What I Should Have Asked My Agent

Getting an agent was a tiring, emotionally draining process. I wanted to make the right move for my career, but how was I supposed to do that? I did some research and went through all of the steps you’re supposed to. I looked over the contract my agent sent me and asked a lot of questions. That was good, but now that I’ve had some time to develop relationships with other authors at different stages of their careers and heard the stories—good and bad—I realize that I’d missed some major points. I’m fortunate that I lucked into a good agent whom I trust, but if I could do it all over again, I would tell myself to ask the following questions before signing just to make sure we were on the same page.

• How does your agent-to-be handle non-compete and option clauses? If she doesn’t tell you straight off the bat that she will do everything in her power to fight them or change the language so that it is less restrictive on you, you might want to look elsewhere.
• How does your agent-to-be handle rights? Not only do you want to make sure you can get your rights back if your publisher folds, she also should know how to handle digital, foreign, movie, and merchandizing rights. If she works with another agent or lawyer in those negotiations, who is that person?
• What if you want to be a hybrid author? For many writers, a clear delineation between traditional and indie publication doesn’t make sense for their careers. They do both. How does your agent-to-be feel about you working on indie projects? Would she want a cut of an indie book that she does not represent? Is she supportive of you going solo for part of your career?
• Can you break up with your agent if you need to? No one wants to think about an agent/author relationship going south, but sometimes it happens. Read the clauses of your contract dealing with separation very carefully. If you have any doubts about your ability to understand contract language, get a lawyer. You do not want to wind up stuck in a contractual relationship that’s soured.
• What is your agent-to-be’s style, and what do you want from her? I think this is one of the most important questions to ask yourself. Some agents will do serious, line-by -line developmental edits. Others would rather you work with critique partners to get your manuscript in shape so they can focus on selling. Some are very friendly with clients while others keep clients at a more professional distance. You don’t have to be best friends, but you should be working with someone whose style fits yours.

Don’t feel ashamed about asking your prospective agent lots of questions openly. You’re doing what you need to in order to help protect the health of your career. Be polite, but also be informed.

And when in doubt, talk to your friends. There’s a good chance that someone in your chapter or in your personal network of authors knows someone else who is represented by a particular agent. Be discrete and gracious, but make sure to get the answers you need before signing.

The Fandoms That Made You

The other day I was catching up on email when I came across Gail Carriger's monthly newsletter. I'm always interested in what she has to say (and what she's been wearing recently), so I clicked on a link called Gail Carriger's Origin Story. In this article, she outlines the five fandoms that made her the person she is now. Turns out that she was influenced by this article from The Nerdy Girlie. I immediately messaged my sister, and we started to hash out the five fandoms that made us who we were. This is what I came up with (in no particular order).

1. Victoriana. 

I'm in the middle of writing a trilogy of Victorian historical romances right now. The manuscript I used to get my agent was set in 1881 London. I don't think it's very surprising that Victoriana has been one of the biggest influences on my life both as an author and a consumer.

It started when I was in high school. I read pretty much every 19th century novel I could get my hands on. Besides Jane Austen and Fanny Burney (who really is late 18th century but I consider her a strong precursor to Austen), most of my reading centered around the Victorians. Elizabeth Gaskell and Anthony Trollope are still favorites when someone asks who my favorite authors are.

And then I went to college. Declaring a history major very early on gave me the freedom to run wild in the Victorian era. I wound up focusing my study on Victorian female sexuality (through a post-structuralist lens... super pretentious, I  know).* From clothing to calling and courtship practices to prostitution, all of it was fair game. I loved reading about social history and getting my hands on primary source material. I became best friends with my college's temperamental microfiche machines.

I'm not a scholar any longer, but I still read widely about the Victorians.** When you study history, so much of how you look at the world is influenced by the work you do. I can strongly say that my ideas about and appreciation of feminism was strongly influenced by my study. And also my writing which leads me to...

2. Romance novels. I've written before about the first romance novel I ever read. It was cracktastic, and I loved it. I fell into reading as many romance novels as I could, and then graduated from sweet Kensington Zebra Historicals to more explicit books (many of them had kilted highlanders on their covers).

I read romance novels all through high school and college without really finding anyone who felt the same way about these books. I loved falling into the narratives and swimming around in the characters' messy emotions. From Regency to contemporary, I read everything I could get my hands on. I'm still doing that now because my love of those books has only grown as I've started to write my own.

3. The X-Files. My first fandom. I was babysitting my sister when I was in seventh grade and flipping around the channels trying to find something to watch. It was the top of the hour, and I landed on Fox. Since there was a cute guy on the TV, I stayed on the show and proceeded to lose my mind over the course of the hour. I had stumbled upon the a re-airing of season one, episode one of the X-Files. After the episode was done, another came on. I binged watched before binge watching was a thing.

I watched episodes new and old loyally until the show got unredeemably bad. However, in those few years, I was hooked. Everything was X-Files. I clipped out episode recaps, got the now-defunct fanzine, read the novelizations. I read fanfic (my first!). While most girls were head over heels for Devon Sawa (and would soon discover the wonder that was Titanic-era Leo), I had it bad for Fox Mulder. I know there are geek girls out there who feel me on this one.

4. Doctor Who. In 2007 I was studying abroad in the north of England, and I had a lot of downtime on my hands. British universities require far less class time and fewer (if any) regular assignments from students. Compared to the work I did at my college back in the US, I had loads of unstructured time--and that was after doing the recommended reading for my various classes. So what does a 21-year-old with a bad habit of waking up early no matter how late she stayed out at the clubs the night before do? Consume as much British TV through streaming websites as possible.

I found Doctor Who out of necessity. I'd blown through Black Books, The Mighty Boosh, and Spaced not to mention seen all of the movies at the local movie theater I had a pass to. I'd heard of Doctor Who, but I always assumed it was a children's show that my mother watched when she was growing up. However, I decided to give it a try and proceeded to binge watch five episodes of the Christopher Eccleston reboot that night. I became obsessed.

In 2007, very few people were watching Doctor Who in the US because the availability was extremely limited.^ I tried describing the series to my sister who started watching along with so at least I had her to talk to, however it wasn't until 2008 that the show exploded in popularity thanks to BBC America's airings. Suddenly we were all fans of the Doctor, and that was just fine with me.

My love of Doctor Who has not kept up with the show's schedule. I have major problems with Stephen Moffat and his portrayals of women on this show. I suspect I'm also suffering from overexposure as I have no desire to watch through the last Matt Smith season and into the Peter Capaldi years despite a deep love for Malcolm Tucker. But despite all of that, Doctor Who will always exert a strong cultural influence on the things I love.

5. Film noir. I'd grown up reading mysteries with content well outside of my age range. My seventh grade English teacher actually pulled my parents aside to ask if they knew I was reading The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler and L.A. Confidential by James Ellroy (likely due to prostitution story lines in both novels and a certain incident with a garbage disposal in the latter). I remember my mother blinking and then saying yes. If I could understand the content of the book, I could read it.

Perhaps it's no surprise then that I gleefully dove into film noir later that year. I'd been watching classic movies for years, but this genre was eye opening to me. Double Indemnity, The Lady from Shanghai, The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, Chinatown, L.A. Confidential, The Big Easy, The Sweet Smell of Success, Sunset Boulevard -- I loved it all. And then I found Laura.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYYLquxN2zQ

I'm going to get on my soapbox here and say not enough people in this world have seen this movie. Otto Preminger directs Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney in this 1944 masterpiece. It ticks all my boxes: a grouchy New York City detective, a career woman more suited to movies in 2014 than 1944, Clifton Webb as his most acerbic, great clothes, a haunting score, a romance, a young Vincent Price, and Judith Anderson being her usual flinty, badass self. This movie wormed its way into my brain and planted itself there. Just... trust me on this one and watch it.

Time to tell me about the five fandoms that made you. Leave a comment or write a blog post of your own!

*I could nerd out very, very hard right now but I'll save you all of that squee. Also, hopefully by now you've figured out that this is where my propensity for footnotes comes from.

**And fight the urge about every six months to go back and get a PhD or at least a masters in History.

^Read: mostly viewed through highly illegal means.

"Rory's Dance" & "Forgiveness and Stuff"

This week is crazy. I've got NaNoWriMo going at full tilt, Election Day madness at the day job, a friend coming into town with whom I want to spend as much time as possible, and a beta reading pile as tall as I am. Plus my doctor tells me that, although I'm in excellent health, I should be working out at least five days a week because of "preventative health care" and stuff. I'm struggling for time here, so when Tuesday morning rolled around and I had a delayed start at the day job, I thought, "I'll pop in some Gilmore Girls because that will be fun. Oh god, guys. The writers of episodes 9 and 10 are not interested in a fun, pleasant romp in Stars Hollow like the last couple of weeks. They want to pull my heart out and force me to confront all of the messy, teenage worries about disappointing my parents.

