Hey Everyone!

* This was originally posted on The Compulsive Readers blog a week ago, but got no comments except for some troll posting as “Anonymous.” *Rolls eyes* So, I am posting it again for your viewing pleasure. And now I give you the one, the only . . . Madison Macallister, queen diva-bitch of the Upper East Side!

1. Always play hard to get. The Rules aren’t “guidelines,” they’re a way of life.

2. Girls like sparkly things—a lot. And the words “Tiffany,” “Harry Winston,” and “Chopard” are music to our ears—and usually our pants :)

3. Always be the dumper, never the dump-ee. And remember—girls can dump retroactively.

4. Relationships come first—you can explain the Bergdorf’s bill to daddy later.

5. There’s always someone hotter, smarter, richer, funnier . . . better. Make sure he knows it.

6. Girls should have as many pairs of shoes as they want; guys often rely on one. The same rule applies to dating.

7. Having a sex tape will not make you a celebrity—it just makes you desperate.

8. Never hit on, flirt with, or try to date a certain blue-eyed boy from the Upper East Side who worships Woody Allen like it’s his own personal religion, and mainlines black coffee . . . or I’ll have to kill you.

9. Men are like stilettos—wicked, dangerous, and you often have to break them in multiple times before you completely fall in love. Learning to navigate the world in stilettos is much like dating—you have to walk before you can run.

10. And remember the most important rule of all: never, ever say those magical three little words first—unless they’re “I’m leaving you.”

So, a weird, very pleasant thing happened today. Even though I feel nowhere near 100%, I’ve gone back to work. For those of you who don’t know, I teach 9th, and 12th grade at a small, private high school in SoCal, and I love my job. I can’t imagine being away from my kids for longer than a week, and teaching is just as integral to my being as writing. For me, anyway, they are very much two sides of the same coin.

But I digress

Today after I finished teaching for the day, I went back to my office to do some grading and catch up on email. The minute I walked in, my office mate, Erin, who I love dearly, turned to me with an excited look in her eyes, and said, “Oh my God, I have the funniest thing to tell you!” A little about Erin: she is kind, generous, and so amazingly on top of her game that she makes Martha Stewart look disorgaized. Basically, she’s everything I want to be when I grow up, and there’s no one at school who I admire more. Erin sometimes helps out with interviewing prospective students (you know, because she has SO much extra time in her 10 hour work days!) and she had met with a candidate earlier in the day. Apparently they were in the process of chit-chatting, talking about reading and literature, when Erin asked the girl what her favorite books were. What happened next is the kind of serendipitous craziness that usually only happens in books–or episodes of The Hills. The girl turned to Erin and mentioned that she and her friends really loved this book, THE ELITE, and that she was fascinated by novels about NY in particular.

Now, this prospective student had NO IDEA that I taught there, or that she was, essentially, sitting inches away from my desk. Erin turned to our collective bookshelves, where copies of my books are prominently displayed, and gestured to my copy of THE ELITE. The girl nodded, agreeing that it was indeed, the book she had been referring to. “No, you don’t understand,” Erin said (or something to that effect–I wasn’t there!), “she teaches here! That’s her desk!” The girl proceeded to freak out, which I guess was probably pretty funny for Erin, as I’m sure that most people at my school see me as just another teacher–which is just fine with me. Hell, half of the time I even forget that I’m a writer when I’m at work!

Anyway, it made me feel ridiculously happy, eve though I didn’t get to meet this girl, that I had written something that had touched her, that she could count among her favorite books. My life is so weirdly compartmentalized that often times I really do forget that I have this whole other career as an author. Sometimes I wonder if anyone is reading anything I write at all. I feel so lucky to have the life that I do, to be able to reach Young Adult readers, and hopefully, entertain them for a few short hours while simultaneously spending every day with my students, reading and discussing literature.

Even though I’m tired, headachey, and still suffering from the brain fuzzies, it’s moments like these that make me proud of what I’ve accomplished, that make me see my work AS an accomplishment–and fill me with excitement about what waits in the future.

Hey Everyone!

Just a quick announcement--My blog is moving!

