And today we have yet another young adult author visiting us here at Trapped. Not only does Jennifer Barnes WRITE young adult, she really IS a young adult. She wrote Golden when she was JUST nineteen. I’m impressed.

Jennifer’s book, is best described by this tag line: At Emory High, there are two kinds of people: those who matter, and those who don’t.

Boy, does that sound familiar? Here’s a brief description of Jen’s book.

When Lissy James moves from California to Oklahoma, she finds herself in the middle of a teenage nightmare: a social scene to rival a Hollywood movie. And if understanding the hierarchy of the Goldens vs. the Nons isn’t hard enough, Lissy’s ever growing Aura Vision is getting harder and harder to hide, and if she’s not careful, she’s going to become a Non faster than you can say “freak.”

But it’s becoming clear that Emory High has a few secrets of its own. Around the halls, the term “special powers” goes way beyond one’s ability to attract the opposite sex, and there may be something more evil than the A-crowd lurking in the classrooms. Lissy can see a lot more than the average girl, but she’s about to learn the hard way that things aren’t always as they appear and you can’t always judge a girl by her lip gloss.

Sounds like something teenagers of ALL ages can relate to.

What People Are Saying:

“…A well-balanced blend of fast-moving fantasy and light, playful chick lit.”
–Kirkus Reviews

“Golden glows with the spot-on 
insights and pitch-perfect prose of someone whose knowledge of adolescence is absolutely fresh… Golden is a captivating mix of everyday teen terrors and supernatural suspense.”
-Borders Online, July Newsletter

Bio:
A Native Oklahoman, Jennifer Lynn Barnes is a recent graduate of Yale University, where she studied cognitive science (the study of the brain and thought). Her research on animal and child cognition has been featured on ABC’s World News Tonight, Animal Planet, and The New York Times, and Jennifer will be spending the 2006/2007 school year abroad, doing autism research at the University of Cambridge.

Jennifer’s second book, Tattoo, will be available in January of 2007.

Now, Jen answers the Trapped questions.

1. If you had to be “Trapped” somewhere, where would it be?

A combination book store/candy store- preferably one that has an on-site jacuzzi.

2. If you could pick your “Trapped” companions, what three people would you want with you, and why?

I’d go with my best friend from high school, because the two of us could easily entertain ourselves for weeks; Joss Whedon, because I think his creative genius would be very handy in passing the time, and my undergraduate advisor- for comic relief, and because I’m sure she could find a way to get us out.

3. If you could only pick five books to be “Trapped” with, what would they be?

Matilda by Roald Dahl
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Tex by S.E. Hinton
Rainbow Valley by LM Montgomery
Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce

4. What ONE famous person would you absolutely NOT want to be “Trapped” with?

Tom Cruise. I think the couch jumping would get old really quick, and since I sometimes look a tiny bit like Katie Holmes, I think being in the same room with him for any extended period of time would really freak me out.

5. You can bring three things from your former life to “Trapped.” What would those three things be?

My stuffed dog (I can’t sleep without something to cuddle with), my laptop (if I’m trapped in a bookstore, maybe they have wireless, and if they don’t, at least I can write and play spider solitaire), and a photograph of my family.

6. Where is one place you absolutely would NOT want to be “Trapped”?

The reptile room at the zoo- I’m really, really scared of snakes.

So there you have it. Thanks for visiting us, Jennifer, and best of luck with the book!

I used to believe, many, many years ago, that prayer would keep me, and those I loved, safe. I learned rather early on that life is not so simple or easy.

Utah has been gripped, this week, by the search for missing 5-year-old Destiny Norton. Unfortunately, the search did not end well. The little girl’s body was found in a neighbor’s basement, and the man booked into jail. Prayer did not keep Destiny safe. I would really hope that some would not say it was because her parents did not live the ideal life, or pay a faithful tithe, or even go to Church. I would HOPE that no one would stoop that that.

This little girl was an innocent. It matters not who her parents were, and what their standing in the community was. She was a baby, and she was murdered.

This is a not a safe world we live in. Mormon, Catholic, Jew, Muslim, Presbyterian–kiss your children and be grateful for the warmth you feel on their brow. Remember that argument you had just an hour ago, maybe about bedtime, and be grateful their mouths could open to argue. Remember the look they gave you as they stomped out, and never, ever, forget it, for life is fragile. Tomorrow you may not see that look again. And you will miss it, no matter what you think.

Condolences to Destiny’s family. Godspeed to Destiny. We’re sorry we couldn’t keep you safe. Please, God, allow us to do better next time.

Today is Pioneer Day here in Utah. It’s a state holiday. When I explained this to my friend Jen, she said, “Well, what does it signify?”

