Trashionista

MOVIE NEWS: Twenty Times a Lady

2010-03-09T02:43:53Z

Anna Faris and Chris Evans are set to star in What's Your Number - a movie based on Karyn Bosnak's chick-lit novel Twenty Times a Lady.

According to ComingSoon, What's Your Number will be directed by Mark Mylod (Entourage) and will begin production in May.

For those who have not read Karyn's hilarious book, here's the blurb:

How many men does it take to find true love?

Delilah Darling's magic number was supposed to be twenty. She always thought she'd find the perfect guy by the time she'd slept with twenty of them. But when she wakes up naked in her disgusting boss's bed after a drunken night out, she's filled with regret -- and realizes she's hit her self-imposed limit. Unwilling to up her number but unable to imagine a life of celibacy, Delilah does what any girl in her situation would do: she tracks down every man she's ever slept with in a last-ditch effort to make it work with one of them.

New-look author websites!

2010-03-09T02:35:15Z

Just when I'm planning on a personal website redesign of my own, two of my favourite authors emerge with fantastic new-look websites to provoke some web-envy. Shopaholic author Sophie Kinsella has a brand new web design - click here to check it out!

In addition, Ilana Fox (author of The Making of Mia and upcoming novel Spotlight) re-launched her website today - and it looks fantastic! For more information about Ilana and her books, head on over here.

COVER NEWS: Best Friends Forever

2010-03-09T02:26:22Z

Last year, Jennifer Weiner's novel Best Friends Forever hit the shelves, and now publishers Simon & Schuster have given it brand new look. The new cover is on the left - personally, I much prefer the new one. But what do YOU think? Leave s a comment and let us know!

If you're not familiar with Best Friends Forever, then here's the synopsis...

A story about betrayal and loyalty, family history and neighbourhood secrets, living through sorrow, finding love where you least expect it, and the ties that keep best friends...forever. Addie Downs and Valerie Adler were eight when they first met and decided to be best friends forever. But, in the wake of tragedy and betrayal during their teenage years, everything changed. Val went on to fame and fortune. Addie stayed behind in their small Midwestern town. Destiny, however, had more in store for these two. And when, twenty-five years later, Val shows up at Addie's front door with blood on her coat and terror on her face, it is the start of a wild adventure for two women joined by love and history who find strength together that they could not find alone.

Click here to visit Jennifer Weiner's website.

NEWS: Cheryl Cole's £5m bidding war for autobiography

2010-03-08T22:48:15Z

A bidding war for singer Cheryl Cole's autobiography has reached £5m, with publishers Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins all said to be in the running,

According to the Daily Mail, it's been claimed by insiders that the competition has grown so fierce that the price could be the highest ever piad for a celebrity memoir. And it's been said that Cheryl could make even more money if she chooses to tell all about her role on the X Factor, and her recent split with cheating husband Ashley.

The article states:

However, the offer still represents something of a gamble. Although celebrity memoirs often come with large advances, very few sell more than a few thousand copies.

Jonathan Ross is believed to have received £1.5million from Bantam for his memoirs Why Do I Say These Things? However, since its publication in October 2008, the book has sold just 139,500 copies.

Click here to read the full story.

In the news: Could you go without books for a week?

2010-03-08T22:01:07Z

Would you be able to go one week without books? Personally, I don't think I could. But Guardian writer Bibi van der Zee was up to the challenge and tells of her seven-day book ban in a rather interesting article! Bibi writes:

'I decided to try giving up books for a week because I have come to the point where I wonder if they are holding me back. On the whole, the world seems to think that books are always a good thing, that you can never get too much of them. People admit to being bookworms in the same way they admit to being "just too tidy really", or "a bit of a workaholic". But if you are a compulsive reader like me, who reads walking down the road, and while she's making her children's dinner, and on the loo and in the bath and in bed and on the bus, and at every other possible second of the day, and if what you're reading is mostly . . . well . . . pulp, then sometimes you end up feeling as if books are eating you up instead of the other way round...'

Click here to read the full article!

Could you go without books for an entire week? Let us know!

BOOK TRAILER: Before I Fall

2010-03-05T00:37:45Z

Kirsty over at Novelicious recently posted these fab trailers for Lauren Oliver's new book, Before I Fall. The book was released on March 4th (watch this space for a review!) and there are two trailers - a UK version, and one for the US.

Click here to view the UK trailer...

...and here for the US version!

What do you think? Leave a comment and let us know!

