Emily Giffin

In the wake of her five New York Times best-selling novels, Emily Giffin's Where We Belong (out today) is one of our must reads of the season. Her success kicked off in 2004 with Something Borrowed, a story brought to the big screen last year with a film starring Ginnifer Goodwin and Kate Hudson. Since that first novel, Emily has gained a large, loyal following — both in bookstores and on Facebook and Twitter, where she keeps in touch with her fans.

Where We Belong follows the story of two women — Marian Caldwell, a 36-year-old TV producer in New York, and 18-year-old Kirby, a high school senior in St. Louis — who are bound by a secret. Emily says she knew early on that the book would be about belonging. Inspired by the power of secrets — when it's justified to keep them and how they change us — she chose to explore those themes through the secretive circumstances of an adoption. I had the opportunity to interview Emily about her new release, upcoming film projects, and her celebrity girl crush.

TrèsSugar: How did you come up with the title Where We Belong?

Emily Giffin: I had a few other titles that would've worked too, so I put them all out there to my friends on Facebook in a poll, and Where We Belong was the favorite. Another choice was Since You've Been Gone, and overwhelmingly, people thought it conjured the Kelly Clarkson song. It's so helpful to have instant feedback from 100,000 people!

TS: This is your first time coming out with a novel that has a teen as one of the main characters. What prompted you to do it?

EG: I've always been drawn to coming-of-age stories and books and movies featuring compelling young characters. My favorite movie of all time is Stand by Me, and I still reread my favorite young-adult books. In fact, the first novel I ever wrote (before Something Borrowed) was a young-adult book, but I was never able to get it published. So writing a young character is something I've wanted to try again for a long time now — and I'd love to do it again.

TS: Kirby was named after our PopSugar TV host, Kirbie! What struck you about her name, and how does it fit the character?

EG: Yes, I met Kirbie at a hair salon in LA during my book tour for Heart of the Matter. She was so cute and bubbly and really seemed like a "Kirbie." I remember telling her I loved her name and wanted to try to work it into a book. When I got home and became more focused on the writing of Where We Belong, I named my character Kirby. I almost changed it because she didn't really seem like a Kirby — but then I thought that contradiction really worked in the story, because Kirby is adopted and deep down, felt that she really didn't belong in her family. Her name was just another example of that disconnect. Bottom line, I love the name!

TS: If Where We Belong heads to the big screen, then who would you like to see cast?

EG: Funny you should ask that, because I just spoke to my film agent, and we're in talks with a wonderful producer now who would be amazing at bringing this story to the big screen in a smart and real way. I haven't yet thought about casting, though. For now, the characters are so vivid in my mind as the "real" people I created, rather than any actor or actress. I'm dying for everyone to read it, though, because I think my readers have always been better at casting than I!

TS: Speaking of the big screen, any updates on Something Blue or Love the One You're With?

EG: Both are looking good, as is Heart of the Matter. It's just such slow process. Getting a script, getting a director, raising the money. It's really hard for movies to get made these days.

TS: Fans know that you adore Jennifer Aniston! Has she ever inspired one of your characters? Which character do you think she'd get along with best?

EG: It would be a dream come true for Jen — I call her Jen so I can feel closer to her — to play a role in one of my movies. I adore her. I think she's a wonderful actress, and I so admire how she constantly hones herself to perfection. I actually felt better about turning 40 this year because of her! She's such a versatile actress that I think she could play a lot of my characters well: Claudia in Baby Proof, Marian in Where We Belong, Valerie in Heart of the Matter. In the casting process, I don't get too hung up on my own physical descriptions. I mean, Kate Hudson looks nothing like the Darcy I wrote about, but I thought she was brilliant in the movie.

Read on for the rest of our interview

Editor's Note: The following is a guest post written by Emily Giffin, author of Something Borrowed and four other best-selling novels. For more from Emily, like her on Facebook.

