Got another really nice review, this one from School Library Journal. I'm VERY happy about this one, because librarians are the ones to please in the YA-lit biz.... Review has some very nice things to say, and I'm glad there's even a bit of criticism i there toward the end.

But overall, I'm just pleased-as-punch with this....


MEDINA, Nico. The Straight Road to Kylie. 295p. S & S/Pulse. 2007. pap. $8.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-3600-8. LC 2006935867.

Gr 9 Up-Jonathan Parish, 17, is "out-and-proud." He spends his time gossiping, shopping, partying, and watching Golden Girls reruns with his best girlfriends. Then he drunkenly deflowers a young woman at a party. His crisis of conscience worsens when rich, gorgeous Laura Schulberg makes him an offer he can't refuse: pretend to be her boyfriend in exchange for a trip to London to see Kylie Minogue perform. In the process, he alienates two of his best friends and loathes himself for returning to the closet. Jonathan is fabulously self-aware, and his running commentary about his emotional state, dance music, fashion, and Target shoppers is canny and hilarious. His voice is campy without descending into stereotype, and his honesty and insecurities deepen this portrait. His energetic narration carries the plot briskly along, and the mood is giddy but thoughtful. The characters' cultural references are so timely and their language so believably littered with f-bombs that the author might be in high school himself. Medina's ear for dialogue, colloquialisms, and accents is flawless, and the sharpest interchanges involve Jonathan; his mouthy, bisexual black/Asian girlfriend; and his gay Latino coworker. Unfortunately, his two straight female friends fall a little flat, as if they're only present to set up conflict. The inciting incident--[Laura] wants Jonathan and only Jonathan as her [boyfriend]--seems forced, too, even as her motive is ultimately revealed. On the whole, though, this is a well-written, thought-provoking, and welcome twist on the coming-out story.-Johanna Lewis, New York Public Library

I'm so pleased right now. I decided that the reason I couldn't get a good writing momentum going with revising the first draft of my 2nd book was because I hadn't plotted intricately enough.

So I told myself that I would just sit down and plot out the whole thing, super detailed, and make the plot points as fun for me to write as possible…. And then all next week and weekend (hopefully not more! I'm tired!), I'll get super-caffeinated and write it all out.

So back to being pleased with myself, I swore I couldn't blog about my sort of odd Gay Pride Weekend until I plunked my ass down and did that plotting thing.

And I did! I think Book 2's gonna be very fun. It sometimes seems like too much crazy stuff happens—like whoever reads it might have to suspend belief just a bit to truly enjoy it—but now I'm thinking that that's okay. It's a nutty book. I'll say NO MORE, just in case my editor hates it. (Fingers crossed.)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friday night: Madonnathon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday afternoon, after my second and final day of jury duty (no cases! I'm free!), I went home to do some writing until my friend Aaron from DC came into town. I was meeting him at my office, where he was dropping his overnight bag, and we were walking to the East Village, to go to Gay Pride Madonnathon, hosted by Spin Cycle (they do the Pop Rocks parties, too, where I had the Kylie night). Three hours of Madonna music, from 9:30 till 12:30.

Aaron and I celebrated seeing each other for, like, nine consecutive months. It's crazy. I see him more than most of my NEW YORK friends. I guess because ROUNDTRIP bus fare from NY to DC is about as expensive as a cab ride from the Lower East Side to Inwood. So we made mimosas in my office at 10:00 at night with some nasty-ass champagne that's been sitting in our office fridge for, like, two months. After that long, I'd say it's up for grabs.

So we had our mimosas and headed over to Madonnathon, where we met up with Nick (roommate) and Zack (the newest Florida transplant) and Shane (who is funny when he's drunk).

Sooo…about the Madonnathon…. What is it with drunk sluts?! I'm so tired of going out dancing or to a general-admission concert and being constantly bashed and pushed and prodded with drunk sluts and their big-ass purses! I've never been the type of gay man to be nasty and queeny to women, but I have to say…if only the girls had stayed home on Friday night, Madonnathon could've been so much more fun.

