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Jasmine Guillory Writes Refreshingly Real Takes on Royal Romance


For Nicole Cliffe and Jasmine Guillory, it was love at first tweet. The Slate columnist and the romance novelist bonded over a love of the royals and similar social media sensibilities. Over time, their friendship progressed along a very 2019 trajectory—they went from Twitter DMs to text. Along with another friend, Samantha Powell, they formed a “Royals Group Chat,” where they dissect, celebrate, and challenge anything and everything related to the British Royal Family. (The group is so serious about their subject that they met up IRL for a weekend away to watch Meghan and Harry’s wedding.)

As Guillory began to research and write her latest novel, Royal Holiday—a Doria Ragland-inspired love story where a 50-something black woman falls for one of the Royal’s private secretaries—she called upon Cliffe and Powell for help. They brainstormed cottage names, swapped royal insight, and served as Guillory’s soundboard. So when Glamour asked Guillory to participate in our “Bodice Rippers,” series (an exploration of the $1 billion romance novel industry) we couldn’t think of anyone better to speak with her than Cliffe. Read on for their conversation about fully-formed heroines, royal research, and why so many romance novelists are lawyers.

Nicole Cliffe: Something I’ve always loved about your books is that your characters are such adults. They have jobs and friends and familial responsibilities, none of which they can just throw overboard when they meet a new romantic interest. In Royal Holiday, we get to enjoy a 50-something heroine. Why was it so important for you to portray women with rich, full lives?

Jasmine Guillory: I love writing slightly older characters, partly because they have more life experience to draw on, and partly because they’re more set in their ways. So it’s fun for me to see what and who will break them out of their patterns, and to see what they really care about. For me, the more well-rounded and complex a character is, the more interesting they are—and the more there is for someone to love about them. When I start writing a book, I usually start with one or two elements of each main character, but one of the things I think about a lot is what would make each character fall in love with someone, and so I add layers to each of them until I figure out why these two specific people would fall in love with each other. I loved writing Vivian, because she has a lot of life experience, but she’s also figured out a lot about what really matters in life, versus what she doesn’t need to bother worrying about. I need to take more lessons from her!



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Meghan Markle Writes Her Speeches Herself, Because of Course She Does


Meghan Markle has only been the Duchess of Sussex for six months, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t had a massive impact on the royal family—and people all across the globe. There are the fashion and beauty moments the world now follows with bated breath—myself included—every time she leaves the house. (I, personally, knew she was going to be just fine at the royal game when she refused to back down from her signature messy bun despite all those critics.) And the wait for the arrival of Baby Sussex this spring will have royal watchers and regular folks eager with anticipation.

But the thing that makes me most proud of the American actress and activist turned royal is her unabashed feminism, especially in her public speeches. Now, via a new special airing on ABC Thanksgiving night called Meghan’s New Life: The Real Princess Diaries, we’ve learned she writes those words herself.

“When she gave one of her first speeches in Fiji during her royal tour with [Prince Harry], she had notes with her that had all handwritten scribbles on before she went up,” royal reporter Omid Scobie recalls. “And I asked a palace aide, ‘Has she written this herself?’ because that’s quite unusual for the royals, there’s usually other people. And they said, ‘This was all her. She’s been up for days working on this speech.'”

During that speech, Markle stayed true to her roots as a feminist and an advocate for women’s empowerment through education. “As a university graduate, I know the personal feeling of pride and excitement that comes with attending university,” she said. “From the moment you receive your acceptance letter to the exams you spend countless late nights studying for, the lifelong friendships you make with your fellow alumni to the moment that you receive your diploma, the journey of higher education is an incredible, impactful, and pivotal one. I am also fully aware of the challenges of being able to afford this level of schooling for many people around the world, myself included.” She then went on to discuss how scholarships, grants, and work study jobs allowed her to pay for her tuition at Northwestern University.

