welcome to the deko and posh blog

Hey V.I.T.'s (very important tweens and teens) Deko and Posh here. Our blog is a view of all the news happening around the world that effects us. We find the Top Stories of the Day and we post them for you to read. We would like your input on all these issues we face today as tweens and teens. Nothing is off limits. If you want us to discuss something leave us a comment or send us an email at deko@dekoposh.com or posh@dekoposh.com.

Our Mission: To empower all V.I.T.s to make positive changes today for a better tomorrow by volunteering, giving back, becoming leaders and teaching others to do the same.

Our Blog is all about Tops Stories of the Day, Fashion, Design, Volunteering, Charities, and how all these topic's effect us. And in our store online and in person you will find all your must have's by color. Yes, that's right we have color coordinated our entire store because everyone has a favorite color. Be sure to explore the colors at dekoposh at www.dekoposh.com.

Nominate a Tween or Teen for the D.A.P.L Award

D.A.P.L.
Driven and Passionate Leaders

Nominate a Tween or Teen that is making a difference
D.A.P.L. (Deko and Posh) here...We are going to be highlighting tweens and teens every month on making a difference either through volunteering, awards, activities, and/or making a difference. Here are the rules, you can nominate yourself or someone can nominate a V.I.T., the tween or teen must be between the ages of 8-19, an essay and/or write-up about yourself or the person you are nominating must be emailed to us at info@dekoposh.com, we need the full name-age-gender-and location (address not necessary just city, state), please tell us all you can so we can make our choices. We look forward to hearing about what all our V.I.T.s (very important tween & teens) are doing to make a difference.

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Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Color up your Summer Apparel!

'The Lucky One' finds romance amid trauma of Iraq war

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - When it comes to romantic drama, Nicholas Sparks has the Midas touch. All of his books have been global best-sellers, and six of them - including "The Notebook" and"Nights in Rodanthe" - have been turned into hit films.

Now Sparks' 2008 book "The Lucky One" has been given the Hollywood treatment, with a cast that includes Zac Efron ("Hairspray"), Blythe Danner ("Meet the Parents"), Jay R. Ferguson ("Mad Men") and newcomer Taylor Schilling.

"The Lucky One", released in U.S. movie theaters on Friday, tells the story of a U.S. Marine who returns from his third tour of duty in Iraq, convinced that the one thing that kept him safe and alive was a photograph of a beautiful woman he found in the rubble of war.

"It's a fantastic premise," said director Scott Hicks.

"You have this Marine who decides to find this woman and thank her, which sets up the whole romance. And it all revolves around this chance event or fate - finding the photograph. But then he makes the choice to go and find the girl, and that really intrigued me. Where does destiny begin and end?"

Best known for playing upbeat characters, Efron, who first broke out as the star of Disney Channel's "High School Musical," knew that playing the war-traumatized Marine Logan, "was going to be a stretch and a challenge. And I knew Scott would push me. And it was interesting to play someone who doesn't have to say as much as I do."

Efron, 24, said he researched his strong-and-silent role by "hanging out with real Marines and learning from them. I trained with them and bulked up, and when we began filming I started to really admire my character and the choices he makes."

LOVE AND DESTINY

Schilling, 28, plays Beth, a divorced single mother who runs a dog kennel with her grandmother Ellie. "She has a few more walls up than I do in my own life," said the actress. "But I connected with her almost immediately. I could relate to her."

Schilling could also relate to the story's themes of destiny and love. "I'm a believer," she says. "For me, there's some kind of a guiding force, and then there's also this piece of it that I'm responsible for - a dash of free will in there too."

"I feel the same way," adds Efron. "Logan has the picture and the opportunity, but he still has to make the choice (to find Beth)."

Sparks said that he felt that all the film adaptations of his books had worked out well.

"All I ask the studios when I work with them is quite simple - stay true to the spirit and intent of the story and characters. So there's no need to make Logan violent on top of his obvious post-traumatic stress disorder. His walk is enough."

