Hi Smart Girls!

I’m so excited to share the news that the next 3 teen-authored memoirs in the Louder Than Words series I created for HCI Books comes out today!

In working with this second group of Louder Than Words authors, Hannah Westberg, Alexis Singer, and Chelsea Rae Swiggett, I’ve once again had the honor of supporting and working with three incredible teens who pushed themselves outside their comfort zones, asked the hard questions, and bared their souls. Like the first three memoirs, the newest books in the series deal with similarly pressing, and important, issues.

In Alexis: My True Story of Being Seduced By An Online Predator, author Alexis Singer tells us about getting caught up in an unhealthy cyber-affair with a man she met online. Hannah Westberg gives an intimate glimpse of life as a teen with mental illness in Hannah: My True Story of Drugs, Cutting, and Mental Illness. And lastly, Chelsea Rae Swiggett powerfully writes about the challenges of living with severe anxiety disorder in Rae: My True Story of Fear, Anxiety and Social Phobia.

I hope you read their stories and let the authors speak to you from the page. Because I know that each Louder Than Words author wanted to write their book for exactly that reason—to share what they’ve been through in the hopes of connecting with and helping other teens who might be facing similar challenges.

You can check out the series and get to know the inspiring young authors behind the books on the Louder Than Words site by reading their blogs, listening to their playlists, delving into their bios, and watching the book trailers.

Thanks so much for letting me share my good news with you, and I hope you like the series!

XOXO
Debbie

PS… Watch book trailers for all three memoirs here!

I don’t typically write these kinds of posts, but an important voice for young girls - New Moon Magazine - is in jeopardy, and Smart Girls Know wants to help keep it alive. Aimed at girls ages 8-13, New Moon fills a void in the marketplace of media for girls by offering something unique and positive, something that empowers its readers in an authentic way.

There is so much I LOVE about the magazine. Here are just a few of my favorite things about New Moon:

• It is truly created by girls for girls - the magazine and site has an all-girl editorial board made up of girls ages 8-12 that drives the great content you’ll find inside and edits the magazine
• New Moon is 100% advertising free, so that means there’s no need to deal with the kinds of media images you’ll find in traditional girl and teen magazines that research shows makes girls feel insecure and less confident about themselves
• New Moon offers opportunities for interested girls to get published in each issue

All of these things are great, but what would a magazine be without fantastic content? New Moon has that in spades, too. New Moon is all about helping girls discover and honor their true selves, engage in meaningful pursuits and dialogue, and express their voices in ways that matter.

Because this magazine is ad-free, it counts on the support of funders and subscribers to keep it afloat. Right now New Moon is in a particularly difficult financial crunch, and its future is at stake.

To do our part, Smart Girls Know has become an affiliate of New Moon. As an affiliate, Smart Girls Know is offering a $10 discount off the price of a year subscription, which includes 12-month unlimited online access to New Moon’s informative site. Typically affiliates earn a commission on sales, but Smart Girls Know is forgoing its commission to support the future of the magazine. To take advantage of this special offer, click here.

If you feel so moved, please help Smart Girls Know make sure this distinct voice and outlet for girls doesn’t go away!

XOXO Debbie

When I was a teen, there wasn’t much, if any, alcohol in the house. The drinking of alcohol was reserved for Christmas or Thanksgiving, when my mom would break out a bottle of syrupy sweet blush wine. Occasionally, my parents would let my sister and I have a sip, but that was about it. My parents were fairly strict, and would never have knowingly allowed my friends and I to partake in any alcohol at the house.

Though I suspect they knew I drank every now and then, I also knew it was completely against their rules. As a result, most of my teen drinking occurred at the house of friends, where we’d either dip into a parent’s liquor cabinet, or a friend with an older friend would get us a couple of six-packs. Drinking was something that happened on some weekends in high school, usually at bigger parties, and only occasionally to excess.

So I was interested to hear a story on the radio the other day about teens drinking habits being impacted by their parents’ attitudes towards drinking. According to the story on NPR:

Alcohol researcher Caitlin Abar from Pennsylvania State University found that parents’ efforts do play a role in shaping their teens’ behavior. She studied how parents deal with their high school teenagers regarding alcohol use while still at home, and she then checked after the teens’ first semester of college. Her study of 300 teenagers and their parents was published recently in the journal Addictive Behaviors.

“Parents who disapproved completely of underage alcohol use tended to have students who engaged in less drinking, less binge drinking, once in college,” Abar says.

And conversely, a parent’s permissiveness about teenage drinking is a significant risk factor for later binge drinking.

“The parents who are more accepting of teen drinking in high school were more likely to have children who engaged in risky drinking behaviors in college, compared to those children who had parents that were less accepting,” Abar says. The researchers also asked the teens about their parents’ drinking patterns and found that parents’ own drinking behavior influenced a teen’s later alcohol use.

