Marni suffers from Trichotillomania, a disorder that causes her to pull out her own hair.

Chelsey’s father was murdered days before her 14th birthday.

Emily has been diagnosed with West Nile Virus.

Their stories are told, in their own words, in Louder Than Words, a new teen-authored memoir series edited by Deborah Reber and published by HCI Books. The Louder Than Words memoirs are a mixture of prose, poetry and journal entries. “All three authors had important stories to tell, and they shared their experiences and perspectives in a unique and authentic way,” says Reber on her Web site.

In support of the new series, HCI has launched a weeklong live Web show, which premiered this past Monday on Kyte.tv. “We are trying to find the most effective way to reach teens where they are,” says Kim Weiss, director of communications at HCI Books. “We think this is the first, or one of the first, launches of its kind.”


Marni, one of the Louder Than Words authors,
participating in the video chat earlier this week.

During this week, the Web show is offering viewers a chance to interact directly with the three young authors in a video chat format. Marni, Emily and Chelsey each appear by themselves on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday’s hour-long episodes respectively. Viewers are able to submit their questions and comments through email, text message, and Facebook. Reber appears on the show in both the first and final installment. In addition to watching the shows on Kyte, fans can also embed the live videos directly to their own Web sites and blogs.

To build buzz before the shows air, HCI Books ran an outreach campaign, targeting popular blogs either written by teens or specifically for a teen audience. “A traditional PR campaign is not the way any more,” Weiss says. “Teens basically live online.”

Some of the participating sites for the show include TeenVoices, SelfInjury.com, Dolly magazine, ShapingYouth, SmartGirl.org, GirlsWithDreams!, BriMeetsBooks.com, Harmony Book Reviews, Pop Culture Junkie and Shaping Youth.

Louder Than Words is airing on Kyte.tv through August 14, from 8—9 p.m. EST.