Chapter 29
Well, hooray for evolution!
BETTER READS PODCAST, AUGUST 11
BETH: Good afternoon and welcome to Better Reads , your favorite source for everything bookish. I’m Beth Yang, and I’m here today with Emmy Ellison, who, unless you’ve been living under a rock or holed up banging out that latest manuscript, you know as the author of the New York Times bestselling novel Hashtag Celebrity Crush . Welcome, Emmy!
EMMY: Thanks for having me, Beth.
BETH: So, Emmy, you recently hit number one on the New York Times list. Congratulations! That’s quite an accomplishment!
EMMY: Thank you.
BETH: It’s pretty much the holy grail for authors. Of course, you had help from your own promotional efforts as well as publicity surrounding your real-life celebrity crush, the superhot, all-you-can-eat special, Jason Connor. You know we were all rooting for you, right?
EMMY: Thanks. Reaching number one is… great.
BETH: I’m not talking about that . I’m talking about you scoring a touchdown and an extra point with Jason.
EMMY: [ coughs ] What happened between Jason and me wasn’t planned, Beth. And I have no idea what you mean by “extra point.” We were just doing some social media marketing together, and things… evolved.
BETH: Well, hooray for evolution! Care to share any details for us, Emmy? Any between-the-sheets stories? Does he like it when—
EMMY: No details, Beth.
BETH: Okay, okay, I understand! Those pictures were something else, Emmy. You still claim it wasn’t you who leaked them, am I correct?
EMMY: It wasn’t me. I would never have done that to him.
BETH: Oh yes, he ended up getting fired from Lost Star over those pictures. A shame. I loved him in that show. I heard they offered the role to Zachary Tay, and he’s accepted.
EMMY: Do you have another question for me?
BETH: You seem upset, Emmy. Did you really care about Jason? Because in all the interviews I’ve seen with him lately, he says you used him specifically to build buzz for your book and the movie.
EMMY: It wasn’t like—
BETH: That was brilliant! I bet he never saw it coming. Give me a high five! Here’s your heroine, ladies. Emmy Ellison. Turned the tables and seduced Jason Connor instead of the other way around.
EMMY: Can we not use the word “seduced”?
BETH: Of course! How about landed that fish. Captured that flag. Buttered that biscuit.
EMMY: Beth, please stop.
BETH: You’re truly an inspiration, Emmy. I know I speak for a lot of people when I say thank you! Thank you for showing us what can be accomplished when you truly set your mind to something.
EMMY: I’m sorry, are we talking about the book now?
BETH: No! We’re talking about Jason Connor. Oh, give me another high five! I just can’t get enough of them. We’re all dying to see what kind of trouble you get into on the promo tour in December. Don’t disappoint us! All righty, that wraps up today’s podcast. Join us tomorrow for a brief chat with Stephen King’s best friend. So proud of you, Emmy.