I’ve told this story countless times, so forgive me if you’ve heard it before.
I won my first writing award in the second grade for my riveting and groundbreaking essay detailing why, if I could have lunch with any person living or dead, I would choose John Stamos. That’s right. While do-gooders all around me wrote about the important conversations they would have with world leaders or longed-for emotional reunions with great-grandparents, I dreamt of a sit-down with Uncle Jesse from Full House.
If you’ve ever read any of my novels, this anecdote may not surprise you in the least.
I’m a pop culture junkie, and obviously have been since a very early age. Probably before I knew my multiplication tables, I could carry on an informed discussion about the state of Prince Charles and Princess Di’s marriage or tell you who Elizabeth Taylor was dating.
Could I have used the space in my brain for better things? Maybe. It’s possible that if I’d studied the periodic table with the same fervor I applied to memorizing lists of past Oscar winners, I might have cured some disease or other. We’ll never know. What I do know is that those pop culture moments we experience have a unique power to unite us.
Depending on your age, you may share any number of memories with countless strangers you’ll never meet. Did you watch The Beatles or Elvis on The Ed Sullivan Show? Do you remember the first time you saw Michael Jackson moonwalk? Were you tuned in when M*A*S*H ended or O.J. Simpson fled in a white Bronco? How about when we learned who shot J.R. or Julia Child made Boeuf Bourguignon or Mr. Hooper died on Sesame Street?
For better or worse, these are often the moments that define generations, and time after time they’ve been the moments that form bonds between my readers and me. I’m so grateful that roughly thirty-five years ago some judges of a writing competition recognized the importance of a little girl being herself and writing what she knew.
Wes and Addie Had Their Chance, my eighth romantic comedy novel, will be published by HarperCollins on July 15th. In it you’ll find a small, quirky Colorado town, a guaranteed happily-ever-after, lots of laughs, and enough pop culture references to make that eight-year-old girl proud.