Guilty Pleasures: I Totally Watch(ed) Laguna Beach

Also from the category of Things I Watched During Law School When I Hated My Life:

Before Speidi's Reign of Terror, before any of these way-too-young girlies had ever even HEARD of Botox, before living in Los Angeles was even a twinkle in Ms. Lauren Conrad's eye, there was a docu-soap (emphasis on the soap) depicting the "real life Orange County" that possessed all the trashy fun of The Hills, minus the plastic faces and scary overtones of domestic violence.

There was . . . Laguna Beach.

It started off innocently enough: executive producer Liz Gateley, a former lawer, wanted to make a reality show that was filmed more like one of those crazy-rich-kid dramas on what's now the CW.  You know, pretty people with problems!  Originally the show was to be set in Beverly Hills, but the MTV powers-that-be eventually settled on Laguna Beach, an Orange County suburb by the sea that started off as an artists' community.  Laguna forbade shooting within the high school, but no matter, because who the hell cares about watching kids in class anyway?  If you remember high school like I do, it's all about what happens when you run into your crush in public, when you don't get asked to the dance, and where you stay in Cabo on spring break!  (Okay, maybe not that last one.  For me, spring break was called Easter break because I went to a Catholic high school, and for me "staying in Cabo" translated to "watching TV in my basement, fighting with my little sister and making out with my boyfriend.")

Anyhoozle, season 1 followed a nice girl named Lauren (or LC), as she pined after her childhood buddy Stephen, currenly in the manicured-talon clutches of the "evil" Kristin (famous for her "Stepheeeeen" whine).  Lauren was sweet if a little dim and had a fun group of friends, including shopaholic daddy's girl Lo, master of white guilt Trey, and puffy-faced Dieter.  Also Christina, a televangelist-type minister's daughter with a singing voice like a crow with laryngitis and Mormon Morgan who resembled a tanned chipmunk.  Most of the gang were seniors, though Kristin was a year younger, so season 1 ended with them departing for college.  Season 2 was set to follow Kristin and her clique during their own senior year.

BUT WAIT!

Lauren was nooooot happy in college.  After one semester, she came home to Laguna and commuted to a nearby school.  Stephen stayed in San Francisco, but came home so much I wouldn't be surprised if dude flunked out.  Apparently he wasn't over Kristin, or Lauren for that matter.

Here's the thing about the return of these two: I'm sure Lauren's homecoming had something to do with the fact that she could be on TV if she stayed in Laguna.  However . . . I dunno.  I think if she HAD been truly happy, she would have stayed in San Fran.  I mean, she's not the first to go away to college and find out it's not for her.  Stephen, however, UGH.  I never thought he was a bad guy (especially when compared to one Spencer Pratt), but wannabe famewhore just radiated through this guy's pores like oil on average-looking teens.  In short, Lauren never struck me as particularly calculating (even during all her years on The Hills), but Stephen was gunning for more camera time.

But enough about season 1.  Granted, it was cute, but fairly boring.

Season 2, however, was fucking EPIC.  You had Kristin as your main narrator, and while Lauren was sweet and relatable, Kristin was . . . kind of a bitch.  But in a fun way!  Girl had a stronger sense of self than most high schoolers, and preferred being the player to being the one who got played.  And Kristin's circle of friends were TV gold: her loyal sidekick Alex H., drama queen Alex M., and . . . Jessica.

Here's the thing: Jessica was in love with mumbly "heartthrob" (though I never saw the appeal, he always seemed stoned to me) Jason.  For a while he reciprocated, then fell for the charms of Alex M.  And no one could really blame him, seeing as Jessica was Fatal Attraction-level obsessive psycho.  I'm not talking insecure high school girl who gets screwed over by the bad boy (because that's fairly typical at that age).  I'm talking constant henpecker, no life to speak of, super-duper uber annoying, wouldn't ever shut up about JasonJasonJason.  We've all known this girl.  TV GOLD.

