If you’ve been in a bookstore at all in the past year, you have probably seen Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer ( WEBSITE ). The cover is black with a pair of snow white hands cradling a tantalizing red apple. Having a semi-secret penchant for vampires, I decided to check it out. The story is easy and immediately fun to read. Although it is riddled with teen angst, Meyer’s character development and choice of setting, rainy Forks, Washington, drew me in enough to overlook the sometimes tedious melodrama. Before I knew it, all 544 pages of Twilight were over and I was clamoring for the next book, New Moon. A little disappointing and a little long (608 pages), I stuck it out with New Moon and in the end there was enough to pull me into the third installment, Eclipse. I enjoyed this one almost as much as the first and was happy to have it propel me into the fourth. But if you, reader, make it that far, don’t bother with the fourth and final novel, Breaking Dawn. It promises a lame plot and stupid character names. Okay, really just one supremely dumb name, but couple that with a disappointing story line and see how you feel. I almost put the book down without finishing. It really sucks to end a series with a rotten tomato like Stephenie Meyer did with Breaking Dawn because it taints the whole series. I cannot, in good conscience, recommend this series to anyone because I was so disappointed in the end, even though there were some strong moments. Twilight was a great first book, but it led me into the second which sealed my fate. My final verdict: skip it.
Writer and former flight attendant Hollis Gillespie is a syndicated columnist and top-selling author. Her column “Moodswing” appears in the alternative weekly Creative Loafing ( WEBSITE ). She is the travel columnist at Paste Magazine and writes a humorous financial column for BeE WOMAN magazine.
Hollis has appeared on the cover of numerous publications including Atlanta magazine, Creative Loafing and Tampa’s Weekly Planet. She has been profiled in Marie Claire, Bust, Writer’s Digest and Entertainment Weekly.
Her television appearances include The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, TBS Storyline, Monica Kaufman’s Closeups, Good Day Atlanta, and an upcoming appearance on TV Land. Her radio commentaries appear regularly on National Public Radio (NPR) and Georgia Public Broadcasting.
In 2004, Writer’s Digest named Hollis Gillespie a “Breakout Author of the Year.” Other accolades include “Best Columnist” (2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007) and “Best Local Author” (2004, 2005, 2006) honors in the Creative Loafing Best of Atlanta Readers Survey. Atlanta magazine awarded her “Best ‘Tell-All’” in 2006.
The film rights to her first book, Bleachy-Haired Honky Bitch: Tales from a Bad Neighborhood, are currently under option with a major Hollywood studio.
HERE WE GO…….
Clint: Good Morning Hollis, thanks for doing our little interview how are you today?
Hollis: Today I have a bad case of hammertoe.
Clint: So your third book “Trailer Trashed” is coming out can you give us a little insight on the details? Is it a collection of stories like your last 2 books, do the stories focus around any certain theme?
Hollis: Yes, the theme is my dubious attempts at upward mobility. There are some setabacks, some set-forwards, people fall in and out of love, I think I save the world, and in the end we land a film deal. Plus there is a monkey and a missile scientist. And that’s not even mentioning the ax killer.
Clint: So there is a big book launching shin dig at Paris on Ponce, wanna tell us about that, and also if we can’t make it there where we can find you signing books around town?
Hollis: The launch party, on August 5 at Paris on Ponce from 7–10, is going to be a major throw down. KingSized ( WEBSITE ) is playing, plus Daniel ( WEBSITE ), Grant ( ARTICLE ) ( WEBSITE ) and Lary are threatening to make an appearance, and you know that can only mean trouble, especially if there is free alcohol involved, not to mention pig feet. For more info on the launch party and other signings, you can go to MY CALENDAR
Clint: Deep down in your Heart of Hearts ( def ), does it still sting a little bit when Grant calls you a Bitch? Is that why his artwork is not the cover of your third book like it was on the first two?
Hollis: HELL no. “Bitch” is a compliment. I call him “He-Bitch.” He could have done the artwork on the third book if he wanted, but Sister Louisa is about to launch her own book. We can’t have competing covers.
Clint: You and Grant do a course called Hollis Gillespie’s Shocking Real-Life Writing Academy, will you tell us about that and how to enroll. Honestly in my head its just hours of watching you two bicker with Grant in the background heckling, but there seem to be lots of success stories on your website so what should we expect if we sign up?
Hollis: I host the “Shocking Real-Life Memoir Publishing Seminar,” which is devoted to helping people publish their memoirs. It’s a ton of fun, and I promise there is a lot of inappropriate conversation, but make no mistake that this is a serious course that gets serious results. The point is to land book deals, not to sit around and bloviate about how hard it is to get published. If you’re serious about getting published, go to My WEBSITE
Clint: What’s next for Hollis? Are you already on your forth book? Can you give us an update on the fabulous LA projects that we hear hints about here and there in your writings? Do you believe in the Secret and if so what is up on your dream wall? What are you putting out in the universe and claiming?
Hollis: Now that the writer’s strike is resolved, the TV project is back on track. I can’t wait for the day Grant goes in to audition to play himself and he gets TURNED DOWN FOR THE PART. Hahaha.
Clint: I am sure there is something you would like to say that i didn’t ask, If we had been in a recorded interview you would probably be asking me the questions by now, so shoot!
Hollis: Contrary to popular rumor, I was never a teenage prostitute to the stars.
Recently, I have been enamored with James McAvoy. There. I’ve said it. Not only has he been fantastic in every role I’ve seen so far, he’s also incredibly easy on the eyes. Girls and boys, I know you know what I’m talking about. To that end, I was perusing a fan page and learned that among a lot of sci-fi books McAvoy also enjoyed Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks, whose name I had never heard before (embarrassing now, I know). When I googled the title and read “readers who are entranced by the sweeping Anglo Sagas of Masterpiece Theatre will devour Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks’s historical drama,” I knew it was my next read.
After being so drawn in by the deeply complex story of Stephen and the many officers who fell beside him, I was disappointed that Faulks felt it necessary to shift gears and follow a completely unlikely storyline that begins in 1978 with Stephen’s granddaughter, Elizabeth. She is a truly superfluous character who suddenly at 39 becomes obsessed with learning about her grandfather. It felt forced, a sloppy add on to what would otherwise be a beautiful and terrible tale.
Birdsong is touted as a “novel of love and war,†but I think it would be more accurate to acclaim it as a novel that depicts the brutality of the First World War with startling clarity. Overall, I can recommend Birdsong, but with side notes. If you are going to read it, you must allow yourself to enjoy the way Sebastian Faulks trudges unforgivingly through the trenches of the First World War. You must also forgive him for parts three, five and seven. You can skip them completely, if you have the wherewithal. Read it with resolve and I do not think you will be disappointed.
