A cautionary tale...

by Brittany Geragotelis

So, my intern came into the office today and told me a story that gave me the chills. She's staying in dorms this summer while doing her internship here at the magazine, but is fed up with the lack of air conditioning and has been searching for a sublet for the rest of her time in NYC.

She found a great-looking apartment on Craig's List a few days ago that was on 58th between 1st and 2nd and it was within her price range. So she contacted the person who listed it and set up a time to go and take a look. Being a young woman in NYC, she talked to her mom about going, and her mom told her not to look at it by herself (very good advice, BTW). So, my intern tried to get one of her male friends who works near the apartment to go with her, but he happened to have food poisoning and couldn't meet her. My intern called her mom once more and asked her whether she thought it would be a really bad idea if she went by herself after all. Her mom said, "Well, why don't you give me his name and we'll google him and see if anything sketchy comes up." So, she gave her mom his name.

photo credit: NBC/Dateline

Not only was the man a sex offender, but he'd been featured numerous times on NBC Dateline's "To Catch a Predator!" Totally freaked out by her near-miss with danger, my intern e-mailed the guy and said she couldn't come by to see the place. So, here's a cautionary tale for all those girls out there meeting up with strangers they've met online. We use Google to check up on potential dates and to cyber-stalk crushes, so why do we forget that we can also use this tool to keep ourselves out of dangerous situations?

Be safe out there everyone—and Google the hell out of people!

5x5,
B.

Just a small town girl...

by Brittany Geragotelis

Before I get too far, did anyone watch the finale of "Glee" last night? I have to admit, that before I hit play on my DVR, I was already feeling a bit sad. Knowing that I'm going to have to wait several months to see another new episode...well, it put me into a deep GLEEpression. And though I loved a lot of the music in the ep, I wasn't all that impressed with the finale. Don't get me wrong—I loved the show—I was just expecting a little more, you know? But still...incredible singing (and great choice of music)!

courtesy of: Stephanie Lynn

Now, speaking of singers...I met my friend, Stephanie Lynn, through my boyfriend when we first started dating. She played the unattainable hot girl in the movie Matt and his brother shot called The Graduates. And after getting over the shock that she was, in fact, gorgeous in person, I realized that she wasn't a threat (admit it, us girls tend to get threatened by other hot girls), and that she's a REALLY cool girl. Very low-key, fun, sweet and super talented.

courtesy of: Stephanie Lynn

Anyways, on a trip to promote The Graduates, I was able to spend some QT with Steph and learned that the girl can sing! And she writes her own music! With a slightly-deep, breathy sound to her voice, and soulful lyrics, hearing her is a soothing experience.

courtesy of: Stephanie Lynn

Don't believe me? Well, check her out for yourself. Stephanie Lynn just submitted her demo song "Broken Before" for MySpace's Rock The Space contest and every play she gets helps her chances of winning. So, go ahead and take a listen. The song is catchy and beautiful and sure to brighten your day!

5x5,
B.

My Top 5 Distractions...

by Brittany Geragotelis

As you all know, I turned in my latest manuscript to Agent X a week ago, yesterday, and for the most part, I've been feeling pretty calm about the whole thing. I haven't been thinking about it too much; you know, wondering whether she's read it yet, whether she likes it or hates it, whether she's trying to figure out the best way to reject me....Like I said, it's barely been on my mind. Really.

So, if you're waiting for an answer about something (doesn't have to be about a book you've just written), here are a few things that are sure to get your mind off of whatever it is and onto something equally (yet constructively) brain-consuming.

photo credit: 20th Century Fox

1. Get lost in a TV show—Sure, most shows have already had their season finale's, but with Netflix and Hulu, there's certainly no shortage of awesome shows on DVD. And even better? No commercials! Some of my faves right now: Ally McBeal, Medium, 30 Rock and Bones.

2. Start a blog—I fought against having a blog for a few years based on the idea that my life wasn't exciting enough to write about it every day. The truth is, with the exception of celebrities, no blogger's life is all THAT exciting. But most blogs aren't boasting excitement. Most are just a look into a persons life and the things they're passionate about. So, whether your mind's on love, motherhood, dating, movies or even the everyday things that annoy you, take to the web and start typing!

3. Take on a new project—And I don't mean start writing a new book when your last one's barely off the printers. I'm talking something completely different. Try scrapbooking, giving one of your walls at home a new coat of paint (pick a bright color that will make you smile whenever you see it!), train for a marathon. Yesterday, I spent the day trying to secure a certain young actress for our next magazine cover and I was so pumped about the possibility of interviewing this celeb, that I was totally distracted from thinking about myself and my writing. (FYI, the celeb isn't Miley...although I have interviewed her before!)