Then, OMG!  Lauren fell for Jason.  And in something so grainily filmed that I'm 99% sure it wasn't set up by producers, HE KISSED JESSICA IN FRONT OF LAUREN.  Another part of the reason I'm sure this wasn't staged is that the event in question took place at a benefit fashion show involving all of the cast, meaning the camera crew was going to be there anyway.  In fact, they'd done a similar benefit in season 1, minus any real drama.  Jason was drunk, Jessica was stupid, and Lauren was quite rightly heartbroken.  The Hills only wishes it were this real.

After season 2, Laguna Beach died a slow death.  Season 3 had an all-new cast of characters, but good-girl Tessa was not the compelling narrator Lauren or Kristin had been.  No charisma whatsoever.  Also, "nemesis" character was clearly just angling for her 15 minutes and was never particularly likable or interesting.  And that's the thing about Kristin: she wasn't always likable, but she was always interesting. (Think Don Draper with highlights and a bikini.)  The next year, Gateley and co-creator Adam Divello moved the party to Newport Harbor, but it never really caught on.

Even in its heyday, Laguna Beach never had the ratings and subsequent paparazzi obsession of The Hills.  Its following was "cult" at best, mostly teenyboppers and the errant adults who just wanted some shallow escapism with a chaser of pretty scenery.  But as I'm now covering The Hills for TVGasm, I must say that I kind of miss the old days of LB.  No Spencer Pratt or dead-eyed Audrina: that goes without saying.  However, with Laguna Beach, I really did get a more "slice of life, only prettier" feel that's always been missing from The Hills, even in its pre-Pratt days.  Because even with its most producer-prompted conversations (and sometimes relationships), LB WAS like high school.  I mean, my own high school was as different from Laguna Beach High as wormy week-old apples are to pristine hormone-injected peaches.  Yet I do remember the drama.  The love triangles.  The feeling that every move you made or boy you loved was totally FOREVER and was going to affect the rest of your life.  I'll paraphrase the last episode of Dawson's Creek here: "I'm not saying this is exactly how it happened.  But this is how it felt."

And because of that, I bought season 2 secondhand at my funky neighborhood record store and didn't give a rip that the hipster clerk was obviously judging me.

Like totally.

Here's MAD TV's brilliant season 2 parody.  That show was highly underrated, yo.

The Unprofessional Critic Becomes the Analytical Fangirl

He made me laugh.

That's been it all along.

I know what y'all are thinking: oh crap, ANOTHER love letter to Joel McHale.  Another obsessive missive from an almost-thirty-year-old who should know better.  Hell, I'm halfway thinking it myself.  And as a result, in the hours before I finally saw my snarky hero live, I finally asked the question: what is it about the dude I dig so very much?

I know, I know, I've already devoted a blog post to this (two if you count last week's rundown of the awesomeness of Community).  And true, the guy's easy on the eyes, funny as hell, displays a Midwestern-esque work ethic (not surprising, considering his dad's a native Chicagoan), and by all accounts (though of course we can't know everything that goes on behind closed doors) appears to be a devoted husband and dad.  All admirable, sexy even, but not necessarily the source of fandom with a capital F.

Also, I realize how annoying and hipster-ish it is, but I usually make it a point not to follow the crowd, i.e. crush on the very man that gazillions of women are lusting after.  I mean, for years I chose Rainn Wilson over John Krasinski, for chrissake.  (Still a toss-up in my mind.)  So what makes Joel McHale so different and special?

It all boils down to four words:

Dude made me laugh.

In 2004, I was in my second year of law school and Joel was starting on The Soup.  I was hidden away in a rural dorm room and he was on a Friday-night clip show, yet to be appreciated by the masses.  I don't know about Joel's personality, but I do know that I was far from the easiest person to deal with at that time.  In fact, I downright antagonized nearly everyone I met: classmates, family, even friends.  I'm still surprised that ANYONE who knew me in those days chooses to continue speaking to me.

During my three years of law school, I hardly smiled.  I was angry a lot.  It was just the way things were.

I thought it was part of growing up.  Adjusting to a world I only knew as "real."  In reality, I was forcing myself to continue in a hell of my own making, trying to convince myself that it was all for the best and failing miserably.

