Arleta, California, is where the #SecretKalebBook takes place.

Last week, Ilana Zackon and I drove to Arleta so we could snap some photos in the tiny city. This was my second trip, but last year I didn’t get any photos of me actually in the place where my book is set. Coincidentally, I now live a mere 10 minutes away from the city I’ve been writing about for almost two years.

Everything is almost exactly the way I pictured it when I wrote the book. The entire city is deeply entrenched in the 1980′s, with old cars lining the sides of every street and most of the houses built before I was born. The newest part appears to be the Arleta High School, so modern and in contrast to its surroundings that it’s like a space ship landed in the middle of a desert (I didn’t get a photo of the high school… because that would have been MONSTROUSLY CREEPY). There are thick metal fences with sharp points surrounding the houses. Every yard is guarded like a fortress, though the walls are lined with flowers.

From my 2010 trip

It’s eerie how absolutely silent the streets in the real Arleta can get, when it’s only a short drive away from the center of the mega city of Los Angeles. Some streets are entirely dead even in the middle of the day. Arleta is saturated by normalcy, and yet this very feeling of being ordinary only seems to be a thin disguise for something else hiding inside.

Photos from my 2010 trip to Arleta are here.

After 18 months of writing and rewriting, through 3 apartments and 4 drafts, I have finally finished the #SecretKalebBook.

— Kaleb Nation (@KalebNation) November 23, 2011

Comments
Posted in #SecretKalebBook, Photos
Tags: #SecretKalebBook, SecretKalebBook

My new video about books and word counts (specifically, mine).

I was very happy to post a special announcement on Twitter this week:

I can hear all of you saying it: FINALLY.

Now, if I can just keep myself from rewriting it for a fifth time…

Comments Off
Posted in #SecretKalebBook, About Me, Videos, Writing

If you haven’t heard the news already, here’s the short, blog-bite-sized version:

- I was offered my own TV show,

- Mark Morgan, producer of The Twilight Saga movies, and Kami Garcia, co-author of Beautiful Creatures, wanted to produce,

- I said yes.

Keeping this secret for so long has been absolute torture, but I’m thrilled to finally let it all out in a big splash.

And I know what you’re thinking: Kaleb Nation? A TV show? Gosh, there ARE people crazier than him out there!

But really, I can’t even begin to explain how thankful I am, for all of you who have supported me through all these years I’ve been on YouTube and blogging. Without you, I’d probably still be talking though my camera to an invisible audience, except in an asylum to my rat-friends.

To sum the news up best, here’s the legit press release with all the info:

KK&P Gives the YouTube Generation Its First Reality Show: “Kaleb’s Nation”

Mark Morgan (“The Twilight Saga”), NYT bestselling author Kami Garcia (“The Beautiful Creatures Series” & “Unbreakable”), Michael Pollack (“Black Forest”) and Brett Hudson (“Cloud 9”) are giving the YouTube Generation its first reality show, KALEB’S NATION, starring YouTube personality Kaleb Nation. Nation will also produce, and Hudson will direct.

The show will follow Kaleb Nation, as he develops the parodies, music videos, and pop culture commentary that have garnered over 28 million views on his YouTube channel, while throwing Nation into a totally new arena—Hollywood. Celebrities and other YouTube personalities will guest star, while Nation experiences a behind the scenes look at what it takes to make it on, and off, the red carpet. The producers are keeping the details under lock and key, but we were able to get a few comments.

According to Kami Garcia, “Anyone who watches Kaleb’s videos will immediately see the potential of the show, and I’m excited to be part of it.” Mark Morgan added, “I find Kaleb to be a fascinating and highly entertaining piece of talent. This is more than a TV show. Kaleb is a brand in and unto himself, and I am happy to be working with someone who has his finger on the pulse of current pop culture.”

