Hey everyone!

Remember that TOP SECRET project I’ve been working on? Well, it’s here.

I have just launched the Get Marni On Ellen Campaign!

HOORAY!

That’s right: the girl who has never campaigned for any position EVER has now set her Santa hat at landing a spot on The Ellen Show!

But I’m going for it, because I have wanted to meet Ellen for quite some time now. Throughout high school (when I was alone…usually) I would have whole imaginary conversations with her.

“Well, Ellen,” I’d say, “I’m okay with being one of the biggest geeks at Ashland High School. Really. Because I went on to do Something of Great Importance which is why you are talking to me now!”

I had no clue what my Something of Great Importance could be . . . but I still had regular interview sessions with her. And putting high school in the past tense (even if it was only in my head) made it easier to handle in the present.

So when I was writing AWKWARD (*Spoiler Alert*) the scene where Ellen interviews Kenzie was one of the easiest to write. I just watched a boatload of her interviews on YouTube for “research” and suddenly I had Ellen in Awkward!

There are a whole host of reasons I wrote her into my novel. And I will admit, the thought that this could be my Something Great of Importance definitely crossed my mind. But the honest to goodness truth, is that for Kenzie to face her fear of the spotlight there had to be someone seriously awesome right next to her onstage. And I knew instinctively that was Ellen.

Ellen always strikes me as sincere. I have never felt like she was capitalizing on a tragedy to score points with the audience. And when she talks to celebrities about the pressures in their lives, she lets them voice the reality of their situations. She doesn’t cut them off or railroad them into a lie or splice scenes so that it looks more controversial. I find all of that truly commendable. If I felt that the news covered subjects with the same amount of heart as Ellen, I’d watch it more often.

And, yes, I think it is absolutely fantastic that she is openly gay. Maybe it’s not fair to idealize celebrity relationships, but when I look at Portia and Ellen it makes me feel good about the direction our world is headed. I was thrilled when they were allowed to get married. I was way more excited about that than I was for William and Kate’s wedding. Because, fair or not, I was able to hug some very important people and say, “See! It is possible to be gay and loved and happy and married and AWESOME!”

I feel very strongly that this is a message that needs to be repeated at a VERY LOUD VOLUME!

Because it’s true.

And I thought that if certain characters were to ever come out of the closet, the Ellen Show is the safest place for that to happen.

So . . . that’s why I wrote her into my novel. And I hope I get the chance to tell her all of this in person.

So please support my Get Marni On Ellen Campaign! Watch my video here: ! And please be sure to “like” it, Tweet it, and Facebook share it!

More Soon!

~Marni