Amanda Pellegrino
Author Interview - Amanda Pellegrino
Author of Smile and Look Pretty
Best friends Cate, Lauren, Olivia and Max are overworked and underpaid assistants to some of the most powerful people in the entertainment industries. Like the assistants who came before them, the women know they have to pay their dues and abide the demeaning tasks and verbal abuse from their bosses in order to climb the ladders to their dream jobs.
But as they are passed over for promotions and the toxic office environments reach a breaking point, the women secretly start an anonymous blog detailing their experiences, which snowballs into hundreds of others coming forward with stories of their own. Confronted with newfound viral fame and the possibility of their identities being revealed, the assistants have to contend with the life-changing consequences of speaking out against those who refuse to share the power.
Author Interview - Amanda Pellegrino
Author I draw inspiration from: I'm inspired by Jessica Knoll's career. I love that she's made a career out of writing bestselling novels and then adapting them for the screen. That's my dream situation and I'm grateful that she's fought so hard to adapt her own work so that when it's my turn I know that it's possible.
Author Interview - Amanda Pellegrino | Author I Draw Inspiration From
Favorite place to read a book: I love reading on the subway. I'm from NYC and I don't have much of a commute right now, but when I do, I think it's pretty incredible when a book can capture my imagination and attention when I'm surrounded by interesting people and loud announcements and strange NYC idiosyncrasies.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: I'd love to be in an elevator with TifAni FaNelli from Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll, but only if I knew it was happening beforehand so I could wear the perfect, fashion editor approved, outfit. I'd be a little scared of her, honestly, but I'd have my elevator pitch ready for why we should be friends so she could teach me the cool places to eat and shop.
Author Interview - Amanda Pellegrino | Book Character I’d Like to be Stuck in an Elevator With
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: I wrote my first book when I was, I think, 10. I used to take my mom's work laptop and sit on her bed with it, typing what I'm sure I thought was the next great American novel. I've known my entire life that this is what I wanted to do.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: This is a tough one. I feel like they're all for different places. I read hardbacks and paperbacks in bed or on the subway or on the beach. I used to have one of those little lights in college that you could attach to a book's cover so I didn't wake my roommate up when I was reading into the night. Plus, they look great on my bookshelves and I love a good bookshelf. I listen to audiobooks on my walks and runs. I went through at least a dozen audiobooks when I was training for the NY Marathon last year.
The last book I read: The last book I read was The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz. I loved it so much. It's brilliant and twisty. I had been in a reading slump and boy did that book bring me out of it.
Author Interview - Amanda Pellegrino | The Last Book I Read
Pen & paper or computer: I wrote almost all of Smile and Look Pretty with pen and paper on the beach. And I wrote all of my second book (to be announced soon!) on the computer. I like that using pen and paper makes you just, well, write. It takes away all the spell checks and synonym searches and forces you to simply put words on the paper, even if they're not great words. But they're hardly ever great the first time around anyway. However, everything's generally faster when writing on the computer. My fingers can move as quickly as my mind when I'm typing, so it's easy to get lost in what I'm writing. I guess I like both!
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: I think I'd be best friends with Bex Porter from The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan. She's funny and smart and also she married into royalty so we'd get into the coolest parties and have a fun time together.
Author Interview - Amanda Pellegrino | Book Character I’d be Best Friends With
If I weren’t an author, I’d be a: I'm a TV writer by day and author by night, so I guess I'd just be a TV writer. But if I weren't that, I'd probably try to work in tv/film development in some way--involved in conversations about scripts and what shows to green light and which actors to hire. I think that aspect of the business is really interesting.
Favorite decade in fashion history: I love the 1950s--the swing dresses and ankle-length pants and cinched waists. I'm also a sucker for the classic Danny Zuko rock style.
Place I’d most like to travel: I really want to travel around India. It's a place so diverse and rich in culture and history and I'd love to experience as much of it as I can.
My signature drink: I love a spicy margarita and a bitter French.
Favorite artist: My grandma. She was a brilliant watercolor artist and I have her paintings hanging all over my apartment. Her style was incredibly detailed and ornate and she was a perfectionist in her art. I love having them around me to remind me of her and of where I got my creative genes from.
Number one on my bucket list: Honestly, it's to publish a book! That's been number one on my bucket list since I was a kid. I pinch myself every day that it's actually happening and that this is my job now!
Anything else you'd like to add: Thank you so much for interviewing me! Smile and Look Pretty is available anywhere books are sold!
Find more from the author:
Instagram: @amandagpellegrino
Twitter: @amandapellss
Author Bio: Amanda Pellegrino is a TV writer and novelist living in New York City. Her writing has appeared in Refinery29 and Bustle. Most recently she was a writer on Showtime’s American Rust. Smile and Look Pretty is her debut novel.
