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New McElhatton novel takes on single woman's quest Posted 3/6/2009 8:55 PM ET By Jeff Baenen, Associated Press Writer MINNEAPOLIS — Like the heroine of her funny new book, Heather McElhatton knows what it's like to be sick of being single. "People are like, 'Hey, why don't you bring anyone by?' And then eventually they kind of treat you like you have a disease, like, 'How are you doing? Are you hanging in there?' And you get alternative lifestyle books from your parents, like, 'We just want to support you. Whatever it is you've chosen,"' McElhatton recounts. As for showing up at family gatherings without a boyfriend, McElhatton says, "You feel like you have a cleaver in your head. Like something hideous nobody really wants to look too closely at." McElhatton follows up her successful first book, 2007's "Pretty Little Mistakes" (now in development as a TV series), with the breezy "Jennifer Johnson Is Sick of Being Single." She calls it "a dark fairy tale" about an unmarried young woman "wanting to make her fantasy come true at any cost." Her new book (on sale May 5) tackles two questions, McElhatton says: "What if getting what you want is the worst thing for you, and how do people become awful?" In "Jennifer Johnson," a spunky career woman feels pressure to land a mate when both her younger sister and ex-boyfriend plan Valentine's Day weddings. Jennifer works as a copywriter for a Minneapolis department store and has developed an addiction to Cinnabon's rolls. After striking out on Internet dates, she falls for the handsome department store heir, described as "North Woods, chiseled-jaw George Clooney-plays-Paul Bunyan stunning." McElhatton (rhymes with "tackle Latin," she says) has much in common with Jennifer, who's stuck writing ads for men's black dress socks. McElhatton, 38, attended a strict Christian high school, where she was "a freak," and also tried online dating ("A nigxmlare," she recalls). Keller's, the department store in "Jennifer Johnson," has "a Jesus fish glued to the Xerox machine" and starts every Monday with an employee pep rally and prayer. As she gets involved with the wealthy Bradford Keller, Jennifer starts to change the way she looks and talks. She gives away all the retro, funky junk in her apartment and her cat until all she's left with is a porcelain figurine of a "sassy '50s working girl," which is "her icon of freedom," McElhatton explains. "I think this happens to a lot of us, where we have a dream, we go after the dream, we do everything we can to make the dream come true," McElhatton said. "And it feels tight and scratchy and weird, and we want to get back out of it. And during that tight, scratchy time, I think that's when people are awful." Despite all the red flags that Keller is not the right guy, Jennifer barrels ahead. The final scene is her wedding. "And you're sitting there going, 'Is she going to go through with it or not?' Because at this point, you're like, 'Dear God, no,"' McElhatton said. Jeanette Perez, McElhatton's editor at HarperCollins, describes "Jennifer Johnson" as "anti-chick lit" -- an antidote to "the happy ending fairy tale we've all been taught that might not be real or realistic." McElhatton, a vivacious redhead with an easy smile and laugh, has never been married and has no plans to wed. She's been with her boyfriend for over a year and describes herself as a monogamist. "I just think if you love someone you should be with them. The paperwork end of it confuses me. It seems tricky," she says over cookies and coffee at her sunny new home in an upscale neighborhood near Lake of the Isles. Her pet pug, Walter, snorts as he snuggles into his baby stroller. ("I bought myself a high-maintenance Chinese dog," McElhatton explains). Barefoot and casually dressed with only a simple necklace for jewelry, McElhatton still seems overwhelmed by the success of "Pretty Little Mistakes." The "do-over" novel, based on "Choose Your Own Adventure" children's books, allowed readers to pick their own destiny -- from becoming a waitress at Denny's who's fatally burned when a pressure cooker of split- pea soup explodes to joining a bizarre Berlin burlesque circus. McElhatton charted her life's choices on a scrap of linoleum, which led to the book's more than 150 endings. "Pretty Little Mistakes" since has gone through several printings and been translated into Mandarin Chinese and Polish. It's also been sold to Universal Media Studios, where it's being developed as an hourlong dramatic TV series with a central character, Jane, as in "Jane Doe," loosely based on McElhatton. Jason Katims (TV's "Friday Night Lights") is attached as executive producer. No network, lead actress or airdate has been announced yet. McElhatton plans next to write a screenplay -- her first -- of "Jennifer Johnson." Her "Pretty Little Mistakes" sequel, "Million Little Mistakes," in which the reader wins $22 million in a lottery and must decide how to spend it, is tentatively set for publication in May 2010. "I live in a state of permanent wonder. Maybe I'll even get married. Anything's possible, really," McElhatton said. ___ On the Net: Heather McElhatton: http://www.heathermcelhatton.com HarperCollins: http://www.harpercollins.com ___ Jeff Baenen can be reached at jbaenen(at)ap.org Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
