freelancergirl

Hey guys, here's the interview I did with him: http://www.americanwaymag.com/taylor-kitsc...ifornia-popular

For all you Taylor Kitsch fans, he told me that Confessions of an Economic Hit Man is one of his favorite books.

He lives in Austin most of the time, and yeah, I think he's straight. Love.

Freaking love him. I was fortunate enough to interview him recently (article out in May to coincide with Wolverine), and he's very smart and well-spoken. And ambitious (but in a good way), funny, kind guy, and he is going to be a HUGE star. Huge.

Thank you, Pitt-Lover! The Today Show picked it today as one of their top 10 reads for fall, so needless to say, I'm a little crazed right now! Thank you for noticing the People review. Total craziness!!

Thanks, GovMarley! I hope you enjoy it!

Hey guys, Some of you were kind enough to ask about my next book a while back, and tada! It's here! It's called Time of My Life, and it's gotten great reviews from Redbook, Family Circle, Hallmark, Cosmo, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and Booklist, and if you're looking for smart commercial fiction, I hope you'll check it out! http://tinyurl.com/4rfn2z You guys rock! Thanks!

Aw, thanks, Gov!!!

Hi guys, Not to be too self-promotional, but the paperback of my book, The Department of Lost and Found, comes out today! So I hope you'll consider grabbing it at your local bookstore or on Amazon! COSMO, REDBOOK, MARIE CLAIRE, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY and BOOKLIST, among others, all gave it raves, so if you enjoy women's fiction, I do think you'd enjoy it! Thank you!!!!! The first week of a book's release make all the difference in its long-term success, so I appreciate you indulging my need to whore myself out! Amazon link: http://tinyurl.com/62vqwv Allison

OMG, I saw Anne Frank too and was APPALLED at how bad she was. I couldn't get over it, and even now, thinking back on it, I'm horrified. On topic: for no reason at all, I like Hudson. I've read all the gajillions of bad things about her, and I still like her. [small voice] I even like her with Owen Wilson. [/small voice] Yeah, I have no idea what's wrong with me either.

I just finished The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson and really enjoyed it. As an author, I can usually get inside the writer's head and predict where a book is going, but in this case, I really had no idea and thought she did a great job keeping the reader guessing. (And I don't mean to keep mentioning that I'm an author!! In fact, I feel really lame saying it. But it colors every book I read - it's impossible for me to read a book "straight" and not feel the influences of my profession as I go, so I like to offer that disclaimer so people know where I'm coming from when I review or mention a book!)

I'm plowing through Elin Hildebrand's Barefoot right now and am just totally and completely in love with it. Bittermuch - I've been meaning to pick Standing Up. Thanks for the reminder!

I agree that she's had her nose done...I thought it was just weird airbrushing on the cover of the Feb Glamour, but now that I see other pictures, it's consistent. Weird. Nothing was wrong with her nose in the first place.

I wrote a fan email to Eleni Gage, author of North of Ithaka, and she sent the sweetest reply. We are of the same ethnic heritage and my grandparents went through much of what her grandmother did. She seemed down to Earth and incredibly nice. I have never had the nerve to write a fan letter to her father Nick Gage. (The author of Eleni.) Maybe I wil one day. Bette - I know Eleni too - or did years ago when I wrote for her at InStyle. She's also fabulous, and I'm so happy to hear that you had a nice experience with her. I'm telling you - we writers sit here all by our lonesome all day, so we're always happy when someone sends us a note. If anyone is wavering about sending a fan email, just do it!

Aw, thanks guys! Soho - you should totally write her an email. I can't tell you how much I enjoy getting emails from readers. People think we're quasi-celebs or something, and meanwhile, I'm sitting around in my pajamas contemplating how much candy I can eat without my butt noticeably expanding...and needless to say, it's always fun to hear from people who enjoyed your book. I always make a point to write everyone back...and they're always surprised that I do. I'm like, seriously, my life is just as mundane as yours!

Soho - So funny. She and I are repped by the same agent, so I know her somewhat tangentially. I'll pass along your kudos! I just finished The Abstinence Teacher too. Really enjoyed it, although I LOVED Little Children, and would say that I liked this one slightly less. I also tried to get into PS, I Love You, but ugh, I just couldn't. Just didn't click with the narrator's voice, so put it down after about 150 pages. Oh well. I'll see the movie.

I LOVE Steve Carell. I've had the good fortune to interview him at length, and let me just say that I've done enough of this to tell when someone is putting on his or her game face for PR reasons and when he or she is genuinely awesome...and SC is awesome. We had a great time, and I swear to God, I'll never delete my tape of it. And he rocks even more for not crossing the picket lines. I was actually chatting with a cast member a few days ago who said, "Well, Steve isn't crossing, so that's that." It's great that he holds so much power and is using it well.

is one of my all-time faves. Ann Packer has a new book out that's on my list. I can't remember if I posted about this or not: I recently finished How to Talk to a Widower and could not have loved it more. LOVED it. Read a few others recently too, but eh, they were all fine, nothing worth dying for.

Steve Carell. Nicest guy ever. And totally content with himself and his lot in life.

I should also add that when I first saw the initial headline, I said to my husband, "Oh, Owen Wilson OD-ed," with a little bit of not-surprised scorn. But when I saw that he'd attempted suicide, my scorn turned to horror and sadness. And I'm sure that I'm not alone in my reaction.

See, I disagree, at least as far as the viewing public is concerned. While drugs are indeed the norm in H-wood, to the People crowd, they're not. And I think that readers/audiences/etc have a lot of sympathy for someone who is struggling with depression, whereas with an OD, a lot of people would think, "Well, at some point he made a choice to use drugs." Putting aside the issue of addiction, which is obviously serious and can render sympathy as well, I just think that people have more empathy for someone with mental health issues than with drug addiction because drugs seem like a choice, whereas depression does not.

I just finished How to Talk to a Widower. SO good. Read it in one day and just didn't want it to end. If you're a fan of Nick Hornby or Tom Perrotta, I think you'd like it. Blondie - I got a free copy of Dedication, (I did a book signing next to the authors, so grabbed one after we were done), so I have it in my shelf, but haven't yet cracked it. I'm wary since I heard that Citizen Girl was a debacle, and that a lot of people speculated that they were one-hit wonders. Glad to hear that you're enjoying it. I should get to it - I really liked The Nanny Diaries. I just ordered The Other Mother, The Way Life Should Be, and Rules for Saying Goodbye from Amazon. And am also eyeing Getting Rid of Matthew and The Bright Side of Disaster. Anyone read any of these?

Have you read Good Grief, her first book? It's one of my all-time favorites. SO good. Aw, thanks Blondie!!! I'm truly so grateful whenever anyone picks it up and enjoys it!

Aw, thanks, Trizzie! Hey, even if you're just saying it, I'll take it. I just finished Time Travelers Wife (liked, didn't love, though I know it has ardent support around here!) and am moving on to Forgive Me by Amanda Eyre Ward and Promise Not to Tell by Jennifer McMahon.

Thank you, branchop! I hope you enjoy it! And have FUN at the beach!