elissa sussman funny you should ask a novel

Romance novels between normal people and celebrities are very popular, but the most common version of that trope is the normal person does not know who the famous person is. So, that sparked the idea: What if that happened to you? It was very self-referential about how weird those interviews were.

It was interesting to see female journalists inserting themselves in the story in a way that played with our ideas of parasocial relationships and how celebrity exists. ZR: So, where did the idea for this story come from, and how did it come together?ĮS: The idea was inspired by Edith Zimmerman’s interview with Chris Evans, but also Tom Hiddleston interview, and then there’s the Channing Tatum one.

It’s for a very particular person - someone who doesn’t like beer, apparently. It’s the only beer I like, and John, my husband, thinks it’s the grossest, weirdest thing he’s ever had. It’s based on a real beer called the Duchesse de Bourgogne. But I am curious: Does the perfect sour beer she drinks exist?ĮS: For me, yes. ZAN ROMANOFF: You got a burger, so I have to ask: Did you intentionally order what Chani orders in the first interview scene in the book? Shondaland spoke with her about transitioning from writing young-adult books to the world of romance, reimagining masculinity in the romance genre, and, of course, how she crafts her sex scenes. She’s also been a ghostwriter for a number of romance novels. In addition to Funny, Sussman is the author of three young-adult novels: Burn, Stray, and Drawn That Way. It’s surreal for Chani, and she can’t tell whether he’s just trying to give her a good story or if his flirtation is dangerously sincere.įunny ping-pongs back and forth in time charting those heady early days as well as Gabe and Chani’s follow-up interview 10 years later as they finally deal with the fallout from their first encounter - and figure out if there’s more between them than just good chemistry. What throws her off even more, though, is that he seems just as interested in her as she is in him, and their hour-long interview morphs into a whirlwind weekend of movie premieres, after-hours dancing, and alcohol-soaked house parties. She’s horrified (okay, and thrilled) to find herself face-to-face with her No. But after endless puff pieces, she gets the opportunity to interview major superstar Gabe Parker. In Funny You Should Ask, readers meet Chani Horowitz - a journalist watching her peers ascend with big profiles and book deals while she’s still figuring things out. You can’t help but notice that the scene unfolding between you mirrors the opening pages of her latest novel, Funny You Should Ask - except, of course, that neither of you is a handsome, charming movie star named Gabe Parker. There’s a particular frisson in sitting down to interview Elissa Sussman at a restaurant, especially on a cloudless spring day in Los Angeles.

Elissa sussman funny you should ask a novel