Our guests today: Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
Why we love them: Um , maybe because they are our co-authoring IDOLS! That's all.
Their latest: Between You and Me
The scoop: What happens when you are followed by millions . . . and loved by none?
Twenty-seven-year-old Logan Wade is trying to build a life for herself far from her unhappy childhood in Oklahoma. Until she gets the call that her famous cousin needs a new assistant— an offer she can’t refuse.
Logan hasn’t seen Kelsey in person since their parents separated them as kids; in the meantime, Kelsey Wade has grown into Fortune Magazine’s most powerful celebrity. But their reunion is quickly overshadowed by the toxic dynamic between Kelsey and her parents as Logan discovers that, beneath the glossy façade, the wounds that caused them to be wrenched apart so many years ago have insidiously warped into a show-stopping family business.
As Kelsey tries desperately to break away and grasp at a “real” life, beyond the influence of her parents and managers, she makes one catastrophic misstep after another, and Logan must question if their childhood has left them both too broken to succeed. Logan risks everything to hold on, but when Kelsey unravels in the most horribly public way, Logan finds that she will ultimately have to choose between rescuing the girl she has always protected . . . and saving herself.
Our thoughts: LOVED it with a capital L! Totally delightful. Seriously, grab it for your beach bag RIGHT NOW.
Giveaway: FIVE copies, yo!!! Leave a comment and we'll choose the winners on Sunday June 17th after 6pm PST.
Fun Fact: Emma and Nicola have a YA novel coming out this summer too (Liz is drooling, she loves her some YA!). Over You comes out on August 21st, 2012!
CHICK LIT IS NOT DEAD PRESENTS..EMMA AND NICOLA'S 5 THINGS I'D TELL THE TEEN ME
First and foremost, thank you so much to Liz and Lisa for having us back. We’re so excited to be asked this question!
The idea of giving our teen selves retroactive support is particularly poignant right now because we’ve spent the last year writing two books exploring the light and dark side of getting advice in those critical formative years. In our novel, Between You & Me, out June 12th, we look at two 20-something cousins, Logan and Kelsey Wade, whose parents were always more focused on making one of the girls famous than guiding them into adulthood—with dire and very public consequences.
Our second book out August 21st, Over You, is about Max Scott, a seventeen year-old break-up coach, who can get anyone over anyone in four weeks—or less. She is full of spectacular advice (but can’t seem to take her own.)
So, for what it’s worth, here’s what we’d tell our teen selves:
1. Don’t sweat the sex. Hard to believe but someday but you’ll be married to the same person for years and years and years and it will be impossible to remember when you once had more hormones than a dairy farm. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad about yourself. Remember that birthday party Alex Cobb pressed you up against the fish tank and unbuttoned your Betsey Johnson dress all the way down to your waist? You’re creating memories that will make long afternoons singing Itsy Bitsy Spider to a toddler go faster.
2. The cliché is true. The hot guys go bald. They get paunchy. And the mean girls are sad. The sad girls get happy. Because it never came easy so they had to work at it, work on themselves. Willy Wonka could not right the balance better himself.
3. File these away. Wear your retainer. Your credit score is real. Start a bridesmaid fund NOW—that shit will bankrupt you. Never sign anything without a lawyer. When a guy says he isn’t looking for a commitment, that’s what that means.
4. Be kind to yourself. No one is ever going to be as hard on you as you are. You can accomplish just as much without a running inner monologue saying, you suck. You are not too fat. Your butt is perfect. You will actually marry a man who wishes it was larger. You know how much you love the kids you nanny for? Treat yourself with the same compassion and patience and you’ll be much, much happier.
5. Thank you. You are doing everything right. You are transitioning from babysitting into full-time nannying, much to your family’s horror. You have applied to a horrible college you will hate. Leading you to transfer to NYU, where you will meet the creative love of your life. You are embarking on a miserable career path that will suck your will to live until the best idea seems like writing a book with your old friend from college. Keep it up, girl. Have faith. You are failing upwards.
Thanks Girls! xoxo, L&L
To read more about Emma and Nicola, head on over to their website or find them on Facebook and Twitter.