CAMP PAYBACK
RELEASE GUEST POST OPTIONS
Payback, Karen
style J
By J.K. Rock
In our April
release, CAMP PAYBACK , our main
character, Alex Martineau, is determined to get payback against her parents and
her ex-boyfriend. His disgusting text prompted them to banish her to a
super-strict all-girls school when summer’s over. All she has is two months to
have fun and get into a little, innocent trouble. And I can relate! As a
teenager, my eleventh grade Social teacher took discipline to Hitler level. In
fact, he was impressed with the Nazis and spent a lot of time making fun of the
‘weak’ Mussolini and the Italians in WWII. This really bugged me and my friend
Laura because we were the only two Italians in the class, besides hot Greg
Brienza who slept through most of class and never noticed.
I was one of
those girls like Kayla, the main character in our third novel in the series,
CAMP FORGET-ME-NOT, who never said her real thoughts out loud. I was too afraid
of making other people upset or that they wouldn’t like me. But my best friend,
Laura, was- and still is- like an extension of me. I could tell her anything.
We talked a lot about how much we hated our Social teacher for making insulting
comments about Italians. Worse yet, Mr. M would point to Laura and I (and a
dozing Greg) after saying them and ask us if we agreed. As if! Since Laura was
quiet (in front of adults) like me, she just shrugged. But inside, she was
boiling too, especially when Mr. M made jokes to get the rest of the class
laughing at Italians.
Christmas came
and a brilliant, but risky payback plan came to us while we were in the mall.
We passed a store that sold cheap lingerie, and I commented how funny it would
be to give something like that to our uptight teacher. To my surprise, Laura
hauled me in there and we bought the tackiest set of red, ruffled, see-through
lingerie I’d ever seen. We couldn’t stop laughing every time we pulled it out
of the bag. Since we were having a sleepover, we wrapped it up that night and
put a big bow on it. We couldn’t wait until Monday to sneak it onto our Social
teacher’s desk. For the first time, ever, I couldn’t wait to get to school. Before
Social, I asked to go to the bathroom before the bell rang. I grabbed the
present from my locker (hidden in a bag) fast-walked to Mr. M’s room and peaked
in. Luckily he wasn’t there and I put the present on his desk before dashing
back to my other class. I gave Laura a thumbs up as we walked to his class, and
we had to hold in our smiles when we took our seats.
Mr. M came in
after the bell and made a big fuss when he spotted the present. He exclaimed at
what a nice surprise it was from our class and since everyone was basically
afraid of him, no one denied that they’d given it to him. It took every ounce
of will power not to look at Laura as he undid the elaborate wrapping, lifted
the box cover and pawed through the layers of tissue paper. His dumfounded,
shocked expression was priceless when he held up the lingerie, trying to figure
out what it was. The class was hysterical with everyone laughing and finally, I
could give in and join them. It was awesome. Mr. M got so mad that his face
turned purple, especially when Greg Brienza (who’d woken at all the noise and
seen the gift) fell backwards in his chair from laughing so hard.
Laura and I,
‘the innocent quiet girls’, got away with this payback prank. To this day, no
one- except now you- knows we were behind it. It became a legend in our class
and school and- poor Greg Brienza- got detention for ‘distracting the class’.
Mr. M blamed him and muttered something about Italians… but it was the last
negative thing he said about our nationality. Justice was served!
Thanks!
Javier’s Letter
By J.K. Rock
In Camp Payback,
our main character, Javier Kovalev struggles with a lot of guilt that, because
of his unplanned birth, his mother had to drop out of college and struggles to
make ends meet. As a result, enough bad checks have landed her in jail and him
in foster care. He’s attending Camp Juniper Point when a friend of his mother’s
convinced his case worker not to send him away to a group home across the state
and far from his mother’s jail. He’s been guilty of breaking curfew by running
away to visit his mother. But Helena, his mother’s friend, persuaded the foster
care system to give Javier this one last chance to prove himself by working
with her at the camp where he learns to cook. However, he doesn’t want his
mother to know he’s working through his summer, as you’ll see in this letter he
writes to her.
Dear
Mom,
How
are you? Did you get a new cell mate yet? Hope she doesn’t snore like the last
one. Or pace all night like the one before that. It must be really hard to
sleep there. I wish you were home, but you’ll be out in a few months and then
we’ll get a place together again, like the old days. I can even cook for you
because Helena’s taught me some things in the kitchen besides the Venezuelan
recipes you taught me to remember dad.
But
I’m doing more stuff than cooking. I went on this hike with this muscle head
marine/counselor we call Bam-Bam because he’s an explosives expert. He took me
up Black Balsam Knob Mountain which made me crazy tired. We climbed for hours
and when we got to the top, we had to set up camp, like finding firewood,
putting up our tent, cooking, and stuff. But it was good. Peaceful. It was
something, standing on top of the world. Or it felt like it. It was like I saw
everything differently, even myself. This time around, when you get out, there
isn’t going to be any more trouble. I already got offered a cooking job from
this catering company so I can help out with the bills now. No more worries.
