Sara and Melissa Talk About...Shocking Celebrity Deaths

We've been running a column series to get more personal with our readers. We are now into our sixth year!

This month, we are talking about celebrities again, but this time about the deaths that shocked us the most. Whose death shocked you the most? Please don't hesitate to share in the comments!

We're always open to topic suggestions, so please don't hesitate to share those in the comments. We'd also love to know if you can relate to anything we've said or hear your own thoughts on the topic. So don't be shy. :) We look forward to getting to know you as much as we're letting you get to know us. You can find our previous columns here, in case you missed them. 

Sara Steven:

Even without personally knowing a celebrity, their deaths can be shocking. I can think of quite a few times when hearing about a celeb’s death felt like a huge sucker punch right to the gut. I had to pull over when I heard about Aaliyah’s death. Whitney Houston’s announcement gave me chills. And just in the last two days, we heard about the passing of Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Ozzy Osbourne. When I read about their deaths online, I audibly gasped. It was loud enough for my husband to ask me what was wrong. He was shocked, too. 

Courtesy of Rolling Stone

Celebrities become well-known to us. So many of us grew up with Malcolm, Whitney, and Aaliyah. They feel invincible. There are some deaths that, while emotionally painful, might be more expected if the celebrity is much older or fans have been made aware of something like poor health that could be a possible culprit. I had high hopes that Betty White would make it to 100. I figured if anyone could, it would be her. 

The deaths that shock me the most are the ones that are completely unexpected. I remember how devastating it was to learn of Kobe Bryant’s (and his daughter’s) plane crash. And how could Bob Saget not be with us anymore? Phil Hartman’s homicide still does not feel real. And this year, Clueless celebrates its 30th year, but it does not feel complete without Brittany Murphy telling us all to “roll with the homies.”

We miss our focal points. The people who represented a particular era of time that we cherish. People who might have inspired us, like Tupac Shakur, or Robin Williams. Or those who were like father figures for us–it was tough to watch the new Frasier without John Mahoney. Matthew Perry made us all laugh; “Could he BE any funnier?” And Luke Perry made us cry when we learned the world would move on without his presence on this earth.

Courtesy of Vanity Fair

My best friend never seemed to recover after we lost Jonathan Brandis. That hit her hard, when we were teens. I felt that way about River Phoenix and Kurt Cobain. I loved Bill Paxton in Big Love, and Michael Kenneth Williams is still referred to as “Chalky White” in my house, from his Boardwalk Empire days. We even try to mimic his scratchy, cadenced tone when we say his character’s name out loud. 

Lisa “Left Eye” Lopez. Adrienne Shelly. Prince. Anne Heche. Michelle Trachtenberg. Angus Cloud. And Stephen “Twitch” Boss. They’re added to my list of shocking deaths, because as with the other celebs I’ve included in my post (and I’m sure there are more names that I’m forgetting right now), it hurts to lose the bright spots they’ve left behind. We feel their absence, even if we never personally knew them. 

Courtesy of People

Melissa Amster:

Sara came up with this topic a couple months ago, so the timing is strange for us to share it this week, which was planned, given that Malcolm Jamal-Warner just died in an unexpected way. He was pretty young too. I lost track of him after The Cosby Show, but it sounds like he still had a good acting career and was on a bunch of shows. I'm also scared of drowning so hearing that he died that way is even more unsettling. Anyway, he was not on my Bingo card and I did not expect to see that news this week. And then if that wasn't a kicker enough, I found out yesterday about Ozzy Osbourne. I literally said "holy crap!" when I passed along the news. Celebrity deaths come in threes, so I worry about who could be next...

When I think about the celebrity deaths that shocked me the most, the following come to mind:

Betty White: I know she was old, but she was so, so close to celebrating her 100th birthday that it was a huge shock and disappointment when she passed shortly before that happened. I was hoping she'd be immortal. 

Bob Saget: I felt like his death came out of nowhere and he was still pretty young. At least in today's standards. I had to look up how he died and it says that it was from head trauma. How scary! I was always a Full House fan, so this one was definitely more personal. I also loved his narration on How I Met Your Mother. And I saw him on Broadway in The Drowsy Chaperone.

Courtesy of Biography

Matthew Perry: What Friends fan isn't completely floored by the sudden passing of Chandler Bing?!?  

Jill Sobule: This one hurt. She was killed in a house fire a couple months ago. I had just come home from seeing a musical with my kids and saw the news. Jill's album (along with Jewel's) saved my sanity after my first breakup. I still listen to that album and get the songs in my head a lot. And I love her version of "I Kissed a Girl" way more than Katy Perry's. 

Courtesy of Variety

Luke Perry: A Gen X icon who also died way before he should have. I remember he had a stroke and went quickly after that. We weren't prepared at all, the way we were prepared for Shannen Doherty's passing last year. I hadn't been watching Riverdale when Luke died, but I watched a few years later and cried from the episode about Fred Andrews' funeral. 

Weirdly enough, Princess Di: I don't follow the Royal Family and never paid much attention to Princess Di or anything going on in her life. So when my grandma called me over Labor Day weekend in 1997 to tell me that Princess Di had been killed in a car accident, I thought she was making it up. Then I turned on the news. I think just knowing how it happened and how her life ended so quickly was jarring to me. I know what led up to her death and wish she had not had a reason to run from the paparazzi. I just felt bad for her kids, who were so little at the time. 

Robin Williams: He was the last person I expected to take his own life, especially after he always brought joy to people with his comedic acting. It goes to show that you never really know what's going on in someone's life, behind their jokes and grins.

Courtesy of Medium

Gavin Creel: As a Broadway fan, this one really hurts too. I had no idea he was even sick so when someone reported that he passed away, I was like "Wait, what?!?" Gavin was kind hearted and had such great talent and stage presence. I saw him in Into the Woods when it toured a few years ago. I never saw him in Thoroughly Modern Millie, but hearing this song always haunts me.

