Toni Gallagher's "Twist My Charm: The Popularity Spell," the movie

Featured at My Book, The Movie: Twist My Charm: The Popularity Spell by Toni Gallagher.

The entry begins:

It’s funny; I’ve spent over twenty years living in Hollywood and working in the entertainment business (mostly as a reality TV producer – everything from The Real World to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills) but when I was writing my middle grade novel Twist My Charm: The Popularity Spell, I didn’t think much about actors portraying my characters. My characters are mostly bits and pieces of kids and grownups I know now or knew in my childhood.

However, that changed when I watched the Tony Awards earlier this year. I was mainly fast-forwarding to the musical numbers, seeing a lot of big, splashy, over-the-top spectacles that weren’t impressing me. I paid special attention, though, to the Tony nominated show called Fun Home. I’d heard a bit about it and was intrigued, especially when an 11-year-old actress named Sydney Lucas took the stage. She sang a song – alone – no glitz, no sets, no special effects – and she blew me away. Though she doesn’t necessarily look exactly how I picture my 11-year-old main character, this actress’s facial expressions, vulnerability, and depth of emotion made me think immediately: “Cleo!”

I happened to be going to New York from LA (to appear as a “guest bartender” on the Andy Cohen talk show Watch What Happens Live on Bravo) and...[read on]

Visit Toni Gallagher's website.

My Book, The Movie: Twist My Charm: The Popularity Spell.

--Marshal Zeringue