And then, one night in my dorm room, on my shitty boxy heavy mini-TV, I caught a spiky-haired gentleman in a skinny tie sassing to the camera about The Real World.  I remembered Talk Soup and how much I'd loved John Henson, but at the same time reluctantly appreciated how this dude wasn't trying to be him.  I studied this newcomer, now rolling his eyes at a dumb Fox sitcom and goofing around in front of a bad green screen of Los Angeles.

And I laughed.

During my last two years of law school, I watched only two shows faithfully: Arrested Development (as it bounced from time slot to time slot, damn you Fox) and The Soup.  Joel McHale had no idea who I was, but as I shivered under my cheapo comforter in a cinder-blocked room, law books weighing me down into a life I knew I didn't want but was too afraid to admit, he made me giggle.  Because as much as I hated the person I was becoming, The Soup's aptly narrated reality clips showed I wasn't the biggest dumbass out there.  I could count on a comedian with one camera and a Chihuahua named Lou to prove that to me.

And he never let me down.

After law school, things got better.  I don't mean they got easier: I stumbled quite a bit before I found my footing.  I had bad jobs, low pay, boy trouble, you name it.  But through it all, I had my friends.  I had Bob, my roommate at the time.  I had a family who didn't always understand me but never stopped supporting me. At this point, Joel was better known but not always recognizable.  He wasn't working much outside The Soup.  But to hear his interviews, he had a great family.  He had his wife Sarah, who'd stuck by him since their early twenties.  When you're struggling financially and personally, a strong support system means everything.  I haven't forgotten that.  To hear his stand-up, neither has Joel.

Eventually, I landed a job I liked, and a year later got a promotion.  About the same time, Joel got The Informant!: not only the third lead in a Steven Soderbergh film, but a completely non-comic role.  In the summer of 2008, we both got promoted.  I was really proud of him.  And of me.

These days, I still have that job, which rocks, especially considering the economy.  I also have a blog and several freelance writing gigs.  Joel has a kickass sitcom and a promising film career, and routinely sells out venues doing stand-up comedy.  Yet he still auditions like crazy, as the film industry doesn't really recognize the TV industry.  In the meantime, I polish my latest manuscript, in the hopes an agent somewhere out there will like it.  These days, we've got some good stuff going on, but are still trying to be better.

This is someone I'll most likely never meet--unless Bob gets really famous and they become buddies--yet I feel a kind of kinship with Joel McHale.  We've gotten ahead not on notoriety or stupidity, but hard work and a little bit of luck.  We're both insanely fortunate to have loved ones along for the ride.  And we both are grateful, but don't want to stop now.

These days, people rail against celebrity culture.  In many ways, people are right: I mean, there's a reality show devoted to a girl who robbed actors' houses, which is wrong in ways I can't begin to describe (judging from his genuinely disgusted look when he describes the show, Joel agrees with me).  And when you place someone on a pedestal, as civilians tend to do with celebs, disappointment reigns supreme if and when they display simple human faults or egregious human errors.

However, there's a different side to celeb worship too.  The ones we admire--for whatever reason--can inspire us to work harder, do better, be more than we thought we could be.  By just doing their job, they can comfort us, a gentle and nonjudgmental presence that is at once completely unknown and strangely intimate.

More specifically, the right celeb can take a depressed, angry law student silently screaming, and for half an hour each week, make her laugh and years later when she's happy, make her a little verklempt when she sees him in person while surrounded by the friends who stuck by her, and make her laugh once again.

Joel?  You rock, dude.

Thanks for the giggles,
Unpro

P.S.  Your Chicago show was the ultimate in pee-your-pants, fall-out-of-your chair hilar, and I will heartily recommend your stand-up tour to anyone who asks, and some people who don't.

Love the One(s) You're With: Community

At a certain point in your life, you realize that nothing's turned out like you thought it would.

You're not working in the field you studied in school.  You're single or married, when you always predicted you'd be the opposite.  The age you thought you'd have figured everything out?  You're still fumbling and confused as ever, maybe even more so. 