Danner, who plays Schilling's mother Ellie, said she believes Sparks' books and films strike a chord with the public because "everyone craves romance, and this is such a chaotic world, so he provides this wonderful escape - and not just for women. He appeals to men too.

"Look at Zac, playing a man that a lot of young men and soldiers can identify with. He's a lost soul in a way, and then he finds himself and romance. It's got universal appeal."

Source: google.com

Monday, April 16, 2012

Daily Good Gossip

Hillary Duff And Save The Children Support Johnson's Baby Care Initiative

Save the Children has joined with Johnson’s Baby to launch a new charitable partnership to ensure every baby has a healthy and happy start in life. The new initiative, called Johnson’s Baby Care, will support the healthy development of moms and babies while also addressing the basic care needs of families during crisis situations in the form of educational initiatives, product donations and financial assistance.

The Johnson’s Baby Care campaign kicks off by leveraging the support of actress and new mom Hilary Duff to assemble “Care Kits” that will be distributed to families in times of natural disasters. Consumers are encouraged to support the charitable platform by visiting the Johnson’s Baby Care tab on the Johnson’s Baby Facebook page.

“According to Save the Children, “90 percent of U.S. children live in areas at risk of natural disasters,” said Ivy Brown, Marketing Director, Baby Care, Johnson’s Baby and DESITIN. “In addition, families worldwide are also impacted by various global natural disasters where mothers and babies are deprived of their most basic needs. We are launching this charitable platform to provide these mothers and caregivers with essential basic resources and simple tools that will lend support in times of unexpected crisis.”

To assist families, the makers of Johnson’s Baby products, alongside parent company Johnson & Johnson, are making a multi-year, multi-million dollar contribution to Save the Children that will help create and sustain key initiatives, including:

A donation and distribution of thousands of Johnson’s Baby “Care Kits”, providing families with baby care essentials immediately after a disaster. This commitment is an extension of our existing product donation efforts aimed to meet baby care needs in the U.S. and around the world.
Funding that enables Save the Children programming, such as Child Friendly Spaces, which supplies moms and children with safe areas to recover, play and experience the joy of being together as a family following a disaster.
Vital training for health workers in developing countries through the “Helping Babies Breathe” program, which teaches basic techniques to prevent birth asphyxia, saving newborn lives.

“As a new mom, I am inspired by this worthy cause, which aims to give all moms a chance to not only experience the joy of a healthy baby, but also an opportunity to be together and have moments of normalcy during crisis situations,” said Hilary Duff. “I appreciate the opportunity to join Johnson’s Baby and Save the Children to offer a helping hand and make a difference.”

Consumers can show their support of this campaign in several ways: by purchasing any Johnson’s Baby product between April 15 and June 10, 2012, consumers will have the opportunity to redeem a $0.50 cent coupon at retail stores, in which $0.25 cents will be donated to Save the Children. Throughout the rest of the year Johnson’s Baby will share additional ways consumers can get involved to help support Save the Children.

“As a brand that has been a trusted partner to families for more than 100 years, Johnson’s Baby cares about providing pure, mild, and gentle products to moms and babies worldwide while remaining committed to the crucial issues surrounding maternal health and the well-being of babies,” said Brown. “Mothers and babies are among the most vulnerable during times of crisis and we are proud to partner with Save the Children to help those in need.”

“In times of crisis, children are always the most at risk,” said Carolyn Miles, President & CEO of Save the Children. “The generous support of Johnson’s Baby, and its parent company Johnson & Johnson, will help us to meet the needs of thousands of mothers and children, here in the United States and around the world.”

Source: www.looktothestars.org

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Stand out in this Turquoise dress!