Shit got real on the Gilmore Girls.

 "Rory's Dance"

Air Date:  December 20, 2000

Written By: Amy Sherman-Palladino

Directed By: Lesli Linka Glatter

This episode starts out innocently enough. Chilton's having a winter formal, and Rory want to go but doesn't want to go. I knew this struggle well in high school. You don't want the bother of the dress and shoes and date but you kind of really do.

At first, minor problems are presented and solved quickly. Rory needs a dress; Lorelai will make one. Rory is uncomfortable about asking Dean to the dance; Dean agrees although it is clear he'd really rather be doing anything else. Rory goes to the dance and gets bothered by both Tristan and Paris; Dean stands up for Tristan but won't stoop to fighting him because, "it would be like fighting an accountant," while Rory puts that annoying pest Paris in her place.

Okay, I'm thinking. This is all lovely and predictable teen TV.

And it all comes crashing down!

Rory and Dean fall asleep in Miss Patty's dance studio. They're woken up at 5:30 AM by Miss Patty's yoga class. Nothing has happened but clearly Rory's going to be in deep trouble because...teen mother and all that.

Sure enough, Emily wakes Lorelai up (she's been at the house taking care of Lorelai who threw out her back) and the two panic. They get into a massive fight after Miss Patty calls to tell them that Rory is okay. Insults are hurled, and for the first time we hear them air the real grievances in their decades-long fight. Lorelai is an unfit mother because she's letting her daughter run wild the same way she did. Emily smothered Lorelai, and if she doesn't trust Rory she can get out of the house.

Of course, Rory hears her mother defending her. When Emily leaves, she goes to thank her mother. Only problem is, Lorelai turns on Rory. Finally, Rory (who we are learning is not the sweet spot at one might assume) stops her mother and tells her that she's not going to take the blame for Lorelai feeling rotten that's she's been caught doing something characteristically "bad mom" in front of Emily. The issue with Rory staying out past her curfew isn't so much about her staying out past her curfew. It's about making her mother look bad in front of Emily.

A few episodes ago I talked about the poorly written outburst Lorelai has about a sweater. This fight is so different. It feels claustrophobic and it gets under your skin because it's a universal fight. It's about parental disappointment and expectations. Knowing my parents are disappointed in me is of the worst feelings. It's rooted in guilt and expectations. It's knowing that you didn't live up to the ideal someone set out for you even when you know that those ideals aren't right for you and your life. In transferring that over to Rory, Lorelai is essentially doing the same thing to her daughter that her mother did to her. It's gut-wrenching to watch, and that is a sign that it is one of the best pieces of writing and character development we've see so far.

Book Nerd Moments

I'm going to take a moment here to nerd out over the fact that Rory is reading The Portable Dorothy Parker in this episode. She even takes it to the formal with her in her purse (you're my girl, Rory). Parker is worth looking up if you haven't read any of her, but for quick reference you might know this famous quip:

I like to have a martini, Two at the very most. After three I’m under the table, after four I’m under my host.

Pop Culture References

98 Degrees, Tom Waits, Blanche from Golden Girls, VIP, Barbara Stanwyck, the Lambada, Emily Post

Julia Feels Old Moment

Favorite Quote

“All I ever said to her about dances is that you go, you dance, you have punch, you eat, you take a picture, and then you’re auctioned off to a biker gang from Sausalito.” –Lorelai

“Oh, hey…” Moment

Sookie is maybe kind of a hypochondriac pill popper before prescription drug about became a major point of discussion in this country. Watching her pull Vicodin and Valium and Percocet out of her purse in a casual manner that was supposed to be funny was an odd experience looking at it through 2014 eyes.

Reasons Luke is Bound to Break Julia’s Heart

This episode was sadly Lukeless

Random Thoughts

-One of the things that underscores how upsetting the fight at the end of this episode was is the fact that it happens right after Lorelai and Emily actually bonding for the first time. The smart writer Amy Sherman-Palladino gets us invested in the growing relationship between mother and daughter by showing Emily take care of Lorelai. They bond over Barbara Stanwyck movies and a disgusting looking type of toast thing that Emily made Lorelai when she was sick as a little girl. Then it all comes crashing down.

-This is a bad episode for Tristan. First Rory turns him down when he asks her to the dance saying that it would be stupid for him to ask her when he knows that she would say no and, “You are not stupid. Slimy and weasly, but not stupid.” Then, later in the episode, Tristan and Dean get into it at the high school formal. When Tristan demands they, "Take this outside," in perhaps the lamest throwdown ever, Dean tells him, “I’m not fighting you. It would be like fighting an accountant.” Go home, Tristan.

-The only person who might be having a worse night at the high school dance is Paris who inadvertently tells then entire high school that she couldn't get a date and had to bring her cousin. The cousin, by the way, tries to pick up Rory in the scuzziest display of douchebaggery ever displayed by a preppy teenage boy. One day he will sidle up to unsuspecting women in bars across Manhattan, order a Jagerbomb, and then tell them he's in I-Banking. He will likely be wearing a Brooks Brothers suit his mother chose for him. More often than not, he will go home alone.

-Rory and Dean cutely/awkwardly have the, "Are you my boyfriend?" talk. It doesn't get anymore enjoyable as you get older, kids. Let me tell you that right now.

"Forgiveness and Stuff"

Air Date: December 21, 2000

Written By: John Stephens

Directed By: Bethany Rooney

This episode aired right after "Rory's Dance" and right before Christmas, presumably to keep those who celebrate from being profoundly depressed over the holidays (not a verified fact).

We pick up with Rory and Lorelai not really speaking. Lorelai and Emily are definitely not speaking except that Emily still manages to uninvite Lorelai from the family Christmas dinner. During that dinner, Richard collapses. Lorelai finds out while she's eating at Luke's, panics, and Luke drives her to the hospital. Despite obviously being concerned for her father, Lorelai can't bring herself to go into his hospital room. After the family finds out that Richard is actually okay, Luke calls Lorelai on her fear of seeing her father in a hospital bed. She goes into the room, and the two of them nearly have a moment before everyone bustles in and the opportunity is lost. Lorelai asks Luke to drive Rory back home, and she stays at the hospital with her mother. For now at least it seems that the two Gilmores have a truce.

This whole episode centers around forgiveness (clearly, it's in the name). In it we see Lorelai accept Dean's apology for keeping Rory out until all hours. There's the understood forgiveness between Rory and Lorelai when they realize that Richard is in danger. And then there's the moment of forgiveness that doesn't quite happen when Lorelai is about to say something to her father before being cut off. It's a nice, Christmasy message but it's not really the heart of the episode. That comes during a brief scene between Richard and Emily.

Emily is doing her typical Emily thing of being demanding and high maintenance. When she swaps out the pillows for Richard, however, we get the sense that something else is going on. She's upset and being Type A is her way of coping with her husband being in the hospital. At some point he stops her from what she's doing and insists on telling her where the key to the family safe and his will are. She tells him he is not allowed to die.

Emily: I did not sign on to your dying. That is not going to happen. Not tonight. Not for a very long time. In fact, I demand to go first. Do I make myself clear?

Richard: Yes, Emily. You may go first.

The look of understanding and indulgence he gives her is both tender and heartbreaking. You understand that while we may not like everything about Emily, Richard, and the choices they've made about their family, they are partners. Their love runs very deep, and they need each other in their lives. 

Book Nerd Moments

Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Pop Culture References

Jimmy Hoffa, every Christmas song ever

Julia Feels Old Moment

Rory rocks a red, velvet dress for the Christmas dinner. I too once had a red, velvet dress like that. I'm not entirely sure it was advisable.

“Oh, hey…” Moment

Jane Lynch plays the nurse that goes head-to-head with Emily at the hospital.

Reasons Luke is Bound to Break Julia’s Heart

When this episode is not ripping my heart out, it's mostly constructed around Luke and Lorelai flirting like 16-year olds. They are so adorable, I want to shout, "Come on, guys!" Apparently Emily agrees with me because once Richard is out of danger at the hospital, she corners Luke for this little exchange:

Emily: So what exactly is going on between the two of you?

Luke: Nothing. Really. We’re friends. That’s it.

Emily: You two are idiots.

I mean, the guy makes her a Santa burger, guys!

Random Thoughts

-Rory reads The Financial Times to Richard in the hospital, confirming that he is the mos ridiculous TV grandfather and I do love him.

-Lorelai gives Luke a new hat at the end of the episode. We shall see whether he will actually wear it or not.