There are other celebrity deaths that happened over time that I sometimes didn't see coming, like some of the actors from Glee, for example. I also remember how sad it was in the late nineties hearing about Chris Farley and Phil Hartman, iconic SNL comedians. And of course there's Michael Jackson, whose music lives on even sixteen years later. I know there will be others. I just want to wrap some celebrity icons like Dick Van Dyke, Carol Burnett, and Mel Brooks in bubble wrap and keep them immortal. 

I noticed that Sara and I had listed a lot of the same people, but clearly their deaths had made an impact on both of us.

Which celebrity's death has shocked you the most? (You can say more than one if you have a list!)

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Sara and Melissa Talk About...Celebrity Crushes

We've been running a column series to get more personal with our readers. We are now into our sixth year!

This month, we are talking about our celebrity crushes. We'd love to know who yours are, so please don't hesitate to share in the comments!

We're always open to topic suggestions, so please don't hesitate to share those in the comments. We'd also love to know if you can relate to anything we've said or hear your own thoughts on the topic. So don't be shy. :) We look forward to getting to know you as much as we're letting you get to know us. You can find our previous columns here, in case you missed them. 

Melissa Amster:

I've had many celebrity crushes over the years. My first big one was Michael J. Fox. I enjoyed watching him on Family Ties but my crush got even bigger from seeing him in Back to the Future. Then I had a huge crush on Patrick Swayze after the first time I saw Dirty Dancing. I obviously loved the movie, but I couldn't take my eyes off him. And, of course, we can't forget my crush on Joey McIntyre during my New Kids on the Block obsession phase. I even got to meet him in 2004 when he was in Wicked! (I know this was long past my crush days, but still...)

L to R: Me, Joey, my sister

Since then, I've had many more celebrity crushes. Sara can attest to this. 😅 I will just share some of the bigger ones for now, as to not make this post go on forever!

Adam Lambert: When he was on American Idol in 2009, I didn't give much thought to him at first. Then he sang "Mad World" and I couldn't stop thinking of him after that. I know he's gay, but that didn't stop me from crushing on him, big time. I was also crushed that he didn't win that season, but he's gone on to do a lot of amazing things since then!

Chris Messina: I loved him on The Mindy Project. He was just so swoonworthy. The clincher was when he did the dance for Mindy at the Christmas party. (Start at 54 seconds in if you want to skip the dialogue.)

Santino Fontana: I know Rebecca was angling for Josh on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, but I had my sights on Greg. He was so adorable and I loved his singing voice. I was sad when he left the show and then got replaced by Skylar Astin later on, instead of being brought back as himself. 

Lin-Manuel Miranda: During my Hamilton obsession phase, I would have passed out if Lin-Manuel was even in the same room as me. Clearly that never happened. I liked him when he was in In the Heights too and was sad I didn't get to see him as Usnavi when I finally got a chance to see the show. What I like him even more for is his writing and acting talent. (Oddly enough, my son texted me to tell me today that his best friend is at the Drama Bookshop and that Lin is there at the same time. I told him I'd pass out if I were there. So I guess that still holds true.)

Daniel Levy: When I started watching Schitt's Creek during the pandemic, I never thought I would blush every time I saw David. (And yes, I know he's gay too.) There's just something so beautiful about him. Sara even got me a pillow with his face on it. 

Brett Goldstein: It's impossible to NOT have a crush on him! And when he talks in his regular voice instead of his gruff Roy Kent voice, then watch out! 

Courtesy of Observer

Cole Sprouse: Crushing on him after I first got into Riverdale means I can no longer watch Big Daddy without feeling inappropriate somehow. The crush has faded away, so maybe I'll be able to watch in the future. He was definitely occupying my daydreams for a while! (And he got into some of my nighttime dreams...) Sara fed this crush by getting me a Jughead Funko pop and a blanket with his face on it. 

Chad Michael Murray: He wasn't a crush for me when he was a teenager or anything. I know he was cute in Freaky Friday, but I didn't give it too much thought. I also didn't like his character on Riverdale at all. (That was intended though.) So when he showed up on Sullivan's Crossing, he suddenly had my attention. Definitely swoonworthy! He's also very much worth watching in The Merry Gentlemen, in case you want to celebrate Christmas in the summer...

And saving my latest for last...Asher Grodman: I just got into Ghosts this past winter and have never heard of Asher Grodman until that point. I must have been living under a rock this whole time! (Of course, I cast him in one of the books I was reviewing that needed a hot Jewish male love interest.) Now that I've seen him as Trevor, I can't take my eyes off him! I love seeing pictures of him with his dog. Meltworthy! I also love pictures like this that are totally unrelated to him playing Trevor and show this rugged side to him. And then there's his voice. There's just something about it that makes him so easy on the ears too. I even bought a ticket to watch an improv show that was livestreaming the other night because he was going to be on it. 

Courtesy of Ghosts Wiki

Sara Steven:

Over a decade ago, Melissa and I participated in a weekly blog group with friends. We’d take turns coming up with various topics, and one week I’d chosen a topic referencing a laminated top five list of celebrity crushes–a topic inspired by the TV show Friends. (See the blog post here.) 

The majority of my list holds true today, with a couple of changes and add-ons. Adam Levine and Peter Krause got bumped for Donald Glover, and I had to include Joshua Jackson, for obvious reasons. But in no particular order:

Mark Wahlberg: As mentioned in my 2012 blog post, I’ve been into Marky Mark since his breakout role in the movie Fear. I think he’s only gotten better with age. I admire his work ethic, the way he’s branched out into entrepreneurial endeavors, and I can appreciate how much he cares about his health–I think I’ve read somewhere that the man gets up around 3am most mornings in order to fit a workout into his busy schedule. He also appears to be a loving husband and family man; who wouldn’t like that?