Daily Good Gossip

Harry Potter Star Wants To Eliminate Seven Tropical Diseases

Harry Potter actor Tom Felton is calling on his fans to join him in the fight to eliminate seven neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) by 2020. As an ambassador for the END7 campaign, Felton is helping to raise public awareness about these devastating diseases of poverty that infect one in six people worldwide, including 500 million children.

It costs just 50 pence to treat and protect one person against all seven major NTDs for an entire year. Pills to treat these diseases are donated by pharmaceutical companies and many programmes use existing infrastructure, such as schools and community centres, to administer the treatments—making NTD treatment one of most cost-effective public health initiatives available today.

“I was inspired to support the END7 campaign when I learned how easy it was for young people to get involved,” said Felton. “By donating just a few pence, anyone can help get these treatments to people who need them most and hopefully change the future for the millions of children growing up in developing countries around the world.”

NTDs cause blindness, massive swelling in appendages and limbs, severe malnutrition and anaemia. These diseases prevent children from growing and learning. They reduce adults’ economic productivity and ability to care for their families, and thus keep families and communities trapped in a cycle of poverty and disease.

The END7 campaign, launched in January 2012 by the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, an initiative of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, aims to raise the public awareness and funding required to cover the cost of distributing medicine and setting up treatment programmes for NTDs. It is the first comprehensive public awareness campaign dedicated to NTD treatment and elimination and relies heavily on compelling visual content disseminated through various social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to spread its message. Bill Nighy also supports the campaign.

'Hunger Games' earns $21.5M to slap down 'Stooges'

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Movie fans have chosen real violence over the slapstick variety as "The Hunger Games" held off "The Three Stooges" to remain the No. 1 weekend movie.

Lionsgate's "The Hunger Games," the blockbuster about teens competing in a televised fight to the death, stayed on top for a fourth-straight weekend with $21.5 million. That raises the film's domestic total to $337.1 million.

"I think a couple of weeks ago, if someone had told us where we'd be, we would have said, 'We'd like to see that number, but it would be a pleasant surprise.' So we're in that pleasant surprise spot at this point," said Richie Fay, head of distribution for Lionsgate.

Peter and Bobby Farrelly's slapstick update "The Three Stooges" opened in second-place with $17.1 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

That was well above industry expectations of around $10 million for the 20th Century Fox update starring Chris Diamantopoulos as Moe, Sean Hayes as Larry and Will Sasso as Curly.

Fox executives had figured the movie would appeal mainly to young males. But it also pulled in older men who grew up on the Stooges and a fair number of women and girls as whole families turned out to see it, said Chris Aronson, the studio's head of distribution.

"If you're predisposed to open your mind, it's a laugh riot," Aronson said.

The acclaimed horror tale "The Cabin in the Woods" debuted in third-place with $14.9 million. A smart, twisting take on the genre produced and co-written by Joss Whedon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), the long-delayed "Cabin in the Woods" had been one of the films caught up in MGM's bankruptcy but was finally released by Lionsgate.

On the 100th anniversary of the ship's sinking on April 15, 1912, the 3-D version of James Cameron's "Titanic" sailed past the $2 billion mark worldwide.

"Titanic" is just the second blockbuster to top $2 billion, trailing only the next film Cameron made — the sci-fi sensation "Avatar," which took in $2.8 billion.

Domestically, "Titanic" held the No. 4 spot with $11.6 million. The 3-D re-release has taken in $44.4 million domestically to lift the film's lifetime total to $645.2 million.

"Titanic" also pulled in $88.2 million in 69 overseas markets, including a huge $58 million 3-D debut in China. That brought the 3-D reissue's overseas total to $146.4 million and the worldwide sum for re-release to $190.8 million.

Added to the $1.84 billion take from the original release of the 1997 hit, "Titanic" has climbed to a lifetime total of about $2.03 billion.

Another big overseas haul came with Universal's "Battleship," which opened with $58 million in 26 countries five weeks ahead of its U.S. debut on May 18. The action tale featuring Taylor Kitsch and Liam Neeson is inspired by the game Battleship.