Nation is no stranger to taking chances and breaking new ground. He hosted his first radio show at fourteen. Entered the world of social media a few years later, when he created the blog TwilightGuy.com, which offered the male perspective on the popular Twilight novels, and was featured in Business Week, Entertainment Weekly, and on MTV. Not to be outdone by the Twimore.com site he launched earlier this year, which received over 400,000 hits in the first four days. In his spare time, Nation also managed to write the Bran Hambric Series.

But YouTube viewers weren’t the only ones taking notice. After KK&P CEO and exec producer Michael Pollack watched a few of Nation’s YouTube videos, he said, “Let’s do this.” Director Brett Hudson was equally enthusiastic. “As a director, it’s easy to work with someone as talented and creative as Kaleb—and Chilla [Kaleb’s pet chinchilla frequently featured in his videos].”

KK& P isn’t wasting any time. Shooting is slated to begin next month, in undisclosed locations. You can follow the details as they are released on www.KalebsNation.com.

I can’t wait for you to see the new show!

– Kaleb

Comments
Posted in About Me, Kaleb's Nation TV Show, Videos, Writing, YouTube Community
Tags: Kaleb's Nation

This is my life when I am writing a book.

Comments
Posted in About Me, Writing
Tags: Drawings

I type this blog post while in the most absolutely wretched and miserable pain imaginable, whining when I accidentally move my arm so my pinky can reach the BACKSPACE key, and moaning anytime airborne molecules brush against my skin.

After sitting at my desk writing  for months, and preparing to move back to the beach-filled Los Angeles, California, I decided to start working out. This drive to get more non-caffeinated energy* turned into intense weight-lifting, push-upping and abdomen-crunching. It was all wonderfully adventurous. The next day I was reminded why I never do those things.

My Face, Present Time

Being able to feel my abdominal muscles in a way I’ve never experienced before has educated me on exactly how much those muscles are used daily. In order to keep myself from shrieking in pain, I must avoid:

- Sneezing

- Laughing

- Laying Down

- Sitting Up

- Eating

- Beating my belly like a drum

Which really ruins all my plans of having a spicy Hawaiian comedy cookout this weekend.

Luckily I can get a good deal of writing done whilst avoiding sniffles and lulz**. At the moment, I am finishing up the final draft of my next non-Bran-Hambric book. I realize a lot of you have been hearing me say that for a while now. I am also ready to punch this manuscript’s face, just as I punched the faces of its first, second, third, and fourth incarnations, until finally the resulting Frankenstein-of-punched-manuscript-faces leapt forth and declared itself my Fifth-And-Final-Draft-Or-Else. So at the moment I’m harnessing that beast down and turning it into something gentlemanly and proper for all of you to read.

He lives on my desk.

Still, being stuck at home gets to be no fun after a long time of it. Aside from a quick signing at Vidcon 2011, it’s been a long while since I’ve done any events for my books. So I’m very happy to announce that I will be attending and presenting at YAllFest 2011!

YAllFest is a huge YA book event happening in Charleston, South Carolina, USA, on November 11 – 12, 2011. As both of my book tours focused mostly on the west coast, I’m very excited to meet as many east-USA-area Nationeers as I can! This will likely be the last big book festival I attend before my Secret Project is finished.

Hope this helps

If you live anywhere near the east coast of the USA, you should try to make it there! The event is entirely free, and you’ll get to meet a lot of other people, like author superstars:

Gayle Forman

Kami Garcia

Margaret Stohl

David Levithan

Heather Brewer

Melissa de la Cruz

and lots more (they’re still announcing names). More info is at YAllfest2011.Tumblr.com***. Hope to see you there!

——

* If you rearrange the letters of the previous phrase, you will find it is code for “look like Taylor Lautner”

** I herebly proclaim all ownership rights to creating a clothing line called Sniffles And Lulz LTD.

***(am I allowed to talk about Tumblr on a blog post or will that get me e-bludgeoned??)

Comments
Posted in #SecretKalebBook, Authors
Tags: #SecretKalebBook, Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl, YAllfest