The Karma Club (ARC) by Jessica Brody

THE KARMA CLUB

(Advanced Reader's Copy)

by FBF Founder, Jessica Brody

Commercial Young Adult
Farrar, Straus, Giroux
www.JessicaBrody.com

2 Signed ARCs and 5 autographed posters (signed by Jessica and the cast of the book trailer!) will be given away on Friday, March 12th, 2010!


About the Book:

Madison Kasparkova always thought she understood how Karma works. It’s that mysterious, powerful force that brings harmony to the universe. You know—do good things and you will be rewarded, do something bad and Karma will make sure you get what’s coming to you. A sort of cosmic balancing act. 

But when Mason Brooks, Maddy’s boyfriend of two years, gets caught tongue-wrestling with Miss Perfect Body Heather Campbell, and absolutely nothing happens to either of them—except that they wind up the hot new couple of Colonial High School, it seems like Karma has officially left Maddy in the lurch. That’s why Maddy and her best friends, Angie and Jade, decide to start the Karma Club—a secret, members-only organization whose sole purpose is to clean up the messes that the universe has been leaving behind. Whether they’re modifying Heather Campbell’s acne cream as part of “Operation Butterface,” or righting a few wrongs when it comes to Angie and Jade’s own slimy exes, they know they’re just doing what Karma should have done in the first place. They’re taking care of one another. 

Sometimes, though, it isn’t wise to meddle with the universe. Because it turns out, when you mess with Karma, Karma messes back. Now Maddy must find a way to balance her life for good, even as everything around her seems to be toppling to the ground.

This book releases April 27, 2010

The Book Trailer:

Featuring a special cameo appearance by Deepak Chopra!

FBF Founder, Jessica Brody answers the most frequently asked questions about the book trailer:

1) This book trailer is unlike any I've seen before. How did you produce it?

Well, it was a long process--about three months in total. I'm actually working on a "Making of" video feature that will go in much more depth, but here's the gist of it: First I wrote a script, featuring some of the key scenes from the book. Then we held auditions for the actors. We probably received over 300 submissions for the lead role of Maddy, auditioned about 50 girls until we finally found Madisen Hill who ended up playing the lead. (It was just a coincidence that she happened to have the same name as the main character!) Then we had 2.5 days of shooting in Los Angeles in early December, then about two months of editing, song placement, audio mixing and color correcting until FINALLY we arrived at the final result you see here!

You can click here to read more about the trailer, including information about all the cast and crew!

Click here to view photos from the Karma Club trailer production!

2) This trailer looks like a movie trailer! Why did you choose to do it that way?

For starters, I used to work in the movie industry. I was a studio executive for MGM Studios (before I became a writer) so I have a lot of good friends and contacts in the business that are able to help me produce these "movie-style" book trailers. Also, I think that readers have a fascination with seeing books come to life on screen (I know I do!). So I thought, how much fun it would be to bring my own books to life through this kind of trailer. And it was! The entire process was SUPER fun. Everyone who worked on this production was amazing and I met some incredible people!

3) How did you get Deepak Chopra to appear in your book trailer?

Okay, that's a really cool story! In The Karma Club book, there's a character that's based on Deepak Chopra, who happens to be a huge inspiration to me. I adore him. I read his books and follow him on Twitter. So one day, I'm sitting on an airplane going from New York to LA and it happens to be a wi-fi enabled flight. So I decide to check Twitter. Deepak's tweet is the most recent tweet on my screen and the guy sitting next to me taps me on the shoulder and says, "I just have to say this: that's my dad." I was flabbergasted! We got to talking, exchanged information and I emailed him a few weeks later, told him about the book and how his father inspired one of the characters and asked if he thought Deepak would be interested in making a cameo appearance in the book trailer. And the next thing I knew, Deepak Chopra was calling me! The entire thing was simply incredible! And Deepak himself, as well as his family and the people who work with him, is SO amazing and generous and kind. I don't believe in accidents. As cliche as it sounds, I do truly believe everything happens for a reason. That the universe aligns perfectly. And this story is proof of that! It's Karma in action!


For more information about Deepak Chopra and his books, please visit: www.DeepakChopra.com

4) How did you get all the music that's in the trailer?

We actually wrote and recorded all of it from scratch! (With the exception of a few songs which were written and performed by close friends of mine.) The very talented Matthew Clark is the mastermind behind the music. He's amazing and he wrote and produced almost ALL the songs you hear in the trailer. Including the song, "Dance Floor High" (playing in the opening scene at the party) which is actually sung by our lead actress, Madisen Hill (who plays Maddy) She's an extremely talented singer/dancer/songwriter/actress. If you haven't heard her stuff or watched any of her music videos, be sure to check her out here: www.myspace.com/madisenhill. I love her to death! And the best part about the music is...we're releasing all the songs (plus a few extra tracks) on a soundtrack next month. So stay tuned for that!


If you want to receive an update when the soundtrack becomes available, click here!

5) How many people did it take to produce the trailer?

Well, I definitely didn't do it alone, that's for sure! In total we had 10 cast, 6 extras, and 13 crew to get the job done. I directed and produced it. Then I had another producer, a cinematographer, an editor, an assistant editor, a make-up artist, a costume designer, grips, production assistants, musicians, a sound mixer, and a colorist. Phew! A lot of people went into this production and I loved working with all of them. And to think, this was only a three and a half minute book trailer. Now you know why movie credits are so long!


Click here to see the full cast and crew list!


The Karma Club Poster! We'll be giving away five autographed posters this week! They're signed by Jessica AND the cast of the trailer!

EXTRA ENTRIES!!!
  
For this week ONLY...you can receive an additional entry to the giveaway for each of the following:

• Follow @jessicabrody on Twitter
• Become a fan of The Karma Club on Facebook.
• Embed the book trailer on your blog/website (be sure to send an email to info@freebookfriday.com with a link to your site)
• Tweet about the trailer by clicking here! (you must be logged into Twitter)

About the Author:

JESSICA BRODY was born in southern California, moved to Colorado when she was twelve, and is now back in sunny Los Angeles. The author of two adult novels—The Fidelity Files and Love Under Cover—The Karma Club is her first young adult book. Despite what some people from her high school might claim, she has never sought revenge on an ex-boyfriend. Visit her online at: www.JessicaBrody.com.







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