"The Hunger Games" added $15 million overseas to bring its international total to $194 million and its worldwide haul to $531 million.

The weekend's other new domestic wide release, Film District's sci-fi story "Lockout," opened at No. 9 with $6.3 million. The movie stars Guy Pearce trying to quell an uprising at an orbiting space prison.

With no big new debut on the domestic front, the overall box office slipped for only the second weekend this year. Domestic revenues totaled $117 million, down 10 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Rio" led with $39.2 million, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.

Domestic revenues this year are at $2.98 billion, 19.3 percent ahead of 2011's, putting Hollywood on a record money pace with a big summer lineup just weeks away. The superhero tale "The Avengers" kicks off the summer season May 4.

Revenues may continue to lag over the next couple of weeks compared to last year, when the action hit "Fast Five" boosted business just before the summer season.

"This year, we don't really have something like that, but with the 20 percent lead we have over last year, we don't really need it. We are in terrific shape going into summer," said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "The Hunger Games," $21.5 million ($15 million international).

2. "The Three Stooges," $17.1 million.

3. "The Cabin in the Woods," $14.9 million.

4. "Titanic" in 3-D, $11.6 million ($88.2 million international).

5. "American Reunion," $10.6 million ($11.8 million international).

6. "Mirror Mirror," $7 million.

7. "Wrath of the Titans," $6.9 million.

8. "21 Jump Street," $6.8 million.

9. "Lockout," $6.3 million.

10. "Dr. Seuss' the Lorax," $3 million.

Source:yahoo.com

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Daily Good Gossip

Jessie J Performs At ELLE Women In Music Event

ELLE, the No. 1 fashion magazine in the world, celebrated its third annual Women in Music 2012 event this week at the Avalon in Hollywood, CA with a private concert event featuring performances by acclaimed artists including British singer-songwriters Jessie J and Ellie Goulding, as well as Danish singer-songwriter Oh Land.

The third annual Women in Music event benefited the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring instrumental music education programs in America’s public schools, and raising awareness about the importance of music as part of each child’s complete education. Early in the evening a check for $30,000 was presented to VH1 Save The Music on behalf of ELLE, Ford Mustang and RAYMOND WEIL.

The event was held in anticipation of the upcoming May Women in Music issue, on newsstands April 17th.

ELLE Editor-in-Chief Robbie Meyers opened the evening by introducing a RealD 3D video featuring custom content, created by World War Seven, from the May issue set to music. Ellie Goulding was the first performer of the night, playing a four-song set including hits “Under the Sheets,” “Salt Skinned,” “Starry Eyed” and “Lights,” followed by Oh Land who played a five-song set featuring 3D graphics which included songs “Sun of a Gun,” Wolfe and I," “White Nights,” “We Turn it Up” and “Voodoo.” Jessie J took the stage to close out the evening, performing a four-song set including hits “Do it Like a Dude,” “Nobody’s Perfect,” Price Tag" and “Domino.” Additionally, Jason Flom, President & CEO of Lava Records, surprised Jessie J on-stage by presenting her with a plaque to commemorate her massive worldwide sales including US platinum singles “Price Tag” & "Domino. VH1 personality Janell Snowden was the emcee for the evening, introducing each artist as they began their performances, and DJ Daisy O’Dell spun between each act.

In addition to enjoying the performances, guests were given the opportunity to engage with Presenting Sponsor Ford Mustang’s new high-tech touch-screen customizer tool by creating their own 2013 Ford Mustang or by viewing custom Ford Mustang vehicles created by the Women in Music talent. Supporting Sponsor, Swiss watch company RAYMOND WEIL also created a display on-site where guests could view a selection of watches in addition to entering a raffle for the chance to win a unique watch from RAYMOND WEIL signed by ELLE’s Women in Music.

