Hot Mess: Summer in the City

Author Spotlight with the Authors of Hot MessTeens @ Random: How did a Maryland chick and an OC babe come together in Manhattan?Julie: We got our start the same way all great relationships do–the Internet!Shallon: It’s only slightly less sleazy than it sounds; we were the only girls writing for CollegeHumor.com in 2004. I loved her sense of humor and she admired my use of puns. And the rest is history! Teens @ Random: What was it like writing together? Any catfights?Shallon: Aside from one minor blow out over a semicolon, it was easy. We divided duties up like a divorced couple with joint custody. And if I don’t stop dating losers, I’ll probably end up marrying Julie, so I guess it was good practice. Julie: Now that I’m doing some writing alone, I really miss her. I find myself inserting comments in the margins like, “Shall, how many times can you use an irritable bowel syndrome joke get before it starts triggering gag reflexes?” and then I realize I can’t ask her opinion anymore. It’s kind of sad. Teens @ Random: How much of this book is based on your real life? Julie: Basically everything but bagging the hot older guy. Unfortunately, that was totally from my imagination. Shallon: Hot Mess is a thinly veiled compilation of personal experiences . . . the bad dates, the even worse breakups, and the celebrity smooches–all copy-and-pasted from my diary. Teens @ Random: What’s your most horrible job experience? Julie: During a particularly grueling internship, my boss came to my desk and told me she had a huge project. I was super excited until she dropped a huge binder filled with paper in front of me and said, “The paper around some of the holes is wearing thin. I need reinforcement stickers around each hole punch.” Then at lunch, I backed my mother’s Camry into a parked minivan. I’m not sure how, but I think the accident and the reinforcement sticker incident are somehow related and both are my boss’s fault. Geico didn’t seem to agree. Neither did my mother. Shallon: In high school, I was a waitress at Johnny Rockets. One day my manager decided that the employee purses were cluttering the back room and he confiscated them all. I told him I needed my bag to take care of a certain “monthly issue.” His response? “I’ll meter out tampons to you as I see fit. Now go fry more onion rings.” Teens @ Random: What advice do you have for aspiring writers?Julie: Just put your pen to the paper (or fingers on the keyboard) and write. Starting is the hardest part.Shallon: Write what feels true to you, not what you think people want to hear. And never wear Crocs. Julie: Words to live by.

Shallon Lester is the star of MTV’s reality series “Downtown Girls” and co-author of YA novel Hot Mess. A 21st century Carrie Bradshaw (only with a better nose and cheaper shoes), Shallon has written for Glamour magazine, the New York Daily News, and Gossip Girl. She loves hockey and lip gloss, and is fluent in French, Italian and sexting. You can find her on Twitter @DowntownShallon and keep up on her ongoing adventures at www.ShallonOnline.com.