Later on in the tour, Markle gave a speech in New Zealand where she said, “Feminism is about fairness”—which is just a flat-out great line. So kudos to the duchess for adding yet another job to her already dazzling resumé: speech writer.

No wonder her staff can’t keep up.

Related: Meghan Markle Is Spending Her Thanksgiving Week With the Women of Her Charity Cookbook





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Kathy Manning Lost in the Midterm Elections. Her Daughter Writes about What She Saw Her Mom Win.


Eleven months ago, my mom decided to run for Congress in the 2018 midterm elections. Last night, I felt prouder of her than ever.

Here’s the catch—she lost.

From the beginning, the experience watching my mother run was inspiring. Last December, Kathy Manning decided it was time to step up and take action; she couldn’t just stand by and watch as our country veered down a dark and twisted path.

Her decision to run pushed me to quit my own job to do something I felt was more important, too. I started a new audio-first media company to tell the stories of women like her. Through that work, I realized that my mom was by no means alone in her quest to preserve the values that really urge our country towards greatness. I got to know 12 other women running for the House, each of whom said in one way or another, “If not me, who? If not now, when?” Each of whom felt the personal impact of policy and said, “The arc of the universe may bend towards justice, but we’re going to have to push it.”

As Election Day grew ever closer, I spent afternoons knocking on doors in areas of my home district I had never visited. I met strangers at their homes, at churches, in restaurants, and on streets who were so inspired by Kathy Manning that they beamed at the opportunity to shake my hand.

Through grueling, seemingly never-ending days of work, my mom shined. She listened to the concerns of people throughout the district and nightly reported back stories of the tenacity of the people in our area.

Still, she lost. It would be lying by omission to gloss over the pain and anxiety of last night. The race was an uphill battle from the start—North Carolina’s districts have already been deemed too gerrymandered by the courts. They were cut with “surgical precision” to keep districts, including the 13th, where she ran, red. At the first signs of a loss, I felt both wired and deeply saddened.

Enter Kathy Manning. She arrived at the watch party without any sign of tears. She embraced person after person with love and gratitude for the hard work done by all. She asked about other women she knew were running throughout the country, and she was happy to hear so many of her peers won. A record number of women will serve in our next House of Representatives and her fellow Democrats retook the chamber.

When my mom took the stage to speak, she proved once and for all, that Kathy Manning is not just the leader we wanted, she’s the leader we need.

As I looked out at the crowd during her speech on election night, I saw the faces of hundreds of people filled with love, propelled by hope, moved to keep on fighting. She said it better than I ever could: “Because what really makes America great is our desire to be a land of opportunity for all. What really makes us great is our history of setting high ideals and striving to meet them. We may stumble along the way, but we must continue to fight for what is right.”

Kathy Manning’s run for Congress was just the beginning. The way she acted when faced with defeat stoked a full-on fire of activism—not just within me, but within people across the North Carolina’s 13th District and across the country.

A better future can be a reality. Some parts of the country felt it last night. Some didn’t. But midterm elections weren’t our last chance. Change is coming. As this chapter comes to a close, it’s time to double-down and charge ahead.

As my mom said last night, “We know change is possible, and we know change is required. We must continue working together to make this country what it can be and what it should be.”

Jenny Kaplan is the co-founder and CEO of Wonder Media Network, an audio-first media company focused on women and politics. She’s also the host of its flagship podcast Women Belong in the House. Kaplan was formerly an award-winning reporter at Bloomberg News.

MORE: A Pep Talk for Democrats: It’s OK. We Won.



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Natasha Lyonne Writes a Love Letter to Rosie O'Donnell


In a world short on joy, humor can be a unifier and a survival tool. In that spirit, we bring you our Comedy Issue, a monthlong celebration of funny (and fearless) women and the enduring power of a good laugh. Here Orange Is the New Black star Natasha Lyonne salutes the woman who made her see the value in being wholly authentic.

