Move Over, Twilight

How sweet is The Dreamer Reader's review of NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL?

"Oh my freakin' goodness, what can I say about this book that hasn't been said before?! The characters are amazingly real, the writing is pitch-perfect, and it just resonated with me. It is truly awesome and even when I'm old and on my death bed, I will still remember this book."

On her death bed? Really? But my favorite line in The Dreamer Reader's book review:

"If Jacob from North of Beautiful and Jacob from Twilight (never heard of it? You're my type of person.) appeared on my doorstep I would just grab the Jacob from North of Beautiful and beg him to be mine while the other one can just suck it."

Take that, Jacob from Twilight! LOL.

Love Letters to Authors

I continue to be amazed and heartened by all the readers who take the time to email me about NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL. The readers who review my work. The readers who buy my books...in this economy. And the librarians! The librarians who are stocking my books in their stacks. Thank you.

Here is my fave quote this week:

"This book was one of the best books I have ever read."
--The Book Girl Reviews

That is a sentence every single writer out there deserves to hear about their work. That makes all the early, early mornings (my 4:00 a.m. stints for 6 weeks straight) and my late, late nights (editing at 1:00 a.m. is perilous) to work and rework Terra's story worth it.

Today, I am glad to mark the last weekend over and welcome the new week in on the wings of this sweet review.

VOYA: North of Beautiful Review

This just in from my editor, a review of NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL from VOYA:

“Headley’s characters, both adult and teen, are complex, nuanced, and intriguingly intertwined. Particularly powerful is the depiction of Terra’s growing recognition of her own artistic drive and their deepening connection through her mother’s mirrored recognition of personal worth. The primary metaphors of maps, journeys, exploration, and art as a catalyst for expression and connection are meaningful and beautifully sustained.”

YAY!

NYPL: Book Review!

All the reviews for my books make me tear up--and it's not just for critical reviews! Honestly. I find it amazing that people take the time to read and then write about my words with all the thousands of books available to them.

This review from the New York Public Library especially touched me because the review was posted on Mother's Day and noted that I had dedicated the book to my mom. My truly beautiful mom. She and my dad are about to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, which is an accomplishment by any standards. How lucky am I to have a wonderful mom and a wonderful mother-in-law?

Thank you, New York Public Library, for this review, which I will count as a Mother's Day gift to cherish and remember.

http://nypl.org/blogs/2009/05/10/north-beautiful-review

And the Winner of the Find Beauty Challengeis...

The judges of the North of Beautiful: Find Beauty Challenge have spoken. Based on the criteria posted on my website, countless viewings of the video essays on YouTube, the winners are:

Grand prize winner of the iPod Touch is... Miss Erin for her Truly Beautiful, professional, and profound testament to Beauty.


1st prize winner of books is... Too Beautiful for Words.


2nd prize winner of books is... Grace Lin.


3rd prize winner of books is... Beauty Is...


Today I am thankful for each and every one of you who have taken your time to tell the world what you think True and Real Beauty means.

Shout Outs & Book Acknowledgments

I have been teased for my rather lengthy acknowledgments. As my editor said, "There will be other books, you know." Which is true. Acknowledgments aren't necessarily tied to a single book. I think of mine--all three of them--as a linked continuum of love. Anyway, since I listen to everything Alvina says, I made a decision with North of Beautiful to attempt to thank people who had not been included in my previous books aside from my family, publisher (that alone was a tome), agent, and mentors (Janet Carey, Janet Wong, and Nicole Ueland).

So at a birthday luncheon for my 90-year-old neighbor--who is as sharp and witty as they come--I gave her a copy of NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL and told her to skim the last paragraphs of the acknowledgments. She started to cry when she saw her name. My Lydia, a woman who keeps more than my keys.


And then there are friends...like my buddy, Linda Myrhvold. She was noted in GIRL OVERBOARD, but really, could have been included in NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL since she is Truly Gorgeous and Generous.

I was having a hard moment recently, and she told me to haul on over to her hotel to celebrate Easter together. Can I tell you how much I love this fiercely protective woman? And talk about witty. Linda is the female David Sedaris, only not at all dysfunctional. I just need her to sit still long enough to get her hilarious riffs into Word for the rest of the world to enjoy.

North of Beautiful: Reviews

Awww...I'm just so touched by all the reviews North of Beautiful has been receiving. Thanks to everyone for reading my work--and spending your precious money in this economy on my book. Honestly! It's amazing.