Mostly just because the place wouldn't have been so damn crowded.

But the music was GREAT. When we weren't being shoved rudely by people who for some reason thought there was actually ROOM for them to shove by you and try to get to the middle of the room to dance, we had a really good time getting down to all sorts of Madonna favorites:

"I Love New York" – obnoxious song, but such an easy and fun sing-and-dance-along. This was the first thing we danced to, and walking into a room full of people dancing and singing their asses off—"I love New Yooo-o-ooo-o-ooork! I love New Yooo-o-ooo-o-ooork!"—was pretty great and surreal and a perfect New York Moment.

Speaking of "Impressive Instants," I was oh-so-happy to hear this song, from Music, which is my second favorite Madonna song. ("Get Together" is #1—sad I didn't hear that)

"Vogue"—I think I squirted beer on some jackass's back when he shoved by me during this song. (But not enough for him to notice—I don't wanna get punched or something, or bitch-slapped.)

"Sorry" would've been nice to hear from the pushy clubgoer, but at least we heard Madonna's version.

"Material Girl" / "Hung Up" / "Deeper and Deeper" / "Music" / "Jump" / "Open Your Heart"

They closed with "Like a Prayer," and everyone's arms were up in the air, worshipping their goddess Madonna, and there was something definitely religious about the experience. All shoving and pushing aside, it was a really fun night, and I'm glad I went. Dancing and singing to "Like a Prayer" with a couple hundred other people is pretty amazing.

On our way out—when WE became the pushy ones—someone said to Nick, "Um…don't you think it's a good idea to wait for everyone to pass before you push your way out?" to which Nick loudly and cleverly replied: "Yeah, that IS a good deal…ASSHOLE!" before running out the front door.

We're so brave.

Wrapped up evening with a nightcap at Phoenix and a cab ride back to my office and up to Mickey D's. 5-piece Chicken Selects meal. Curb Your Enthusiasm. Good night.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday Night: All Sorts of Interesting
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday I went to Park Slope with Katie to go to Kendra's 25th Birthday party at Long Tan, this Thai bar/restaurant that makes the BEST mango-tinis and Moscow mules (what's IN those, anyway?) and will even give you pad thai for 5 bucks with the purchase of a drink. Which I purchased many of.

The mango-tinis just went down too easy. It was like drinking a popsicle smoothie—and after a few of those, then a couple Moscow mules and glasses of champagne, and birthday cake and pad thai, then a vodka soda at Union Hall, I was stumbling to the train with Katie at 1:45 am for the superlong commute back uptown.

But then I got a call from Aaron, who said he and Nick were going last-minute to a Gay Pride Superhero party in a completely random bar on East 58th Street. So Katie and I, after standing on the wrong platform for about 10 minutes, rode the 4 train (first time for me in probably six months—I never go to the East Side) together to Broadway-Nassau, where she got off to switch to the A, and I continued up to meet the boys at the bar.

Lycra and spandex was apparently what the occasion called for. On men of all shapes and sizes. All shapes and sizes. I wish I remembered more details, cuz it was pretty amazing and hilarious. Another one of those weird nights you can only have in New York. I know Aaron was definitely contemplating going into the spandex changing room and asking if he could wear someone's outfit for part of the evening. He decided against it, but vowed to return to New York prepared next year. Oh, and when we squeezed by some guys on the back deck, Nick actually heard someone saying under his breath, "It's a Spandex party…loser." Well, this is a case of the pot calling the kettle an awkwardly shaped man in a neon-orange wrestling singlet.

Sorry, y'all—I don't judge. If you like your lycra and you like your spandex, what harm does that do me? And after all, how could I judge ANYONE, when Aaron, Nick, and I closed out our night at the bar at 4am by inhaling helium and imitating Billy? Hahaha!

Cab ride home and Chicken Selects 3-Piece meal (I'm already changing my ways) and Arrested Development DVD as the sun came up.