There's also the people you surround yourself with.  At a certain age it becomes a motley crew: those you grew up with, maybe even dated at some point; pals from high school, college and work; and then the ones who are way more random.  The person you agreed to give a ride to one time, from rehearsal of a show you almost dropped out of, that ten years later is like family.

It's meeting these random people, and letting them into your life, however reluctantly at first, that helps you to realize: not having the exact future you wanted or predicted can be a very liberating thing.

I started watching Community for two reasons.  One, a friend in the industry recounted a little exchange from the pilot script that cracked me up (similar to the way I was sold on 30 Rock because of one line: "If you're a gay guy looking for a beard, I don't do that anymore").  And two, well, Joel McHale.  In the days before my obsessive fandom kicked in, I read an interview where he said that he was offered several sitcoms and Community was far and away the best.  No matter what you think of The Soup, the guy has made some good career decisions (witness: The Informant!).  I was intrigued.  Besides, it was on after The Office.

Never have I seen a pilot that touched on moral relativism, Asperger's syndrome, and The Breakfast Club in twenty-two minutes.  With Trudy from Mad Men, the sex addict from Reno 911!, and Chevy MoFo-in Chase.  As in Fletch, Gerald Ford, Clark Griswold: any way you slice it, the guy's a comedy legend. 

McHale's character, Jeff Winger, is a cocky former lawyer disbarred when it's discovered his undergraduate degree is fake.  (Yes, I know it's a slim premise, but think of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 and sing along with me: "Just repeat to yourself, 'it's just a show.  I should really just relax.'")  He enrolls at Greendale Community College and immediately starts hitting on his cute Spanish 101 classmate Britta (Gillian Jacobs).  Britta, however, is not having it, and when Jeff invites her to form a one-on-one study group, she brings along a whole crew: sitcom aficionado Abed (Danny Pudi, Chicagoans represent!), fallen football player Troy (Donald Glover), rehabbed type A Annie (Alison Brie, almost completely unrecognizable from Mad Men and just as awesome), and Christian mom Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown).  Oh, and corporate magnate-turned-dirty old man Pierce (Chase) also wanders in.  Quite possibly the most diverse group on network TV, the gang experiences weekly dalliances and misadventures, with recurring characters such as the overenthusiastic Dean Pelton (Jim Rash) and surly Professor Chang (Ken Jeong) along for the ride.

A group of wildly different people finding out they have a lot in common, and learning a little bit about themselves along the way?  We've all heard that premise before, but Community makes it fresh while at the same time reminding us that it's the simple stuff that good shows are made of.  The cast is fiercely witty, the writing even more so.  Creator Dan Harmon based the series on his own experiences in a community college study group, and it shows: not only is there a real tenderness in even the silliest joke, but the characters both play into and play with the very stereotypes they're dealt.  Jeff isn't the show's moral center, nor are most of his actions particularly commendable--but he's learning, even as he stumbles along the way, that he's capable of poking fun at himself and doing nice things for others.  Though Britta is smart and confident, she can be awkward in dealing with sensitive social matters (she's sort of a walking Stuff White People Like).  Even Pierce, with his heinously backwards worldviews, is at heart a lonely dude: and though his younger counterparts don't always love what he says, they embrace him for the old fart he is.

I freaking heart the group dynamic of the core cast: they're the kind of characters that are so fun to watch even when they're not doing anything particularly interesting (which according to one of my favorite bloggers, is one of the marks of a kick-ass protagonist).  I love Mad Men, but I wouldn't really want to be friends with any of the characters (except maybe Peggy and Joan).  However, I'd hang with Community's Spanish 101 crew any day of the week.  And the characters form relationships, they stumble, they screw up, they learn from one another.  They may have been thrown together by random acts of course catalog, but now they're thick as thieves (and they protect each other to the end!).

Yes, there have been some eps that aren't so great: just like with Modern Family, Community can falter when it lets itself slide into wacky-antics territory.  At its strongest, however, Community (again, like Modern Family) works real magic combining absurd with emotional, satirical with genuine, and motormouthed with simple.  Think Avenue Q without the puppets.  And at its heart, it's a show about being okay with your place in life, no matter how imperfect that may be.