First Draught Takes On NaNoWriMo

Hi all! I will not be there for tonight's First Draught, but Mary Chris Escobar and Alexis Anne have brought in a ringer to take my place. Lindsay Emory will be joining us for this month's discussion on NaNoWriMo (that's National Novel Writing Month). You can RSVP by clicking on this link, and be sure to be watching at 8:30 PM EST tonight for a great NaNoWriMo break or a little inspiration to start writing fearlessly!

I Went to the Death Becomes Her Exhibit at the Met

This Sunday was Marathon Day here in NYC. I, like many New Yorkers, live right near the route. While I love the marathon, sometimes the crowds can get a little rough. This year I cheered on some of the runners earlier in the day and then left the neighborhood to do something I never do. Dear Reader, I went to the Met on a Sunday and took a boatload of photographs.

Normally the Metropolitan Museum of Art is a mess on the weekends (even more so when it's raining). I try to avoid it as much as possible, but I was determined to see the museum's new exhibit Death Becomes Her: A Century of Mourning Attire. Victorian fashion? Death? Mourning? This is pretty much right in my wheelhouse, so off I went to a delightfully empty Met thanks to all of the crowds being diverted to the marathon.

Arriving so early, I had the gallery mostly to myself which was an incredible experience. The exhibit is small but incredibly details and representative of several trends in mourning attire. The curator's notes addressed some major themes:

• Women bore the brunt of the responsibility when it came to mourning. Rules for men were much more flexible, but women were strictly regulated in what they could wear and when as well as the social activities they could partake in while in mourning.
• The stages of mourning and the way that fabrics mirrored the gradual coming out of mourning. The exhibit discusses the use of crepe as well as the incorporation of more lustrous fabrics like silk moire and taffeta in the later stages. Color also comes into play.
• The tension between fashion and grief. Especially in the later examples of the dresses, the curator's notes emphasizes that the wearer, despite being in a deep state of mourning, was still at the cutting edge of fashion when it came to silhouette.

And speaking of silhouette, I was delighted to see that the exhibit shows the progression of the Grecian-inspired dresses of the 1810s-1820s through the bell-shaped crinolines of the 1850s all the way to the princess cut dresses of the lat 1870s to early 1880s and then into the very late Victorian period (there's even an Edwardian dress or two in there). Oh! And one of Queen Victoria's dresses is on display (which I sadly did not photograph because I was overwhelmed by seeing one of Her Majesty's dresses in the flesh)!

If you have the chance to see this wonderful exhibit, definitely do. Sadly there is no museum catalog for Death Becomes Her, and photographs do not do these works of art justice (all of the detailing gets lost on black fabric, and these are rich with details).

Death Becomes Her is on until February 1, 2015.

October Reading Wrap Up

Sometimes you just need a good binge read. This month has been full of historical romances for me, and I've got a couple to recommend as well as a book that touches the paranormal, fantasy, literary, and romance genres.

The Duke and I

by Julia Quinn

Amazon | B&N | iBooks

I bow down to the mistress of Regency romance dialogue. That is all.

The Wicked Wallflower

by Maya Rodale

Amazon | B&N | iBooks

Around mid-October I was looking for something fun to read. I picked up The Wicked Wallflower and subsequently binge read six of Maya Rodale's books in a row. I loved The Wicked Wallflower because it's fun, light, and features a pretty fantastic rake of a hero. There's also a Hunger Games-based house party which amused me to no end.

A Discovery of Witches

by Deborah Harkness

Amazon | B&N | iBooks

When a friend pops up on your gchat and demands that you read a book because she loved it so much and wants someone to gush about it to, you do. My friend Caitlin got lost in A Discovery of Witches, so I decided to give it a shot too. It follows a historian named Diana who is on a research trip to Oxford who calls up an enchanted manuscript. Diana is a witch and not happy about it, so she tries to ignore the manuscript but it sets a series of supernatural events into motion that she can't stop. Throw in an erudite, attractive, alpha vampire love interest and even I -- not known for being a huge vampire fan -- was sucked in. I bought the second volume in the trilogy on Tuesday and plan to use it as my post-NaNoWriMo reward.

A Love Letter to Libraries

Liverpool is close to my heart. It's where my mother is from. It's where most of the British side of my family still lives. It's a place I spent quite a lot of time in my early 20s. This morning I ran across an article on The Edge talking about the Save Liverpool Libraries campaign. 11 of Liverpool's 18 libraries are under threat from budget cuts. That means fewer opportunities for people living in the Liverpool metro area to check out books, get jobs services, and take computer courses.

Losing more than half of a city's branch libraries would be devastating anywhere, and it's particularly hard to think about in a city that means so much to my family and me. My mother has fond memories of the Walton Library on Evered Avenue. Going several times a week as a child helped solidified her life-long love of reading. The mass closure of libraries like these 11 in jeopardy makes our cities culturally, intellectually, and economically poorer.

Here in New York City, I've watched the City Council threaten to slash the New York Public Library's budget multiple times. In 2013, the preliminary city budget looked to cut funding to the NYPL, Queens Public Library, and Brooklyn Public Library by $106.7 million. That would have meant the end of Saturday service at branches across the city, one of the only days that many people (myself included) can get to the library. Happily that did not happen, but it was too close for comfort for patrons.

I've watched politicians praise NYC's branch libraries for making books available to kids, resume and job training to the unemployed, and technological education to seniors. Then some of those same people have turned around and tried to pass budgets that would dramatically slash those same library services. This has prompted me to do two things: vote for City Councilmembers who campaign on supporting the NYPL and have the voting record to prove it and open my checkbook each year to make a contribution (albeit small) to the library.

So what can you and I do for Liverpool's libraries? There is a campaign asking us to write love letters to the libraries to keep branches open. Supporters of library accessibility can contact the Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson by clicking here. Authors David Nicholls, Caitlin Moran, Malorie Blackman and Carol Ann Duffy have already written their letters.

With campaigns like this, there is always a question of whether outside advocacy will make a difference. I strongly believe that if you care about library accessibility worldwide you have to do something. Even if your contribution to the effort to keep Liverpool's libraries safe from budget cuts is small, it matters.

If you would like to read more about the love letters to the Liverpool libraries, The Guardian recently write about it. I hope you'll join me in spreading the word because even a little nudge from each individual who cares about libraries can help.

"Kiss and Tell" & "Love and War and Snow"

 

"Kiss and Tell"

Rory's first kiss, guys! (Everyone take a moment for collective warm fuzzy sighs of happiness).

No big surprise that "Kiss and Tell" is all about relationships and growing up. Dean, ever a romantic, kisses Rory near the soda fridges in the local supermarket where he is a bagger. Naturally, Rory's reaction is supremely awkward. She doesn't say anything, just runs out clinging to a box of cornstarch and goes to find Lane. Lane's mother overhears Rory's story, and Mrs. Kim tells Lorelai that her daughter's been kissing boys where people buy their food (the horror!). Lorelai is upset that Rory didn't tell her about the kiss so she goes off to stalk him in the grocery store. We get our first extended Lorelai and Luke scene, after which Lorelai confronts Rory about Dean. Lorelai thinks she's being helpful by inviting Dean to a movie night, but Rory fears being seen as lame for having her mother around. Finally Lorelai and Dean have the required, "Don't hurt my little girl," conversation, and she gives him her motherly blessing. Sort of.

This episode shows us that both Rory and Lorelai are growing up and changing. Rory hits a bunch of teenage firsts in this episode (first kiss, first date) while Lorelai struggles with the idea of her little girl getting older. The thing that seems to bother Lorelai the most isn't that Rory is dating. It's that Rory has secrets of her own now. Luke pinpoints exactly what Lorleai's problem is -- she's freaking out because she's not ready for this yet.

Lorelai seems to often walk the line between mother and best friend on this show. At times she's intensely maternal, slaying dragons for her daughter whether they be in the form of stodgy headmasters or her own mother's Junior League ambitions. During other moments she seems to be playing the child (see the horrible, ridiculous fight from "Kill Me Now"). She hates being left out and sometimes comes off as hating that her daughter might have an inner life of her own. And yet there are lovely moments like the one at the end of this episode with the two Gilmore girls gossiping about Dean after he leaves movie night. It's simple, sweet, and shows the strength of the mother/daughter bond. My hope for the show is that we're going to simultaneously see the growth of both characters throughout the series run.

Pop Culture References

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1971), The Way We Were, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Elsa Klensch, James Dean, General Hospital, Liz Phair, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, "Pink Moon" by Nick Drake

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXnfhnCoOyo

Favorite Quotes

“I got kissed… and I shoplifted.” –Rory

===

Luke: You’re not going to kill the bag boy.

Lorelai: Why not?