When we realized it was almost five and the sun was rising, we ran to our beds like vampires, for fear we'd not fall asleep if it got light out. Paisley and I were asleep about a second after our heads hit the pillow.

It's a miracle I got ANYTHING done today, but I did!

Happy Pride, everybody.

Okay, is ANYONE else as pissed off at the fact that Paris Hilton was charged with drunk/reckless driving and violation of probation, and the bitch served 3 (COUNT 'EM: THREEEEE) days in Celebrity Jail (in a private cell, separated from the general prison population) and now she gets to serve 40 days under "house arrest"? I was okay with the fact that her original sentence of 45 days in real jail was reduced to 23 days in Celebrity Jail, because let's face it: she'd be eaten alive. And I just can't get enough of seeing her vagina. But then Paris got cold in her cell, had no pillow on her bed, and refused to eat, so she was allowed to finish out her sentence (her original 45-day sentence now, as part of negotiations) under house arrest.

Wow. That's fucking rough.

Drive drunk and endanger the lives of innocent people, and you have to spend 40 days in your sprawling mansion. Maybe she'll spend a day in each room, to keep from getting bored.

Now, I don't mean to sound bitter or anything. I don't hate Miz Hilton, per se. I've actually always thought she'd be the perfect faghag--big partier, pretty (yes, I think she's pretty, and her body is pretty ridic), and...um...she's got MONEY. How fun would it be to be her gay boytoy? (Well, maybe for a little while--I'm sure it'd get old.) And even though Nicole cracked me up more on The Simple Life, Paris had her moments.

I'm just disappointed at the precedent that this sets. Not that it hasn't been set before, I suppose. But C'MON! I guess if you're rich and powerful and a celebrity, you can really get away with anything. OJ!

**

In other news of disappointment, Marilyn Manson's newest album, which came out on Tuesday (my 25th birthday!) is a big snoozer. The whole back-to-basics thing that people like to do (y'know, stripping away the overproduction, the electronic noise, all the stuff I generally find really interesting) is starting to grate on me.

I guess 2007 is the year of disappointing albums. First Bjork, then Tori, now Manson. The only person who delivered was Trent, because the new Nine Inch Nails is a freaking masterpiece of assault-on-the-senses noise, and I'm so glad he's back in full force.

**

And OH MY GOD I've downloaded the highly publicized "leaked" new Kylie album, which is supposed to come out late this year. I have a sneaking suspicion it was intentionally leaked to get press, but what the fuck do I care, because it is SO FUN. This might be 2007's Confessions on a Dance Floor for me. I can't wait to put it on my iPod and do dishes to it when no one else is in the house.

Shit, I'm so domestic and boring now that i'm 25.

**

Now to the "Me" part of the blog: I had my first-ever public reading of the book last night, at Teen Author Reading Night in New York. At the moment, TARN is mostly a bunch of young-adult authors who come out to hear other YA authors read from their latest books...so it's unfortunately a little light on the actual YAs. But hey, adults can laugh, too, and laugh they did--so I think the reading went well! (All I ever wanted was for people to laugh at me, apparently....)

So it was a nice night. A personal highlight for me was when Jenny Pollack, author of the super-fun read Klepto (which I happily plug on my site), publicly praised my copyediting skillz. (I'd worked on the book at the office quite a bit.) It was an honor to be thanked for a generally very thankless job. Another highlight was being asked in the Q&A if I would ever have sex with a girl to meet Kylie Minogue, which I answered with a very serious (and very deadpan)... "No." I love easy questions.

**

For anyone who wants to see me try not to make a huge ass of myself or who wants to ask similarly awkward questions (preferably not of the simple "yes" or "no" variety!), come on out for my solo readings: 6/13 in NYC, and 7/6 in Orlando. I promise fun.