Courtesy of Men’s Fitness

Sean Connery: Melissa and I recently conversed about how we’re both beginning to appreciate the more mature generation when it comes to crushes, but Sean Connery has been a crush of mine from girlhood into now. From his role as James Bond, to playing the quirky dad on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was pretty good, too. He maintained an air of subtle sensuality that easily appealed to people of every generation.

LL Cool J: Talk about a man with a lot of charisma. I love his music and I love watching him, too. He exudes confidence with every line he raps, or when he’s on screen, and when he bites his lower lip? I’m sure it’s just a habitual tick for him, but it drives us all wild when he does it! I also like the way he tends to roll up one pant leg and leave the other one down, because he does what he wants to and makes it fashionable. 

Donald Glover: I refer to Donald–or Childish Gambino–as Triple Threat, but I recently read an article that in theory, he’s really a Quintuple threat. (Can be read here.) He’s a rapper, writer, comedian, and actor. He’s so talented–and I think there’s not much he can’t do. Not to mention he’s easy on the eyes and I imagine a pretty funny guy to boot. I love a man with a great sense of humor! My oldest really likes Donald, too, so it’s fun (for me) to be able to have something in common when it comes to our interests. We both enjoy listening to Childish Gambino together, too. 

Courtesy of WSJ

Joshua Jackson: PACEY!!! I mean, from Dawson Creek days, when I was team Pacey, to watching him on Doctor Odyssey, it seems Mr. Joshua Jackson just gets better and better with the passing of time. Melissa sent this clip to me (seen here) of Jackson walking through the spirit tunnel on The Jennifer Hudson Show, and he’s just so freaking cute! I loved watching him in the show The Affair, and let’s be honest–Dr. Odyssey isn’t the most in-depth show, but I imagine the majority of the viewers watch it to catch glimpses of their favorite Gen Xer. And speaking of Gen X: This cracked me up, but it’s so, so true!

Who are your celebrity crushes?

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Book Review: The Woman in Me

By Allyson Bales

In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice—her truth—was undeniable, and it changed the course of her life and the lives of countless others. The Woman in Me reveals for the first time her incredible journey—and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history.

Written with remarkable candor and humor, Spears’s groundbreaking book illuminates the enduring power of music and love—and the importance of a woman telling her own story, on her own terms, at last. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

“There have been so many times when I was scared to speak up because I was afraid somebody would think I was crazy.  But I’ve learned that lesson now, the hard way.  You have to speak the thing that you’re feeling, even if it scares you.  You have to tell your story.  You have to raise your voice.”

To say that I was riveted reading Britney’s memoir is an understatement.  I was engrossed, gripped, and truly consumed.  My wife and I were on our way back from a very fun bachelorette weekend with a five-hour car ride journey ahead of us and we started to listen to this compelling and emotional read and I could. Not. Stop.  I had to have the audio and physical copy so that I could finish as quickly as possible. I read this in one day, honestly probably five hours.

I have always been a fan of Britney.  I remember watching her with Justin Timberlake at the VMAs.  I remember her ‘Baby One More Time’ music video and being mesmerized by her.  I remember when she shaved her head and watched the paparazzi chase her and her small children down the street.  I have watched every documentary there is, being completely fascinated by her life.  What a life she has lived and endured and so many of us have had no clue what she has been going through and dealing with.  This book showcases her strength and what an amazing human she is.

This book will make you understand her.  It will make you relate to her.  It will possibly also make you more aware of just how many people are suffering in silence and the last thing that they need is judgment.  It reads like a diary or series of long instagram posts with short chapters.  Britney’s storytelling is a bit all over the place but it makes sense and keeps you so engaged.  It is so nice to finally get to hear Britney’s truth and to hear her reflect, with such depth, on what she has learned.  It showcases how good of a mom she is, how thoughtful of a person she is, how strong she is.

This is probably one of my favorite memoirs and I think everyone should read it.  So many of us are consumed by pop culture and scrolling on our phones and celebrity news.  At the end of the day, they are just normal people trying to do the best that they can and this book really represents that.  I also think it spotlights how important it is to recognize there is always more than one version of the story and no one deserves to be ridiculed or judged.  Everyone deserves for their voice to be heard.  

I think you need to know that I also really enjoyed Michelle Williams's narration and highly recommend either version of the book.

Thank you Britney for sharing your story with us.  You are one strong woman!

Thanks to Gallery for the book in exchange for an honest review. Purchase The Woman in Me here.

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Viola Shipman is the cherry on the cake...plus a book giveaway

Introduction by Melissa Amster

It's always a pleasure to have Viola Shipman at CLC. For those who don't already know, Viola Shipman is the pen name for Wade Rouse, who was originally our Go-to-Gay. That started over 10 years ago! So when I found out that he was coming to my neck of the woods, I marked my calendar and drove out about an hour away to finally have the chance to meet him in person. And what a glorious meeting it was! Wade is so wonderful in person and he's also a terrific speaker, who had me laughing so much. His husband Gary was also at the signing. I had connected with Gary while working with Wade and he is as lovely as can be. I'm so thankful to know them both and I hope this won't be the only time to see them in person. 

Viola's latest novel is Famous in a Small Town, which is a delightful story about friendship between generations. There's also a lot of talk about cherries. Melissa really enjoyed it and you can check out her review. Thanks to Graydon House, we have TWO copies to give away!

With Wade and Gary during their Maryland tour stop

Wade Rouse is the USA TODAY, Publishers Weekly, and internationally bestselling author of 15 books, including five memoirs and ten novels. Wade chose his grandmother’s name, Viola Shipman, as a pen name to honor the woman whose heirlooms and family stories inspire his fiction.