If you haven't yet heard about Before I Fall, here's the synopsis:

They say that when you die your whole life flashes before your eyes, but that's not how it happened for me Sam Kingston is dead. Except she isn't. On a rainy February night, eighteen-year-old Sam is killed in a horrific car crash. But then the impossible happens: she wakes up in her own bed, on the morning of the day that she died. Forced to live over and over the last day of her life the drive to school, skipping class, the fateful party she desperately struggles to alter the outcome, but every morning she wakes up on the day of the crash. This is a story of a girl who dies young, but in the process learns how to live. And who falls in love... a little too late. Before I Fall is a brave and complex novel about the territory between life and death. As astonishing as The Lovely Bones and as luminous as Jenny Downham s Before I Die, it will make you want to live every day as if it were your last.

Find out more about the book at Lauren Oliver's blog.

BOOK NEWS: Desire

2010-03-05T00:24:56Z

Following her bestselling novel Passion, Louise Bagshawe (author of Glitz, Career Girls and Glamour, to name but a few!) is back with a new offering that's due for release this year. Desire will hit the shelves on April 15th. (And we're loving the cover!)

Here's more information about the upcoming release:

Lisa Costello is leading a charmed life - until she wakes up the morning after her glamorous Thailand wedding to find her new husband Josh dead in their bed, the murder weapon in her hand. She remembers learning at the wedding that Josh had been unfaithful, but she certainly doesn't remember killing him. As Lisa flees the scene for Europe, ex-FBI trainee Sam Murray is on her trail. Catching up with her, he's quickly convinced she's been set up, and they start to work out which of movie producer Josh's many enemies could be behind the hit. It's a race against time to unearth the truth and keep Lisa out of jail - or gunned down by the professional assassin tailing them. And the danger only adds to the excitement of the passion brewing between them...

To read more about Louise and her books, check out her website.

COMING SOON: Della Says: OMG!

2010-03-04T23:41:52Z

I just can't WAIT to read Keris Stainton's debut novel (admittedly I love YA fiction too) and we won't have to wait THAT much longer. Della Says: OMG! is due for release on 6 May by Orchard.

For those new to the site, Keris was previously editor of Trashionista. She's also written a number of articles and blogs over at Five Minutes Peace. You can find out ore about Keris at her website.

Here's the synopsis of Della Says - this looks fantastic!

Della's over the moon when she kisses her long-standing crush at a party - but then she discovers her diary has disappeared...

When scans of embarrassing pages are sent to her mobile and appear on Facebook, Della's distraught - how can she enjoy her first proper romance when someone, somewhere, knows all her deepest, darkest secrets?

You can read an excerpt of Della over here.

BOOK REVIEW: Just Like Me, Only Better by Carol Snow

2010-03-04T23:26:56Z

When I first heard about Carol Snow's upcoming novel, Just Like Me, Only Better, I was instantly looking forward to getting my hands on it as it seemed a world away from the usual tales of celebrity - original and somewhat quirky. And I love quirky. Just Like Me, Only Better is due to hit the shelves in April and I can tell you, it's a fantastic read.

(Click here to read Trashionista's interview with Carol Snow.)

When Veronica's husband Hank leaves her for another woman (a much older woman, embarrassingly enough), her life becomes a struggle. Alone with son Ben and with little money from a job as a substitute teacher, Veronica is forced to move into a friend's house in order to make ends meet. Ben seems to adore Hank's rich new partner, Darcy DaCosta, which makes Veronica feel even worse - and it doesn't help when she keeps getting mistaken for teen star Haley Rush.

However, Veronica is about to get a surprising break. Whilst out to dinner with friends, Veronica is approached by a mysterious man who notices straight away her resemblance to Haley. And when he asks her to meet, curious Veronica agrees...

Jay Sharpie is the manager of teenage megastar Haley Rush herself, and as it turns out, he's looking for a Haley double. In order for the megastar to work on her movies and music, rest and yet still remain in the public eye, it's going to take two. Two Haleys, that is. And Veronica fits the picture just perfectly.

And at $100 an hour, she just can't refuse. After all, the job description is simple. Just be Haley. All Veronica has to do is be seen out and about - and of course, tell NOBODY about her new assignment.

Sworn to secrecy, Veronica meets Haley Rush, role model to teens everywhere - and is a little disappointed. Far from the wholesome image she portrays on screen, Haley is far from smiley and sweet. In fact, she's spoiled, rebellious and can't go for one minute without shouting the F-word.

Soon, Veronica embarks on her Haley makeover, complete with spray tan, hair extensions and borrowed wardrobe (cowboy boots included!). Veronica simply has to look, dress and act like Haley in public. Which is easy enough - that is, until teen heartthrob Brady, Haley's supposed love interest, is brought into the picture. Brady and 'Haley' have to be seen together to give the fans what they want. Still living by the advice of manager Jay, Veronica obeys. But what if Brady doesn't like Haley after all? What if he really likes the woman who's only pretending?