Other notable attendees at the event included Nicole Scherzinger, will.i.am, Diane Warren, Diego Boneta, Ken Paves, Willa Ford, Candice Accola, Melody Thornton, Charity Rose, Linda Ramone, Jacqui Getty, Nicole Fiorentino, Karmin, Jonathan Baptiste, Danielle Panabaker, Terri Seymour, Sofia Milos and Leah LaBelle, among others.

Each year, ELLE curates the Women in Music issue to include in-depth profiles of both established and emerging female artists, giving readers a closer look at some of their favorite entertainers, as well as an inside scoop on rising stars. Additional artists profiled this year include Rihanna, Azealia Banks, Emily Haines, Kelly Clarkson, Kimberly Perry, Lana Del Rey, Patti Smith, Santigold and Shirley Manson.

To coincide with Women in Music, ELLE has also recently announced its new partnership with Spotify which has selected ELLE as the exclusive fashion launch partner for the Spotify Play Button. Through this feature, ELLE.com visitors can now listen to new talent, editors’ music picks, custom playlists, and select Women in Music tracks in top-quality audio just by visiting the ELLE.com website.

Source: www.looktothestars.org

Friday, April 13, 2012

Daily Good Gossip

Flo Rida And Kelly Rowland Join Rock 2 Live Music Festival

Spanish River High School students said enough is enough when it comes to the teen death rate while texting and driving. Spanish River, located in Boca Raton, Florida is the anchor high school responsible for cultivating a grassroots, student-to-student movement that is involving schools from all over the country.

The Spanish River Student Leadership, led by event founder Ross Brenner, President of the Sophomore Class, and Dalton Holody, Vice President, are proud to announce the collaboration of several major music recording artists who have agreed to lend their support to the national base of students in middle, junior, and high schools across the country. The event will take place April 28, 2012, on the campus of Florida Atlantic University in the new state-of-the-art 30k seat stadium just opened in October 2011.

Rock 2 Live Music Festival
To raise awareness, involved teens planned the Rock 2 Live Music Festival, taking place on April 28th at Florida Atlantic University’s brand new stadium. The concert and the broadcast of the event through a revolutionary live streaming interface will help the message of responsible texting reach a national audience. In doing so, the campaign hopes to reach an audience of millions.

The Rock 2 Live Music Festival has attracted some A-List talent including: Artist, Flo Rida; Grammy Award winning artist Kelly Rowland, Grammy nominated OneRepublic; red hot country act BadHorse; Canadian alternative band Surface Rising; Pop Rock singer/songwriter Jessica Dawn; and others still to be announced. Tickets for the 30,000 person festival are on sale available onwww.Ticketmaster.com.

All artists invited were selected by student requests and made possible by Global Maximus Productions. The students felt it was important to enlist major caliber artists in order to get their message out to the largest possible audience.

Spanish River and Boca Raton are quickly becoming known as places of leadership and responsibility, and these artists are committed, along with these student leaders in sending a strong message into the teen community throughout the country to Not Drive Distracted.

In addition to the in-person concert event, a pioneering streaming broadcast and interactive event, designed by Gotham Media Services, will carry the concert to a live audience all over the country. “E-Tickets” for this live streaming event will be available via Ticketmaster.

A Growing Coalition
As part of their national outreach project, the Spanish River Student Leadership Council, led by Ross Brenner, reached out to politicians, educators, responsible texting organizations and companies in order to create a coalition of supporters to help carry the message of safe driving to their communities.
One of the major supporters of the initiative, PhoneGuard, the developer of the leading safe phone app for smartphones, has agreed to give their software away for free with every e-ticket sold in support of the initiative, a $19.99 value. Boca Raton-based PhoneGuard, who has partnered up with two-time Grammy nominated singer/songwriter Justin Bieber has already filmed a PSA concerning distracted driving that airs on their website.