Did I mention that McHale is naked on one episode?  From a feminist perspective, it's interesting how the show objectifies the hell out of the guy.  Not that I'm complaining.  I just find it intriguing: men usually aren't blatantly objectified on a show that's NOT specifically geared toward women.  Not just the naked ep: he's in tight jeans and T-shirts quite a lot.  That's normally reserved for female characters.

Community airs Thursdays at 7 on NBC.  The most recent episode, along with a host of really funny clips, can be found on Hulu.  Also, there's a hilarious website for the fictional Greendale Community College.

Here's a video of the cast finding out that they were renewed for a second season.  They're so genuinely surprised and happy (and unaware they're being filmed), it's adorable.

Say Hello to Your Friends: Baby-Sitters Club: The Summer Before

Here's how an email exchange between me and a children's book publicist went down:

Me: I'd like to request an advance review copy of Mockingjay (book three in the super-awesome Hunger Games trilogy, which you must read IMMEDIATELY if not sooner).

Children's book publicist: We're not doing that for Mockingjay, but I'll make sure you get a review copy on the release date.  In the meantime, would you like a copy of the Baby-Sitters Club prequel?

Me (in the email): Sure, that would be great!  I think my readers would love a review.

Me (on the inside): YES YES YES YES YESSSSSSSSSS!

Mind you, this happened after the release date of The Summer Before, buuuuut it was particularly fortuitous because I'd almost bought the hardcover when the book was first released, but didn't!  Now I get a free Baby-Sitters Club book?  The ten-year-old in me says WIN WIN!  (Okay, so does the 29-year-old in me.)

Without further ado, I bring y'all the conclusion of Awesome Authors (Two) Month(s): a review of The Summer Before!

So the title's pretty self-explanatory: this book chronicles the summer before the beginning of The Baby-Sitters Club, through the eyes of its four founding members.  So there isn't any of Jessi kicking ass as a pint-size New Jersey ballerina, Dawn sanctimoniously saving whales in California, or Abby being told she was funny by someone I'd like to hunt down.  There is a bit of pre-Spaz Girl Mallory, though.

Each of the girls (who are twelve at this point, having not yet reached the perpetual age of thirteen) has their own separate storyline.  Kristy's, Mary Anne's and Claudia's intersect--hard-core fans will remember that Stacey moved from the Big Apple (Ann M. Martin TOTALLY used that outdated touristy phrase on her Facebook page the other day) to Stoneybrook, and didn't meet the girls until school started.  Basically, the book ends with the first scene of Kristy's Great Idea, where Kristy has an outburst in class, writes an essay on decorum, and eats pizza while her mom frantically tries to track down a baby-sitter.

Not that I have the opening chapter of KGI memorized or anything.

The storylines go like so:

Kristy: writes to her dad and doesn't hear back, so is feeling a little bummed about that.  Also feels like she and Claudia are growing apart, and is resenting her mom's new boyfriend Watson big-time.

Mary Anne: is offered her first real sitting job for the Pikes (a joint deal with Kristy, consistent with the "two sitters for more than five kids" rule), but her dad is ambiguous about letting her do it.  The seeds of her breaking free of her strict pop with a Laura Ingalls fetish are being sown.

Claudia: falls in "luv" (to use Stacey-speak) for the first time, with a boy that (gasp!) Janine has a thing for.  And of course, for every preteen luv there is a preteen hartbrake (to use hypothetical Claudia spelling).

Stacey (who by the way has diabetes, did you know she has diabetes, DIABETES DIABETES DIABETES): helps her mom and dad prepare for the Stoneybrook move while fending off the nasty vibes of her former bestie Laine (who in this book is more Regina George bully than Blair Waldorf lovable beyotch).  Why is Laine so mean, you ask?  It starts with a "d" and ends with an "iabetes."

From what I've heard and read online, The Summer Before hasn't been that well-received by those who grew up reading Baby-Sitters Club.  The consensus is that a sequel would have been preferable, and I can understand that.  I'd love to see if Jessi stuck with the ballet--even those who are super-hard-core have a snowball's chance in hell of really making it, if Mallory kept up with the writing, and if Kristy bought a U-Haul already.  I don't give a shit about Abby.  She's annoying.