Yes, that's right, I'm leaving MySpace in favor of Word Press! I am a traitor :)  I would really appreciate it if you would add me to your blogroll so you can keep up on all the contests, info, and news that I'll be sharing in the coming months with the recent release of IN TOO DEEP, and the upcoming release of the final book in THE ELITE seres, SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE! 

So, without gurther ado, my new blog addy is:

jenniferbanash.wordpress.com

See you over there!

xo
JB

Hey Everyone!

I just wanted to alert you to the fact that IN TOO DEEP was released today, and is now available for purchase from many fine retailers such as Amazon.com, B&n.com, Borders.com, as well as your local bookstore! I am so excited that the book is finally on shelves--it feels like I've been waiting around a million years for the sequel to THE ELITE to finally be released--even though it's only been seven months!

So help support a great series and pick up your copy today. And, if by some strange twist of fate you HAVEN"T read THE ELITE yet, wouldn't this be the perfect time to order up a copy too? That way you can read books one and two in one gluttonous, greedy, delicious sitting!

And in honor of the release, I'm giving away a copy EACH of THE ELITE and IN TOO DEEP!!! Of course they will both be signed by me :) To enter, leave a comment after this post, and also post on your blog or MySpace page about the contest for one entry, and that IN TOO DEEP is now in stores for an extra entry.

GOSSIP GIRL contest winner will be announced on Friday!

xxoooxx
JB

As some of you may know, I've recently become a member of the Girlfriend's Cyber Circuit along with amazing authors such as Megan Kelley Hall and Melissa Walker! So this week, fellow Girlfriend Carrie Jones is stopping by my blog to answer some questions about NEED, and glamor--because you KNOW I'm all about the glamor!

But first, a little about Carrie and NEED!




Zara collects phobias the way other high school girls collect lipsticks. Little wonder, since life's been pretty rough so far. Her father left, her stepfather just died, and her mother's pretty much checked out. Now Zara's living with her grandmother in sleepy, cold Maine so that she stays "safe." Zara doesn't think she's in danger; she thinks her mother can't deal.

Wrong. Turns out that guy she sees everywhere, the one leaving trails of gold glitter, isn't a figment of her imagination. He's a pixie—and not the cute, lovable kind with wings. He's the kind who has dreadful, uncontrollable needs. And he's trailing Zara.

About Carrie: Carrie Jones likes Skinny Cow fudgsicles and potatoes. She does not know how to spell fudgsicles. This has not prevented her from writing books. She lives with her cute family in Maine, but she grew up in Bedford, NH where she once had a séance with cool uber-comedian Sarah Silverman. She graduated from Vermont College's MFA program for writing. She has edited newspapers and poetry journals and has recently won awards from the Maine Press Association and also been awarded the Martin Dibner Fellowship as well as a Maine Literary Award and the Independent Book Publishers Association First Place Award for her debut novel, Tips on Having a Gay (ex) Boyfriend.

Jones easily wins readers to Zara's side, portraying her as a funny, globally conscious teen who also "collect[s} fears like other people collect stamps" (obscure phobias serve as chapter titles). Genre fans will enjoy the sizzle between Nick and Zara as well as the paranormal cast." – Publishers' Weekly

"It was a fun read, and I can't wait for more from Carrie Jones…I'm definitely adding Need to my shelves due to the romance, suspense, and monster element. This goes on the list for those who loved Twilight and "Need" more. I have decided that Carrie Jones NEEDS to continue to write about these characters and add more since I already miss them after finishing Need." – Diane Chen, School Library Journal

1. What (or who) do you consider to be glamorous and why?

I think glamor is really just a perception. I mean, someone told me that they thought being a writer in Maine was glamorous! And I was all, "Let me list the reasons it is not."

Those reasons are:

1. Dog hair.
2. Mud season.
3. A laptop that has sticky keys because of dog drool.

So, I think glamor has this aspect of falsehood about it. It's a desire for something we don't fully understand. It's the showing of the good without the bad. It's an illusion, a very pretty illusion.

2. If you weren't a writer, what other career would you like to attempt?

I'd like to be a human rights attorney.

3. What is the one article of clothing in your closet that you can't bear to part with?

My black tights. So witchy...