Keith St Clair, Chairman of PhoneGuard, stated that he was delighted that the company could make a significant contribution to thousands of schools throughout the country, as well as, supporting a number of charities including the Alex Brown Foundation.

“This is a crossroads in our lives. Either we do what is right, or we sit on the sidelines. We have chosen to stand with these students, and save the lives of our children, parents, and peers,” added St Clair.

Preceding the music festival, a Public Awareness Market will be held outside of FAU’s stadium. The family-oriented market will include booths staffed by responsible texting advocates and will include distracted driving simulators and an opportunity for people to “take The Pledge” to not drive while distracted. Admission to the Public Awareness Market is free and open to the public, starting at 2:00 p.m., on April 28th.

Life-like Online Streaming
The event which will stream “Live” to a national audience, will encourage the audience to take part in the awareness campaign and experience the events and concert. A next-generation content delivery network, powered by Gotham Media Services, Inc. will provide viewers with an incredibly crisp, lag-free viewing experience on their computer, tablet, or mobile device.

The event will be used as a means for the participating schools to become an interactive part of the movement. The producers are allowing the attraction to be used to raise badly needed funds through the national fundraising program. The program is supported by Global Maximus Productions, producers of the interactive event with hundreds of schools across the country already committed with several thousand schools possibly in support of the program all working together.

“We are incredibly grateful to our producers, strategic partners, supporters, and partner schools throughout the country for their amazing encouragement, involvement, and assistance to this important movement,” states Ross Brenner.

“All of us have been, or very likely will be, touched by the tragic death of people close to us killed by distracted driving or while texting,” states Dwaine Rivers, Executive Producer of the event. “This historic event was brought to the national front by teens reaching out to other teens that are tired of seeing their friends die, and this event will bring awareness to a new level on this deadly subject,” Rivers concludes.

“I am very happy to help make a difference in supporting the student movement and these great artists. It’s an honor to be in support of such an inspiring movement led by these students. It has been a great experience seeing the program develop into a mainstream national event of historic levels,” adds Alex Rajaphoumy Executive Producer.

Global Maximus Productions has agreed to support the production of the event annually through 2016, with plans to designate the third Saturday in March each year to represent the National Day of Awareness Against Texting & Driving.

Source: www.looktothestars.org

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Embrace Springtime with this Outfit!

Fashion highlights - Arlenis Sosa by helleka featuring cotton shorts

Daily Good Gossip

The Band Perry Backs Walmart Anti-Hunger Campaign

The anti-hunger movement got some major backing today when representatives from Walmart and the Walmart Foundation, The Band Perry, Kimberly Williams-Paisley and four of the nation’s largest food companies — General Mills, ConAgra Foods, Kraft Foods and Kellogg Company — announced they have come together to fight hunger this spring.

At an event in Nashville, leaders of this effort launched a campaign that will enable millions of Americans the opportunity to get involved by shopping at Walmart or visiting the company’s Facebook page today through April 30.

Spring traditionally brings a decrease in donations to food banks, leaving them unable to meet the needs of nearly 49 million Americans who at some point this year will be uncertain where their next meal will come from. To help bridge this gap, Walmart is inviting customers to visit one of its 3,854 Walmart stores and Neighborhood Markets nationwide and purchase products from participating suppliers that will help provide meals to families struggling with hunger. In-store signs will help direct customers to participating products and on-package labels will advise customers how to generate meals by entering product codes online, sharing a hashtag on Twitter or scanning a QR code.

“Hunger is a defining issue for America as millions struggle to put food on the table every day. Helping fight hunger is something our associates, customers and supplier partners believe in and together we can help make a positive impact on this issue,” said Jack Sinclair, executive vice president of Walmart’s U.S. grocery business. “Simply by going into a Walmart store or going online, every consumer in America has the opportunity to join this effort.”

Through this effort, more than 42 million meals will be donated to Feeding America food banks and Action for Healthy Kids.