So last night I did some karaoke and miiiiight have made a slight ass of myself. During three girls' version of "Lady Marmalade," I leapt up from my seat and grabbed the mic during Lil' Kim's rap solo (but ONLY after I realized none of them knew it, so I think that's OK). That was highlight #1. Highlight #2 was "Fergalicious," which I don't think requires further explanation.

It takes a lot of social lubrication (i.e., Heineken) for me to successfully (or unsuccessfully) do karaoke, so let's just say it's a small miracle I made it home in one piece (and that I'm up before noon with no hangover!!!!). Someone give me a medal. Or some McDonald's.

**

IN OTHER NEWS!!!! The Orlando Sentinel, my hometown newspaper, has just run a very nice review on the book. And it goes something like this:

It's a scene worthy of The O.C.: Boy meets girl. Boy gets drunk and sleeps with girl. Boy has serious regrets in the morning. Oh, and by the way: Boy is gay.

Nico Medina mixes up the high-school drama in his debut novel, The Straight Road to Kylie. It is Jonathan Parish's senior year, and he's proud to finally be out of the closet. But a tequila-fueled lapse in judgment during his friend's birthday party gives rise to the rumor that he's straight and on the market. Uh, hello. That's news to Jonathan -- though it certainly explains why every girl in his Winter Park high school is suddenly trying to snag his attention.

Things get really complicated when popular rich girl Laura makes him an offer he can't refuse: Be her hottie boyfriend for a while, and she will take him to gay icon Kylie Minogue's London concert.

What is a boy to do? Jonathan and his group of best girlfriends don't particularly like witchy Laura's demands, but if it means he gets to meet the fabtastic Kylie Minogue in person, then maybe certain sacrifices must be made. Then Jonathan meets a cute guy from a nearby school, and suddenly staying in the closet is the last thing Jonathan wants to do -- but how else can he see Kylie?

Medina, a 2000 graduate of Winter Park High School, hits on a perfect blend of snark and pop-culture references to give The Straight Road to Kylie a fresh, funny perspective. Jonathan is the best friend you always wished you had, even when he's putting someone in their place. The hard-partying lifestyle of these kids gets to be a bit much, though I may be reaching that age at which once-with-it people turn into old fogies. You would be a fool not to believe that high school kids do this much and worse, but dang, Jonathan and his friends are sure working on a serious case of cirrhosis of the liver.

Party habits aside, The Straight Road is a smart, savvy coming-of-age story, not only about doing what's right, but about staying true to the person you really are.

***

So there you have it. My book's pages are populated by eighteen-year-old boozehounds (art imitating life?), but I'm very appreciative of how the reviewer said what she said. And in their (my?) defense, these characters only drink a bunch at parties, and they never even look at a set of car keys when they do it. I was a geeky officer in S.A.D.D., after all, when I was in high school, so that's pretty important to me. (S.A.D.D. stands for Students Against Drunk Driving. Well, at least it did when I started at it. They were considering changing it to Students Against Destructive Decisions my senior year, which I was very much against. Sounded a little too vague for me. I like my causes to be spelled out clearly, yo!)

So last night I had the pleasure of attending the 19th Annual Lambda Literary Awards with my boyfriend Billy Merrell, my roomie Nick, Courtney Gilette, David Levithan, and Knopf editor Nancy Hinkel. We were all there because The Full Spectrum, a collection of personal essays of GLBTQ youth (ages thirteen to twenty-three) that came out last summer was a Finalist for the Lammie in the Young Adult/Children's category. Billy and David coedited this amazing anthology, and Courtney went representin' all the contributors (there were, like, forty in all).

Did they win? Well, read on to find out!

It was pretty fun. Well, open-bar ANYTHING is usually fun for me. It started out with a pre-awards reception, and I loaded up on cold-buffet stuff and white wine. (Today was NYC's first 90-degree day, after all.) The atmosphere was very schmoozy, but since I hardly know how to schmooze and I was already there with people I knew, I pretty much kept to my corner. Plus, no one had to see me trying to cut my beef with plastic utensils while standing up (not too many tables). I did make the comment that

a) I'd never seen so many lesbians in one place since that fateful night I saw Ani DiFranco with (and for) Billy.
b) I love lesbians all dressed up. One woman, in particular, caught my eye with her crush-velvet smoking-jacket-looking suit.
*Basically, there just aren't enough lesbians in my life, I guess. Come forward, lessies! I need you!

