouble with a transition or you're not sure whether a section is working, you can go to your club and ask their opinion.

5. They double as your support group. The writing industry is a difficult one to be accepted into and unfortunately it's filled with a TON of REJECTION. You're going to need your club members there by your side to tell you not to give up when the rejection gets to be too much. They'll be your biggest cheerleaders and offer endless encouragement when you're feeling frustrated, angry and overwhelmed. In other words, they'll be your biggest book fans. And best of all, they'll be there for you when you score that agent or book deal!

If you have a desire to write, consider finding people to start a club with. Trust me, it'll be worth it!

5x5,
B.

Don't get screwed when signing a book deal

by Brittany Geragotelis

So, I was walking home with Deborah Gregory (author of The Cheetah Girls and the Catwalk series') and we began to talk about the entertainment industry. Surprise, surprise, as writers we tend to talk a lot about this topic, and for me, it's always insightful. As a pretty successful and well-known author, Deborah has been there, done that. She's been doing business with the publishing world and Hollywood for several years now and it's invaluable to be able to pick her brain regarding anything writing.

Anyhoo, the topic landed on book deals, royalties and optioning your stories, etc. Recently, Deborah was talking with two other pretty successful authors who had their books turned into movies as well. One of the authors was telling Deborah that her movie (based on her book) did pretty well in theaters, starred a few seriously BIG-TIME celebs and created a renewed interest in her book. Personally, I enjoyed the movie in question, and when I discovered it was based on a book, I picked it up, pronto. No surprise that the book was better than the chick flick.

But back to my point. The two authors got pretty honest with each other and it turned out, both felt they'd been screwed out of major money in regards to the optioning of their books for the creation of movies. It's no secret that Deborah's a bit miffed over the fact that she never saw any profits from the merchandise created from The Cheetah Girls movies. Part of this was that she was new to the industry; she didn't know what to ask and what to look for to make sure she was being taken care of in the deal. I'm sure she expected her lawyer to take care of that.

However, what she didn't know at the time (but certainly knows now) is that when her book was optioned to be made into a movie, they took along with it the likeness of her characters. Merchandise was made off of The Cheetah Girls' name. We're talking clothes, furniture, cookies, toys, additional books (ones that were not written by Deborah) based on The Cheetah Girls tour...pretty much anything you could think of, they slapped The Cheetah Girls logo on it and made a bundle.

And Deborah didn't see any of that money.

Apparently, this was also the case with the authors that Deborah was chatting with. They weren't happy with how they were compensated (or weren't as the case may be) when it came to the products they created. Once they sold their idea, it no longer belonged to them and the studios could do anything they wanted with it. It seems that this is pretty typical fare when dealing with big production companies.

What Deborah (and her new author friends) have learned from their experiences is that you need to know what you're getting into when you're making these kinds of deals. Or at least have a lawyer who knows what to look for when the contracts are being drawn up. So, when the time comes, and you've snagged that 3-book, 6 figure deal and studios are lining up to make your book into a movie or TV show, make sure you ask the right questions. What percentage of profit are you going to make off of any merchandise created from your original concept? Do you have any creative control at all over what's done with your product? Make sure you have a lawyer who's dealt with this sort of thing before and has a good track record in getting their clients what they deserve. Knowledge is power! And lastly, if the deal sounds shady, you don't have to say yes. You can wait around until a better deal comes along—one that will pay you what you deserve for all the hard work you put in creating your masterpiece.

5x5,
B.

From Sex and the City to The Carrie Diaries

by Brittany Geragotelis

I was in Barnes & Noble this weekend, perusing the YA section (I like to do this to see what sort of placement they're giving books and the trends they're trying to push...It's also fun to see the books out on the "new release" shelves and knowing that I read them all months ago), when I happened upon The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell. As a huge "Sex and the City" fan, as soon as I heard about this book, I knew I had to read it.

courtesy of Balzer + Bray

One thing I have to mention, is what a great book cover this is. It may not look like much at first glance, but it's very simple, classy and different than the typical "girl looking serious on the cover" a la Gossip Girl. And the gold plate with the author's name on it makes the novel look high class and expensive. All in all, it comes across as very impressive for a YA book.

Since I'm still waiting on my review copy to arrive (ah, the perks of my job!), I had to settle for reading this interview with Candace. I can't wait to read it....how about you? Anyone read it yet?


5x5,
B.

Mother's ROCK!

by Brittany Geragotelis

It's Mother's Day!

And I don't know about you, but I have a pretty cool mom. Besides the fact that she gave me life (little did she know what she was getting herself into!), she's the one who took me to all of my gymnastics meets, she taught me by example to follow my dreams and showed me the importance of chocolate (seriously....our crisper drawer at home is filled to the brim of candy bars. MMMMMM).

She's made me the woman I am today. Taught me to be independent, self-preserving and strong. And as I get older, I realize I've also inherrited her metabolism and awesome sense of humor.

courtesy of Disney

One of my favorite mom memories though, is when she used to take us to Disneyland as kids. She'd come into our rooms in the middle of the night and wrap each of us girls in our own soft, warm blankets and then bring us out to the car (which she'd warmed up beforehand), belt us into our seats and then drive all night to bring us to Disneyland (all the way from Washington). Then, when we got to Disneyland, my mom would make us line up at the entrance until they cut the ribbon and let us in. She's so much fun to go to Disneyland with....she runs from one ride to the next and gets just as excited for the rides as any kid there. She makes the whole experience even MORE magical than it usually is, and she's really fun to talk to when you're waiting in line for the rides. I think it's because of my mom that I like Disney as much as I do...

So here's to all our moms for making every memory special! And special shout-outs to fabulicious moms, my BFF Colleen and my sis Amy! You guys rock, too!

5x5,

B.