Jacqueline Levine's Blog - Posts Tagged "stars"

Welcome to my page! I'm thrilled to have published my first book, Spiral, which is available on Amazon and will be available on Kindle Direct shortly.

Spiral is the story of starlet Cherie Belle, who begins going through a very wild, very public rebellion following the tragic death of her parents. With intense media scrutiny around her every move and no one telling her "no," Cherie gets mixed up in all sorts of bad situations that are broadcast to the world. Unfortunately, the only person close to Cherie who recognizes she's headed for trouble is our narrator, Jack, who juggles having a celebrity join his family with the strong feelings he is developing for her. Throughout the book, the reader gets a glimpse into the fake celebrity news website, dirterazzi.com, and hears what they have to say about what they and their sources witness. Ping ponging between Jack's genuine perspective and Dirterazzi's questionable, possibly exaggerated articles gives readers a glimpse into just how hard it is to decide how much of celebrity news is fact and how much is fiction, as well as what gray areas we may miss as an audience who doesn't necessarily get the full story.

On the night of publication, I posted a blog on my site, www.spiralseries.com, about fame and whether or not celebrities should expect intense scrutiny over their private lives. What do you think? Do you have a passion for celebrity gossip? Do you feel badly for famous folks? Sound off here and tell me what you think!

I'm ready to release the excerpt from Spiral's sequel, Twist. I think I've waited and edited and held onto it long enough...now it's ready.

But because I don't want any of my readers to experience this little bit of Twist without first having read Spiral, I just did the unthinkable. I promised myself I would never do this with my book, but I just had to. I want to share Spiral with the world. I know it's still a recession, y'all. I get it. I don't want you to have to choose between my book and a Starbucks. Why not have both?

That's right. I made Spiral free on Kindle. It's just for tomorrow, and it's just so that those of you who are going to go ahead and read the excerpt to Twist have a fighting chance at seeing where Jack and Cherie started. Let's do this, guys. Spiral

Justin Bieber is totally right. He is being bullied by the media.

Okay, hear me out on this one, especially all you naysayers who hate young Hollywood...

I’m a teacher, and I regularly look out for the welfare of children, advising them when I think they are making mistakes, sabotaging their learning and friendships, or destroying their reputations. I am very worried for the young people in Hollywood who lack the benefit of a strong, positive adult presence in their lives. Instead, they receive criticism and scorn at every turn.

Many people write these celebutantes off as spoiled, arrogant brats who deserve what they get, but I disagree. I think they suffer from a fundamental lack of ethical and strict adult supervision. What happens to a 19 year old who gets caught drinking and driving and smoking weed in the real world? He has to face consequences set by his parents. And enough with the “if she’s over 18, she’s legally an adult!” nonsense. If they could be an undergrad in college, they qualify as a kid who still needs guidance.

In addition, I do feel the media is bullying them. Even Average Joes are to blame. Every person who creates an “I Hate ______” Facebook page or blogs about the weight of some starlet is doing damage to that child’s self esteem. You know what a high school or college would do to a kid who tweeted hateful things and cyber-scorned another student? True, kids like the Biebs and Miley opted not to go to school and be afforded this protection and, yes, you need a thick skin for Hollywood, but just how thick of a skin are kids 18 – 20 expected to have? Do we honestly think that, when 14 year old Justin Bieber was a twinkle in Usher’s eye, he was mentally prepared to be a huge international star that would not be allowed to follow the same path to growing up that the rest of America’s kids follow? Is this fair?

This weekend, we lost another Hollywood great to drug overdose. Poor Phillip Seymour Hoffman, God rest his soul. Drug addiction is a disease, and instead of vilifying Justin Bieber for his *supposed* abuse of drugs, shouldn't we be demanding the adult handlers in his life step up and make a difference for him before it is too late?

Okay, I'm getting off my soapbox now, but I just needed to vent. What are your thoughts? Are the media personalities - and us, actually - bullying celebs? Leave a comment, and let's get this conversation going!

XOXO