The awards started at around 7:30...and lasted until 10:45!!! Yikes! But they were great. It was so cool to be in a sold-out theater of GLBTQ folks, all being recognized for their literary work. And with so many politically active people in the community present, and upon hearing about their work, I have to admit that I felt like a very bad gay. I usually feel like a geek for reading only YA literature, and that I need to start reading a few more "grown-up" books. Well, now I feel like I have to read more grown-up GAY books.

It's on the list of things to do now.

Along with replacing the stupid battery on my laptop, saving up money for moving out of this apartment, and exercising regularly. Hey, it'll get done eventually.

Anyway, moving right along...

**And the winner is...Julie Ann Peters for "Between Mom and Jo"!!!**
--Oh, wait! We have a tie!--
(seriously.)
**And the other winner is...THE FULL SPECTRUM, edited by David Levithan and Billy Merrell!!!**

It was so great! David thanked everyone for coming and for Nancy Hinkel (their editor) for coming up with the concept of the book in the first place, and Billy thanked the contributors, and Courtney stood up there prettily, looking just as giddy and excited as she should've been!

What a great night. I'm so glad they won. It was well deserved, and the actual award they gave out is very cool...and fucking HEAVY!!! We'll have to find an appropriate place for it in the apartment.

Does it go on our nasty Ikea table? Or on the Ikea bookshelf that's overflowing with books as it is? On our scummy aquarium? On the radiator?

Maybe we'll wait till our next apartment to display it! :-)

Join me in congratulating David and Billy, and all the amazing contributors!

Wow. What a weekend!

I just wanted to do a little report on how the Pop Rocks! release party went for THE STRAIGHT ROAD TO KYLIE on Thursday night. It was, in a word, surreal. To say the least!

First of all, I have to thank all my friends who came to the party. Seriously, having all of you there just made the night. Yes, the second-floor Kylie dance floor was packed. Yes, I heard that the main dance floor was emptying out and migrating to our room of amazingness by the end of the night. And yes, getting to hear 90 minutes straight of Kylie music was just about the greatest thing ever for me. But having you all there MADE THE NIGHT. I think around forty people I know showed up (from as far away as Miami, Tampa, Orlando, and DC), and that made me feel like a freakin' rock star.

Secondly, thanks to everyone who I DIDN'T already know who came for the party. It was so cool meeting all the Kylie fans who were sweet enough to come and enjoy the free books and cheap drinks and Kylie tunes--especially the sweetie who had me sign his Kylie ticket stub! (I felt somewhat unworthy, but flattered nonetheless!)

And of COURSE thank you to the folks at Spin Cycle, who threw this party in the first place.

Now, to the party:
Unfortunately, we missed out on half an hour of Kylie music, because the after-work reggae party that was being held in the soon-to-be Kylie room ran over. How a genre of music with essentially the EXACT same beat for every goddamn song can run over its time limit is beyond me, but no matter. It gave me and Katie and Laura (my two happy helpers) a chance to go upstairs and set up the stacks of free books, as well as the GIGANTIC blow-up poster of my book cover. (Which I later drunkenly "felt up" for a photo op....)

By 10:30, the Kylie room was open, and I ran upstairs to check it out. There were only about ten people or so in there at first (NOT all people I knew! Wahoo!), but they almost all had copies of the book. SCORE! But by the time I'd bought myself a drink, the room had filled up quite nicely. In fact, the room was pretty hard to maneuver at its peak! 