Wade’s novels include The Charm Bracelet, a 2017 Michigan Notable Book of the Year; The Hope Chest; The Recipe Box, The Summer Cottage, The Heirloom Garden, The Clover Girls, The Secret of Snow, The Edge of Summer, and A Wish for Winter.

Library Journal writes that Wade has “hit upon the perfect formula to tell heartwarming, intergenerational family stories by weaving together the lives, loves and history of family through cherished heirlooms.” 

Wade's books have been selected multiple times as Must-Reads by NBC’s Today Show, featured in the New York Times and on Chelsea Lately and chosen three times as Indie Next Picks by the nation’s independent booksellers. His writing has appeared in a diverse range of publications and media, including Coastal Living, Time, All Things Considered, People, Good Housekeeping, Salon, Forbes, The Washington Post, Writer’s Digest and Publisher’s Weekly.

Also a noted humorist of four memoirs, Wade was a finalist for the Goodreads Choice Awards in Humor (he lost to Tina Fey) and was named by Writer’s Digest as “The #2 Writer, Dead or Alive, We’d Like to Have Drinks With” (Wade was sandwiched between Ernest Hemingway and Hunter Thompson).

Wade earned his B.A. from Drury University and his master’s in journalism from Northwestern University. He divides his time between Saugatuck, Michigan, and Palm Springs, California, and is also an acclaimed writing teacher who has mentored numerous students to become published authors. (Bio adapted from Viola's website.)

Visit Viola online:
Website * Wade's website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram

Synopsis:
For most of her eighty years, Mary Jackson has endured the steady invasion of tourists, influencers and real estate developers who have discovered the lakeside charm of Good Hart, Michigan, waiting patiently for the arrival of a stranger she’s believed since childhood would one day carry on her legacy—the Very Cherry General Store. Like generations of Jackson women before her, Cherry Mary, as she’s known locally, runs the community hub—part post office, bakery and sandwich shop—and had almost given up hope that the mysterious prediction she’d been told as a girl would come true and the store would have to pass to…a man.

Becky Thatcher came to Good Hart with her ride-or-die BFF to forget that she’s just turned forty with nothing to show for it. Ending up at the general store with Mary is admittedly not the beach vacation she expected, but the more the feisty octogenarian talks about destiny, the stronger Becky’s memories of her own childhood holidays become, and the strange visions over the lake she was never sure were real. As she works under Mary’s wing for the summer and finds she fits into this quirky community of locals, she starts to believe that destiny could be real, and that it might have something very special in mind for Becky… (Courtesy of Amazon.)

Starstruck

Much like the title of my new novel, Famous in a Small Town, I grew up in a tiny town in rural America and was famous (or perhaps infamous is a better word) for wanting to be a writer. 

I never dreamed I would ever meet a celebrity, and yet much of my life has centered around them. 

One of my first magazine interviews was when I was in graduate school at Northwestern University. I interviewed Oscar winner Patricia Neal about her recovery from a stroke. 

I worked at an elite prep school as communications director where I interviewed and worked alongside alumni who were extremely famous, from actors (like Vincent Price and Sterling K. Brown) to tycoons of business as well as senators and former presidents. 

I was a reporter and writer for PEOPLE, where I talked to Britney Spears and Melissa Etheridge and worked red carpets interviewing Laura Dern, Julianne Moore and Benedict Cumberbatch. And my “beat” for PEOPLE was the Real Housewives franchise, where I talked to reality stars from Beverly Hills to New Jersey. 

Ironically, this small town boy I never got nervous around big city celebrities. 

That is, until I was invited to the East Hampton Library’s Authors Night, a sort of Met Gala for celebrity authors (and normal, ol’ authors like me). 

There was a fancy step-and-repeat, camera crews from E! and Entertainment Tonight, flashbulbs popping. They weren’t there to photograph me; they were there to talk to Alec Baldwin, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ina Garten, Christie Brinkley, the famous names went on and on. 

I was seated at a book signing table next to a Kennedy. 

A. Kennedy. 

But I actually wasn’t nervous about any of these people until I saw Mary Higgins Clark, nearing 90 and still glamorous, enter the tent. 

She was a longtime idol of mine. My great aunts loved to read the “Queen of Suspense,” whose tales of women beating the odds made her one of the world's most popular writers. 

I had long admired the publishing tales and literary lore surrounding her tireless work ethic and career reinvention. 

I approached Mary Higgins Clark when there was a break in her line, heart rapidly beating, and introduced myself. 

She had no clue who I was but acted as if she did. 

I told her of my admiration and asked if she had any advice. 

“Never give up!” she told me, before looking around the room. “Fame is fleeting. Talent is forever. Believe in yourself and fight for your work.” Then she looked me right in the eye. “If you want to admire me for anything, admire me for working harder than anyone else and being grateful.”

I immediately thought of my grandmother, Viola Shipman, the pen name I chose for my fiction to honor the working poor Ozarks woman whose sacrifices changed my family’s life and who worked harder than anyone I ever knew while still being grateful for the little things in life. 

We took a picture together, which I have framed in my writing studio. 

Ironically, Famous in A Small Town is inspired by women like Mary Higgins Clark and my grandmothers, fierce, independent women who also were kind, hardworking and never gave up. The main character, “Cherry Mary” Jackson became famous in her small town for doing something a woman had never been allowed to do: She entered Michigan’s Cherry Pit Spitting Championship and not only beat all the men but set a record for Guinness Book of World Records.  She refused to live by society’s rules and became famous for simply believing in the magic of herself. But she considers herself an ordinary gal. 

My Grandma Shipman used to watch the soaps on TV when she retired. On weekends, we’d go to the movie theatre. 

“Stars, they’re just like you and me,” she once told me after we walked out of a movie when I said I wanted to be famous.” They just seem bigger on film. The most important thing is to live a big life doing what you love while remaining simple.”

And that’s what I aspire to do to this day in both my life and my writing. 