4. Who is your fav celebrity?

I don't think I have one. I used to have a crush on Viggo Mortenson though.

Other than him.... Probably Grover.

5. If you could put together a "dream cast" of the big screen version of your book, who would play the leads?

Zara - A young Jennifer Garner
Nick - Gael Garcia Bernal
Issie - Isla Fisher


6. Britney: Comeback or train wreck?

Train wreck that people are starting to not want to watch any more despite all the blood and gore. Poor Britney.

7. What is your fav glam or exotic location to visit? (Mine's Paris!)

Paris is so good. You've already taken it though, so I'm going to go with the Pyrenees Mountains, which are between France and Spain. I love it up there.

8. Which character in your work do you most relate to and why?

I relate to all of them, but Zara is really close to me right now because I really believe in facing your fears, and not being passive, and liking cute boys who smell good. We've both lost our step-dads, too.


Thanks to Carrie for stopping by, and don't forget-IN TOO DEEP hits shelves in JUST 6 DAYS!!!!



Pre-order your copy today on Amazon.com!

To read more about Carrie, go to her website

XO
JB

Hey Everyone!



It's been a while, I know I know . . . Between my new job out here in
Southern California, and a massive kidney infection that kept me in and
out of the hospital, I've been a bit distracted.  But now that I'm
feeling better, I'm ready to celebrate the almost-release of the second
book in THE ELITE series, IN TOO DEEP, which will be on shelves less
than A MONTH from now!  WOOT! 



So to get in the spirit, I've decided to have a huge contest now, since
I'm in the giving mood of the holiday season.  So, in honor of the
impending release of IN TOO DEEP, I'm giving away the COMPLETE GOSSIP
GIRL series!  Yes, books 1-11, ending with DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME! 



So, what do you have to do to win? Funny you should ask . . .



The Rules:



1)  Leave a comment on this post and tell me what you'd like most for
Christmas this year, and ALSO who you think Drew will end up with by
the end of THE ELITE series.  Will it be Mad?  Casey?  Someone else
entirely?  Will Drew end up alone and miserable?  Will he turn gay? 
:) 



2)  Post the IN TOO DEEP countdown widget on your blog or MySpace, and post the contest on your blog or MySpace as well. 



That's it!



Good luck and Happy Holidays!

xxooxx

JB

Hey Everyone!

Just a quick note to let you know that I've asked Kristi over at The Story Siren to open the contest up World Wide, so, if you live abroad, you can enter to win the ARC of IN TOO DEEP and the $25 MAC gift certificate!

So go o over to www.thestorysiren.com and enter to win!

xxooxx
JB

Hey Everyone,

There's a new contest going on over at The Story Siren that you all should enter--not only is the site premiering the awesome book trailer for IN TOO DEEP, but The Story Siren herself is hosting a contest in honor of the trailer's release, giving away a signed ARC of IN TOO DEEP, AND a $25 MAC Cosmetics gift certificate! I know, I know, I'm TOO generous! So go over to www.thestorysiren.com and enter now! Contest ends Oct. 24!

In other, far less happy news, I was involved in a pretty bad car wreck yesterday. I hit my head on the steering wheel, even though my seatbelt was firmly fastened, and now have a concussion. My lovely car is also totaled, which is no fun whatsoever. The worst part about the experience is after the SUV that hit me slammed into me without warning, the driver got out and started SCREAMING at me! I immediately asked if he was OK while I was bleeding all over my face from the cut on my head, and he responded by yelling "I @$%% hope you have insurance, lady!" When I asked if I could use his cell phone, as mine was dead, he replied "You have got to be KIDDING me" with a exasperated snort.

Charming. Welcome to LA.

The cops, when they finally showed up, had to stand between us as this guy was so irate that they were afraid he was going to attack me. I was shaking like a leaf as I wanted for a tow truck, scared out of my mind. As a result of all this excitement, my brain feels like it's swaddled in cotton candy or fiberglass insulation, which made work today a complete barrel of monkeys . . .

Hope your week is going better than mine! It wouldn't be hard to accomplish at this point.

xooxoxoxx

JB