This more permissive attitude some parents embrace today in which they allow their teens and possibly their teens’ friends drink as long as it’s at home and they’re being “safe” is referred to as the European model, since many countries in Europe are more lax about drinking age limits and families often allow their children to socially drink with the idea that they’ll learn to drink responsibly.

But new research shows this isn’t actually the case. “The more teenagers drink at home, the more they will drink at other places, and the higher the risk for problematic alcohol use three years later,” says researcher Haske van der Vorst.

What do you think of the findings of this research? To be honest, when I went to Penn State as a freshman, I definitely took partying to the extreme on more than one occasion. And in some ways, I think that my strict upbringing regarding drinking made the easy access to alcohol in college to tempting to say no to.

What is the attitude towards alcohol in your family? Is it completely forbidden? Do you think that by making it accessible to teens, it becomes less of a big deal?

There’s a new magazine on the block, and it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for more substance than your standard teen mag fare, but still with a cool, fun design and great content.

From the website, “Kiki Magazine is for girls who love life, appreciate creativity, and recognize good ideas. A Kiki reader thinks for herself, has her own look, and is on her way to being a confident, strong, and smart young woman. She’s a girl with style and substance!” Style and substance…what’s not to like about that?

In each issue of Kiki, which currently comes out four times a year, you’ll find articles and info on fashion, history, design, designers, accessories, and biographies; tips on using all kinds of different art tools, sewing and create-your-own projects; a look at creativity and culture in different countries; a behind-the-scenes look at the fashion industry; articles about grooming, health, and exercise; book reviews, recipes, and reader profiles; and games, puzzles, quizzes, and design-your-own activities.

Besides the truly great content of Kiki, what I love most about this magazine is its great design and accessibility. It’s gorgeous to look at, easy to peruse through, and it is ad-free, so there’s no worry about being bombarded with media images that might contradict the empowering content you’ll find inside.

One more thing I love about the Spring 2010 issue? It features my book In Their Shoes: Extraordinary Women Describe Their Amazing Careers in its Book Club section. Thanks Kiki!

To check it out, visit the Kiki Magazine website where you can learn more about the current issue and subscribe, or go to your local Barnes & Noble or Borders (if they’re not already carrying it, ask them to!).

Most of us do…care what others think about us, that is. When it comes to things like the people you hang out with, the activities you do, the way you talk, and your personal style, chances are you’re at the very least considering how others will perceive you as you make your choices.

Some might say it’s human nature. Well, a new study by Dr. Amanda E. Guyer of the National Institute of Mental Health suggests that for teen girls, this reality of worrying about what others think about them - and therefore their potential depression and anxiety based on this - gets more intense as they progress through teenhood. The study was based on brain science, and looked at how certain regions of the brain were activated more strongly when they thought they were being evaluated by another teen. The more “high-interest” the peer was (prettier, popular, more interesting), the more strongly the brain reacted.

I’ll be honest…worrying about what others think of me is something I’ve struggled with from a very young age. When I was younger, I felt I was too short, too goofy, too plain Jane, and I was sure others saw me this way, too. And while I can’t say that I 100 percent don’t care what others think of me today, it’s definitely not such a big deal anymore. Now, I try to remember that most people are thinking about themselves and their own stuff, not sitting around considering the way I dress or parent or what kind of car I drive. And that’s incredibly freeing thing. I just wish it hadn’t taken me so long to figure it out.

And just to show you that I am OK with whatever you want to think about me, I’m including one of the most embarrassing photos of me I could find…a nice shot from college, complete with dorky glasses, goofy grin, and stuffed animal. Think what you want…go on, I can take it!

How about you? Do you care what others think of you? How does worrying about others’ perceptions impact your life?

After a bit of flip flopping over where to drop off my books for this year’s Operation Teen Book Drop, I ultimately decided to head down to my local public library.

After checking out a book waiting for me on the hold shelf, I planted a copy of my book CHILL and the Louder Than Words memoir, MARNI on the community resources shelf and snapped a photo.

Started by readergirlz in 2007, Operation Teen Book Drop is held in honor of Support Teen Literature Day in conjunction with Guys Lit Wire, YALSA, and If I Can Read I Can Do Anything. As part of Operation TBD, more than 10,000 new YA books have been donated by publishers to go to teens on Native American tribal lands, and more than 100 YA authors (including yours truly), librarians, and teens are dropping off YA books in their own communities.

Want to be a part of Operation TBD? Grab a favorite YA book, download the official book plate to stick inside, and leave the book in a public space for some lucky teen to discover. Then head over to readergirlz for the TBD Post-Op party at the readergirlz blog, tonight at 6pm PST/9pm EST.