Luke: It’s double coupon day. You’ll bring down the town.

Reasons Luke is Bound to Break Julia's Heart <--- a new feature moving forward because, let's be totally honest here...

Lorelai runs into Luke when she's stalking Dean in the grocery story. Immediately he pinpoints why Dean bothers her so much: having a boyfriend and keeping secrets from her mother means that Rory is growing up. You are absolutely right, Luke. You know her so well! Oh god, this show is going to torment me with the "Will they? Won't they? Why did they screw it up?" tension for seasons, isn't it?

Random Thoughts

-I had no idea that Dean was also Sam Winchester on Supernatural. Mind. Blown.

-I want a Sookie in my life who just shows up with random desserts. Now that I think about it, I probably shouldn't complain because one of my coworkers brought in whipped pumpkin dip and cinnamon graham crackers on Wednesday...

-The Lorelai/Dean conversation when Rory steps out during movie night was one of the best Lorelai moments we've seen so far. It would be really easy to write Lorelai as the scary mother who just threatens Dean with bodily harm if he hurts her daughter. Instead, she tells Dean that the whole town of Stars Hollow loves Rory, and lets him figure out on his own how much trouble he'll be in if he's a jerk to her. Even better, Dean earns Lorelai's respect by standing up to her and promising not to hurt her daughter.

"Love and War and Snow"

"Love and War and Snow" hits so many of the right buttons for me. So much so that I'm not even doing a recap. Let's jump in:

1) The episode opens up with a town meeting whether no one can get along or get a word in. Randomly Luke starts picking a fight with the mayor about a reenactment of a seemingly non-significant (?) battle or something or another that happened in Stars Hollow during the Revolutionary War? Just go with it.

I do journalistic things in my day job, and this reminded me so much of Community Board meetings here in New York City. I mean, the last one I went to was about whether to allow a methadone clinic in one neighborhood so maybe not quite that intense...

Just watch this clip from Parks & Rec while I regain my train of thought.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng_-HgRfGBY

2) Snow! It's nearly November, and a sick little part of me is excited for the first snowfall of the year. I feel you Lorelai. I love the first snow of the year.* I love the cleanness of the snow and the possibility it brings. I love the crisp air and my intense desire to wrap myself up in a blanket with a book and stare out the window. And you're right, Lorelai. The clothes are better.

Snow is also the background for one of my favorite romantic TV moments. I tried to find a YouTube clip of the Matthew and Mary moment from Season 2 of Downton Abbey (you know what I'm talking about, fans) but everything has a spoilery title to it. As I've mentioned before, we're keeping The Gilmore Girls Project as spoiler free as possible even when it comes to other shows.

3) My writer friends will tell you that snowed in romances are some of my favorites -- so much so that they've told me to just write the damn things myself and stop asking for books written to order.** How convenient is it that Max shows up in Stars Hollow right before a snow storm so he kind of has to maybe stay with Lorelai who happens to be solo that night because Rory went ahead to her grandparents' house and is snowed in up in Hartford? It's super convenient, except for the tiny complication of Lane also being at the Gilmore house. Speaking of which...

4) I feel for Lane in this episode, guys. She is all of the teenage angst rolled into one. She touches the hair of the boy she likes and is so embarrassed she runs (there are a lot of teen girls running away from boys in Gilmore Girls). Then she feels like she's losing touch with Rory who seems to be wrapped up in her own happiness with Dean. Even Lorelai's got a man in the house during this snow storm. All of this angst leads to a really lovely moment between Lorelai and Lane late in the episode.

5) Oh Max (formerly known as Mr. Good Hair). He's kind of a gamma isn't he? He's alphaish to let Lorelai know what he wants, but he's beta enough that he's willing to sit back and let her take the lead, especially in her own house. And he's fairly adorable sprawled out on the couch with a book on his chest the next morning. But obviously Lorelai needs to end up with Luke. Obviously.

So this episode wraps with Lorelai dating Max, Rory still dating Dean, and Rory promising to be a better friend to Lane. Hooray!

Literary References

Jane Austen, Hunter S. Thompson, Charlotte Bronte

Reasons Luke is Bound to Break Julia's Heart

Oh god, guys. This show is setting me up to break me. Luke hands out coffees to the reenactment soldiers even though he finds them morally reprehensible. Then he spots Lorelai kissing Max on the street (because of course), and he just looks so crushed. After they had such a good moment in the last episode! Ugh.

Random Thoughts

-Lorelai listens back to a voicemail from Max over and over again in the beginning of this episode prompting the question: has texting ruined that part of dating? The part where you save and relistened to messages because the relationship was still new and you were excited to hear their voice. I love the immediacy of texting, but there's something about that voicemail scene that makes me a little nostalgic.

-Lane reminds me of a couple people I knew in high school who seemed completely out of sync with the people around them. They wanted more. The knew that the world was bigger than what they were being shown (in Lane's case Korean Bibles and boys her parents set her up with). I hope that she winds up being that type of character who heads off to college and only comes home for holidays.

---

*Or at least I did until I became a journalist. Sadly, there are no snow days in news. Instead, those are the days you often work the hardest. There's a strange, sick sense of satisfaction in that which makes me begrudgingly enjoy them (albeit in a very different way).

**Obviously that defeats the purpose of having friends to write books for you.

There is now a special tab section on my website for The Gilmore Girls Project. That's the place to go if you want to catch up and watch along with me. If you want to leave me a comment, you can do that here, on Facebook, or by tweeting at me using #GilmoreGirlsProject

Go Forth & NaNoWriMo

For my little band of writer friends, the end of October isn't a time to ask, "What are you and/or your kids going to be for Halloween," but rather, "Are you going to do NaNoWriMo?"

I've done National Novel Writing Month three times and "won" it once. Each time I've gotten something valuable out of the experience.

Sure, it's meant putting aside some basic human necessities like laundry and food that takes more than 10 minutes to prepare.* Hitting a 50,000 word count in the space of a month that also has holidays like Thanksgiving rolled into it is tough. But here's the thing. You're going to have 50,000 words of editable work if you win. Even if you don't, you're going to have something on a page and that's a lot easier to craft and edit than a blank Word document. .

After winning NaNoWriMo for the first time last year, I also noticed an unexpected side benefit: I write more. Rather than the 1K I was cranking out a night after my day job, my numbers started ticking up. If you break NaNoWriMo's word count down into equal parts, you wind up with 1,667 words a day.** Now I routinely write between 2,000 and 3,000 words a day, five days a week. That's a whole lot of words that I can directly attribute to NaNoWriMo ratcheting up my productivity.

So, to all of you who are on the fence about NaNoWriMo or anyone who has always wanted to write a novel but didn't know how to go about it, I'm challenging you to write along with me. The words you get out on the page don't have to be good. They just have to be words, and I want you to write them fearlessly.

Now go forth and NaNoWriMo!

---

*I basically live off of pesto and grilled chicken during the month of November.

**Once you write to that 1,667 words a day goal for a month, you will never be able to forget that magic number.

"Cinnamon's Wake" & "Rory's Birthday Parties"

Wordpress decided to glitch on this post while I was trying to schedule it on Sunday morning, so email followers might have gotten an earlier, perfectly fine version of it. Now, I was scheduling during the ridiculous last 3 minutes of the Liverpool 3-2 win over Queens Park Rangers, so maybe Wordpress was just overwhelmed by the insane soccer.

Last week you might remember that we encountered some weaker Gilmore Girls offerings. The show was clearly struggling to figure out its place. It had moments of sweetness or intelligence, but they got bogged down in characters who felt more like stereotypes than real, multi-layered people. I'm happy to say that this week I really started to feel like the writers understand who they want the characters (especially Lorelai) to be. But more on that in a bit.

Before we start, I should say that there is now a special tab section on my website for The Gilmore Girls Project. If you are coming into this article series cold, thank you! You can catch up and watch along with me or just jump in wherever you like. If you want to leave me a comment, you can do that here, on Facebook, or by tweeting at me using #GilmoreGirlsProject

"Cinnamon's Wake"

One of the things that people trying to sell me on Gilmore Girls have told me over and over again is how charming the community of Stars Hollow is (I've been promised I will want to move there eventually). This is the episode where we really see what community means to these people, and how they come together in times of need.

I don't really need to do too much of a wrap up on this episode because really only two things happen. Max* and Lorelai agree to go on a date after a "pre-date" at a Hartford coffee shop. Then Cinnamon, the cat owned by the Gilmores' neighbors Babette and Morty, dies. Lorelai forgets about her real date with Max during the wake. Naturally, Max shows up and Rory realizes that her mother and her teacher are interested in each other.