4. Plan a trip...or a party—I'm planning my first adult vaca to Disney World right now; picking the restaurants we're going to eat at, what parks we're gonna go to, what rides to go on first, etc. Not only is it giving me something fun to focus on, but in September there's going to be a HUGE payoff in the form of Mickey and Minnie. And if you don't have the cash or vacation time to go away, plan a movie night, pizza party or game night with your friends.

photo credit: Balzer + Bray

5. Read a good book—What better way to escape your troubles, fears, stress, and ultimately, the real world, than by diving into a good book. A few you should check out: Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce, The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell and The Duff by Kody Keplinger. Go out and crack one open today!



What do you guys do to distract yourself? Any tips?

5x5,
B.

Movie Review: Sex and the City 2

by Brittany Geragotelis

This post is about a week overdue, but better late than never, right? Two weekends ago, Matt and I were in Maryland for the weekend, visiting his folks and of course, we all headed to the movies. This time, I asked Matt's mom if she wanted to go with me to see Sex and the City 2 (Matt had flat-out refused to go with me to see it). I was super delighted when she said yes, and just us girls headed into the theater, while the guys went to see Prince of Persia.

So, what did I think?

all photos credited: New Line/SATC2

Well, I LOVED it, of course!

Now, I have to say, I was NOT a fan of the first movie. First off, I was so angry and heartbroken that they had Steve cheat on Miranda and then hated the reactions the girls had about it, like Miranda was being close-minded for not forgiving his extra-marital indiscretions. Really? That's just bullshit...There's no excuse for infidelity. Just sayin'. And second, the first movie just didn't feel like the show to me.

The sequel, however, reminded me of the show again. In SATC2, it seemed like they went back to their original focus, bringing it all back to the four women and their friendships. What I really liked is how they managed to seamlessly transition from four single women dealing with the rough side of dating in a city like NY, to women of their age handling marriage, kids and family. Being unmarried and kid-less myself, the fact that the movie wasn't about young women in NYC looking for love could have been disaster, but I felt like the storylines they had were incredibly appropriate and humorous.

Speaking of funny...I was laughing the entire time I was in the theater. From the moment the movie began (I got chills of excitement when this happened, by the way) all the way through to the end, I was cracking up and sitting there with a big, fat grin on my face. The scene with Charlotte and Miranda drinking and dishing was my favorite, and Samantha had what I thought was the best line of the movie (Hint: it involved Lawrence of Arabia).



Of course, the clothes were a bit over-the-top, but that's par for the course? My only complaint was a certain storyline between Carrie and a former flame. I was NOT happy about this, but luckily it didn't ruin the movie for me.

So, there you have it. If you haven't already seen it and are on the fence about going, stop hesitating, grab your girls and just go. It's totally worth its weight in Manolo's.

5x5,
B.

Book Review: The Duff

by Brittany Geragotelis

I'd been hearing about the book The Duff long before I got a hold of it. Rumor has it that the book is the next big thing. I believe part of the draw is that the author of this YA novel is still a teen herself. Eighteen years old to be exact.

The Duff (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) by Kody Keplinger is a book about growing up, dealing with the tough stuff that life throws your way, insecurities, friendship, sex and love.

photo credit: Poppy

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie, Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren't so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

I knew from reading other reviews of The Duff, that a lot of people are connecting strongly with the idea behind the title of the book. In the story, Wesley explains that Bianca is "The Duff"—The "Designated Ugly Fat Friend" of her group. The concensus seems to be that at some point or another, everyone's felt like The Duff; even the prettiest among us have days where we feel less than fab, and even lame in comparison to our friends.

Oddly, it wasn't this aspect of the book that I connected with most (although I've certainly had my off-years, too). It was the part about Bianca going after the wrong man to help her escape the real issues that were troubling her. In the book, Bianca finds herself desperately needing a distraction from her problems (in this case, her parent's impending divorce and her alcoholic father's relapse) and the negative way she sees herself.

So, she turns to her enemy as a way to ignore the chaos going on around her. She needed the release and participating in risky behavior (she gets into a very active, no-strings-attached sexual relationship) with a guy who is unavailable and treats her like crap every once in a while (although there are times when he does redeem himself), allows her to act out and check out for a few brief minutes at a time.

In the past (as a teenager and in my 20s) I was certainly guilty of using outside things as a way to ignore stuff that was going on around me. I made plenty of bad decisions, did things that were potentially harmful and chose to hang out with people who really only made me feel worse about myself. All because I didn't want to deal.

Eventually Bianca realizes that she needs to address the issues that have turned her world upside down and when she does, that's when things start to work themselves out. And I really feel like this is true to life, too. You can run away from the bad stuff—numb it with boys, alcohol, shopping, whatever your poison, but in the end, the problems won't go away forever and you'll have to face them or remain miserable.