You ever have those moments where you just realize, “Hey, I love my life!”? That pretty much sums up my weekend, since I got to spend Saturday and Sunday hanging out with hundreds of other writers and illustrators of children’s and YA books at the annual conference for SCBWI (Society for Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators) of Western Washington.

As a writer, I spend much time alone in my little office upstairs, my only company being my white shepherd Baxter who tends to sprawl out under my desk. So to be surrounded by others who share my passion for writing and connecting with people through stories and words on the page, was just what I needed. I came away from the weekend with pages full of notes on everything from creating believable characters to plotting, new friends and professional acquaintances, and enough inspiration to last me a good long while.

Here are some pictures from the big weekend, where I got to hang with the very funny and inspirational author of 13 Reasons Why, Jay Asher; National Book Award finalist for her novel Lips Touch, author Laini Taylor; the wonderful Mitali Perkins (author of Rickshaw Girl and the First Daughter series); Holly Cupula, whose debut novel Tell Me A Secret comes out this June; Suzanne Young, author of The Naughty List series (and about a cabillion other forthcoming books…she is one busy writer!); Liz Gallagher, author of the YA novel The Opposite of Invisible; Heather Davis, whose newest novel The Clearing, just came out yesterday (happy book birthday!); and Kevin Emerson, musician and author of the Oliver Nocturne series. I hope some of their literary genius rubs off on me!

I’m so excited to share with you the covers for the next three Louder Than Words memoirs due out from HCI Books this August. I’ve been working hard with three more incredible teen writers to get these books ready, and I can’t wait to bring these babies out into the world.

Next up is ALEXIS, by 19-year-old Alexis Singer who writes about being lured into an emotionally devastating cybersexual relationship with an older married man, HANNAH, by 18-year-old Hannah Westberg, who shares her personal story of mental illness, and RAE, by 18-year-old Chelsea Rae Swiggett, who describes what it’s like to go through life with severe anxiety disorder.

I’ll be sharing more about these new books in the months leading up to publication, but in the meantime, check out these gorgeous new covers. What do you think?

One of my favorite jobs is editing the Louder Than Words series of teen-authored memoirs. I love reading over the interesting submissions, finding the authors, making the phone calls to tell a hopeful author she’s been selected, and ultimately editing the books. But my favorite part of editing this series, without a doubt, is that I get to connect with truly inspirational and incredible young women.

If I’m really lucky, I get to meet them in person. On Monday, I hopped on the Amtrak train and headed south from Seattle for Vancouver, Washington, where I spent three wonderful hours with upcoming Louder Than Words author Hannah Westberg. Hannah is in revision mode for her forthcoming memoir, entitled Hannah, and we spent our time eating Indian food and talking about her manuscript, life after high school, and the joys of five year olds (she babysits one, I have one).

Hannah’s book is an extremely personal, and powerful, account of her struggles with mental illness, drug abuse, and suicidal tendencies. I am so excited to share Hannah’s writing talent and important story with the world! Hannah will be out in August 2010, along with Rae by Chelsea Rae Swiggett of The Pageflipper fame and Alexis by Alexis Papalia. And while Alexis and Rae live too far away for an impromptu lunch, I’ll be sharing more details about their memoirs in the coming weeks.

This past Saturday I was lucky enough to spend the morning with an incredible group of girls pulled together by the fantastic program Young Women’s Leadership (YWL). YWL is part of the Jenna Druck Foundation, which was created in the memory of Jenna Druck to support families in their darkest and most difficult hours, as well as encourage young women to fulfill their dreams. Jenna Druck was tragically killed while studying abroad in 1996 at the age of 21, but lived her life with compassion and dedication, and as a natural leader with a passion for social justice. From what I witnessed Saturday morning, I’d say her legacy is alive and well in the thousands of girls YWL has and continues to serve.

On Saturday, I talked to the girls about how to tune in to what’s going on and discover ways to reduce the stress in their lives. As I prepared for the workshop over the past few weeks, I’ve been going through lots of stressors of my own, so delivering this message couldn’t have come at a better time. What I shared with the girls is that it’s so important to remember there is no quick fix to stress, and even when things in life are relatively balanced, there are always going to be situations that put your stress response into overdrive. Our best defense is to start practicing tuning in and learning how to assess where we’re at - body, mind, and soul. We all have the ability to listen to our gut and know when something is “off.” Once you start better recognizing when you’re off-balance, you’ll be that much more able to tackle stressors head-on and return to a place of peace and balance.

Feeling stressed? Read this previous post for more tips on de-stressing from my book, Chill: Stress-Reducing Techniques for a More Balanced, Peaceful You.

Me with YWL superwoman Leanne Tibiatowski