I first met Rosie when we worked together on a Nora and Delia Ephron play called Love, Loss, and What I Wore in 2008. Rosie had this one monologue called, “The Purse,” which Nora had written about giving up Hermès bags, and the absurdity of them. This was an eight-page monologue, and Rosie was literally able to take the audience in the palm of her hand and take them on a ride during it. The way she was able to lift and drop the volume of the audience’s laughter, it just became a piece of music. Working with Rosie, Nora, Delia, and Samantha Bee on that production taught me that there’s space for all of us. Between working on the play and doing Orange Is the New Black, I totally changed my tomboy perspective, and gained an appreciation for sharing the stage with other women.

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During the play I was coming out of a drug addicted time in my life, but Nora and Rosie adopted me into the fold, and it really healed me as a human being. Now Rosie and I are this odd couple, and we go to Broadway plays. She loves them; I loathe them. My god! Some of the productions I’ve had to sit through. It’s like nails on a chalkboard to me, but I look over and Rosie’s like, “C’mon, Tashy, that was amazing!” Then we go to Sardi’s and grab dinner.

What’s so wild about Rosie is that she’s such a subversive figure who was able to become mainstream. Recently, I rewatched an Ellen DeGeneres appearance on Rosie’s show, and they’re doing what they called the “Lebanese sketch.” It’s psychedelic! It was 1996, and they’re just dancing around being gay. Or watching her stuff in comedy clubs. It’s fucking epic, because she’s in a pantsuit with a curly shag, looking like a cross between David Lee Roth and Pat Benatar. And this was during an era when guys like Andrew Dice Clay were big, and she’s doing a Goodfellas shtick. What other woman was speaking that language?

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Rosie’s such an important figure for women. I’ll never forget introducing Aubrey Plaza to her. I was having dinner with Rosie and texting with Aubrey and I was like, “Why don’t you come over?” She came right over, and I’ve never seen Aubrey so starstruck. She’s such a weirdo and a cool cucumber, but it was almost like seeing Santa Claus—that someone who’s so iconic could be real. But that’s the beauty of someone like Rosie. She’s able to communicate, from a distance, to other young girls that it’s OK to be themselves. That’s a strength she’s personally given me.

Natasha Lyonne costars in Orange Is the New Black, which returns to Netflix this month. Rosie O’Donnell costars on Showtime’s SMILF.



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Rachel Bloom Writes a Love Letter to Carol Burnett


In a world short on joy, humor can be a unifier and a survival tool. In that spirit, we bring you our Comedy Issue, a month-long celebration of funny (and fearless) women and the enduring power of a good laugh. Here Crazy Ex-Girlfriend star Rachel Bloom salutes the woman who made her see the value in being herself onstage.

As I sat back down at my seat in the Beverly Hilton after winning the Golden Globe for best performance by an actress in a television series in 2016, I did what any millennial with a touch of ADHD would do: I checked my email. And the first thing that popped up was a message from Carol Burnett congratulating me. Not to sound ungrateful to the Hollywood Foreign Press, but that moment was my real Golden Globe.

A month or two earlier our mutual friend (and my Crazy Ex-Girlfriend costar) Donna Lynne Champlin told me Carol had asked for my email address. My response to her was, “OF COURSE YOU CAN GIVE CAROL FUCKING BURNETT MY EMAIL ADDRESS. GIVE HER MY SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER AND MY LIVER TOO.” It was laughable that Carol felt she needed permission to email me. But when I finally got to meet her, I realized that, in a wonderful way, her fame still hasn’t quite sunk in. Carol Burnett doesn’t know that she’s Carol Burnett.

She was the first comedic actor whose essence I couldn’t put into words—all I knew was that I couldn’t stop watching her. When I performed my own rendition of “Little Girls” from Annie for my eighth-grade talent show, the director told me not to copy her mannerisms. (Not because I couldn’t try—of course I did—but because she is a performer who is un-copy-able.)