As prequels go, I was pretty much divided on this one.  Kristy and Stacey's storylines felt like retreads of what we read in the series.  Kristy has daddy issues and Stacey has DIABETES, nothing new to report.  I was reminded how much I liked Kristy before she became a bossy-boots parody of herself (how many turtlenecks can one junior-high girl OWN?), so there's that.

However, I really enjoyed Claudia and Mary Anne's portions.  First-crush stories never go out of style, and the way kids' minds work, it's believable that Claudia's former boytoy was never mentioned in the series. And with Mary Anne, fighting for something as straightforward and simple as a summer baby-sitting gig, I was reminded how damn powerless twelve years old can feel.  For Mary Anne in this book, baby-sitting is more than a chance to earn a little money and spend time with younger kids she likes.  It's a marker of independence, at an age where those are remarkably few and far between.

When Ann M. Martin puts her mind to it and doesn't get lazy, she's really adept at writing from a kid's perspective.  It sometimes bothers me when people wax poetic about childhood: sure, there were no bills to pay or jobs to worry about, but you were also forced to do things "because I said so," endure classroom taunting, and live in a world dominated for better and for worse by those taller than you.  Martin's better writing not only brings back the nostalgia of childhood, but the negativity as well.  For this reason, portions of The Summer Before work on a much deeper level than revisiting the characters we loved as kids.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.

NOTE: no Armchair Casting Director for this one.  I don't really know a lot of tween superstars, besides the ever-baffling Justin Bieber (dude, even if I were in the target demographic, I'd still think he looked like a 9-year-old.  There's no way in hell that guy's 16).

NOTE PART TWO: If you entered the Forbidden Love Giveaway, please email me ASAP with your address (maybeimamazed02ATyahooDOTcom).  Everyone who entered gets a prize, but I have to know where to send it!  Click here for a list of the top three winners. 

Did you read The Summer Before?  Do you think Ann M. Martin should have let the past be the past and not bothered with a prequel?  Leave a comment!

And here's a fun video.  Y?  Because I like you!

Forbidden Love Giveaway WINNERS!

Well, color me impressed, y'all!

The responses I got for the 'pro's Forbidden Love Giveaway--via both comments and emails--were fan-flippin'-tastic.  Maybe it's spring fever, or maybe you're all just that cool.  My money's on all of the above.

Sooooo . . . IT'S WINNER TIME!  As you recall, I have three super-cool YA books to give away: Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti, and Perfect Chemistry and Rules of Attraction, both by Simone Elkeles.  To enter, you had to contact me with your favorite pop culture example of forbidden love and why it was your favorite.  My top three favorites win!

*drumroll please*

The "Get Out of My Head" Award goes to . . . Nikki!

Nikki's choice is one of my very favorite songs ever, "O Valencia!" by the Decemberists.  (If you haven't heard these guys live, you MUST.)  Not only does "O Valencia!" passionately chronicle a tragic tryst a la Romeo & Juliet/West Side Story, it happens to be the exact song going through my head when I first read Perfect Chemistry.  Nikki, might you be psychic?



The "Most Inter-species" Award goes to . . . Roxanne!


Because we celebrate all kinds of love here on the 'pro, Roxanne's fave, Disney's The Fox and the Hound, really touched my heart.  Of the titular best pals who grow up and realize they're supposed to hate each other, Roxanne says it best: "Two different worlds, two different roles to fill - and, dare I say it? Two different species!"





And finally, the "Most Sci-Fi" Award goes to . . . Tara!


I have to admit, I don't watch Battlestar Galactica, but my fanboy roomie backed me up on Tara's choice of Kara/Starbuck and Lee/Apollo from the new TV version.  I was compelled by her description of the couple: She was engaged to his younger brother when they met and immediately felt the spark (and uh almost acted on it). Then she got him killed because she loved him too much and the world ended and they were reunited. But Lee was her boss and they were both emotional wrecks and so scared of how much they loved and needed each other. And sadly it ended very tragically, but they were EPIC.  Goosebumps, yo!