I
watched some fireworks on July Fourth with this girl, Alex. You talked to her
on the phone. I wish you hadn’t told her you call me Javi because now that’s
all she calls me. I like her, but I’m not allowed to date campers, even though
we’re the same age. Plus, her parents run that famous ‘Wholesome Home’ blog
about raising perfect kids. I don’t think they’d approve of their perfect
daughter hanging out with a kid who’s one stop away from juvie. But that’s the
thing, Mom. She’s not perfect and that’s what I like about her. She’s got a
temper, she’s passionate, she’s funny and not some phony like a lot of the
girls. She doesn’t try to fit in with everyone else. She’s stands out- at least
to me. But her ex-boyfriend, Vijay, is making it hard for her to have a good
summer and I feel sorry for her. I want to be with her, but if I get caught up
in all that drama, they’ll kick me out of camp and I’ll go straight to the
group home where the kids are even meaner and I’m bound to get in a fight
that’ll land me in juvie. I’ve got to stop thinking about Alex. But- she’s hard
to resist. I’ll stay strong, Mom. Promise.
‘Night,
Irene,
Javier
Thanks!
Casting Call for
Camp Payback
By J.K. Rock
Like all
writers, we dream of seeing our books made into movies. If Camp Payback could
become a movie, here’s the dream cast we’d put together:
Starring:
Alexandra
Martineau- Zendaya Coleman
Javier Kovalev-
Tyler Posey
Co-starring
Vijay- Siva
Kaneswaran
Yasmine- Keke
Palmer
Julian- Beau
Michoff
Siobhan- Jessica
Lu
Rapheal- Logan
Lerman
Nia- Selena
Gomez
Cam- Chord
Overstreet
Brittany- Emily
Osment
Eli- Cody
Simpson
Hannah- Bella
Thorne
Jake- Liam
Hemsworth
Kayla- Amanda
Seyfried
Nick- Nicholas
Hoult
Trinity- Tonya
Kay
Seth- Alex
Pettyfer
Piper- Bridget
Mendler
Rob (The Hottie)
counselor- Zac Ephron
Bruce (Bam-Bam)
counselor- Josh Duhamel
Emily-
counselor- Reese Witherspoon
Garrett- Andrew
Garfield
Brooke- Michelle
Trachte
Buster- Kellen
Lutz
Camp Director
(Gollum)- Paul Giamatti
That’s it! The
dream team… that we will truly dream about J Find out more
about the camp series and
Thanks!
Alex’s
Makeover Blog Post
By
J.K. Rock
In Camp Payback, one of our heroine’s biggest challenges is learning
how to deal with her parents’ blog, “Wholesome Home” on parenting. Alex has
been the poster child for “what not to do” too many times, and this summer,
she’s had enough.
For example, before she
goes to camp, she needs to do TV appearance with her family and her mom chooses
her clothes to be super conservative. And she’s never had makeup. Ever. Well,
at least not that she can wear around her hometown. Thankfully, at camp, all
bets are off on her look and she can do what she wants. So when her father asks
her to submit a blot post feature on the Wholesome Home blog about dressing
appropriately as a teen, you can imagine she would struggle with what to say…
Dressing
Appropriately
Thanks, Dad, for giving
me a chance to voice my opinions on the Wholesome Home blog! I’ve learned a lot
from you and mom about dressing appropriately and I’m happy to share what I
know.
First, it’s important
to dress according to who you are and not who other people want you to be. If
jeans and boots are your thing, you shouldn’t force yourself into dresses and
sweater sets to please other people. Your clothes say a lot about you, so they
should be honest. Doesn’t Wholesome Home suggest honesty is the best policy,
after all?
Next, I take a lesson
from my father’s teachings about frugality.
Don’t buy new when used will do! So when my t-shirts start to get too short on
me, I fringe the hem and make a cute midriff baring top. Or if a stain on a
shirt is too obvious, I get out my Bedazzler and use the rhinestones to create
an appropriate message. “Girl Power” is a can’t-miss phrase that mom and dad
will have to approve, and it totally works for me.
For more thrifty
shopping, I believe in the Army-Navy store. Someone else’s castoffs might be
your go-to wardrobe items. Combat boots are always a good deal here, and they
are so practical for snow. Another
practical purchase is a leather jacket will keep you warm for years to come. At
75% off the original price, you won’t find a better deal.
Finally, a word about
makeup. This is one area where I might have to disagree with my father just a
teeny bit (sorry, Dad!) as he doesn’t approve of putting anything on a clean
face. But I’ve also been taught to hide my flaws whenever possible, so doesn’t
concealer just make sense? I leave that one open for debate!
**
To read more about how
Alex lets her hair down when she’s away from home, check out Camp Payback and
the rest of the books in the Camp Boyfriend series!
Thanks!
![Kelly Gendron[1]](http://bookenthusiastpromotions.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Kelly-Gendron1.jpg)