I explained it’s the day that, according to local lore, a very-ill Brigham Young sat up in his wagon, looked down Emigration Canyon, and said, “This is the place.” Personally, considering what the Salt Lake Valley must have looked liked back then–full of sagebrush and tumbleweeds, brown dirt and little green vegetation–I imagine he was thinking, “You have GOT to be freaking kidding me. I nearly died for this?”

Whether he actually SAID the words, “This is the place,” is a matter that will never be cleared up. After all, everyone who was there is NOW DEAD. Given the Mormon penchant for rewriting history so it sounds PRETTY, it’s entirely possible Brother Brigham swore a blue streak. Maybe he really said, “This is the *&*&&^$ place I’ve ever *&(*&%$ seen. Whose &**^%$# idea was this?” and “This is the place” were the only presentable words they could use. I also think that if he had gotten a little closer to the Great Salt Lake, on a day when the wind whipped up the sulfur smell and sent it through the valley and along the Wasatch front, a phenomenon locals call Lake Stink, he probably would have kept going. “It stinks here. Let’s try California.”

Back to Jen. She was absolutely floored that our state has a holiday that is, basically, religious. “They can’t do that,” she said. Jen, Jen, Jen. Welcome to Utah. Here, the Mormon Church buys up streets and malls. Here, the Mormon Church controls the state liquor laws, and anything they don’t give the nod to does not pass. In short, Mormon leaders have gotten used to GETTING THEIR way in all manners secular or religious. That’s why they’ve been so pissy about all the media coverage of late. Used to be everybody just IGNORED them. Now everybody is staring at them and thinking, “Are you freaking kidding me?”

Anyway, secular or religious, we celebrate Pioneer Day, and heathen or religious, just about everyone is glad to have a day off.

There are many different ways of celebrating Pioneer Day.

For example, every year, hundreds of people camp out on downtown Salt Lake City streets on the night of the 23rd, because for some, finding the right spot to view the Pioneer Day Parade is tantamount to having the most wives and gaining entrance into the Celestial Kingdom. It’s like Mormon Monopoly.

“My husband is stake president.”
“Yeah, well we had a spot on Main Street and 250 South for the parade! Nanananana.”

Needless to say, the Collins clan was not there.

Another way people celebrate the 24th is to get up at the buttcrack of dawn and go to chuckwagon breakfasts across the state.

Needless to say, the Collins clan was not there. We had breakfast at the buttcrack of eleven.

Family get-togethers are the norm. Everybody gets together and gorges on funeral potatoes, jello dishes with a strange assortment of ingredients, and hearty, stick-to-your ribs meats and sidedishes. I’ve seen green jello with carrots; any kind of jello with acini de pepe pasta, whipped cream, and something else in it (called Frog-eye salad, I suspect the third ingredient is frog eyes, although my mother denies it); jello with fruit; jello with vodka… Er, the last was NOT at any family gathering of mine, although I really think if the Mormons added some vodka to their jello it would really spice up some of those boring events.

The Collins clan, however, decided to celebrate by swimming in a friend’s pool and drinking beer. I doubt Brother Brigham would approve, but there you have it.

On another note, some friends and I have decided that the way we can gauge the difficulty of a trial to be endured is the amount of vodka one must consume to make it tolerable.

“There’s not enough vodka” has become code for “this really, really sucks.” This can refer to dance recitals, elementary school plays, visits from the Mormon missionaries–or the Jehovah Witnesses, actually–or any other chore like sitting through Mormon Church meetings when one is not Mormon or trying not to be Mormon.

Sitting through ANY parade, especially one celebrating Mormonism? There is NOT enough vodka in the entire Intermountain West.

Sitting through a family get-together where NO alcohol is allowed, INCLUDING Jello shots? Definitely not enough vodka.

Chuckwagon breakfasts at dawn? Surely it’s noon SOMEWHERE in the world…… There’s just not enough vodka. Hey, they’ve got orange juice over there!

When you live Trapped by the Mormons behind the Zion Curtain, there’s NEVER enough vodka…..

Happy PIONEER DAY!

Wow, it’s summer touring season, and things have been mostly quiet on the Behind the Zion Curtain front, so it seems like I’ve just had one guest after another. I’m sure SOME of you are relieved. But don’t get too relaxed. I promise to post my 24th of July Tribute to the Zion Curtain on Tuesday.

For now, I’m thrilled to welcome Lauren Barnholdt, the author of Reality Chick. I’m not much of a television watcher, although with Dancing Daughter in the house we watch a LOT of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, I think Lauren’s premise is WONDERFUL. In fact, this sounds like a great beach book read to me. But you decide for yourself. Here’s a little bit about the book.

