North of Beautiful Blog Stop: Shelf Elf

New postergirl for readergirlz, Shelf Elf, is hosting me on the second stop of my North of Beautiful Book Blog tour. Be the first to answer Shelf Elf's posted question, and you'll win an autographed copy of North of Beautiful.

Here's a tidbit from our chat:

Shelf Elf: Your novel is a bit like Terra's artwork, since it is almost a "story-collage" of rich and surprising subjects: port-wine stains, geocaching, the art of coffee tasting, cartography and international adoption. I'm interested to understand how you began to make a story out of all of those topics.

Justina: North of Beautiful is a patchwork quilt of several epic journeys. (Read: several manuscripts that never came to fruition.) So much research I’ve done over the years for other potential stories finally made it into a book! For instance, I had been working on a non-fiction book eight years ago and interviewed the coffee buyer for Starbucks, Mary Williams.

To read the whole interview, please visit Shelf Elf's blog at www.shelfelf.wordpress.com.

NEXT UP
Feb 4, Wednesday
Archimedes Forgets with Sarah Rettger
www.sarahrettger.blogspot.com

Feb 5, Thursday
Bibliophile with Jennifer Rothschild
www.tushuguan.blogspot.com

Feb 6, Friday
Teen Book Review with Jocelyn Pearce
www.teenbookreview.wordpress.com

North of Beautiful & President Obama!

Self-absorption is never a pretty sight. However.

1. President Obama wrote my son a personal letter. (Yes, he did.)
2. My politico friends--you know who you are--all have photos of themselves with our president. Gallivanting off to DC for the Inauguration. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

Ahem. Just look who is NEXT to the President here on the B&N Home Page. Hmmmm... Could that be Terra?

~justina who is now weaning herself slowly away from the computer where she has been posted since her favorite B&Nie (beanie?), Brenda Gurung (CRM of mucho amazingness and event planner extraordinaire of memorable book parties), phoned her in the wee early hours and ordered her to said PC. She realizes this book-absorption is really not becoming. Or healthy. BUT says that this is infinitely healthier and more pleasant than watching the stock ticker.

North of Beautiful: Booklist Starred Review!

Really. I feel like I'm in a shock akin to inhaling 900 pounds of chocolate. At once. Without stopping. And now I'm reeling and shaking.

This just in from Booklist:
(**visualize a cute little star right here**) Headley has written an exquisite book that explores the difference between physical and true beauty...She uses Terra's artistic medium, collage, as a literary device to create layer upon layer of experiences and insights into a finely crafted, artfully written journey of self-discovery, self actualization, and love. With every carefully chosen word, well-crafted sentence, and fully developed character, Headley maps out a wholly satsifying reading experience that takes readers from terra nullis to terra firma.

Thanks to my editor, Alvina Ling, for calling me personally with the news. Love that woman.

North of Beautiful: On the B&N Home Page!

I can't believe it! NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL is on Barnes & Noble's home page scroll. Next to John Grisham and The Boss! Whoa.

My thanks to the B&N and Little, Brown team who made this happen.

North of Beautiful Blog Tour: Mitali's Fire Escape

The first stop of my North of Beautiful Book Blog tour is at none other than with Mitali Perkins, author of Monsoon Summer and Secret Keeper. We're having a fun contest all week long. Be the first to answer the question about yours truly on Mitali's blog, and you'll win an autographed copy of North of Beautiful.

Here's a tidbit from our chat:

Mitali: As the mother of teen boys who don’t often see an Asian-American as the “it” guy in pop culture, I’m grateful that you created such a hunk in Jacob.

Justina: One of my missions as a writer was to create a hunk who happened to be Asian! That was a gift for my two brothers and my son…and all the Asian-American dudes out there who need to see guys like themselves as cool. Heartdroppingly cool. Devastatingly cool. It makes me feel great that readers of all ages are emailing me: “I. Am. So. In. Love. With. Jacob.” Mission accomplished!

To read the whole interview, please visit Mitali's blog at www.mitaliblog.com.

NEXT UP
Feb 3, Tuesday
Shelf Elf with Kerry Miller
www.shelfelf.wordpress.com

Feb 4, Wednesday
Archimedes Forgets with Sarah Rettger
www.sarahrettger.blogspot.com

Feb 5, Thursday
Bibliophile with Jennifer Rothschild
www.tushuguan.blogspot.com

Feb 6, Friday
Teen Book Review with Jocelyn Pearce
www.teenbookreview.wordpress.com

Please Sign the NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL Guest Book HERE

An open letter to all my peeps

Thanks so much for celebrating the release of my third novel, NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL. I am so excited to share Terra with you and can't wait to hear what you think about her, the book, and Jacob.

Whether you're here at today's official launch party at Barnes & Noble in Bellevue, WA, or at home in your pajamas, THANK YOU for your support. (And thanks for giving up the Super Bowl, to be here instead. THAT is a sign of TRUE friendship and EXCELLENT taste. Ha!)

Please sign into this Guest Book a la Blog.

Much appreciation,
~justina

Find Beauty Challenge

I made a pledge to tie all my books to community service somehow. So...in honor of North of Beautiful's imminent release...I give you a sneak peek at the NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL: FIND BEAUTY CHALLENGE!

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.