Overall, I enjoyed The Duff. As I was reading it, it sounded more like I was reading a book about college girls than high school girls with the amount of sex there was throughout the whole thing, but all in all, I enjoyed the story. I think reviewers are right...this book will be popular with teens. Because the truth is, everyone's been The Duff at some point or another.

5x5,

B.

To Self-Publish or Not to Self Publish...that is the question

by Brittany Geragotelis

I recently saw this feature in The Wall Street Journal, on the state of the publishing world—particularly regarding self-publishing and whether it's in an author's best interest to self-publish as opposed to going the traditional route of working with a major publisher. Regardless of which is the better way to go, the feature was interesting. They included a variety of authors...one who self-published and sold a fair amount of her books and has been picked up by a division of Amazon because of it; and a well-known author who's published a lot of books via a mainstream publisher, but who's now publishing some of his earlier books on his own—and making more money doing it himself than had he went with a big publisher.

It brings up the question: which is the right way to be published?

I've struggled with this debate the past few years. After being rejected more times than I thought my ego could handle, and being dropped by my old agent, I set out to self-publish. I came up with a 6-month plan, laying out everything I needed to do at every stage in order to get the book out, publicize it and sell it. Then, I began to hear from industry people, all telling me to hang in there because my books were publishable (My favorite author in the whole world even told me not to give up, because my writing was worthy of a publisher; how could I ignore something like that?). So, I abandoned my plans and went back to searching for a literary agent so I could hopefully snag a book deal.

Now, two books later, I'm getting ready to board the Rejection Express—again—and I'm starting to wonder whether that decision was right for me. The jury's still out on this one, but it's interesting to see how many opportunities are opening up for people like me who write and just need a little help getting their stuff out there to the masses. Anyways, read the article and decide for yourself which is the best route for you. After all, isn't the point of writing so that others can enjoy reading your books? And if the books aren't out there for them to read, how are you supposed to accomplish that?

On a completely unrelated note....here's a video Matt sent me last night. It made me giggle. So, if you're needing a Thursday pick-me-up, check it out!

5x5,
B.

Say a Little Prayer For Me...

by Brittany Geragotelis

I finished writing my sixth book, Painless a little over a week ago, and immediately threw myself into my first edit of the book. This was mostly because I wanted to have a truly good first draft, and partially because I'd given myself a self-imposed deadline of having the book ready to send out by the first of June. I also had an agent-friend (let's call her Agent X) itching to read it when it was done.

Agent X was one of the first "industry people" to encourage me to go edgier with my writing. She was especially interested in Painless from the first time I told her about it and has acted as a sounding board for me throughout the process. So, between her excitement to read it and my antsyness to have the first draft out of my hands, I made a vow to have it done, ASAP.

Now that I'm finished, the results are out of my hands...as much as I want to get an agent, I can't just take someone by the shoulders, shake them and say, "Represent me!!!!" until they say yes. People don't appreciate it when you use physical force to get what you want...go figure.

You know, it wasn't until my fourth book that I actually did a read-through myself, before sending it out to agents. See, by the time I finish writing a book, I'm so sick of thinking about it, writing about it, living in it, that the last thing I want to do is read it AGAIN. So, I've always had a friend of mine read the first draft and edit it for me, look for any inconsistencies in the story, mistakes in timelines and characters and of course, spelling and grammar. Thank GOD for her (Shout out to Marisa!), because had she not slaved tirelessly over my writing, there's no way my books would have been in any shape to be read.

Anyway, starting with my fourth book, Sober in the City, I began reading the first draft myself to make sure that it was the product I wanted it to be. But even then, it's a little difficult, because I'm so close to my books, that I'm afraid I can't really look at them clearly. Like I'm too close to be objective.

photo credit: Matt Irwin/style.com

And then specifically with Painless, I wasn't sure whether I'd done what I'd set out to do. I've always played it pretty safe with my writing, made family-friendly teen books. Painless is not what I would call family-friendly. The main character is damaged, dark and difficult....and with someone like that, there's a delicate balance between making a complicated character and having her still be likeable. (Here's what I imagine my main character, Bliss, to look like; I modeled her after supermodel Jessica Stam...only Bliss has dark hair and a sprinkling of scars.)

So, even though when I read through the book, I enjoyed the story I'd come up with, I'm not quite sure if I accomplished my goal. I guess I'll find out soon enough, since I sent off a copy of it to Agent X on Monday night, as well as to a few people VERY close to me.

I'm crossing my fingers that when I do hear back, that the feedback is good and that this is "the one" that finally hooks me an agent!

Wish me luck!

5x5,

B.