Cinnamon dies, and the same afternoon the entire town of Stars Hollow descends on Babette's charmingly small house to celebrate the life of her beloved cat. Both Sookie and Luke bring food, Dean shows up with drinks from the store, Miss Patty is there to be Miss Patty. When Max comes, Lorelai tries to explain that they're having a wake for her neighbor's cat. While he clearly thinks that's kind of crazy, it's totally normal to the residents of Stars Hollow. One of their own is hurting so they group together to show their love. Outsiders might not understand, but this is what these people do. It's a lovely sentiment, and one I'm guessing that we'll see revisited throughout the show.

Pop Culture References

M. Night Shyamalan, Valley of the Dolls**, Iran-Contra Affair, Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thorton, Rancid's "Time Bomb"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhKHAopx7D0

Favorite Quote

"I'm attracted to pie. Doesn't mean I feel the need to date pie." -Lorelai to Max

"Lorelai, I don't know how many French people you've met over the years, but most of them are insufferable." -Michel

Random Thoughts

-While watching this episode, I messaged my friend Matt about it. Matt has been a very vocal supporter of The Gilmore Girls Project, which is probably why he drunkenly text messaged me every line in the show's theme song. On Monday, he followed up via gchat^:

Matt:  so after i drunkenly texted you the gilmore girls theme song

me: which was my favorite part of Saturday

Matt:  i went home and mainlined a few episodes

Matt: (and also ate an entire pizza)

me: you are a champion

-The M. Night Shyamalan reference killed me. Clearly this show was shot in 2000. The Sixth Sense was released in 1999 and Unbreakable was released in November of 2000 (which means it's quite possible that it wasn't even out yet when this episode when to air). How different things are now...

-Chilton must have the most twee school bake sale ever

-The scene between Lorleai and Max when they're walking through the school grounds shows us just how far quality has come in TV. The sound mixing is atrocious in this scene

-This show relies heavily on silver eyeshadow... like much of the early 2000s. I just can't wait for everyone to start wearing frosted blue eyeshadow next season.

---

*Previously called Mr. Good Hair by me

**Loved that cracktastic book when I read it many years ago (probably well before it was appropriate for me to read it)

^Edited lightly so that you all don't have to pick through the mess of a gchat conversation between two friends who have known each other for years

"Rory's Birthday Parties"

Finally all of our hard work as viewers pays off in this wonderful episode. The writers manage to pack a whole bunch of themes into "Rory's Birthday Parties" including:

• The relationships between generations of mothers and daughters and coping with realizing that parents and children begin to miss out on each others' lives as children age
• The division of classes as illustrated between Rory's two birthday shindigs
• Families that are not tied together by blood

Really though, I don't want to talk about any of those things (except maybe in the Random Thoughts section). That's because something more exciting happened this episode. Luke won me over.

Here's a quick rundown of our action. Emily decides she is going to throw Rory a classy birthday party on their usual Friday dinner night even though Lorelai wants to throw her one the same night. Lorelai winds up taking Saturday for an alternative birthday. Emily reaches out to Lorelai for help buying Rory a birthday present, and they have a not awful shopping experience. Rory sees that her grandmother and mother hung out without fighting and doesn't want to tell her mother that Emily has invited all of the awful people at school to her birthday including Tristan (formally called Smarmy Prep School Guy on The Gilmore Girls Project). The classy party is, naturally, a disaster, and Rory fights with Emily. The alternative birthday with seemingly all of Stars Hollow is a huge success until Emily and Richard show up and it gets awkward. There is a touching moment when Emily realizes that she doesn't know that Lorelai broke her leg three years ago. Rory and Emily make up. Emily tells Richard that she doesn't really know her daughter after all.

*gasps for breath*

Okay, fine. Now Luke.

So I acknowledge that I have a soft spot for grouchy heroes. Just to clarify, not every grumpy character qualifies as a grouchy hero. He needs to exhibit some heroic qualities (even if they are small, subtle ones) to elevate him. In this episode, Luke does.

The writers use a three-beat to develop Luke throughout the episode and give us a deeper look at the backwards baseball cap-wearing coffee shop owner. First, Lorelai plops herself down at his counter and we get this exchange.

Luke: Will you marry me?

Lorelai: What?

Luke: Just looking for something to shut you up.

The way that Lorelai grins at him afterwards tells us that this is not to be taken personally. This is just Luke being Luke. And yet we as viewers get the sense that Luke isn't entirely joking (go ahead and squee, fangirls).

The second beat with Luke gives us a nice look at his relationship with Rory. On her birthday, she also plops down at the counter with Lane when Luke walks up.

Luke: Wrong table.

Rory: Since when is there a right table?

Luke: Since the coffee cake I baked for you and the balloons I blew up for you are at that table [points]... I count to three and it's gone.

Later we see that there's a pink candle stuck in the coffee cake and the balloons have "Happy birthday Rory!" hand-written on them in Sharpie. In this very quick exchange we learn a lot about Luke. He knows Rory's birthday and goes out of his way to do something special for her. He not only bakes, he blows up balloons and decorates them for her. Underneath the grouchy exterior, he cares for the 16-year-old. These are the little things that let us know that this man isn't just a grump. These are the very quiet markers of the good guy hero.

Rounding out our three-beat, Luke shows up at Rory and Lorelai's house at just the right time. The party has run out of ice, and Lorelai is just about to run out for more when he shows up on their doorstep with two bags because everyone always needs ice. She launches herself at him, hugging him full-on, and we know that this is a big deal for Luke even if Lorelai doesn't realize it. In his own, quiet way, Luke cares. He cares about Rory, and he's clearly romantically interested in Lorelai even if something is holding him back.

TV shows are great at the slow burn. If I'm reading this right and Luke is going to be the man we know that Lorelai should be with, it's going to take them like five seasons to finally get together. The "will they, won't they" romantic relationship gets helped along with these tiny moments of revelation brought to us to three-beats like this. We're learning more about our characters and becoming invested in them at the same time. Until he does something to ruin that for me (which he probably will because, again, it's a TV show), I'll be rooting for Luke, the grouchy hero.

Book Nerd Moments

Edith Wharton

Pop Culture References

Madonna, Elvis, Jim Morrison, the Vulcan Death Grip, The Fly (but which version?), The Waltons, Cosmopolitan Magazine

Favorite Moment

How can I not list Luke's exchange with Rory about her birthday coffee cake.

Favorite Quote

"She did agree to get the string quartet to learn 'Like a Virgin.'" -Lorelai on Emily, party planning monster

Random Thoughts

-Emily and Richard's idea of a rager of a night is sticking Post-It Notes on objects around the house so that Rory and Lorelai can claim them as part of their inheritance (although it does beg the question, who else would inherit?)

-Emily calls Lorelai and when they are on the phone I realized that Emily is sitting next to a needlepoint pillow depicting Raphael's Madonna del Prato. It feels so tacky and yet so perfect after asking her daughter to stick Post-It Notes on household objects

-There are a few lovely scenes that reveal more about the relationship between Lorelai and Emily in this episode. First we have the shopping trip for Rory. Then Emily finds out that Lorelai broke her leg, but Emily never knew. And finally, Emily has a moment in the car when she tells Richard, "She's right. I don't know my daughter at all."

-I adore Richard. Rory sets him up on the porch with an issue of Comso and later in the episode he proudly announces that he is an autumn

-Does Dean own a change of clothes? Every time I see him he is in the same green striped sweater, jeans, and leather jacket. Every. Single. Time.

-Speaking of Dean...continuing the sweet, awkwardness of the last episode, Dean and Rory have a moment at the end of "Rory's Birthday Parties" when he gives her a charm bracelet he made. Lorelai sees this out the window and we know that she doesn't quite know how to process this. She tries to be the cool mom, but at the same time, there's a boy around her daughter. I'm sure that we'll be seeing more of floppy-haired Dean and Lorelai's uncertainty about him soon

-I want all the pink feather boas at my next birthday party

Love is Love: An Essay for Queer Romance Month

A version of this article appeared as a part of Queer Romance Month. I met Jonathan and Andrew* when I was a little girl. My parents were very involved in the Los Angeles art world, and both men were talented artists. Jonathan was a classical musician and Andrew was a painter and animator. They were a part of my parents’ life, and since my parents often brought my sister and me along to concerts, cocktail parties, and dinners, that meant Jonathan and Andrew were part of my life too.

While the adults chatted at cocktail parties, I explored Jonathan and Andrew’s home. It was one of those dark, shingled Hollywood houses up in the hills complete with a kitschy mosaic driveway (my mother told me they loved the ironic tackiness of it). Andrew adored cats. I have very clear memories of wandering the hallways in an uncomfortable, formal dress with white stockings and shiny shoes, peering up at the endless feline drawings brought to life with the swipe of a pencil or the curve of a brush.

