Don't miss REALITY CHICK by Lauren Barnholdt ... this one looks fab!



Here's more scoop on the book:

REALITY CHICK by Lauren Barnholdt


All hour study fests.....all-night parties....

Going away to college means total independence and freedom. Unless of
course your freshman year is taped and televised for all the world to
watch. On uncensored cable.

Sweet and normal Ally Cavanaugh is one of five freshpeople shacking up
on In the House, a reality show filmed on her college campus. (As if
school isn't panic-inducing enough!) The cameras stalk her like
paparazzi, but they also capture the fun that is new friends, old
crushes, and learning to live on your own. Sure, the camera adds ten
pounds, but with the freshman fifteen a given anyway, who cares?

Ally's got bigger issues -- like how her long-distance bf can watch her
loopy late-night "episode" with a certain housemate...

Freshman year on film.
It's outrageous.
It's juicy.
And like all good reality TV, it's impossible to turn off.


Lauren Barnholdt is a twenty-six-year-old writer who was born and raised in Syracuse, NY. Her articles and short stories have appeared in Elements Magazine, Girls Life, and on mensclick.com. Her first book for young adults, REALITY CHICK, is in stores now.

Here are her answers to my GCC questions:

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TYPICAL “WRITING DAY”? I tend to do better if I get an early start, so lately I've been trying to get up on the early side. I usually write with Diet coke with Lime, or chocolate coffee. Caffeine keeps me inspired ;) Also, sometimes I let myself watch one episode of Sex and the City or some other show on DVD after I write a certain number of words.
DO YOU RECALL THE KERNEL OF INSPIRATION FOR THIS BOOK? I tried out for THE REAL WORLD once. I didn't make it, and all my friends were like, "It's because you're too normal!" And I was like, "That's exactly why they should pick me!" I thought it would be cool to see how a "normal" person does on one of those shows. So I decided to write a book about it.

PICK A CHARACTER IN THE BOOK AND TELL US WHAT TRAIT YOU SHARE (OR COME CLOSEST TO SHARING) WITH THAT CHARACTER. My main character, Ally, tends to obsess about and overthink things. I definitely have a tendency to do that.

IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND, WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A MAGICAL TRUNK THAT GAVE YOU LIMITLESS BOOKS TO READ, OR A LIMITLESS SUPPLY OF PAPER ON WHICH TO WRITE? Ooh, that's a hard one. I'm going to have to say books to read.

BEER OR WINE? Wine

CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? Definitely vanilla.

WHAT’S YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE BOOK? CATCHER IN THE RYE by J.D. Salinger.

Lauren also teaches a popular online course called How to Write and Sell the YA Chick-lit Novel. She is currently at work on her next YA book, which will be out next summer. Lauren now resides in Central Connecticut, and when she’s not writing, she watches a lot of reality TV.

Visit her website at www.laurenbarnholdt.com