"I'll be singing 'Heartbreaker' as they're putting me in the coffin and closing it," says Pat Benatar. "And I'm going to go, 'One more verse, please!'
Pat, whom I once interviewed and instantly loved (she's like your best high school friend from Long Island) doesn't mind singing the old hits.
Read the Books
- Dunn does a good job of keeping the reader wanting to know ‘What’s next?” in this crazy, yet oh-so typical family’s life....When a reader can connect with an author’s words, a book suddenly becomes magical – and there is magic here. Sacramento Book Review
Click to buy Why Is My Mother Getting a Tattoo? And Other Questions I Wish I Never Had to Ask: Amazon| Borders| Indiebound.com | BN.com | Powells.com
In her early forties, Jancee Dunn began to wonder why she still felt like a 13-year-old around her family. Talking to her friends, she found the same was true for them—despite successful jobs, marriages, and families of their own. Do we ever really grow up, she wonders? Why is the slow, sticky process of prying ourselves free from our parents and childhoods so difficult? In Why Is My Mother Getting a Tattoo?, Dunn examines the phenomenon, with scenes ranging from a "haunted Savannah" tour gone wrong to a visit to a tattoo parlor with her sixty-ish mother, who is dying to get a raven inked on her wrist. Finally, Dunn and her sisters arrange a visit to the house where they grew up, a bittersweet but comic experience that answers her questions and puts her at peace with her parents—until the next tattoo parlor visit, at least.
"I want Jancee Dunn to make me a pie. Actually, I want to sit around and listen to her entire family argue about what type of pie. Such is the extreme charm of her world. No matter the subject, Dunn's gimlet eye for all of life’s minor infractions and daily quirks is superbly addictive."
—Sloane Crosley, I Was Told There'd Be Cake
Click to Buy Don't You Forget About Me from Amazon
| Booksense.com | BN.com | Powells.com
The hysterical debut novel from former Rolling Stone writer Jancee Dunn features the humor of Laurie Notaro or Merrill Markoe combined with the music-induced nostalgia of Rob Sheffield’s Love Is a Mix Tape.
Lillian Curtis, a 30-something New York City television producer, finds her past and present colliding when she moves back in with her parents, where time seems frozen in 1988 – in her room, there’s a Rick Springfield tape on her dresser and Duran Duran posters hanging on the wall. Back in New Jersey after twenty years, she is forced to confront not only her 80’s nostalgia, but also all the people she thought she’d left behind – including her high school boyfriend.
"Steeped in 80s-era references (Rick Springfield cassettes, Duran Duran posters, and Anais Anais perfume, anyone?), the flashback elements of Lily's life are breezy, reliably tacky fun. But unexpected moments of tenderness...give the story heart."
—People
"Dunn's deft sense of pacing and her old-fashioned niceness make "Don't You Forget About Me" a breezy, entertaining summer read that never insults the reader's intelligence. This is a seemingly modest achievement that should not be underestimated."
—The Los Angeles Times
"In addition to being an impressive treasure trove of cultural references both high and (frequently) low, Jancee Dunn is also a tenderhearted novelist. DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME is wistful, graceful, and seriously funny.
—Meg Wolitzer, The Ten-Year Nap
One of the "top upcoming summer reads..."
—Daily Candy
Click to buy But Enough About Me: Amazon | Booksense.com | BN.com | Powells.com
When the girl next door lands a dream job interviewing celebrities and rock stars at Rolling Stone, the result is Almost Famous meets Working Girl: A hip and funny true story of the pleasures and perils of the red carpet.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"I loved this book from start to finish ... Jancee Dunn is a wonderful storyteller."
Curtis Sittenfield, author of Prep
"Jancee has "dunn" (pun intended) a spectacular job ... I am so proud to be a part of it.."
Dolly Parton
"Hilarious -- you won’t be able to keep from reading the whole thing." Matthew Klam, author of Sam the Cat
Don't You Forget About Me: The Playlist
What the Critics Are Saying
- "The ultimate beach read for the person who likes their pop culture served with a side of smarts."
Elle - An irresistable narrator... Grade: A"
Entertainment Weekly - Review in Library Journal
"Sparkles with wry humor, touching honesty, and celebrity insight."
(click for more) - Review in Vogue
"Pitch perfect..."
(click to read more) - Review in Publishers Weekly
"A delight to read...Amusing, clever and affable..."
(click to read more)
- Review in Kirkus Reviews
"Funny, frothy and fabulous...Dunn is a master of character development."
(click to read more)
Meet the Cast of Characters
Bonus Book Chapters!
November 2011
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
« Real Simple essay, June 2010 "Ten Things My Father Was Right About" | Main | Having trouble decorating your kid's room? »
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Meet the Author
- Jancee Dunn grew up in Chatham, New Jersey. She was a writer at Rolling Stone from 1989-2003, where she wrote twenty cover stories for the magazine. She has written for many different publications, among them the New York Times, Vogue,GQ (where she wrote a monthly sex advice column for five years) and O: The Oprah Magazine, where she writes a monthly ethics column entitled "Now What Do I Do?" From 2001-2002 she was an entertainment correspondent for Good Morning America. Prior to that she was a veejay for MTV2 from 1996 until 2001. Her memoir "But Enough About Me," about her life as chronically nervous celebrity interviewer, came out in 2006. Her novel "Don't You Forget About Me" is out in July 2008. She and her husband live in Brooklyn, New York.
Keep Up With Jancee
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Contact Jancee Dunn
- Editorial inquiries for
Jancee Dunn:
David McCormick
McCormick & Williams Literary Agents
37 W. 20th Street
New York, NY 10011
mccormickwilliams.com
Readings,
Events,
and Media
Previous Articles, Essays, and Fiction
- April 2011 Essay for Parents magazine on being a tiny bit neurotic
- Essay on 'Project Runway' from the April 2010 book Reality Matters: 19 Writers Come Clean On The Shows We Can't Stop Watching
- Real Simple essay, June 2010 "Ten Things My Father Was Right About"
- Modern Bride August 2008: Wedding By Committee
- New York Times 3/27/08: "You Might Move Out, But You Can't Move On"
- Blueprint magazine March '07: How Not To Complain
- Salon essay: Head In the Stars (8.22.06)
- New York Times: With the Grace of Liberace Go I
- Grooming by Grandma
Essay in Harper's Bazaar - Thought This Might Interest You
Essay in O: The Oprah Magazine
Thanks Typepad!
Lately Enjoying
- The best cupcakes in the world. Make them, bring to a dinner party and watch everyone FREAK OUT. My secret weapon.
- Kate Christensen: The Great Man
- It's David Attenborough's Planet... We Just Live On It
- Lord Whimsy, Foe of Sportswear and Collector of Moths
The MTV2 Years
Recent Posts
- Essay for Real Simple, October 2011 -- Five Writers Are Asked What They Would Save If Their House Caught On Fire
- Small Essay for Real Simple Family, September 2011
- I'm the color of wallpaper paste
- Complaint Box
- I love the feature "Small
- Stars: They're Not In The Least Like 'Us!'
- Recipe Corner, Holiday Edition
- I think there's an eyelash or something in my eye....yes, that's it..
- You Had Me At Woof
- Halloween's coming
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