There was never any question in my young mind that Jonathan and Andrew were a couple. I thought they were married just like my parents until I reached my teenage years. In freshman health and sex education class, I learned that only straight people could be wed in California—or anywhere in the United States at the time. I was stunned at the realization that I could get married as soon as I turned 18, but Jonathan and Andrew couldn’t.

That was the moment I became an ally.

Given my age, Jonathan and Andrew never shared with me whether they wanted to be able to get married. I do know that from the outside looking in they were devoted to one another in the same way that my parents are. The same way my aunts are uncles are. The same way that my friends who are now tying the knot are. They radiated a quiet comfort that spoke to the deep love that ran between them.

I went off to college, and I saw Jonathan and Andrew less and less. On occasion a party would fall on my winter or summer breaks, and I would be swept up in the old crowd for an evening. Now instead of handing me sodas, everyone snuck me glasses of wine and asked how my History major was progressing. Jonathan wanted to know about my plans to intern in journalism, and Andrew would walk me around to look at the cat pictures I’d loved as a little girl.

I moved to New York for graduate school and got my first job in broadcast journalism. I went home to Los Angeles even less often. One day after working a grueling morning shift, I got a call from my mother. She caught me up on the family gossip before becoming rather quiet in the way she does when she has bad news. Andrew had cancer. He’d been diagnosed some time ago, and their group of friends was only just finding out now because he could no longer hide the strain that chemo was taking on his body. Chemo that wasn’t working. My first thought was for Jonathan—his partner and the man he looked for whenever he walked into a room.

Andrew died shortly after my mother called me. I was still thousands of miles away and could not attend the funeral, but I’m told it was both quiet and beautiful, just as I remember their love. A violinist played in Andrew’s honor, and Jonathan was surrounded by the friends and family who loved him most in the world.

I chose to share a little bit of Jonathan and Andrew’s story because their love matters. Romance authors write about love at all stages, from the first flush of attraction to the comfort of a committed relationship, until death do us part. Those stories are not the sole property of white, heterosexual couples. Queer romance, multicultural romance—all of these books are important because the thrill of new love feels the same no matter what form it comes in. And when that love is taken away, it hurts just the same.

Love is love.

—

*The names have been changed out of respect for the privacy of the real Jonathan and Andrew.

A Closer Look: The Natural Form

When you're a historical author, you do a lot of research. Pair all of the book-specific research with a degree in Victorian British History with a focus on gender and sexuality, and I've got more random facts kicking around in my head than I know what to do with. Today I'm taking a closer look at one of the defining fashion trends of the Victorian era.

"The ideal at present is the greatest possible flatness and straightness: a woman is a pencil covered in raiment."

(Harper's Bazar, October 23, 1875)

I've spent quite a bit of time writing about Britain in the early 1880s. It's a really interesting time in history, and it marks a very visible change in women's fashion as well. The silhouette of the typical dress completely changes from the "natural form" of the 1875-1882 to the bustles that dominated fashion plates from 1883 to 1890. Today I'm looking at those natural form dresses, and trust me when I say that it was anything but natural.

Starting in 1875, women's clothing goes through a transformation. The dresses of the previous era were characterized by larger skirts held out from the body first by crinolines (example A) and then by bustles (example B). I've seen the style of dress popular in the 1860s and early 1870s described as festooned and confection-like, and it's not a bad description. If you can put lace or a ribbon on it, you better believe that evening dress is going to be covered in lace and ribbon.

Starting in 1875, the silhouette of women's clothing in Britain and America began to change. Skirts slimmed way down and that crinoline that we associate with much of mid-Victorian fashion went away. Now, rather than emphasizing the waist, skirts clung to the hips and the thighs. This shows off the body in a new way.

It's no surprise that the natural form was achieved by completely artificial means. Long corsets that ran from the upper torso down over the hips were needed to achieve the right line for the long-waisted cuirass bodices* and slender princess cut dresses.

Petticoats made trains fall correctly, and you often see gathers of fabric at the back of women's undergarments or pads to give a little bit of support to those heavy skirts.

If you think that slender fashion makes women's clothing in any way more practical than the mid-Victorian styles, you're sorely mistaken. The line of women's dresses became so slim that it greatly restricted their ability to move (sometimes skirts only allowed for a six-inch step when walking).** Also, that large train was heavy and got in the way of pretty much all movement. All of this adds up to clothing that is highly impractical for any women who has to move during her day. Like many of the beautiful fashions that we love in historical romances, we are talking about the clothing of a select few who could afford both the clothing and the lifestyle that went along with this sort of fashion.

Some other trends that went along with the natural form include asymmetry in trimming and draping, full-length outerwear with Eastern European and Siberian touches (think fur, fringe, and braid), decorative pockets on dresses, and the lawn tennis apron.

One of the reasons I chose to write about the 1880s is because I adore the natural form. I love the silhouette of these dresses. The very finest dresses from this era are works of art. Researching them is a real pleasure, so much so that I actually created a Tumblr dedicated to historical fashion. It's called Really Old Frocks, and I update it with some regularity.

If you'd like to do some reading and looking on your own, I highly recommend Victorian Fashion and Costumes from Harper's Bazar, 1867-1898 edited by Stella Blum. It's an incredible resource with full, original descriptions of the fashion plates including fabrics.

---

*The cuirass bodice is form-fitting, often boned, and ends below the hips. It didn't make sense to me until I realized that the name comes from the long piece of armor that covers a knight from chest to hip.

**I'm reading over my notes right now and laughing because I actually wrote, "greatly restricted the ability to run." Who the hell is running in one of these dresses?

First Draught: The Old is New

I'm zooming along the rails of the mid-Atlantic to make my way to Richmond for a little retreat with Mary Chris Escobar and Alexis Anne. They're probably going to be sick of my voice by the end of this weekend because this past Tuesday we got together thanks to the power of the interwebs for a First Draught chat about going back to abandoned manuscripts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LsgcyrCEN0

We're always happy for suggestions of what to talk about, so if you've got a topic you'd like us to explore just let us know by leaving a comment!

What We Talked About This Month...

Amazon | B&N | iBooks

Amazon | B&N | iBooks

Amazon | B&N | iBooks

Amazon | B&N | iBooks

Amazon | B&N | iBooks

Amazon | B&N | iBooks

Amazon | B&N

"Pilot" & "The Lorelais' First Day at Chilton"

Here we go... the first episodes of my new Gilmore Girls project.

Before I say anything about the show so far, let me explain my policy with new TV shows. I give every new show 4 episodes to convince me that I should continue investing my time in watching (although we already know I'm committed to the entire first season for this project). I do this because my goodness are some pilots rough. Even shows that I've loved (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sleepy Hollow, and Firefly) have had weak showings in the opening episodes compared to the rest of the show. Writers figure things out. Characters settle down. Arcs develop. It just takes time to work everything out. I try to be mindful of that so while I might judge harshly sometimes, I'm open-minded about the awesomeness that is coming.

So with all of that in mind, let's jump in.

"Pilot"

Before we tackle anything about this pilot and my feelings on pilots in general, I'm just going to put this out there. Man I feel old. In my head, 2000 when Gilmore Girls aired wasn't that long ago. Sure, I didn't have a cell phone and I spent an inordinate amount of time on AIM because I was a freshman in high school (and seriously, what else was I going to do?). However, 2000 feels fresh in my memory.

And then I watched this episode.

"Pilot" opens with Sixpence None the Richer's "There She Goes." I cannot remember the last time I heard that song (or any Sixpence None the Richer song) without it being played A) with irony or B) over the PA system at a Duane Reade. I dropped in the music video so that you can enjoy the glory that is the lead singer's pixie cut hair, shiny and yet starkly pale makeup with a red lip, choker, and metallic mesh top over a black camisole.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMfXeuv4kZE

With the exception of the pixie cut, I'm pretty sure that I looked exactly like this wandering the halls of my Southern California high school in 2000.

So we're moving along through the opening scene and then we get a Macy Gray CD reference. Judge me all you want, but I loved the hell out of Macy Gray's "Why Didn't You Call Me" when it came out. I'd want my CD back too, Rory.

So enough about me feeling old about the song choices or the fact that the inn where Lorelai works has a paper book rather than computers to hold reservations. Let's get into the meat of the episode.

The basic set up seems to be that Lorelai has a brilliant daughter, Rory, who she had when she was 16. Lorelai has raised Rory as a single mother and is incredibly close with her daughter. Lorelai has ambitions to open an inn of her own and send her daughter off to the best schools (and eventually land her a spot at Harvard). Rory is sharply intelligent and a bookworm which already endears me to her. So far, so good.