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I read Carol’s memoir One More Time during an eight-hour bus ride in 2009 and was struck by the fact that, like me, she had trouble booking acting gigs during her first year living in New York City. She put together her own musical showcase with women in her boarding house and got discovered singing the original song “I Made a Fool of Myself Over John Foster Dulles,” which reminded me of a song about an older gentleman that I had written called “F*ck Me, Ray Bradbury.” I had forgotten about it until I read Carol’s book. That song became a music video that got me my agent.

I realize now that this is a lot about me. Forgive me, but that’s the only way I know how to gush over an icon who has done as much for female comics as she has. If Carol hadn’t ignored the head of CBS when he said that variety was a “man’s game” in the sixties, she wouldn’t have made it possible for me—and all of my female creator-­performers in TV—to do what we do. She may not ever know that she’s Carol Burnett, but at least now she knows how much I love her. ­

St. John blazer, turtleneck, skirt, $495; Jimmy Choo pumps, $650. Ulla Johnson dress; Ventrone Chronicles earrings, $45; M. Gemi pumps, $248. Crap Eyewear sunglasses, $79 each.

Read on for Glamour west coast editor Jessica Radloff’s interview with Carol Burnett:

GLAMOUR: Talk to me about the importance of mentoring talent like Rachel Bloom.

CB: I don’t think about it as mentoring. I just think about it as I’m a fan of hers. We’re friends. I watch Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Donna Lynne [Champlin], who is on the show, played me on Broadway in a play [Hollywood Arms] that my daughter and I wrote about my growing up with my grandmother and my mother. So I was watching it to see Donna Lynne and I got hooked on the show.

GLAMOUR: Did you have anyone who was instrumental to your own success?

CB: Lucille Ball. But she never considered herself a mentor. We were buddies. She was 22 years older than I, and she hired me on her show. Not I Love Lucy, but the later incarnations of that, so I was able to work with her. Then when I got my show, she came on as a guest, so it wasn’t like the years between us mattered. We were friends. And that’s what I consider Rachel.

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GLAMOUR: What qualities do you love about Rachel?

CB: Aside from all the music stuff, which of course I love, she’s a very talented actress. So to see what she comes up with—the lyrics and the music—is just overwhelming. And then to see her in some of the more serious scenes, she’s the whole ball of wax. Early on [in my career], I remember thinking, I want to be able to say things funny so that you can put a spin on a line and get a laugh. Because sometimes if you read it on the page it doesn’t translate as being funny. Rachel does that; she says things funny. And that’s what I admire.

GLAMOUR: Going back to the days of The Carol Burnett Show, what’s changed in comedy and what hasn’t?

CB: Funny is funny. I dare anybody to look at the dentist sketch with Tim [Conway] and Harvey [Korman] and not totally crack up today. And that’s 45 years old. So that can remain the same. What has happened I think, and I’m kind of sad about it, is that people on television want to be edgy. Sometimes a bit too much. And I’m not a prude by any stretch of the imagination, but I find that some of the sitcoms today feel like they’re written by a bunch of high school boys in a locker room. They’re not clever. Look at All in the Family, Mary Tyler Moore, Dick Van Dyke, Bob Newhart, Cheers…they were clever, funny, and classy. There are very few today that have that. So that’s what I’m sad about.

GLAMOUR: Were you told you were funny growing up?

CB: I wasn’t. But I never tried to be funny, so naturally I wasn’t told that. I was a very quiet student, a complete nerd in high school. I was editor of the high school paper, and a good student, so it was kind of a shock when all of the sudden I started [theater] at UCLA because I had no idea that I would ever wind up like this. At all. There should be no hurry to decide [what you want to do in life]. Let it happen.

Rachel Bloom is the cocreator and star of CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. Watch Carol Burnett now in Netflix’s A Little Help With Carol Burnett.



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A 'The Bachelor' Fan Writes an Open Letter to Bekah M. About Guys Like Arie Luyendyk Jr.