Customers can also visit Walmart’s Facebook page to vote for one of 200 communities hardest hit by unemployment. The community with the most votes will receive $1 million to help fight hunger. The next 20 communities will each receive $50,000 for hunger relief. The Facebook campaign will also provide information on how users can donate or volunteer with hunger fighting organizations in their local communities.

“No one in America should go hungry and we are proud to partner with Walmart in this effort,” said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America. “Through this program, Walmart and its partners are making a powerful impact that will not only address hunger this spring, but will have a lasting effect on the issue of hunger in America.”

As the nation’s largest grocer and largest retailer, Walmart is uniquely positioned to help end hunger in America. In 2010, the company committed $2 billion through 2015 to fight hunger. As a part of this commitment, Walmart pledged to donate more than 1.1 billion pounds of food from Walmart stores, distribution centers and Sam’s Club locations, valued at $1.75 billion, as well as $250 million in grants to support hunger relief organizations.

The company is also lending its expertise to help food banks operate more efficiently. Thus far, Walmart has contributed more than 594 million pounds of food and $122 million in grants to hunger relief programs.

To participate in the Facebook campaign visit www.facebook.com/walmart. To learn more about the program, including details on participating products, visit www.walmartstores.com/fightinghunger.

J.K. Rowling's next book: 'The Casual Vacancy'

LONDON (AP) — It may lack wizards and witches, but J.K. Rowling and her publisher are hoping her first novel for adults, "The Casual Vacancy," will have the magic touch.

The book's title was announced Thursday by Little, Brown & Co. along with a brief plot synopsis and publication date.

The publisher said the "blackly comic" tale of rivalry and duplicity in a small English town would be available worldwide on Sept. 27.

The book will be Rowling's first post-Potter effort. Her seven-volume saga about the adventures of a boy wizard became one of the most successful fictional series in history and led to a series of extremely popular films.

The new book, aimed at a grown-up audience, will be set in a seemingly idyllic English town called Pagford which is described as far more menacing than its pretty facade would indicate.

It opens with the sudden death of a popular man whose unexpected demise shocks the town. The battle for his seat on the local council sets off "the biggest war the town has yet seen," with rich people fighting poor, parents battling their teenagers, and wives in conflict with their husbands.

The publisher said the 480-page novel will be sold as an e-book and audio download as well as in traditional hardback form.

The seven Harry Potter novels have sold 450 million copies and have been translated into 74 languages.

Rowling's final Potter offering, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," was published in 2007. She published a short Potter spin-off collection of stories, "The Tales Of Beedle The Bard," in 2008.

Rowling said earlier this year she wanted to reach an adult audience, but kept the book's name and publication date secret until Thursday.

In the past, many successful children's writers have struggled to remake themselves as adult authors. Winnie the Pooh creator A.A. Milne, a successful playwright in his early years, once confessed that he was forced to say "goodbye to all that" after his beloved books about the bear and friends.

But Rowling has one advantage: the Potter books had a huge adult, as well as child, audience.

Jon Howells of British book store chain Waterstones said "The Casual Vacancy" would likely be the year's best-selling novel.

He said the synopsis came as a surprise and suggested similarities to the work of popular mystery writer Alexander McCall Smith and Mark Haddon, a children's writer who had a huge adult hit with "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time."

"We were all expecting some sort of crime or mystery novel, but she has, refreshingly, surprised us all," Howells said.

"The plot sounds like it will have hints of Mark Haddon and McCall Smith, and the promise of black comedy is very beguiling."

Source: yahoo.com



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welcome to the deko and posh blog

Nominate a Tween or Teen for the D.A.P.L Award

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

'The Lucky One' finds romance amid trauma of Iraq war

Monday, April 16, 2012

Sunday, April 15, 2012

'Hunger Games' earns $21.5M to slap down 'Stooges'

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Friday, April 13, 2012

Thursday, April 12, 2012

J.K. Rowling's next book: 'The Casual Vacancy'