But meeting authors I admire still makes me sweat. 

Thanks to Wade for a wonderful guest post and to Graydon House for sharing Viola's latest novel with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

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Giveaway ends June 27th at midnight EST.

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Book Review: The Sporty One

By Sara Steven

Twenty-five years ago, The Spice Girls, a girl band that began after five women answered an ad in the paper, released their first single. 'Wannabe' became a hit and from that moment and, almost overnight, Melanie Chisholm went from small town girl to Sporty Spice, part of one of the biggest music groups in history. 

Beginning in her bedroom in the north-west of England dreaming of performing on stage, THE SPORTY ONE follows the meteoric rise of the Melanie and The Spice Girls, from the incredible highs of becoming one of the world’s most recognizable pop stars – playing at Wembley, conquering the BRITs, closing the Olympics – to the difficult lows. For the first time ever, Melanie talks about the pressures of fame, the shaming and bullying she experienced, the struggles she has had with her body image and mental health, and the difficulty of finding yourself when the whole world knows your name. 

THE SPORTY ONE is an incredible story of resilience, hope and how you can find your power.(Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads.)

I love The Spice Girls! I think many of us who grew up in the 90s can relate to that sentiment. I’d recently seen Melanie compete on Dancing With the Stars and had questioned what she’d been up to and had wondered how her life had turned out, and I feel as though I was left pretty satisfied with that by reading her book, The Sporty One. While so much of it focused on the past, we do get a taste of her life in recent years, and what a life it’s been!

I sometimes get the impression of perfection when I read about celebrities. That they’ve lived a charmed life. That wasn’t the case for Melanie. She had more than humble beginnings and used her performances as a means of escape from the trials she’d had as a child. Melanie’s voice is nothing but honest. She doesn’t sugar coat anything–the relationship she’d had with her parents, and later, her stepfather, or the tough experiences she’d had at school when she wanted nothing more than to just live in harmony with everyone else. She is a self-described peacemaker, and I could really get a sense for that when she describes the way things were for her with other children and later, the teens she went to high school with. It wasn’t an easy life. 

Like any big Spice Girls fan, I eagerly anticipated the chapter that would give us the lowdown on how it all had come to be, and Melanie supplied that, and more. I had no clue that there had been a different young woman who had been chosen initially to join the fab five, before Emma Bunton had come along. I can’t even imagine anyone other than Baby Spice in that role, but it happened, and Melanie talks about that experience. She talks about the arguments and disagreements, the various characteristics of the girls and ultimately, how much they all helmed and paved the way for their own success. The Spice Girls did not have fame handed to them. They had to work for it. 

There were moments in certain chapters where it felt like messages had become redundant, or Melanie’s story repeated here and there, but for any fan, it’s a great book to add to your to-be-read pile! I enjoyed learning more about her, and the other Spice Girls, from someone who actually lived the experience.

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing for the book in exchange for an honest review.

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Starstruck with Sariah Wilson...plus a book giveaway

Photo by JordanBree Photography

We're glad to have Sariah Wilson back at CLC today. She's here to talk about the time she met Adam Driver (Kylo Ren in the new Star Wars movies) and how he inspired her latest novel, The Seat Filler. Thanks to Kaye Publicity, we have one copy to give away!

A passionate believer in happily-ever-afters, Sariah and her own soulmate live in Utah with their four children and the two family cats. Her belief in true love has inspired several bestselling romance series, including End of the Line (THE FRIEND ZONE, JUST A BOYFRIEND); Lovestruck (#STARSTRUCK, #MOONSTRUCK, #AWESTRUCK);  Ugly Stepsisters (THE UGLY STEPSISTER STRIKES BACK; PROMPOSAL), Royals of Monterra (ROYAL DATE, ROYAL CHASE, ROYAL GAMES, ROYAL DESIGN), and many standalone novels, including her most recent smash hit from October--ROOMMAID.

Visit Sariah online:
Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram

Synopsis:

The meet-cute award goes to dog groomer Juliet Nolan. It’s one of Hollywood’s biggest nights when she volunteers as a seat filler and winds up next to movie heartthrob Noah freaking Douglas. Tongue tied and toes curling in her pink Converse, she pretends that she doesn’t have a clue who he is. It’s the only way to keep from swooning.

She’s pretty and unpretentious, loves his dog, and is not a worshipping fan. No way Noah’s giving up on her, even if his affectionate pursuit comes with a bump: Juliet has a pathological fear of kissing and the disappointments that follow. What odds does romance have without that momentous, stupendous, once-in-a-lifetime first smooch? Patient, empathetic, and carrying personal burdens of his own, Noah suggests a remedy: they rehearse.

The lessons begin. The guards come down. But there’s another hitch they weren’t betting on. As for that cue-the-orchestra-and-roll-credits happy ending? It might take more than practice to make it perfect.

THE SEAT FILLER: How meeting Adam Driver IRL inspired my newest romance novel 

**Contains Star Wars spoilers.**

Being a lifelong Star Wars fan, I was excited by the recent sequel trilogy. I went to see The Rise of Skywalker, and given that I am a romance author, was keenly disappointed by the ending. Ben Solo should have lived, and heroine Rey should have won her soulmate. I needed to know if there had been an alternate ending for Reylo (Rey and Ben Solo), but there was no one to ask.  

 Until I saw that Adam Driver was doing a charity auction for his charity, Arts in the Armed Forces. It was a chance to meet him on the red carpet at the SAG-AFTRA Awards. This felt like the stars aligning—here was my chance to ask my question! I bid and won and flew out to Los Angeles with my then 12-year-old daughter.  

We were put in bleachers next to the red carpet, and it was everything you’d hope for. Glitz, glamour, lights, and all kinds of celebrities. I had the absolute best time getting to briefly chat with stars like Rachel Brosnahan, Henry Winkler, Helena Bonham Carter and Christian Bale, getting autographs and pictures.  