All hour study fests…..all-night parties…. Going away to college means total independence and freedom. Unless of course your freshman year is taped and televised for all the world to watch. On uncensored cable. Sweet and normal Ally Cavanaugh is one of five freshpeople shacking up
on In the House, a reality show filmed on her college campus. (As if school isn’t panic-inducing enough!) The cameras stalk her like paparazzi, but they also capture the fun that is new friends, old crushes, 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 her
loopy 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.

What people are saying:

“An oh-so-accurate portrayal of what goes on behind closed dorms..” — Teen People (A Can’t-Miss Pick)

“This book was hilarious! I could not put it down! Barnholdt is a fresh new voice in teen fiction.” — Sarah Mlynowski, bestselling author of Milkrun and As Seen on TV

About Lauren:
Lauren Barnholdt is a twenty-six-year-old writer who was born and raised in Syracuse, NY. Her articles and short stories have appeared in Elements Magazine, Girls Life, and on mensclick.com. Her first book for young adults, REALITY CHICK, is in stores now.

Lauren also teaches a popular online course called How to Write and Sell the YA Chick-lit Novel. She is currently at work on her next YA book, which will be out next summer. Lauren now resides in Central Connecticut, and when she’s not writing, she watches a lot of reality TV.
My website is at www.laurenbarnholdt.com and my blog is at www.livejournal.com/users/laurenbarnholdt

And now, Lauren answers our regular Trapped questions.

1. If you had to be “Trapped” somewhere, where would it be?

Barnes and Noble. You have all the books and magazines you could want, food, coffee, music, internet…. You’d never have to leave.

2. If you could pick your “Trapped” companions, what three people would you want with you, and why?

My sister, my agent, and Nick Lachey. My sister and my agent because they’re fun to be around, and Nick Lachey so I could bother him and get the real story about what went down with him and Jessica.

3. If you could only pick five books to be “Trapped” with, what would they be?

Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger

American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis

The Stand by Stephen King

Fishbowl by Sarah Mlynowski

Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott

4. What ONE famous person would you absolutely NOT want to be “Trapped” with?

Lindsay Lohan, because I heard she’s mean and cranky.

5. You can bring three things from your “former” life to “Trapped.” What would those three things be?

My computer, my Sidekick, and my journal

6. Where is one place you absolutely would NOT want to be “Trapped.”

Anywhere that’s really rural or country. I’m a definite city girl

~~~~~~~
So, there you have it. Welcome, Lauren, and thanks for visiting Trapped.

Joshilyn Jackson, author of the fabulous–and award winning gods in Alabama–is our guest today on Trapped, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

Her latest book, Between, Georgia, was just released, and I can’t wait to read it. I devoured gods in one sitting, and then spent weeks having to color code my wardrobe to mesh well with green, because I was SO jealous of her incredible writing and Southern flair, along with her great sense of humor.

Both gods and Between, Georgia were chosen as #1 Booksense Picks, and Joshilyn is on her way to the top–and it’s all well deserved.

So, needless to say, I’m very happy to have Joss as a guest on the blog today, and to have her answer our usual Trapped questions. But first I want you to read a little about her book.

~~~~~
Nonny Frett understands the meaning of the phrase “in between a rock and a hard place” better than any woman alive. She’s got two mothers, “one deaf-blind and the other four baby steps from flat crazy.” She’s got two men: a husband who’s easing out the back door; and a best friend, who’s laying siege to her heart in the her front yard. And she has two families: the Fretts, who stole her and raised her right; and the Crabtrees, who lost her and won’t forget how they were done wrong.

Now, in BETWEEN, GEORGIA, population 90, a feud is escalating, and random act of violence is about to ignite a stash of family secrets. Ironically, it might be just what the town needs…if only Nonny weren’t stuck in between.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now, on to the questions.

1. If you had to be “Trapped” somewhere, where would it be?

Overnight in the Godiva factory.

2. If you could pick your “Trapped” companions, what people would you want with you, and why?

My husband, because he is my favorite. Indigo Girls, for listening to. Johnny Depp, for looking at, My kids, because, well, I like the little blighters. Some cats because being trapped without cats in depresses me….And we are all in the Godiva factory, remember? This is sounding like a GREAT idea…

3. If you could only pick five books to be “Trapped” with, what would they be?

I can ALWAYS reread….

The Bible, Jane Austen’s Persuasion and her Pride and Prejudice, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, and Haven Kimmel’s The Solace of Leaving Early.

4. What ONE famous person would you absolutely NOT want to be “Trapped” with?

Polpot

5. You can bring three things from your “former” life to “Trapped.” What would those three things be?

My family of course. And my book collection. And my laptop.

6. Where is one place you absolutely would NOT want to be “Trapped.”

Underground with bugs. YARG.

~~~
So there you have it. Thanks again for visiting, Joshilyn, and I’d wish you luck with the book, but you have fantastic talent, and that’s better than luck any day.