Jennifer Banash

This photo series by Dina Goldstein entitled “Fallen Princesses” totally blows me away. I’m obsessed with fairy tales–wrote about them extensively in my first novel, Hollywoodland: An American Fairy Tale, and I teach them in my 12th grade English course. These photos are smart, sometimes funny, and wildly inventive. But don’t just take my word for it, see for yourself! What 21st century version of fairy tale would YOU like to see depicted?

Cinder

Rapunzel

Ariel

I am currently obsessed with the song “Young Adult Friction” by the band The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, so I’m sharing the love!  I adore the fact that the singer is reading “Are You There, God, Its Me, Margaret?”



WOOT!  SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE was featured in the “Buzz” section of Seventeen.com today as a great summer beach read!  To check it out for yourself, go here.

So today I went to Fresno to make an appearance on an NBC station there to promote the release of Simply Irresistible!  I’d never been on TV before, so not only was I nervous, but I was so keyed up the night before that I got about 2 hrs sleep, max.  So, when the alarm went off this morning at 4:45 AM, I wanted to die–literally–but I was also so excited and amped to be talking about my book on TV that I did my best to muster up the energy to crawl to the bathroom and get ready.

Everyone, including my two publicists, said not to wear white, as it is too bright on TV, but did I listen?  Sort of–I ended up wearing a sort of champagne colored blouse, but it was definitely on the lighter side of champagne . . . I also freaked out the day before and had my friend Antonio, who is the greatest hair stylist in the world, cut my hair into the exact style Leslie Bibb wears in the film Confessions of a Shopaholic.  It was a pretty ballsy move to cut my long hair off right before a TV interview, but thankfully it turned out great, and I love it!

I drove up to Fresno with my friend John, who is the greatest possible person to have with you at 5 AM when you’re sleep deprived, nervous, and cranky. We were laughing so hard telling stories on the drive up, that by the time we made it to the studio, I was in a great mood.  Of course, we HAD to resort to many silly poses behind the news anchor’s desk, and no trip to a TV station is complete without a few minutes spent playing weatherman. If you don’t have a secret fantasy of doing this in an empty newsroom, I don’t want to know you

So, without further ado, here’s my interview!  I sound kind of like a dork, and I need to sit on my hands so I won’t keep gesturing with them so much, but all in all I think it turned out well!

Jennifer Banash Interview on NBC Fresno

This makes my heart want to implode from cuteness.

What are you waiting for ?

C’mon, bloggers, I have ZERO reviews for SI on my Amazon page, and I know my publicist sent out MANY copies! Help a girl out. I don’t care if they’re good, bad, or very very ugly, although I do always hope for amazing!  If by some strange twist of fate you haven’t gotten a copy, please email me at theeliteseries@gmail.com immediately, and I will personally deliver a copy to your house, with an order of well-done fries from In N’ Out Burger, and a vanilla shake.

Well, not really. But it’s the thought that counts, right?

xooxoxoox

Am SO excited that SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE is now on shelves everywhere and available at all online retailers! If you haven’t read The Elite series yet (and, really, what are you waiting for?), now would be a great time to pick up all three books and read them in one greedy sitting!

And speaking of greedy, those of you who covet The Elite AND Gossip Girl are in for a treat with two HUGE contests going on!

First up, on the Story Siren’s blog–www.thestorysiren.com we’re giving away the complete Elite series AND the first season of Gossip Girl on DVD!

BUT WAIT! THERE”S MORE!!!!!

After you register to win on TSS, go on over to The Page Flipper–thepageflipper.blogspot.com–and register to win the complete series, and SEASON TWO of Gossip Girl on DVD, Elizabeth Scott’s Love You, Hate You, Miss You and Stealing Heaven, an awesome bamboo covered address book, a $35 Free People gift card, and LOADS of bookmarks!!!!! It’s a mean girl’s bonanza!!!!!

I’m busily and happily answering emails and doing interviews today, planning on going to the beach later on today and soaking up the rays, AND getting ready for my first ever TV appearance on Friday, on NBC in Fresno, CA!

So the really big question, and PLEASE weigh in here people, is WHAT SHOULD I WEAR???????

XXOOXOXOXOXOOX

Am SO excited to see my first national coverage on The Elite series!!!!!  My publicist just emailed me a screen shot of my coverage in JUSTINE Mag, and it’s amazing!  So I’m passing on the viewing pleasure to you guys!  Cool huh?

I was surprised to read about the recent drama over a review of Alice Hoffman’s latest novel The Story Sisters, in The Boston Globe. After reading a negative review of her book written by critic Roberta Silman, Hoffman lashed out on Twitter, publishing the reviewer’s phone number, and encouraging her fans to harass her. I witnessed similar behavior from Hoffman last week on Facebook, where she lashed out at a reviewer during an online interview about her book in a way that made me uncomfortable, and left me wondering if Hoffman;s success had truly gone to her head. The reviewer had made the obviously unpardonable sin of getting one of Hoffman’s character’ names wrong during the interview, and Hoffman went momentarily insane. So, although I was surprised to see her recent behavior on Twitter, I wasn’t shocked. It does seem strange though, that an author with a career as long and as successful as Hoffman’s would react this way, encouraging her fans to attack a 70 year old woman, and harass her at home. It’s one thing to disagree with a review, but quite another to throw a public temper tantrum and act like a overindulged, spoiled brat.

In this economy, and with the business of publishing the way it is right now, I am grateful that anyone is reading or reviewing my books at all. A little humility might do Alice Hoffman some good. After all, she has a career as a bestselling author that many novelists would kill for–myself included. Not everyone can, and will be a fan of your work, and one shouldn’t write simply to be praised–or loved universally.  That’s what family and children are for—not literature. Now, truth be told, I’m not the greatest at taking criticism myself, however, I would never dream of publishing a blogger or reviewer’s phone number or address over a bad review, although I have access to both. To do so simply because a reviewer as less than thrilled with your work is unreasonable, not to mention downright immature. I have had my differences with one or two reviewers over certain negative reviews of my work, and have in fact regretted contacting them privately over it.  But, then again, I’m a young novelist at the beginning of her career–not a seasoned veteran who should know better. After all these years in publishing, and almost universal praise for her work, Hoffman’s behavior is baffling–and to this reader anyway, patently offensive

*Update:  Hoffman issued a statement through her publicist today apologizing “if” she had offended “anyone” through her actions. Bad move, Alice, and strikingly insincere to boot.  First off, it is Silman that Hoffman needs to apologize to–not nameless, faceless Tweeters. Secondly, take some responsibility for your actions–don’t say “if,” but call it like it is and admit that your behavior was, in fact, offensive and wrong. 

I’ll climb off my soapbox now . . .