Getting to meet Adam was like being involved in a military operation—I met with several different members of his team to get everything arranged beforehand. I continued meeting some of my favorite stars while waiting for him to arrive. A few days before I’d interacted with some other Adam Driver fans online, telling them about my chance to meet him. They told me that he is a bit socially awkward and doesn’t like these kinds of events, so it would be up to me to make conversation. I felt fully prepared to carry on a one-sided chat.   

Then…he came over to meet us. He’s a very large, imposing man and my brain short-circuited. I have no explanation as to why I was so overwhelmed. He greeted us, shook our hands, thanked us for our donation and then asked where we were from. I remember thinking, “Why the freak does Adam Driver care where I’m from?” Obviously, he was trying to make small talk but I wasn’t processing conversation on a normal frequency. He had to ask me the question again and I finally managed to answer. He asked where our city was located and I told him, using a landmark he was probably unfamiliar with.  

I asked him to sign a couple of autographs for us, a Vanity Fair Kylo Ren cover for me, my daughter’s autograph book for her. He signed a very sweet message to her, and then read the message to us (given his messy handwriting). But because it was so loud, I thought he was saying goodbye. So I somehow managed to pull my wits together and ask for a photo, which he was more than happy to take with us. He shook our hands again and wished us a good night.  

As he walked away, still kicking myself over my inability to have a conversation, I thought, “This is a book.” A girl meets her favorite celebrity at an awards show and can’t speak. I called my agent that night (even though she was several time zones ahead of me) and pitched her the idea. She loved it, and so did my editor, and thus THE SEAT FILLER was born.   

(In case you’re curious, I did eventually get to find out whether or not there had been an alternate ending filmed when I won another charity auction and had a Zoom call with co-star Daisy Ridley, and she confirmed that there was no other ending.) 

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here.

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Giveaway ends May 3rd at midnight EST.

Rachel Bloom is the coolest girl in the world...plus a book giveaway

Photo by Robyn Von Swank

Introduction by Melissa Amster

I am beyond excited to share my interview with Rachel Bloom today! Ever since I first fell in love with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (read my posts from the bottom up), I have admired Rachel's creative talent. Her love for Broadway also resonates with me. Last year, my husband and I got to see her perform live and she was absolutely hilarious! 

Rachel's memoir, I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are, published today. To celebrate, Grand Central Publishing (who also helped arrange this interview) has FIVE copies for some lucky readers! The title makes me think of a line from "Part of Your World" (The Little Mermaid). However, I'm sure there's more to it than that, and I can't wait to dive into this book and find out!

Rachel Bloom is a comedian, actress, writer, and singer born and raised in Los Angeles. Rachel co-created and starred in the TV series Crazy Ex-Girlfriend on The CW Network and earned a Golden Globe and Critics Choice award for her performance, as well as a Primetime Emmy Award for the songwriting. In 2019, she toured her Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Live show across the US and Europe, selling out at iconic venues such as Radio City Music Hall and the London Palladium. Rachel is currently executive producing a new romantic mystery comedy drama television series for The CW Network titled I’m In Love With The Dancer from My Bat Mitzvah, and she is set to write the Untitled *NSYNC Comedy for TriStar pictures. She is also penning the lyrics for an upcoming Broadway musical of The Nanny. Rachel’s first book, I Want To Be Where The Normal People Are, was published by Grand Central Publishing on November 17, 2020. 

Visit Rachel online:

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram

Synopsis:
Rachel Bloom has felt abnormal and out of place her whole life. In this exploration of what she thinks makes her "different," she's come to realize that a lot of people also feel this way; even people who she otherwise thought were "normal."

In a collection of laugh-out-loud funny essays, all told in the unique voice (sometimes singing voice) that made her a star; Rachel writes about everything from her love of Disney, OCD and depression, weirdness, and Spanx to the story of how she didn't poop in the toilet until she was four years old; Rachel's pieces are hilarious, smart, and infinitely relatable (except for the pooping thing). (Courtesy of Amazon.)

What is one thing you hope people who read your book will learn about you?
That I have a debilitating series of checks and balances in my brain.

What were the easiest and most challenging parts of writing I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are?
The easiest part was the interview with my dog because obviously I just had to interview my dog. The most challenging part was finding a structure for my essay about my mental health in my twenties.

What is your writing environment like? 

My writing varies between my bathtub, a table on my patio that overlooks the street, and my tiny desk in my chaotic office made chaotic because half of my house is unusable due to construction.

What are some of your favorite books of all time?
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari, The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, The Giver by Lois Lowry

What is the funniest thing that has happened to you as a new mother?
Just today, I was putting on my own makeup for a news piece, because the makeup artist I had hired couldn’t get a Covid test in time, while I was pumping with a bra that makes the breast pump stick to your nipples. So I was putting on eyeliner as these pumps were sticking out of my tits and it was just very on the nose.

What was your favorite song to perform on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend?
"Heavy Boobs." A couple years ago there was a performance in Austin and it happened to fall on National Women’s Day so I invited all of the women with heavy boobs in the audience to come up on stage with me and do the song. 

Thanks to Rachel for visiting with us and to Grand Central Publishing for facilitating the interview and sharing her book with our readers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

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Giveaway ends November 22nd at midnight EST.

Book Review and Giveaway: Nothing Like I Imagined

By Tracey Meyers

Confession: I would love to have Mindy Kaling as my friend. I laugh as I type this because Mindy Kaling acknowledges in the group of essays, I’m about to review that she gets this reaction a lot from her fans.  Though the first time I really saw Mindy act was in the movie No Strings Attached, it was really her show The Mindy Project that got me hooked as a fan.  By the time I realized she was an author her first book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) had been in bookstores for a decent period of time and the first book of hers I ever read was Why Not Me? – which, by the way, I LOVED!  So, despite my determination to not let Instagram celebrity/influencer ads pursued me to buy things, when I saw Mindy on IG promoting her series of essays, sold exclusively via Amazon, I immediately went to Amazon and purchased them.

