It happens pretty frequently here in Los Angeles. There’s someone whose work you admire, and then someone immediately tells you why you have to hate that person. Many times you can blow it off as rumor, but when one of your stand-up friends says without provocation, “Oh, I can’t watch Last Comic Standing. Ralphie May?…

I do not know what is wrong with my cat. Cal has taken to wailing in the middle of the night. He howls as if he’s on fire, running around the house in the dark, for about an hour. It starts at six in the morning, and many times this week I’ve gotten up, carried…

Sunday night, Henry Fonda Theater, Rilo Kiley. Same band, same place, different celeb. This time I didn’t fondle Jake Gyllenhaal’s arm in a doorway. This time, in the same doorway, I was staring at Paul Rudd. It’s a magical doorway, folks. Try and stand in it, and the boys — they just appear. But my…

The idea was simple enough. I wanted to spend part of my Fourth of July like any other American — outside, with a book, eating some food. Some call it a picnic. Back in Texas, we’d call it a cookout. I didn’t need anything fancy. I didn’t even need open flame to cook over. I…

Not that I’ve ever had a baby, but I can only imagine that this entire book process is a lot like being pregnant. When the book first sold, over a year ago, I waited a little bit, until I was sure it was true, before telling absolutely everyone. Then people called to check on the…

[scripty]PAMIE I broke a glass. STEE You did? Are you okay? PAMIE Yeah. STEE Where? PAMIE Over the dishwasher. STEE Do you need me to help clean it? PAMIE No, it all fell into the dishwasher, but in big chunks, so I got it all, I think. But none of it fell on the floor.…

Actual conversation from Wednesday afternoon: [scripty]PAMIE Hello? ANNA BETH Hey. Guess where I am? PAMIE So many possible answers. The back of a truck? ANNA BETH No, fool! I’m at Books a Million in Monroe, Louisiana, and I’m holding a copy of your book! PAMIE That’s awesome! ANNA BETH It’s right here on the shelf!…