Dear Bekah M.,

First off, I am actively rooting for you, as you are one of the coolest contestants to ever be on The Bachelor. But I’ve found that this season and, for lack of a better word, the “storyline” the producers have given you feel very familiar to me. So I wouldn’t call what I want to tell you advice, per se—I don’t claim to know it all, nor do I think my experiences are superior to anybody else’s—but I, and likely many other women, have been in your position. We dated an Arie; we knew him; we cried over him; we sent texts we regret to him (arguably, the only benefit to not having a phone on The Bachelor). And by “an Arie,” I mean the type of man to pull the age card.

Arie views age in a really weird dichotomous way. He fetishizes young women (there is no one above 29 left—he’s 36). He’s also expressed to you that you’re so young, and he is so old, because he likes to get up early. There’s nothing worse when you’re 22, 23, or 24—or any age, really—than being told you’re “so young” and then mansplained how you can’t appreciate things like mornings or marriage. Who are these men to tell you what you can or cannot appreciate? Equally awful is when a prospective partner tries to tell you how to “view” something in order to be “accepted” by him—like this sport, be a “chill” girl, the whole “mold your dream to mine!” logic. The Bachelor enforces the twisted idea that women should shape-shift in order to meet the needs of some lonely man. One of the reasons you’ve emerged a fan favorite is because you clearly subvert those tropes that have been heavily pushed for nearly 16 years; you’re not going to change yourself for Arie.

But the age card is a particularly touchy, irritating, and frustrating thing. It’s literally something you can’t control. When an older guy (as in, older than you, not just, like, Old), uses his age as leverage against you, he likely does it because it makes him feel powerful and authoritative and therefore, somehow right, no matter how gravely wrong he is. Sometimes men do this because they’re intimidated by women and feel that using a concrete number is the only way they can retain power. Sometimes they do it because they want to be in control. It’s an infuriating dynamic.

I know this frustration too well because I’ve been told before that I was so young. In one instance I think it was meant to be an insult, but I found that a ridiculous thing to criticize me for—it wasn’t anything but a fact. You got it, man; how observant and good at calendars you are—I was born later than you! It was tiring to hear it all the time, like my age was something I should be apologizing for, when I had zero control over when I exited my mother’s womb.

Some of these men saw my age as a synonym for disposable—like Arie, they thought they could make the call if I was relationship-ready, which is unnerving. I also remember drunkenly sobbing over these guys, asking why?! Why couldn’t I be anything more? Why was the fact that I was “so young” (even if I was just approximately four years younger than they were) such a deal breaker? Were they right?! They couldn’t be! I was different! I’m independent, I said, I know what I’m doing, I’m mature, I pay rent, I don’t live with my parents…what else do you want from me? To alternate the way the space-time continuum works? And even if I was young, I could be his muse, and if he let me go, the thought of me would haunt his spirit forever because I changed him.

But for all of the songs I wrote while I was writhing in pain, there was one thing I couldn’t see then that I totally see now—and that any woman who has yearned for a man who rejected her can likely see: They weren’t good for me. Actually, they weren’t that great at all. It had nothing to do with their age—not all guys who are older are bad—but someone who pulls the age card is special type of loser. Men who like to tell women they’re young will likely never get over that very normal fact and will always keep saying it; they’ll love that false rush of power they get from pointing it out. That kind of man wouldn’t have been much fun to be in a relationship with. After all, he’s the same guy who makes us feel bad for being the very thing that we are and have no control over. The person who pushes us to spill our emotions in monologue form to “convince” him that we’re right for him.

My point is, Bekah M., that you’re too good for him, or any man like that. You deserve better than someone who mansplains time to you. I said I was “rooting for you,” and by that I mean, I hope you don’t end up with Arie. So if he eliminates this you week, don’t think of it as being eliminated. Think of it as being freed from the trappings of his toxic masculinity and his loud smacking kisses! Also, here is my humble plea for you to come back as The Bachelorette at your discretion.

Sincerely,

Mallory, a Person Who Has Certainly Given Monologues About Her Feelings And Has No Regrets



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