For any Kylie fans out there, getting to hear and (sometimes, between signing books) dance to songs ranging from "Can't Get You Out of My Head" and "Come into My World" to "Butterfly," "I Should Be So Lucky," "More More More," and "Cruise Control" on an American dance floor was pretty (again, for lack of a better word) surreal. There's not nearly enough Kylie-love in this damn country, so to hear old international favorites and rare B-sides (all in honor of little ol' me) felt pretty special. The DJ was amazing, blending each song excitingly and seamlessly into the next. He was such a sweetie, telling me happily at the beginning of the night, "I have enough Kylie to last for DAYS!" Ahhh...if only... 

By midnight, the Kylie night wound to its official close, with the DJ playing the down-tempo "Slow" (since, as mentioned before, he was told to tone it down, since downstairs was emptying out in favor of Kylie-awesomeness). At this point, after signing books (in hot-pink pen--I know, so gay!) for so many people, I was in desperate need of decompression, so it was up to the roof deck for an uninterrupted beer and cigarette.

This is pretty much where the self-promotion and such ended, and my minions took over. Minions including, mostly, my roommate Nick, who stumbled around the roof deck for the next half-hour or so, handing out leftover advance galleys of the books to strangers. (For a graphic depiction of this little chore, check out Interrobanger?!) After an hour-ish of chilling out on the roofdeck of Bar 13 (incidentally, it was a PERFECT night--65 degrees and clear!), I headed down with my posse to the first-floor dance floor to DANCE (hooray!--dancing!--finally!) to what turned out to be a Madonna night of sorts. (My love for Kylie is, admittedly, slightly eclipsed by Her Madgestly Madonna.) They played (very close to one another) "Jump," "Hung Up," and "Music Inferno (live)", which really rounded out the night nicely for me.

Oh.

And then on the way out the door (after running up to the roof again to get the extra books and the gigantic blow-up poster), we stopped to dance to one more song...and my older sister Jessica proved to be an even bigger (and sweeter) shameless Nico-promoter than even me, by getting down on the dance floor while holding the three-foot STRAIGHT ROAD TO KYLIE poster proudly over her head! Hahaha!

So all in all, a crazy, wonderful, successful, best-book-party-ever kind of night.

Thanks again to everyone who came out, and to everyone who got the book. This has really been one of the best weekends of my young life--I only wish I could relive it all. Hey--maybe next summer, with the release of Book 2! But I guess it'll never be the same as the first book....

WARNING: More obnoxious date-reminders to follow!!!!...

If I didn't see you all this past Thursday, hope to see you on any of the following dates:

June 6: Reading at Teen Author Reading Night, NYPL Tompkins Sq. Branch
6pm, E. 10th St. and Ave. B, NYC
Also scheduled to appear: Maureen Johnson, Claudia Gabel, Blake Nelson, Jenny Pollack and Sara Shepard, with host David Levithan.

June 13: B&N Reading, NYC
7:30 pm--West Village Branch (6th Ave and W. 8th St.)
9:00 pm--after-party at Solas Bar (E. 9th St. btwn 2nd and 3rd Ave), Coal Bar (private room)

July 6: Orlando Reading at Urban Think! Bookstore in Thornton Park. 6:30-8:30pm (I originally put the wrong time down, but it's at 6:30)
Beer and Wine available! (But sorry, kids--it's not on me...hey, it's only my 1st book! ha.)

Download FREE New Madonna Song Here!

That's what I just did. And now I feel violated somehow. At one point, I felt like I'd been listening to this sentimental ditty where BAD lyrics went to DIE for at least five minutes. . . only to find out I'd just passed the three-minute mark. In the end, I feel like I was raped with awfulness for four minutes straight.

I forced myself through three more listens, and because I'm a bit jetlagged and sickish, I'm a little too frazzled by it all to describe it properly.

But I know TWO things:

1. If you're already a Madonna-hater, please ignore this blog entry and NOT download this new song. It will only give you ammunition, and I don't think you bastards deserve it.