Veronica's schedule as Haley's official lookalike becomes hectic, waiting around for hair stylists and attending parties as the teenage favourite. Meanwhile, her home life is starting to suffer. She's soon being judged by friends for her late-night 'partying', she's late picking up Ben from school, and of course, she can't explain the real reason for her new transformation to her friends. And when Haley begins to go off the rails, sneaking out drunk in the middle of the night, Veronica's schedule becomes even more demanding...

Just Like Me, Only Better is a warm and delightful story that I couldn't put down, focusing on one struggling divorcee's rise to fame, who is met some harsh realisations, a makeover and a possible new love along the way. Is the celebrity life really all it's cracked up to be?

Rating: 5/5

NEWS: Ali Sparks wins Blue Peter Award

2010-03-03T00:59:34Z

Author Ali Sparkes has scooped the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award, which was announced this afternoon on the show. Her novel, Frozen in Time, tells the tale of two children who are cryonically frozen for fifty years and are brought back to life in the present day, setting out on an adventure whilst trying to get used to life in the twenty-first century.

The book was selected from a shortlist of books by authors including Frank Cottrell Boyce (for his book Cosmic), Emily Gravett (Spells) and Harriet Goodwin (The Boy Who Fell Down Exit 43).

According to the Guardian, Frozen In Time was also awarded the Book I Couldn't Put Down prize. The Book of the Year award is judged by a panel of young readers.

Ali Sparkes said: "I think if you asked any children's author which they thought was the most important prize for children's books, it's highly likely they would say the Blue Peter prize," she said.

"Not only does it have a big TV audience, which is important, but well, it's Blue Peter! You can talk about Carnegie, and Kate Greenaway, you can talk about Smarties - but everyone immediately understands about the Blue Peter prize."

To read the full article, click here.

BOOK NEWS: A Perfect Proposal

2010-03-03T00:39:57Z

The latest offering from Katie Fforde, bestselling author of many novels including Wedding Season, Flora's Lot and Artistic Licence, is due for release in June this year. Want to know more? Here's the synopsis:

Sophie Apperly has been supporting herself since she left school, but as far as her academic family are concerned she's never had a 'proper' job. And because she's currently in between work she's despatched to look after Uncle Eric while his housekeeper is away. Here, whilst tidying his papers, she discovers a document relating to family business in America. Driven mad by her family and wanting to prove herself to them and bring in some much-needed income for them all, when her best friend Milly invites her over to New York she jumps at the chance - what's more she's lined up some nannying work for her to pay her way. However, she's hardly been in the country five minutes before disaster strikes. She suddenly finds herself with no work, nowhere to stay and very little money. Luckily Milly has a corner in her tiny apartment she can camp out in. A jaunt to an art gallery opening throws her into the path of Matilda - a grand old lady who is delighted to find someone who comes from the same part of the world as she grew up in. She is very taken with Sophie and invites her to her house in Connecticut for Thanksgiving. But Matilda's grandson Luke is very suspicious of Sophie - what exactly does this English girl want, is she after her grandmother's money? - and he's determined to nip this growing friendship in the bud.

For more information about Katie Fforde and her books check out Katie's website.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Isobella Jade

2010-03-01T19:37:26Z

We recently posted about Isobella Jade's new modeling memoir, Almost 5'4". Trashionista spoke to Isobella about her modeling dreams, her graphic novel and aspirations. Isobella also offers some tips for not only authors but aspiring models as well - read on for more!

Please describe your latest book in 15 words or fewer.
A short girl's turbulent journey of striving as a model and overcoming the odds.

Tell us a little more about yourself.
The way to my heart is high heels, and I could climb a tree in high heels. However there was a time when I was pulling my running shoe out of the mud on the X-Country trail. I love mascara and grill cheese, movies of the 1940 and 50's, one-of-a-kind jewelry and limited edition art, and Anthony John Gray's oils intrigue me. I am a crazy history buff; and fascinated by stories of the 1800's and early 1900's and how things were made and done then. Seabiscuit is my hero. I love my iPhone. And although I am very tech savvy, I still use a pen every single day. I am a coffee addict. When I meet someone I don't ask "what do you do?" I ask "what do you like to do." I'd rather eat dessert before dinner. Want to buy me dessert?

