#5 Rachel Lynn Solomon: Pop Stars, Slutty Little Earrings, and Emotionally Mature Men
The Everygirl Book ClubShow Notes
The Everygirl Book Club hosts an interview with author Rachel Lynn Solomon ahead of her novel Extracurricular, about former pop star Ramona Wilder starting college and developing chemistry with her psychology professor, Nick, while trying to escape a toxic, objectifying career and heal from an emotionally abusive mother. Solomon discusses the books that made her want to write (especially Meg Cabot’s The Princess Diaries), her chaotic “Mad Libs” drafting process across YA and adult, and why adult romance allows broader life questions and more explicit content while still modeling healthy desire, consent, and communication for teens. She explains her draw to entertainment settings, researching authentic Los Angeles details, crafting a charged meet-cute, and balancing the professor-student power dynamic by giving Ramona agency.
00:00 Meet Rachel Lynn Solomon 02:46 Drafting Process 03:55 YA Versus Adult Romance 06:23 Fanfic Reader Origins 09:47 Why Entertainment Settings 14:10 Writing Extracurricular 23:53 Strangers And Meet Cutes 28:17 Fame Persona vs Person 30:40 Balancing Pop and Trauma 34:04 Girlhood and Fandom 39:12 Parasocial Loneliness 44:23 Tropes as Marketing 50:22 Therapy is Sexy 53:10 Book Recs and Farewell
Books Mentioned The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon Business Or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon Isn't It Obvious? by Rachel Runya Katz Fifty Shades Of Grey by E. L. James Twilight by Stephenie Meyer Warriors Series by Erin Hunter The Heartbreak Hotel by Ellen O'Clover If Not You by Ellen O'Clover Just a Highland Fling by Naina Kumar
Musicians/Artists Mentioned Taylor Swift Olivia Rodrigo Charli XCX The Smiths The Cure One Direction
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