(Yes, it's the one Katy Perry song I like. Shut up.)

Congratulations to Nikki, Roxanne and Tara!  Email me ASAP with your full name and address at maybeimamazed02ATyahooDOTcom, so you can get your prize with a quickness!  

To all who entered: I didn't get any answers I didn't love.  IF your name was not among the winners, BUT you'd like to get a neato prize anyway, email your name and address to me at maybeimamazed02ATyahooDOTcom.

Until tomorrow, I'll leave you with one of my favy-avy-avy forbidden love scenes.  Romeo.  Juliet. A costume party.  A fishtank.  DiCaprio, Danes and Des'ree.  And you know what?  Even when I'm not sixteen and sloppy in love with my first boyfriend, this movie's still pretty damn good!



Stay tuned for tomorrow's entry: it's old/new school-YA-rific!

Image courtesy of poundingheartbeat.com.

Awesome Author Interview: Simone Elkeles

Okay, I lied.

I was going to do more of a pop culture focus from here on out, buuuuuut . . . then I got an opportunity to interview the ever-awesome Simone Elkeles, author of the recent Rules of Attraction , one of THREE books I am giving away on the blog!  (If you haven't entered the contest yet, do it now--it's open till Friday!)  Pop-culture fabulosity will return, soon, never fear!

Besides Rules of Attraction, Simone is also the author of Perfect Chemistry (which I'm also giving away, hint hint!), Leaving Paradise, and the How To Ruin . . . trilogy.  Let's give her a warm Unpro welcome, shall we?

You are an admitted romance novel enthusiast and have been very involved with the Romance Writers of America.   Now that you’re a successful YA author, would you consider switching genres?

I tried writing adult romances, but it just didn’t fit my voice.  I was definitely meant to be a young adult author and I love it -- I’m here to stay!  Romance novels are my favorite books to read.  I write young adult romances and am so happy to be promoting this wonderful genre. 

Your novels alternate between lighthearted (the How to Ruin a Summer Vacation trilogy) and more serious and issue-driven (Leaving Paradise, Perfect Chemistry, and Rules of Attraction).  Is there a reason for this, and if so, what?

Everyone who has ever met me for at least five minutes knows I’m a really funny person.  I love to laugh and to make people laugh, so writing comedy comes naturally to me.  I also love edgy and sexy romances, so I try to do it all in my books.  I can’t just write one kind of book. 

Your characters’ voices, both male and female, are both unique and accurate.  How do you write teenagers, especially boys, so well?

I was a tomboy and had a lot of guy friends growing up who were really honest and open with me about sex, girls, and their outlook on life.  I “get” guys – at least the ones I hung out with.  I was also a teen in the 80’s and enjoyed my teen years, which were filled with stupid adventures.  Lastly, I still remember what it was like to be a teenager.  Don’t we all?

You stay involved with your characters: Rules of Attraction is a sequel to Perfect Chemistry, with a third book in the works; there’s a sequel to Leaving Paradise coming out this year, and How to Ruin a Summer Vacation has two sequels.  How do you decide when to continue with the same fictional world, and when to stop writing about it?

To be honest, I’m a romance novel fan.  No, you don’t get it…I’m a super #1 romance novel fan where I have a hard time “getting into” any other books besides romance novels.  I just eat them up like that Red Velvet cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory (have you had that sinful dessert…it’s so obnoxiously amazing and no, they didn’t pay me to say that).    

The fact that Leaving Paradise didn’t have a happily ever after (HEA for romance authors/readers), it really didn’t feel right to me.  So for my own sanity I needed to “finish” Caleb and Maggie’s story so Return to Paradise is the sequel and last one in that series.  For Perfect Chemistry, I always wanted to write stories about all the Fuentes brothers (kind of like Julia Quinn did for her Bridgerton series – they were all SOOOOO good!).  I think I’m done with the How to Ruin series, which was such a fun series to write.  Amy is such a diva and I loved putting her in ridiculous situations.   My fans are eager for more of the characters they’ve falling in love with, but I do think there’s a time you have to say “bye” to characters and move on. 