2. If you're a Madonna fan, just download it and listen to it. With this warning.

I'm not a Madonna-hater. I adore the woman. I've been in love with her since I memorized the "Vogue" dance at eight, and I still listen to her newest AMAZING dance album Confessions on a Dance Floor constantly, and it's been out since late 2005. And if you haven't seen the Confessions Tour DVD, you are really missing out. So point is, I love Madonna. So it hurts me to bash her. But if you're a Madonna fan, you expect more, and what this song gives is nothing. My body has JUST untensed, and I haven't listened to the song for like ten minutes.

Okay, well back to battling jetlag. Oh, random plug, because it came out today. The graphic-novel anthology about the painful years of middle school, Stuck in the Middle, which features an awesome entry by my Interrobanging?! roommate Nick was released today, and if graphic novels are your thing (or even if they're not), you should check it out.

Oh--and so did James St. James's (of Party Monster fame) book Freak Show, which was just so fun and whacky and sweet and unique.

All right. That was fun.

From Kirkus Reviews

(The name "Carrie" is supposed to be "Laura"--but otherwise, this review is perfect! I'm very happy.)

THE STRAIGHT ROAD TO KYLIE
Author: Medina, Nico

Review Date: MAY 01, 2007
Publisher:Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Pages: 320
Price (paperback): $8.99
Publication Date: 5/22/2007 0:00:00
ISBN: 978-1-4169-3600-8
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-4169-3600-8
Category: CHILDREN'S
Best friends, booze, bodaciousness and bitch-slaps are the name of the game in this hilarious, full-on twist on the mistaken-identities conundrum. High-school senior Jonathan is the out-and-proud man about town, and everyone knows it; he's good-looking, got money and likes the guys. But perceptions about him change after he gets too plastered at an 18th-birthday bash and winds up sleeping with one of his best girlfriends. Rumors fly, and soon Jonathan's potentially straight persona is the front-page headline at school. Who should seek him out for hire but Carrie, the richest, most popular girl he knows. The deal? Jonathan plays straight to be her boyfriend until the end of the school year. The payoff? Carrie's popularity skyrockets, and she agrees to take Jonathan to London, first class, to see his favorite pop star, Kylie Minogue, in concert. Averaging at least a half-dozen yuks per page, Medina's first offering packs slick, Gossip-Girl-Goes-to-Orlando language stylings with realistic yet over-the-top situations that should have teen readers-gay or straight-doing the locomotion for more. (Fiction. YA)

Hey, so I figured that since Bulletins disappear so quickly, I might as well post all the book news I have at the moment here. Sorry if any of you are reaching Kylie-saturation point. If you are, well, then just don't read this blog entry. ..

This can all be found on nicomedina.com, but here's all the info in one nice little place.

First off, I gave my first online interview with Ilana Jacqueline of Today's Teen here. Take a look--she asked some great questions, and I had a lot of fun doing it. Ilana also writes reviews of many other YA books--for her Web site and for the Today's Teen section of the Palm Beach Post.

Secondly, the reading/party dates:

May 22: Official release date!!!

May 24:
Pop Rocks! Release Party.
At Bar 13, 13th St. and University Ave., NYC
Kylie party in upstairs dance space, 10-12
Pop Rocks! continues for the rest of the night
No Cover, 21+, $1 vodka drinks from 10-11
www.spincyclenyc.com/poprocks

June 6:
Teen Author Reading Night
New York Public Library, Tompkins Square Branch
E. 10th St. at Avenue B, NYC
6-8pm. Other readers include Blake Nelson, Jenny Pollack, Maureen Johnson, with host David Levithan

June 13:
Barnes & Noble Reading/Signing
West Village Branch
W. 8th St. at 6th Ave., NYC
7:30pm.
(This is the big one. Please come, and bring a friend!)

**NEW**
July 6:
Orlando Reading
Urban Think! Bookstore
625 E. Central Blvd., Thornton Park, Orlando
Evening--6:30-8:30pm (I had the wrong time at first--I'm a moron)
All my Florida people--I need you to fill the house on this one! I'd love to see you all...and there's wine and beer!


More news as it comes....

Can't wait!