Where I'm hoping that the show develops in interesting ways rather than taking us down the usual path is in the relationship between Lorelai and her parents. They've been mostly estranged because of their disappointment in her early pregnancy and her insistence that she will make her own way in the world. But when Rory gets into the prestigious prep school Chilton, Lorelai has to humble herself and ask for financial help for tuition. Naturally her mother uses this as an opportunity to blackmail her wayward daughter into family dinners. The mother wants to be involved in her life, and while this might be a simple request we're led to believe that it's not quite so easy as that.

My hope is that this show will not take the predictable route of making the wise yet emotionally manipulative mother the reason that Lorelai reconciles with her parents. There were several quite awkward moments that played well (including Rory sitting at the dinner table with her grandfather as they listen to Lorelai and her mother fight in the kitchen) to show how the reality of this extended family isn't a happy one. Also, please give Lorelai's father some more characterization other than being the disengaged, wealthy father who shows his apathy by sitting on the couch and reading the newspaper while his female kin dukes it out passive aggressively across the room. Same goes for the cold, seemingly perfect mother. If this is as smart a show as everyone assures me it is, I have no doubt that we're going to be peeling back layers soon enough.

Book Nerd Moments

Madame Bovary, Moby Dick, Jack Kerouac

Pop Culture References

Rosemary's Baby, Mommy Dearest

Julia Feels Old Moment

Sixpence None the Richer, Macy Gray references

Favorite Quote

"People are particularly stupid today. I cannot talk to them." -Michel

"Oh, hey..." Moment

Melissa McCarthy's in this show. I didn't know that.

Random Thoughts:

-Rock on, there's a Korean BFF! It's not a leading role, but let's hear it for some representation of Asians on TV in a positive light.

-Michel is my standout favorite part of the show so far. Apparently all it takes is a snippy, rude Frenchman to make me happy. I would gladly watch a half hour show of just him insulting people.

-Melissa McCarthy's character is a disaster of clumsy cliches, but I did enjoy the beautiful choreography of her staff cleaning up or quite literally putting out the fires after her.

-Does anyone look really good in knit beanies? I would posit no...

-Maybe less with the slutty mom jokes. I'm hoping that the writers assume the audience has gotten enough of the, "Hey, Lorelai got knocked up when she was 16," message and will stop with the self-deprecating slut shaming. Clearly this woman does not have loose sexual morals, and even if she does I really don't care. Is she a good mom to her daughter? Looks like it so far.

-Who is this Dean character and why does he look 24 to Alexis Bledel's 16? *glares suspiciously*

"The Lorelais' First Day at Chilton"

"The Lorelais' First Day at Chilton" focuses on what I assume will be a theme repeated throughout Gilmore Girls: class, wealth, and keeping up appearances.

This episode's title pretty much sums up everything you need to know about the action for the next 42 minutes. Lorelai drops Rory off a school in cutoffs, a tie-dyed pink t-shirt, cowboy boots, and a long coat because...laundry day? Lorelai's mother, Emily, goes way overboard when it comes to buying Rory supplemental parts of her uniform, pissing Lorelai off when Emily reveals that she will also be buying the 16-year old a car for her birthday. Rory finds her new school overwhelming in its exacting demands.* The student body doesn't seem to warm to Rory one bit as she has clashes with a hyper type A girl and a popular boy who insists on calling her a "Mary"--a commentary on her innocence which doesn't really seem to phase Rory all that much.

Now that we've gotten all of that out of the way, let's talk a little more about the idea of prep school and class division in the episode. It becomes quite clear that Chilton is not a world in which Rory is necessary welcome. She is innocent, studious, and clearly an outsider because of those things. Interestingly, we do not yet see any real victimization of Rory for being less wealthy than the rest of the school aside from one of her classmates questioning where her old school was. So far, it is the adults who duke it out over whether "fitting in" is something worth striving for.

Rory seems to straddle a line between her grandparents' upper class indulgence and her mother's middle class values. Over and over we see that Lorelai wants her daughter to work for the things she has in life much in the same way that Lorelai has, while Rory's grandmother doesn't understand the problem with taking a little help to make the girl's life more pleasant. It is almost as though her grandmother 1) believes that Rory will not fit in to her new school and 2) only really knows how to relate to the girl through giving her the markers of that upper class life Emily leads.**

The question of taking help is an interesting one. The whole series so far (all two episodes of it), revolves around one question: when is it worth accepting help from someone if it goes against your principles? In the case of Rory's tuition, Lorelai can swallow her pride. When it comes to helping her daughter fit in at her new school, Lorelai is staunchly against accepting her mother's money.

I have no doubt that much of the show's conflict will arise from Rory attempting to fit in to a new place where she is the outsider even more so than she was at her other school. We're led to believe that at Stars Hollow she at least one close-knit friendship despite being a dreamy girl who is constantly reading.

One more thing to note. Lorelai is a mess. I suppose we're meant to believe that she's something of a sympathetic mess. I get the struggle of raising a teenage daughter on her own. That's not what I'm talking about. My complaint is that we're getting all of her characterization in kind of ridiculous ways. She talks too much when she's nervous! She doesn't have any clean clothes! She demands coffee from Luke in a way I think is supposed to be cute! And yet through all of this we know that she's meant to be more than competnent at her job. I hope that those things are not mutually exclusive. I'm a little tired of TV's, "This woman is strong as has it together professionally except her personal life is a mess because clearly she can't have it all," thing. At some point I hope that the show settles into letting the viewer pick up on the nuances of her character and trusts the audience to like her as we see her.

Book Nerd Moments

Oh so many it makes the book nerd in my shiver with delight. I want to be in Rory's English class at Chilton. Dickens (Great Expectations, Little Dorritt, A Tale of Two Cities), Tolstoy (Anna Karenina and War and Peace), George Sands, Balzac

Pop Culture References

Schindler's List

Favorite Quote

"Oh ladies, what do I see? Naked girls? Keep those leotards on. This is not Brazil!” -Miss Patty (I love her so)

“Now walk smooth. That’s a new Harry Potter on your heads. If it should fall, Harry will die and there will be no more books.” – Miss Patty

“Excuse me. There’s a phone call for you. If I am to fetch you like a dog, I’d like a cookie and a raise.” –Michel

Random Thoughts

-This show seriously suffers from a lack of HD (I'm looking at you, opening credits). What is this world we used to live in?

-Back off about TV journalism, superior headmaster. Some of us do good work.

-Rory has a cute uniform. I never had a cute uniform (see first footnote).

---

*When I was in the 3rd grade, my parents had me go through the application process at Westridge School for Girls in Pasadena, CA (the options for middle school were slim in the Pasadena area at the time). I remember very clearly the entrance exam, multiple interviews, and essays I wrote. That's right, I wrote essays for a prep school at the age of seven (I wasn't with my age group, long story) as well as the extensive interview process for my parents. Not to disparage Westridge which is a wonderful school, but it bordered on crazy. I wound up being told I was too young to enter Westridge and to reapply the following year. My parents opted to move instead so that my sister and I could attend an excellent public school outside of the Pasadena school system. The struggle for good schools is real and ridiculous, and I sympathize with all of my friends who are currently trying to get their children into the best educational institutions available.

**In fairness, we have seen very little of Emily's interactions with Rory. Instead she has primarily been used as a foil for Lorelai. My hope that is Emily's characterization will deepen as the show goes on because right now it is very easy to brush her off as a cold rich lady who gets her way by throwing her money around and is in some ways attempting to buy her granddaughter's affection. From what I have been told about this show, the writing it too smart to continue down that path.

Author Interview: Lia Riley

Today I'm hosting the talented Lia Riley in celebration of her new release Sideswiped. Here's a look at the blurb (and read through to the end of the post for an excerpt):

Sometimes in order to find yourself, you need to venture off the map.

Talia and Bran broke all the rules and navigated dark and stormy emotional waters to be together and now that they finally seem to have found their way back to each other, the winds of change threaten to blow their love off course yet again…

JK: I'm so happy to get the chance to talk to you about Sideswiped!

LR: Thanks so much for having me on your blog, Julia!!

JK: What can readers expect from Talia and Bran this time around?

LR: Weeeeeeeelp. Upside Down is more about taking a risk and falling in love. Sideswiped is what happens after the dust settles and decisions get real. What can readers expect? Well, this book is a little bit sexier, there's more drama-rama, but ultimately, I wanted to explore what the hell it actually means to fall in forever love in your early twenties. What do you gain but also, what might you give up.

JK: Sideswiped is the second book in the Off the Map series. Was writing this one a different experience than writing Upside Down?

