Reality Chick Contest

Introducing....THE REALITY CHICK BUZZ THE BOOK contest!

The PRIZES:
(1) Your choice of either an iPod Shuffle, OR a fifty dollar Amazon.com gift certificate
(2) An autographed copy of REALITY CHICK by Lauren Barnholdt
(3) A copy of the August issue of Teen People, which lists REALITY CHICK as a Can't-Miss Pick for August
(4) Free tuition to a session of Lauren's YA writing class

THE CONTEST: STEP ONE: Simply copy and paste this whole message (including the info about the contest) into any blog, message board, email list, myspace bulletin, or anywhere a lot of people will see it!

REALITY CHICK by Lauren Barnholdt is NOW IN STORES!

Going away to college means total independence and freedom. Unless ofcourse your freshman year is taped and televised for all the world towatch. On uncensored cable.Sweet and normal Ally Cavanaugh is one of five freshpeople shacking upon In the House, a reality show filmed on her college campus. (As ifschool isn't panic-inducing enough!)

The cameras stalk her likepaparazzi, but they also capture the fun that is new friends, oldcrushes, 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 herloopy 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. IN STORES NOW!

Check out Lauren on the web at www.laurenbarnholdt.com or on her myspace at www.myspace.com/laurenbarnholdt

STEP TWO -- Email Lauren at lauren (at) laurenbarnholdt.com and let her know you've posted about the contest and the book, and you'll be entered to win the prize pack! The winner will be picked at random on September 1st. The more places you post, the more entries you get. Have fun and good luck!!!

Camp Pinkalicious

Friday night, 15 kids will attend Camp Pinkalicious in my backyard. We're calling it a "reading party in honor of summer and lots of great books." Inside the invitation, we have a picture of the Cowboy Camp cover. Underneath, it says, "Cowboy games. Cowboy food." Below that is the Pinkalicious cover with the words "and lots of pink, pink, pink!"

We asked kids to bring a paint shirt and one used book to swap.

When they arrive, they will be assigned to a tent where their counselor will read the welcome announcements and daily camp schedule. While they wait for the other campers to arrive, they can read books in their comfy tents.

Next, they are off to "wardrobe" where they will get pink ribbon hair ties, pink nail polish and pink pony tails. (For the one best friend who is a boy, we bought silver hair spray. The girls get pink)

We'll ring the dinner bell and they will go to the mess hall for cowboy dinner. We decided on hot dogs, baked beans, carrots and chips to make this easy. Dinner will be served in tin pans.

While we eat, I'll read Cowboy Camp. (author site)

After dinner, it's off to the garage to paint reading pillows.

While they are painting (or right after, depending on the attention span) we'll read Pinkalicious (author site).

The obstacle course will be next. We have a tin can shoot (water guns), sack races, horse shoes, "horse" races, hula hoops and some hoops to hop through.

After they are all hot and tired, we'll make S'mores and have Campground Karoke. A wants to teach the kids to sing I Will Survive, and the dance that goes with it, from her Girl Power Pop Vocals camp. We've also made a long CD of songs tweeners love, with lots of High School Musical.

We'll end the night with a water balloon fight. While they wait for parents to pick up, they can make book marks and post cards or run around the yard like wild people (most likely).

So, that's the plan. I'll post a few pictures post-party!

This party was inspired by this post by Esme Raji Codell