When did you start writing Almost 5'4"?
I started writing the memoir in the fall 2005. I was really broke and since I was already using the Apple store as a place to check my email; and as an office, I figured it would be a perfect place to write. I decided to include that experience in the book as well. By March 2006, I had a manuscript, and I told the store manager what I had done in an urge to thank someone for letting me use the store and wear it out. The result was being asked to do a reading in the store. It wasn't until I had about 300 pages and a reading at the Apple store, that I thought, "Maybe this could be a published book."

I first wrote it as a source of therapy, I guess, and relied on my journals as a sequential timeline and reference. Looking at my older photos also helped. I'd look at a photo and write about that experience, or I'd see a certain date and location scribbled in my journal and the details of that experience would come alive again and I'd write. I was writing about a lot of not so glamorous modeling experiences that I hadn't told anyone about, and things I even hid from my family and friends. So although the book is now one of my greatest achievements, at the time of writing it it was a way to move on from my modeling mistakes. Get it off my chest. I felt that by writing I was putting some gritty things I had encountered in the past. Like a period at the end of a sentence. While writing I found that there was an inspirational message in the book about not giving up even when others doubt you, which wasn't obvious to me when I started writing it, but now that message IS the purpose of the book for me.

What made you decide to be a model?
My journey as a model was at first a curiosity and something for my ego. After first Googling the word model and making a lot of mistakes in front of the wrong lens, I spent years striving to work with good agencies, photographers, products, magazines and brands. At the beginning, the idea of "calling myself a model" was appealing and the first part of Almost 5'4" is about this mindset, but calling yourself one doesn't mean you truly are one. After I realized modeling is about "modeling something," I started to notice that models are not all tall, and although I might be the tiniest girl out there, if I marketed what I did have, I could make my own opportunities. It has been a day by day process, year by year growth. Being a model when you are a short girl is really based on the person's want to be one, and the will to try. There was no guarantee I'd find any of the success I eventually found, but I thrived on the chase and the challenge of it. I was willing to do the work, and accept the rejection.

Every product out there needs a model and height isn't everything. But you do have to have professional photography that highlights your assets, you do need a marketing mindset and you do need to be realistic. Only a small percent of working models are tall giraffe Supermodels, but most models in ads and in TV commercials are not fashion height, and no one talks about that, so I started blogging, podcasting and writing about it.

]]> You have a graphic novel out about your modeling life - tell us more!
While writing Almost 5'4"I had a lot of visuals come to me, so putting an illustrated book out there that was inspired by my adventures as a short model made sense. Also I noticed how there weren't many graphic novels with a female heroine, I thought bringing the fashion world and a model character to the graphic novel world would be a trendy way to inspire girls of all shapes and sizes about the highs and lows of being a model. What developed was my fashion illustrated graphic novel called Model Life: The Journey of a Pint-Size Fashion Warrior.

I worked aside illustrator Jazmin Ruotolo, who I reached out to because of her background in fashion illustration. Model Life is a mixed media graphic novel. It involves photography and hand written journals and there are many Internet-age elements in the graphic novel. Communication between characters is done mostly through email, text messages, and social media is a big part of the story for the reader to engage in.

Where do you write your books?
I write everywhere. Inspiration is everywhere. The start of my writing normally happens in my journal. I will write down ideas, a concept, a plot, an experience, and then evolve it in front of my computer at home. I write at night usually.

Also, I sleep next to my journal and my phone. Often after a long day if I am too tired to hold a pen I text myself the words, sentence, or thought. I write all the time and everywhere, there is not a certain hour that I write, it is an all the time thing, whether it be on street corners, inside retail stores, on airplanes.

What is your favourite book?
I Pass Like Night, by Jonathan Ames. I love books that are not afraid to be honest, he does that well.

Do you have any tips for readers who would like to become published authors?
Yes, the more you know what is interesting about you or your book and why a newspaper, magazine, radio or television show would like it, the better. I think an author has to wear many hats, especially at the start of the marketing that goes into getting an agent, a publisher and selling a book, especially in this Internet-age. I think the more of a marketer the author is the better. The world has become one. It's based on connectivity, and communicating and self promotion is a major asset for an author.

What about models? Do you have any advice for those who want to get into modeling?
My biggest advice is to skip the Internet. For modeling, what's on the Internet is mainly amateur-ville. It is best, hence the experiences I share in Almost 5'4", to not rely on a model site, or social site or website as a launch pad to be discovered as a model. Most of the people who linger on these sites are amateur. Anna Wintour of Vogue and Sarah Doukas of Storm Models are not looking for models on amateur modeling websites. In many ways the old fashion way is still the way. And for a shorter model it comes down to snail mailing print modeling agencies your comp card. Mainly, you have to know what is marketable about yourself and ask yourself "how does what I have translate into modeling products and for ad campaigns," and "what products and ads could I realistically model for?" You have to be realistic, and you have to understand that a shorter girl has to do a lot more hands-on work behind the scenes than a fashion model. A shorter model can find opportunities working with a commercial print modeling agency or talent agency, however getting in the door involves her making her marketing material; comp cards and portfolio.