Unlike her memoirs, Mindy Kaling’s essay collection, Nothing Like I Imagined, consists of six individual short essays on topics ranging from her connection to her Indian heritage to the importance of good friends to making it big in Hollywood.  The essays range from about 16 to 22 pages.  While I’m not opposed to reading a 300-page memoir it was nice to have these short reads available when I wanted some quick and enjoyable to read.  I like that those these essays did go together I didn’t feel pressured to read them all at once, or with in a short period of time, because I wouldn’t know how it all ends.  

I liked Mindy’s insightfulness in each essay.  I related to a lot of the things she wrote about.  From her stories about what religion means to reflections on friendship she really hit a nerve with me while still keeping the “conversation” light and funny – which is something I love about her writing.  I was especially drawn into her essay "Searching for Coach Taylor." Even though I am now married, there was a time (not that long ago) I, too, was living my life as though there would be no husband in my future.  I love how Mindy describes the Pros and Cons of being single.  Not to spoil things, but I will say to Mindy my husband does let me drive our car; perhaps he is a rare exception.

In the end if you are looking to laugh while feeling inspired, I highly recommend Mindy Kaling’s Nothing Like I Imagined essays.  You can purchase all six or mix and match as you like.  I think you will be pleased.

Thanks to Amazon Publishing, we have one e-book or audiobook (winner's choice) for a lucky reader!

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here. 

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Giveaway ends November 17th at midnight EST.

Book Review: Famous Last Words

By Jami Deise

As an avid Twitter user, I sometimes get tweets like this: Morena Baccarin Compares Kissing Ryan Reynolds to ‘Kissing a Giant Latex Condom’. Now that I’ve read former People magazine reporter Sara Hammel’s latest, Famous Last Words, I have a much greater understanding of everything that went into turning one or two salacious quotes into a Twitter-worthy story. (Spoiler alert: It was Ryan’s costume, not the actor himself, that was the problem.)

Ever since she was a child, Augusta Noble has worshipped celebrities. When she was overweight and lonely, they provided comfort from the classmates who bullied her. Now an adult, she uses them to hide from the fact that she could be a murderer.

A hard news reporter, Augusta quits her reporting job and becomes the London stringer for CelebLife, a People-type magazine that only prints the best about the celebrities it covers, after the traumatic event. Pursuing stars for quotes such as the Morena Baccarin line above, Augusta finds that some celebrities are nice and others are mean. Having once told her mother that it would take 107 celebrity encounters to make up for not having a lot of friends, Augusta works toward that number while dealing with the shaky fortunes of print journalism in the twenty-first century. At the same time, police are hounding her to remember exactly what happened that night at her best friend Caroline’s apartment that left someone dead. And there’s a possible romance with a member of the British aristocracy.

There’s a lot going on in this book, including multiple time lines and locations, and there were times I got confused. Hammel has a strong narrative voice, and her characterization of Augusta is multi-faceted and generous. Strangely enough, I would have appreciated more time in the past with Augusta and the mystery of Caroline than chasing after real-life stars. Undoubtedly, many of the tidbits Hammel drops as Augusta flits from red carpet to after-party are based on the author’s real-life encounters. But save for the dirt about the Beckhams and Princess Kate, nothing she reveals would surprise anyone who has ever stood in a check-out line at the grocery store.

Although this is Hammel’s second book, she may be better known for the scathing public letter she wrote when resigning from People magazine after a 14-year career. (That letter is also available on Amazon, as a Kindle document entitled Red Carpet Regrets.) The question of whether the public really needs weekly musings on the contents of Jennifer Aniston’s womb notwithstanding, underlying Hammel’s career and Famous Last Words is a very real crisis in journalism. As talented, seasoned reporters are pushed aside for struggling freelancers and established newspapers are bought by organizations in order to silence their voices, folks who strive to tell the real stories may become an endangered species. And then none of us will be able to difference between tabloid news, “fake news,” and what is really going on.

Thanks to Jed Hammel (Sara's brother) for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: A Little Bit Wicked

By Melissa Amster

I was recently looking for an interesting audio book, so I went back to searching for celebrity memoirs. Then I came upon Kristin Chenoweth's book, A Little Bit Wicked, and decided to give it a whirl. I'm SO glad I did!

There's something extra special about listening to a celebrity read their memoir. Since Kristin is so much fun to listen to, this definitely enhanced my enjoyment. She talks about everything she can fit into her 40 years of a life well-lived. (This book came out in 2009, so she was about the same age as I am now at that point in time. Her birthday is even close to mine!) Her stories go from growing up in Oklahoma as the adopted child of two loving parents to performing in beauty pageants to her first Broadway audition to on-and-off dating Aaron Sorkin (writer of The West Wing) and all things in-between. Of course, she talks about playing Galinda in Wicked from the days of workshops through the musical's Tony nomination. And she shares bits and pieces of her experiences on TV shows, such as The West Wing, Pushing Daisies, and the huge (HUGE!) hit sitcom, Kristin. She shares about her faith and how it has helped her overcome obstacles and triumph. She talks about her awkward and embarrassing moments and even points out that she doesn't get special treatment just because she's famous. She's just so kind and gracious about everything, even when she shouldn't have to be! And if you're hungry, she has recipes for "Hum Dum Diddy" and her "cursed" cookies. (You'll see....or hear!)

I really loved everything about this memoir and now I want to see all the shows Kristin has been in, even if I wasn't interested before. Like The Music Man. I am not a fan of that musical, but I'd be interested to see the TV movie starring Kristin and Matthew Broderick. And I really want to watch Pushing Daisies now. (She sings with Ellen "Audrey" Greene!) I may also consider binge-watching The West Wing, but maybe in a few years.

