Sunday, July 26, 2009 posted by Jen at 7/26/2009 07:56:00 PM
The BEST FRIENDS FOREVER book tour is mostly over – although I’ll be in West Dennis on the Cape tomorrow, and in Chatham on August 20, and in Toronto at some point soon. Meanwhile, this seemed like a good time to round up some of the best questions I got asked on the road. Thanks to everyone who came to see me – it was a real pleasure meeting so many of you as I made my increasingly bleary way across the country.
Feel free to keep in touch on Facebook – the all-new, frequently-updated fan page is right here...and if you've got a book-related question I didn't answer, post it on the fan page and I will try to comment. I'm also on Twitter (I’m @jenniferweiner).
“What are you reading these days?”
I loved Julie Klam’s memoir PLEASE EXCUSE MY DAUGHTER, Jean Hanff Korelitz’s ADMISSION, Kathryn Stockett’s THE HELP and I’m currently reading Steve Hely’s HOW I BECAME A FAMOUS NOVELIST, which is snort-out-loud funny, even if his fake-o best seller list has a book entitled HOW EVA GOT RICH, GOT THIN, AND GOT OVER HIM, which I am pretty sure I wrote.
And if I didn’t, I’m going to.
“How is BEST FRIENDS FOREVER different than your other books?”
For one thing, it has has a male main character, which was very interesting to write. After the first draft, I read a review of a book called something like HOW NOT TO WRITE YOUR NOVEL, which warned about introducing a male character by having him masturbate. Of course, that had been Jordan’s first scene, so I had to quickly write a new introduction, where he’s much more heroic and his hands aren’t down his pants.
“Why is your hair so straight?” Asked by: my Nanna.
Last summer, I got that Brazilian straightening treatment, and it has changed my life, which I know sounds ridiculous, but is nevertheless true. After a lifetime of struggling with my wavy, fine hair, which lies on top of my head like an undercooked pancake with poor self-esteem, I can now blow it out in five minutes, zip over it with a flatiron, and it actually looks as if it’s been styled by someone who knows what he or she is doing. It’s expensive, but it lasts for three months, and I cannot imagine ever having un-straightened hair again.
Short answer: I haven’t seen it yet, so I’m withholding judgment.
Longer answer: I always worry about the fat-people minstrel show aspect – the close-ups of parts that jiggle and wobble, the teary confessions of misery and loneliness…and it looks a little cheesy and exploitative. Then again, all TV dating shows are cheesy and exploitative, and have teary confessions of misery and loneliness, so why shouldn’t big girls have a chance to be cheesily exploited, and weep through their makeup in the back of a limousine after the bachelor sends them packing?
Also: Emme is hosting. Emme is good people, so that eases my mind. I’ll report back after I’ve actually seen the show.
“How’s Jake?” Asked in: San Francisco, by my Uncle Freddie, in a question that totally confounded the audience, whose members demanded to know who Jake was.
Jake, who is my brother, is fantastic. So are Joe and Molly, my other sibs, but Uncle Freddie didn’t ask about them.
“What are you working on now?”
Honestly, figuring out what time zone I’m in, and whether Delta will ever recover the Kindle I left on the Atlanta-to-St. Louis flight (it’s not looking good, particularly since the not-terrifically-helpful Delta lady seemed perplexed as to why I was so upset about a lost "candle"). Beyond that, I’m putting the pieces in place for the next novel, which I think will include a betrayed political wife in the Silda Spitzer model….I’m fascinated by those women who stand at press conferences as their politician spouses confess the most outrageous wrongdoings, and very curious about what happens when the cameras are off. God willing, it'll be published same time next year...and I'll be back on the road!
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Welcome to A Moment of Jen, author Jennifer Weiner's constantly-updated take on books, baby, and news of the world. Email me at jen (a) jenniferweiner.com.