In “Glitz,” a new book written by Philana Marie Boles, a Toledo-native living in New York City, two teenage girls from Toledo meet and tour with their favorite hip-hop artist.

Cover of "Glitz" by Philana Marie Boles

Boles will be returning to her hometown and signing copies of her books at Borders at Westfield Mall on April 23 at 2 p.m.

“Glitz” hit shelves on Feb. 3 and is already receiving good press.

Ebony magazine mentioned the book in the March issue.

Boles wasn’t hard-pressed for inspiration for “Glitz,” she says. It came from her own love for music, being a fan and understanding the value of having a best friend — especially as a teenager.

“As much as I love literature, I also love music,” she said.

She wanted to combine both of her passions — literature and music — and from there, “Glitz” was born.

She’s written two adult novels, “Blame it on Eve” and “In the Paint,” and she wrote “Little Divas” for ‘tweens, but said this one felt right for the teen market. It is Boles’ first young adult novel.

“I just think, even though it’s for teens, I think there’s something in all of us that wants to know what it’s like to be in the fantasy of being with your favorite musician on the road with your best friend. It strikes the teen in all of us,” Boles said.

Her Toledo background — she’s a ’94 graduate of St. Ursula Academy — played a small part in several of her novels, but “Glitz” is the first one to feature characters that live in Toledo. Even though most of her time is spent in New York, she still values her time spent in the city in which she grew up.

“There’s always that influence of Toledo,” Boles said of her novels. “I think there’s something very special about Toledo that you can’t get anywhere else. The personality of Toledo is special.”

Boles said working on the novel was especially fun because of the “great team” she and editor, Joy Peskin, made.

“She’s not afraid to have fun and she really matched me,” Boles said. “I love the craft but I also enjoy having fun with it.”

Since writing can often be a very lonely experience when it’s just “you, your computer and your editor,” Boles said, it helped that she connected with Peskin so well. Boles described her as “someone who is as smart as she’s cool and hip.”

The team pushed out such a successful final product that her publisher, The Viking Press, gave her a multiple book deal, so she will have a couple more books coming out over the next couple years, she said.

“Glitz” is available in book stores and online. For more information, visit www.pmarie.com.

Tags: Books, Glitz, Philana Marie Boles

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 21st, 2011 at 3:34 pm and is filed under Arts and Life, Books.
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