LR: Okay, so let's enter the truth circle. This book was a trick to write, we're talking I took long walks in the rain while crying. But I'm a big ol' drama queen and in many ways this book was a blast to write because Bran finally started talking, and the dude fascinates me. He's such a baby man, really needs a kick in the ass, but unnnf,  I do love him so.

JK: One of the big challenges writers in series face is making sure that their characters change and grow. How are Talia and Bran different in this book than what we read in Upside Down?

LR: Ah, yep, the good ol' character arc. In this book, we see some role reversals and power dynamics shift. I wanted to show Talia and Bran tracking toward adulthood and emotional health, but invariably stumbling along the way.

JK: Who are your favorite secondary characters in the series, and can we expect more from them in the future?

LR: Great question. Two secondary characters, Karma and Marti, were people I never planned to write. They  popped in during drafting and were all "yo, I'm going to be in this here book." I really, really enjoy both of them. Sunny is also a hoot but gets far too little page time. Look for some Off the Map companion novellas/books in 2015. I've got 2-4 planned and more will become clear to those who read Inside Out (Book #3).

JK: What can we expect for the next installment of the Off the Map series?

LR: Spoiler alert: Inside Out has a happy-ever-after. LOL. But for real, Inside Out will still put Talia and Bran to the test. I'm kind of a monster, so make these crazy kids dig deep to earn their right to true love.

JK: And a quick last question: what's in Talia's purse and Bran's manbag?

LR: HAHAHAHA. Bran is like "JULIA! I DO NOT CARRY A MANBAG." He's a backpack guy. If you look inside there will be a beat up copy of Edward Abbey's The Monkey Wrench Gang and a half-crushed muesli bar. Talia's purse has hand sanitizer, lip gloss, fifty thousand receipts, and a George Costanza wallet.

Thanks for hosting me today <3

Sideswiped is now on sale at these fine ebook vendors

B&N | BAM! | Kobo | iBooks |  Google Play | Amazon

Excerpt from Sideswiped

Talia passes out hard from the travel and epic reunion sex. I’m too amped for sleep, so I lie in the dark and trace her spine. Can you love someone too much? No point being afraid, might as well jump in it with both feet. I press my mouth to her neck and she undulates, responsive even from her dreams. If miracles were real, I’d swear we were designed to fit together.

I loop my arm around her waist and hold fast, until our breathing syncs. I’m drifting off when she jerks—hard—once, twice. Her body recoils as she unleashes a lung-tearing scream.

“Talia, wake up. Come on, sweetheart, talk to me.” I clamber over her, hunching protectively. “Open your eyes. It’s Bran. I’ve got you. I’m not letting go.” I keep talking while she flays my chest like she’s drowning under ice, desperate to find a break in the surface.

“Can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I…where am…oh God. Bran.”

“I’m right here.” I cradle her while she draws another unsteady gasp. Her hair plasters her forehead in sweaty wisps.

“Give me a minute. I’ll be fine.” She pushes herself to a half-sit and sways with disorientation. “This…this happens sometimes…panic attacks or night terrors…whatever. They seem to come when I drop my guard. Or, I don’t know, maybe it’s the meds. Those pills make me feel like a toxic waste dump.”

“Have you been bad this summer?” The muscles in my neck cord. It shreds my guts to see her hurting. I’d do anything, any fucking thing, to carry her pain. I don’t fully understand the inner workings of OCD but she’s explained that for her, the condition comes in waves. Everything will be rolling along fine, more or less, and then bang—a giant squid grips her brain. She fights hard for recovery, a warrior even when she believes she’s nothing but a coward.

“No, not really.” She grinds her eyes with the backs of her hands. “I kinda danced around the edge of the rabbit hole a few times but never fell inside.”

My muscles release some tension. “Try to go back to sleep. You need the rest. Don’t worry, I’ll keep watch, okay?

“I’m sorry to be such a psych job. It’s totally shaming.”

“Shhhhhh.”

Her chin tips down. “Can you talk to me for a little while? Get me out of my fuckball head?”

“Hey now, I got mad love for that head, Captain.” I kiss her brow, acting chill even though I’m scared. How can I get her to settle? Then it hits me. “I want to take you surfing again.”

“Mmmm, that’d be nice.”

“Picture yourself out there, in the water, on a board, under the shooting stars.”

“With sharks eyeballing me from the depths?”

“Nah, they’re all busy hunting sea lions or some bloody mischief. This is you, the sea, and the sky. A set rolls in. You can’t make out the wave. The board lifts and you feel the momentum building. There’s fear deep in your belly, sensible, because you can’t see what’s coming or where you’re going. You fight the self-protective instincts, give yourself over, and the next thing you know—you’re having the ride of your life.”

“Thank you.” She flips in my arms so we’re belly to belly. “I mean it. That was beautiful, really, really beautiful. I’m so excited to be here, for right now—to live in the moment. But it’s like I have this…this weird mental stutter. My thoughts keep skipping over the same annoying question like a scratch on vinyl: What will we do?” Tears spill from the corners of her eyes, course silently toward her chin. “My visa.”

Talia’s been granted a three-month student visa to complete her senior thesis in history. In all its benevolent generosity, the Australian government expanded her time in the country by an extra month.

Four months—the sum of our allotted time.

“They’ll make me leave.”

“Don’t believe everything you think.” I wipe her damp cheeks.

“Can you tattoo that on my forehead?”

Maybe it’s my imagination, but the brass alarm clock on the dresser clicks louder.

Another second gone.

Another second gone.

“I’m not losing you to some shithouse immigration policy, Captain. We will be all right in the end.” I’ve no idea how the hell I’m going to solve this drama but I will figure it out. “We have to hope, otherwise we’re sunk.”

She jerks with surprised laughter.

“What?”

She hiccups and covers her mouth with her hand, shoulders shaking. It takes me a second to realize she’s giggling.

“I’m funny to you right now?” This girl drives me every sort of crazy.

“I’m not laughing at you.” She works her lips together and unsuccessfully smothers the smile. “It’s—”

“Forget it.” I instinctively stiffen.

“Bran the Optimist.” She grabs my wrists, lifts my palms to her face, and plants a kiss in the center of each one. “I like this side of you.”

“Never mind. I was being dumb.”

“You were awesome.” She pecks the tip of my nose. “And for the record, I love your stupid face.”

I give her a begrudging kiss back. “I love yours too.”

Love isn’t enough of a word.

I wasted almost an entire year of my life implementing a scorched earth policy, not caring who I left burned and broken in my path.

Talia was my oasis. My salvation.

“Don’t give the visa a second thought.” I nestle her against me, rubbing her lower back in easy circles. “I’ll sort this out, I swear to you.”

Even if I don’t have the first fucking clue.

About the Author

Lia Riley writes offbeat New Adult Romance. After studying at the University of Montana-Missoula, she scoured the world armed only with a backpack, overconfidence and a terrible sense of direction. She counts shooting vodka with a Ukranian mechanic in Antarctica, sipping yerba mate with gauchos in Chile and swilling fourex with stationhands in Outback Australia among her accomplishments. A British literature fanatic at heart, Lia considers Mr. Darcy and Edward Rochester as her fictional boyfriends. Her very patient husband doesn't mind. Much. When not torturing heroes (because c'mon, who doesn't love a good tortured hero?), Lia herds unruly chickens, camps, beach combs, daydreams about as-of-yet unwritten books, wades through a mile-high TBR pile and schemes yet another trip. She and her family live mostly in Northern California.

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Cover Reveal: Returning Home by A.L. Parks

I've got something fun for you today! A.L. Parks's new cover for her book Returning Home is out, and she' s letting me give you a sneak peak!

How gorgeous is that? I love this cover designed by Amber at Book Beautiful (Amber did our cover for One Week in Wyoming too). I'm also pretty sure I own a close approximation of that outfit.

Returning Home is book 4 in the Return to Me series. It releases on October 28th. Here's a quick look at what you can expect:

Clarissa wants nothing to do with her father – even in his death. But she can’t escape returning to Newport to settle her father's estate. The safe world she has established starts to crumble and secrets she has locked away threaten to be exposed. Meeting Griff, her father’s partner, provides the only peace and happiness in the darkness that suddenly surrounds her.

Griff has built his custom bike shop from nothing into a thriving success. After the sudden death of his silent partner, Griff finds himself in a fight to save his business from the grieving widow. But falling for his partner's headstrong daughter may cost Griff everything.

Brandi has become accustomed to certain amenities in her life - money and men. She refuses to allow the death of her philandering husband to inconvenience her comfortable lifestyle. Setting her sights set on her husband’s very young, very sexy partner, nothing will get in the way of what she wants - even if it means destroying Clarissa to get it.

While you're waiting for the release, check out A.L. Parks's website to find out more about the rest of the Return to Me series and her other books!