Kristin is truly a delight to listen to. The audio book is short and the print version is 256 pages. Easy read that you're guaranteed to breeze through because you also won't be able to get enough of her! I felt a real connection to her throughout and hope she will write another memoir detailing what she's been up to since she finished this one! I felt like I was sitting across from her at lunch listening to her share all her stories. The only thing I should "warn" readers about in advance is that there is not a linear or chronological progression. Kristin jumps back and forth in time throughout, which may feel a bit confusing. She also goes off on tangents a lot. Another "warning" is that Kristin will have you laughing throughout her book, so don't drink anything you're not prepared to choke on when she throws out one of her zingers.

I hope I can one day meet Kristin in person so I can tell her how much I enjoyed her book and how great I think she is (if I don't get tongue-tied).

Book Review: Lessons from the Prairie

By Jami Deise

The 1970s was a great time to be a girl who loved stories. Not only were the Little House on the Prairie books ubiquitous, but the TV show was the star of every Monday night. Playing “Little House” was a favorite game for my friends and me. We all fought over who got to be Laura. In fact, some of my very first writings were what I now know was fan fiction… a tale called “Light Up the Sky with Firecrackers,” painstakingly written and illustrated on those tablets given to first graders back then. My mom may still have them. (I know she still has the poem I wrote about loving cats and ants.)

This is my long-winded way of saying that when Chick Lit Central was pitched Lessons from the Prairie, written by former Little House child star and current Fox News reporter Melissa Francis, I was game… but wary. For as much as I loved Little House as a grade-schooler, by the time Melissa Francis joined the show, Mary and Laura were all grown up and I was more interested in General Hospital. Furthermore, my political tastes run more toward the Rachel Maddow end of the spectrum.

Still, I was curious about whatever backstage melodrama Francis might have to offer… as well as the inner workings of a brain on Fox News. Coincidentally, the Little House franchise has recently been claimed by conservatives, pointing to its can-do frontier spirit—and disdain for government and politicians—as proof that the best way to help people is to let their neighbors do it. (This outlook is burnished by the fact that Laura Ingalls Wilder and her daughter Rose Wilder Lane were outspoken in their opposition to FDR’s New Deal. No one had helped them out on the prairie, so why should the government help those crippled by a national unemployment rate of twenty-five percent?)

While Lessons does offer a glimpse of behind-the-scenes life on the set, I might have gotten more bang from my buck by reading Francis’s first book, Diary of a Stage Mother’s Daughter. Lessons tries to offer a few concrete rules from Francis’s time on the show and her current career, but these are buried in long-winded (albeit interesting) anecdotes from her past. Francis’s recollections about how Michael Landon treated everyone on set equally (except for salaries, of course) devolves into memories of the Sony versus Betamax VCR wars. And while Francis recounts a fairly recent meeting with Little House co-star Melissa Gilbert in which the two reminisced about Landon, there’s no mention whether she debated politics with the grown-up Half-Pint, who’s a well-known Democratic activist and union supporter.

Francis airs some of her dirty laundry—she touches on her mother’s mismanagement of her finances (I suppose she goes into detail in her first book), while acknowledging her mother deserved some kind of compensation for the hours she spent managing Francis’s career. She’s also upfront about her early reporting missteps and the truth about her appearance before the Fox hair and makeup folks have their way with her. I appreciated the tales of her early gumption in going after news jobs—she called up small TV stations, pretended to have already lined up interviews with their rivals, and proposed the “favor” of dropping off her reel while she was in town. That takes chutzpah, something young women fresh out of college—even if that college is Harvard—seem to lack, while their male counterparts have in spades.

Still, the book’s shortcomings left me unable to appreciate the few lessons she detailed. Francis holds a degree in economics from Harvard, yet the book is written at a fifth-grade level. Did her publisher assume that readers attracted to Francis’s story would only comprehend writing at that level, or is this her true voice? Fox declares that while its commentators are unabashed conservatives, its reporters—Francis is on the financial beat—are unbiased. Yet Francis doesn’t try to hide her conservative leanings, even repeating the tired joke about Al Gore inventing the internet. (I find this lie particularly galling—as a financial reporter, Francis should know that Gore rightly took credit only for authoring the legislation that funded DARPAnet’s transition to the internet, not for its creation.) Honestly, I was interested in how Francis developed her political beliefs –she calls herself a Republican as early as her freshman year at Harvard—yet there’s no self-reflection on how she came to believe what she believes.

The behind-the-scenes at Fox News stories are equally sparse. While Francis gushes over Megyn Kelly, she doesn’t seem to have an opinion on Kelly’s revelations in her own book, nor the timing of its release. She mentions that Roger Ailes repeatedly talked about bedding her, but her blasé reaction to his come-ons hints that the women who sued him for sexual harassment just aren’t as strong as she is. She belittles Democrat Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In” philosophy, advising young women to choose careers that are flexible with the demands of motherhood. Yet she doesn’t talk at all about how difficult it is for women who have “leaned out” for a few years to resume their careers at the same place they left them, or even to be taken seriously at all once they have pared back to take care of their children.

Despite the book’s shortcomings, there is an authenticity that comes across in Francis’s writing. She doesn’t hold herself up as a model for women who want to balance a high-profile career with demanding (she has three children) motherhood. She’s honest about her weaknesses as a reporter (although she seems unable to see the other side of issues she’s covering). And the overall lesson she imparts—there’s no substitute for hard work—is one she practices as well as preaches.

And lastly, Francis recognizes and appreciates the shining light that is Oprah. As Oprah was one of President Obama’s earliest and most fervent supporters, if Francis can still value her, perhaps she’s not quite as conservative as she leads readers to believe.

Thanks to Weinstein Books for the book in exchange for an honest review.