Perfect Chemistry has been your most successful novel, and it’s the first YA novel you wrote, but it took a while to get published.  Can you share a little bit about this journey?

Perfect Chemistry was the second novel I wrote.  My first novel was a historical romance novel that shall remain under my bed for all time.  My previous agent sold my first three published novels, but I loved Perfect Chemistry and wanted her to submit it to publishers.   She did submit it to a few, but then she lost interest in submitting it and said to work on other projects.  I had such faith in Perfect Chemistry that I separated from my previous agent and signed with Kristin Nelson from Nelson Literary who loved the novel.  She submitted it to editors and Emily Easton from Walker Books loved the story.   The pre-sales weren’t that great for the book, but the reader response was overwhelming and now I think there’s over 100,000 copies sold. 

If you had to create a playlist for Rules of Attraction, what would be on it?

Funny you should ask that question because a song list will be posted on http://www.perfectchemistrythebook.com/ next week.  I already have a song list for Perfect Chemistry on the site.  Of course for the new song list I had to add the song "Hot N Cold" by Katy Perry because Katy Perry’s groom in that video, Alexander F. Rodriguez, played Alex Fuentes (the hero from Perfect Chemistry) in the book trailer I did – which was shot just like a movie trailer!

Can you describe your writing process?  Any habits or routines?

I need peace and quiet, which is hard to get with two kids and two dogs (and one husband) so I rent an office space to get away.  I write when my kids are in school and when they’re asleep.  I really have no habits or routines, but my goal is to one day be organized.

As a speaker at schools, mom of two, and oh yeah, a prolific young adult author, how do you maintain a work-life balance?

I don’t.  It’s super hard and I’m trying to figure it out as I go along.  I don’t balance it well and hope that changes in the future. I want to be a great mom.  I want to be a great author.  I want to be a great wife.  I want to be a great friend.  I want to be the accessible author.  I’m trying to do it all, but sometimes I really feel like I’m failing.  Life is hectic.  I’m not complaining, but I do envy those who are organized enough to balance it all without a hitch.

You wrote for five years before an agent signed you.  Any advice for unpublished, unagented writers out there?

Never give up.  Perfect your book and work on the craft of writing.  If you have writers block, force yourself to get over it.  Write realistic dialogue – write how you talk.  A lot of times you sell your second or third book first, so move on and don’t be stuck on your first book.  Keep it under your bed and sell at a later date – just move on!  My bestselling novel Perfect Chemistry was the second book I ever wrote but the fourth book I sold.

I ask everyone this question, but I’m going to modify it for you: what are your desert island, all-time, top 5 teen movies?

The Cutting Edge

She’s The Man

Sixteen Candles

The Sure Thing

Secret Admirer

(can I add another one?) Superbad

Coming up next week: a very highly-anticipated prequel.  Hint: "say hello to your friends..."

Forbidden Love Giveaway Tiiiiiiiime!

So I have some news: though I do have at least two book reviews in the works, I really miss yapping about movies and TV with all my lovely readers!  Therefore, the next few posts will be more movie- and/or TV-related.

BUT FIRST!

I've acquired three fantastic YA books about forbidden love, two of which have been recently reviewed on the 'pro: Perfect Chemistry and Rules of Attraction, both by Simone Elkeles, and Something Like Fate by the wonderful Susane Colasanti.  Rules of Attraction was just released this week, Something Like Fate is out May 4, and Perfect Chemistry came out last year, but is still going strong.  All.  Are.  Awesome.

And I'm giving them away!

So here's what you have to do: leave a comment with your favorite example of forbidden love in pop culture, and why you think it is so splendiferous, in 50 words or less.  It can be a movie, a book, a song, or that really great moment on your favorite TV show when the two characters you were rooting for finally, finally got together even though they weren't supposed to.

Then check back on Monday, April 26.  I'll choose my three favorites and one of these three cool YA books is yours!

You have until Friday, April 23 to send these in.  Impress me, y'all.

Feel free to pass this around to any book lov-ah you choose.  Happy forbidden lovin'!

Coming up Monday: a new sitcom I just adore.  Yay!