What are you currently reading?
On my iPhone I am reading Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls. I mainly read non-fiction or biographies; I usually don't get excited about fiction. I look at and buy a lot of coffee table photography books. I also read a lot of newspapers including The Wall Street Journal, WWD, and tons of magazines. Also I read through my Google stats often.

Are you working on anything else at the moment, and if so, can you tell us?
I am working on a how-to-model book, and planning to turn Model Life into a series, along with some screenwriting as well. The beat goes on.

Thanks, Isobella!

You can find out more about Isobella Jade and her books by visiting Isobella's website.

Austen and Twilight graphic novels

2010-02-26T17:36:32Z

You've read the books, but how about the graphic novels? Graphic novels are certainly becoming more popular, and now you can even read Pride and Prejudice in this very format. Original? Yes.Odd? Perhaps. That's up to you to decide! Here's some information about Pride and Prejudice, which was published by Marvel in 2009.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife... " Tailored from the adored Jane Austen classic, Marvel Comics is proud to present Pride & Prejudice! Two-time Rita Award-Winner Nancy Butler and fan-favorite Hugo Petras faithfully adapt the whimsical tale of Lizzy Bennet and her loveable-if-eccentric family, as they navigate through tricky British social circles. Will Lizzy's father manage to marry off her five daughters, despite his wife's incessant nagging? And will Lizzy's beautiful sister Jane marry the handsome, wealthy Mr. Bingley, or will his brooding friend Mr. Darcy stand between their happiness? Collects Pride & Prejudice #1-5.

In addition, Twilight will also be making its debut as a graphic novel later this month. (Here's the short synopsis, in case you ~~live under a rock~~ weren't aware of what Twilight is all about already...)

When Isabella Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious, alluring Edward Cullen, her life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. With his porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edward is both irresistible and impenetrable. Up until now, he has managed to keep his true identity hidden, but Bella is determined to uncover his dark secret...

What do you think of this new Austen adaptation? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Jane Austen books from Canongate

2010-02-26T17:22:16Z

Here's some news for any Jane Austen fans - UK publishers Canongate have released two great titles based on the work of Austen: parody Pride and Promiscuity and Jane's Fame.

Pride and Promiscuity: The Lost Sex Scenes of Jane Austen is a hilarious short story collection from Arielle Eckstut. Here's the info:

In 2002, an amateur Jane Austen scholar, while staying at a Hertfordshire estate, stumbled upon a hidden cache of manuscript pages and made an extraordinary literary discovery - lost scenes from Jane Austen's novels that reveal an altogether different dimension to her oeuvre. Pride and Prejudice's Bingley sisters appear as Sapphic seductresses; Mansfield Park's incest subtext becomes manifest; and Darcy gets more than his shirt wet. This incisive parody of academic study is sure to astonish and delight mischievous Austenites.

Jane's Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the World by Claire Harman focuses on Jane's life, fame and literary career. Click here to find out more about the book and Claire herself.

Part biography and part cultural history, this splendid book not only tells the captivating tale of Jane Austen's life, but also her literary legacy. The slow growth of Austen's fame and the changing status of her work and what it stands for in English culture is a story of personal struggle and family dynamics as well as a history of critical practices and public taste.

To visit the Canongate website, click here.

BOOK NEWS: Getting Over Mr Right

2010-02-25T19:03:08Z

July will see the release of Chris Manby's fourteenth novel - and we'll be bringing you a review soon! Getting Over Mr Right is set to be a fantastic read - here's the info (see for yourself!)

Have you ever had your heart broken? How did you get over it? Did a tub of ice-cream cheer you up? Did you delete his number and start again? Are you now friends with your ex? Perhaps you're godmother to his children?

In which case, you're a weirdo and this book is not for you.

But if you reacted with denial, begging or a spot of casual witchcraft, then you've come to the right place. This is one woman's journey from love to lunacy and back again. If you ever recall past heartbreaks with acute embarrassment and an urge to go into hiding, this will make you feel better. Sure, you may have sent his new girlfriend a bunch of dead roses, but did you spend a grand on psychic hot-lines and a voodoo curse?

You can read more about Chris Manby at her website.