Today's guest: Jennifer Weiner!
Why we love her: Too many reasons to count! (#5 of the "5 Things" she'd tell her teen self is yet another reason.)
Her latest: The Next Best Thing (July 3)
The scoop: Actors aren’t the only ones trying to make it in Hollywood.…At twenty-three, Ruth Saunders left her childhood home in Massachusetts and headed west with her seventy-year-old grandma in tow, hoping to make it as a screenwriter. Six years later, she hits the jackpot when she gets The Call: the sitcom she wrote, The Next Best Thing, has gotten the green light, and Ruthie’s going to be the showrunner. But her dreams of Hollywood happiness are threatened by demanding actors, number-crunching executives, an unrequited crush on her boss, and her grandmother’s impending nuptials.
Set against the fascinating backdrop of Los Angeles show business culture, with an insider’s ear for writer’s room showdowns and an eye for bad backstage behavior and set politics, Jennifer Weiner’s new novel is a rollicking ride on the Hollywood roller coaster, a heartfelt story about what it’s like for a young woman to love, and lose, in the land where dreams come true.
Our thoughts: LOVED. She just keeps getting better. How does she do it?
Fun fact: She mentioned us when she delivered the opening keynote ay BEA’s 2012 Bloggers Conference! We haven't been this excited about anything since Spanx or Lasik eye surgery or Phillip Phillips...
Giveaway: 5 copies! Just leave a comment and be entered to win. We'll randomly select the winners after 6pm PST on Sunday, July 29.
Want to see Jen on tour? Check out her "Cupcakes Across America" book tour schedule.
CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS...JENNIFER WEINER'S 5 THINGS I'D TELL THE TEEN ME
1. It gets better. No, really, it does. If I tell you how much better, you won’t even believe me. So just keep reading; keep writing stories, and some day, all those guys who were mean to you in Mr. Hallas’s American History class are going to ask to be your friend on Facebook. (Never mind what Facebook is. Just trust me – they’re going to want to be your friends. It’s going to be amazing).
2. Just because it’s your wedding doesn’t mean that everyone’s going to start magically behaving themselves. In fact, it is far more likely that they will magically become even more awful/clinging/self-involved/horrible versions of themselves. Just roll with it. Also, enjoy the appetizers, because you aren’t going to be eating any dinner.
3. You are not fat. Not even close. In fact, you are never going to be thinner than you are right now. Enjoy it.
4. It’s all material. Your dad is going to abandon you and your siblings. Your mother’s going to come out of the closet and start dating a woman who wears her wallet on a chain. Your father is going to die, and you’re going to learn about it because the police will call you, and you’ll try to use your Amex to pay for his funeral because you need the miles. It’s all going to be heartbreakingly sad…but it’s going to make you and your siblings so close. It won’t kill you. It will make you stronger. And, someday, you’re going to write about it, and some of the people who read it will feel less alone in the world.
5. Having a book turned into a movie, or hitting the best-seller list, feels wonderful. But nothing feels better than helping someone else’s book take off and find its audience. The sooner you figure that out, the happier you’ll be.
Thanks Jen! xoxo, L&L
To read more about Jen, you can also go to her website, Facebook or Twitter.