Here are the two most recent reviews, including Story Siren who gave the book a Luminous Pearl Award. So sweet.

http://www.thestorysiren.com/2009/04/north-of-beautiful-by-justina-chen.html
http://jkrbooks.typepad.com/blog/2009/04/north-of-beautiful-justina-chen-headley.html

Find Beauty Challenge: Another Beautiful Video!

Judging begins soon for the Find Beauty Challenge where one lucky winner will take home an iPod touch!


Declaring a winner is going to be so tough when all these testimonials on true beauty are so incredibly touching! So get in there and rate your favorite videos at the North of Beautiful YouTube channel here or http://www.youtube.com/northofbeautiful.

In the meantime, check this video essay out by our own readergirlz diva, Holly Cupala:

Grace Lin: A Work of Beauty!

Check out what my friend, Grace Lin, thinks is Truly Beautiful...her homage to happiness in honor of the Find Beauty Challenge.



ONE MORE DAY to create your 90-second video telling the world what True Beauty means to you. For every uploaded video, I'm donating $10 (up to $1,000--thanks to my in-laws!) to fund reconstructive surgeries for kids with cleft lips in the third world.

The winning video will win its creator an iPod touch... ooooooooohhhhhh!

So create your video essay now!

Compass Rose

To celebrate the publication of a book, I usually buy something for myself that symbolizes my story. I was so pleased to find out that Nancy Pearl has the same tradition, as I learned when I was openly ogling her ring. She told me that she had bought it for herself in honor of Book Lust. (Do other authors do this? Please tell!)

The recent months have been hectic-hard, so I haven't had the wherewithal to shop. (Not my favorite thing to do in the best of times; it's even more of a chore now.)

But one of my hipster librarian friends, Brenna Shanks, wore a compass rose pendent

to my book party for NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL. I was so taken with the piece that she very generously shared the site where she purchased it.

What do you think? Is this the piece that I need to have to celebrate NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL?

Find Beauty Challenge: The Playlist!

Little Willow and Miss Erin have unofficially declared themselves the personal mix masters for NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL.

Here's another song that Little Willow has sent to me, which is perfect for the Find Beauty Challenge.



So get yourself together there... Create a 90-second video and tell the world what's truly beautiful to you.

I have the most glorious iPod touch ready to give the winner of the Challenge.

AND my in-laws have contributed to the cause. We're giving away up to $1000 to fund reconstructive surgery on kids with cleft lips and palates in the third world.

So now you think we're ugly,
like I don't have enough to worry about.
Why do you think I'm ugly?
Which magazine did ya read so you could judge me now?

Publishers Weekly: Book Covers Separated @ Birth

PW ran an interesting article about my book cover, which features the same girl as the one on Alyson Noel's Evermore.

Personally, I love both treatments, which I think serve the stories equally well. For the record, sharing the same cover girl doesn't bother me one bit.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6646736.html?nid=2788

Today I am thankful for Saho, the book designer, who did a supremely, truly beautiful job.

Sending Love to Book Chic!

How amazing is this... Book Chic made a vlog for Seven Book Babes. Not only did he wear the Girl Overboard / Burton Snowboards T-shirt that I had sent him many moons ago, but he talked about two fun inside stories nested within NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL. Talk about super astute reader. He truly is Mr. YA Book CSI.

Find Beauty Challenge: The Janet + Molly Show!

Check out what two of my critique group partners have to say about True Beauty: Janet Carey and Molly Blaisdell. I love these women. I love what they have to say.



Pull your video essay together for the Find Beauty Challenge. Your 90 seconds can change a kid's life! I'm donating $10 (up to $1,000) for every uploaded video to fund reconstructive work on kids with cleft palates in third world countries.

Find Beauty Challenge: Beautiful Statement

Here's another submission to the Find Beauty Challenge, shot at my North of Beautiful book launch.

YouTube Love Letter to My Peeps

At last, I created my own video for the FIND BEAUTY CHALLENGE even if I can't win the iPod Touch myself. It's my love letter to my family and friends, an homage to Maya Angelou whose PHENOMENAL WOMAN inspired my book, North of Beautiful.



You have until the end of March to create your own YouTube video of what true beauty means to you. For every uploaded video, I'm donating $10 (up to $1,000) to fund cleft lip surgeries in the third world. So please help me spread the word!

Acknowledgments: Spotlight on Lydia Golston

Earlier this week, I thought it would be fun to introduce some of the people in my acknowledgments for North of Beautiful. So please meet Lydia Golston, my former next-door neighbor who always believed that I could and should write. Just look at her. She is one of the most truly beautiful women I know. A survivor. A woman of heart and loyalty. A woman who knows how to live and laugh.

Acknowledgments: Spotlight on Dia Calhoun

Am I the only one who loves to read an author's acknowledgments--our version of credits, homage to everyone who touched our book? (Personally, I prefer to read the acknowledgments at the end of the book since it feels like a grace note--the thank you after sharing the work with the reader. I simply don't get acknowledging people at the front of the book.)

I always wonder about the people who are included in that thank you--what made them so special to be immortalized in a book? Who are these people? Perhaps it's the writer in me. But I want their story, too.

So I thought I would share the inside scoop on some of the amazing people who helped shape NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL. First up is Dia Calhoun--Dia, my Dia--an award-winning author, co-founder of readergirlz, and one of my peeps!

What many of her readers don't realize is that Dia is also a brilliant artist, a lettering artist who created the Alaska Airlines logo. For my homecoming from China, she created a piece of art for my entry, words taken from my latest novel: Feed Hope.


How can hope not be fed with that glorious piece of art in my home?

And now Dia has launched a new website for her lettering business. Tell me, can't you just see this on a book or video game?

Find Beauty Challenge: Beautiful Video!

Here's another absolutely, truly beautiful video that was uploaded to my FIND BEAUTY CHALLENGE.

Check out this touching tribute to friends. Love it. Aren't you inspired to make your own video? I'm working on mine... Remember, contest ends at the end of March.

COMPLETE DETAILS:
Tell the world what you find to be Truly Beautiful! Just upload a 90-second video describing what real beauty means to you...and you could win yourself an iTouch! PLUS, for every uploaded video, I'll donate $10 (up to $1,000) to Global Surgical Outreach, an amazing group that helps kids with cleft lips and palates in the third world.

Here's what to do:
1. Record a 90-second video essay about what's truly beautiful to you!
2. Upload the video onto YouTube.
3. Then...send a link to north@marthabee.com. (Martha Brockenbrough--tech guru and my friend of much wonderosity--will link your video to the North of Beautiful YouTube channel.)
4. Tell all your friends to RATE your video.

The Official Rules for the NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL: FIND BEAUTY CHALLENGE:
1) The Top 5 videos will be chosen by YOU based on the most views and highest ratings. So be sure to tell all your friends to vote for you! Any ties will be broken by the North of Beautiful team.

2) The North of Beautiful team will score the five finalists on A) 40 percent emotional appeal (humor, pull-on-the-heartstrings, incites activism, etc.); B) 40 percent content (clean, widespread appeal across audiences, plot – if applicable, scriptwriting – if applicable); and C) 20 percent professionalism (smooth transitions, stable video, non-jarring editing cuts, constant audio levels).

3) All videos must contain original content. Your entry indicates you understand this and have the legal rights to distribute your video.

4) Any videos deemed inappropriate by the North of Beautiful team will be removed. Please don't upload anything that wouldn't, say, be shown on television during prime-time hours, or anything you wouldn't want to watch with your first-grade teacher. So no nudity, profanity, or racial slurs.

5) The contest will run from 12:01 a.m. Feb. 1, 2009 until 11:59 p.m. Mar. 30, 2009. Anything submitted before or after the deadline can't be considered.

6) Justina will donate $10 for every uploaded video (for a maximum of $1,000) to Global Surgical Outreach to help fund facial surgeries for kids in the third world.

7) The Find Beauty Challenge is open to people over 14.

8) The Grand Prize winner will receive one iPod Touch. 3 runners up will receive fabulous gifts, such as an autographed collection of Justina's novels, other free books, etc.

North of Beautiful: Geocache-o-rama #5

Welcome to Day 5 (the final day...sob! sob!) of the North of Beautiful Geocache-o-rama. One of my favorite, if not most neurotic, things to do is...to change up my house. Rearrange furniture! Create new displays! Move my artwork!

So in today's cache--Beauty: One Etsy Step at a Time--I take you to one of my favorite sources of inspiration. And to one of my favorite jewelers of all who created readergirlz pendents for my divas divine as well as Girl Overboard necklaces for my editors.

How to play:
1. Visit the coordinates listed below.
2. Find the answer to the question, also below.
3. Drop a comment on this blog with the answer, your name, and your email.
4. Winner receives...a mystery cache of galleys! Woo hoo!

Coordinates:
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5068559

Clues:
Inspiration comes on wings for her.

Question:
What is the working name of this artist AND can you tell which YA novel she luuuuurves?