Just as I got up at the crack of dawn with my mother and sister to watch Di and Charles wed, I set my alarm for four this morning, donned my fanciest hat (purchased for Royal Ascot during my years in London), and gathered with my mother and own satisfyingly brainwashed-to-care children to watch this generation’s version of the royal wedding. As we sipped Earl Grey and munched on iced royal-nuptial sugar cookies, I tweeted the action, entranced by every detail of Kate and Will's magical day. Thirty years from now, here is what I will remember most:

1. A "people's wedding" with pomp and circumstance. Just as the guest list included celebrities, royals, and dignataries, as well as the butcher, grocer and postman of Kate's Berkshire village, the ceremony managed to be both formal and intimate at once, a tricky balancing act. Even the avenue of English field maple trees placed along the aisle (Kate's idea, natch) brightened the somber, thousand-year-old abbey doubling as a final resting place of 17 monarchs. Right out of the gate, Kate proves that she can respect tradition — yet do things her way — with warmth and style.

2. The dress, the dress! Kate looked positively stunning in her Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen ivory, hand-laced gown. While Diana's dress conjured an overdone child's drawing (no surprise, since she herself was a teenager!), Kate's gown was elegant and sophisticated, wonderfully reminiscent of Grace Kelly. A real, grown-up princess. (And, of course, I'd be remiss not to mention Kate's "something borrowed" — a 1936 Cartier tiara, on loan from the Queen herself, per royal wedding tradition. Beautiful.)
3. Picture-perfect Pippa and hot Harry. In contrast to the hideously comical, Dr. Seuss-esque selections of the Princesses of York, Eugenie and Beatrice. Oh, no they didn't.
4. Prince William’s one-liner to his soon-to-be father-in-law . . . “just a small family affair!” I love that he loves her family — another good sign.

See the rest and more pictures when you read more.

Editor's Note: The following is a guest post written by Emily Giffin, author of Something Borrowed and four other best-selling novels. For more from Emily, like her on Facebook.

At this point in my (very) late thirties, I don’t necessarily relish the anniversary of my birth, but I do confess to loving a beautifully wrapped, satisfying gem of a gift. My dearest friends certainly delivered last week, cushioning the cruel blow of thirty-nine.

As I opened one particularly thoughtful gift — a pair of fine cotton, drawstring pajama pants and a lovely-scented travel candle from two gal pals who know how much time I spend in hotels — I thought of what makes the perfect gift: an indulgence that you are thrilled to receive but probably wouldn’t buy for yourself.

Here are five specific gifting tips:

1. Buy in advance — or at least take notes. How many times have we found the perfect card months before our cousin’s birthday? Or heard our best friend muse in a department store that she really “needs” to spice up her underwear drawer? Seize these moments and either buy in advance, allocating a drawer or shelf in your home for the collection, or record the idea in a “gift” notebook. An extreme example: I recently bought a darling Sweet Sixteen card for my Goddaughter who is only seven — but I know I will be grateful to have it in 2020!
2. Gifts aren’t just for birthdays. I have two friends who always gift me upon the publication of my novels. An engraved bookmark, a bouquet of fresh flowers, or a sweet token that coordinates with my book jacket art, e.g. a tiny bootie for Baby Proof with a 2006 penny inside (the year that book was released). I cherish these gifts and love the generous spirit in which they are given. So go ahead and celebrate your friend’s new home, job, or car (or help ease the blow of a bad break-up). She will never forget the gesture.
3. Try to avoid the generic candle or bath product and choose something that reflects your friend’s personal style. Having a gift monogrammed or personalized will show you thought of her way in advance of her day. And if you simply can’t resist the candle-bath product route — be sure to pick the perfect scent or color.

Get the rest below!

Editor's Note: The following is a guest post written by Emily Giffin, author of Something Borrowed and four other best-selling novels. For more from Emily, like her on Facebook.

Last Fall, I was in a coffee shop, trying to write, when I struck up a lively conversation with a charmingly suave, but not too suave, guy on an adjacent fireside couch. He had nice hair, warm eyes, and was wearing satisfyingly distressed Levi’s paired with manly boots — part cowboy, part John-Varvatos cool.

Through our chat, I learned that he was single and looking for, in his words, "a kind girl." I swooned in a married-girl sort of way, and then, on a whim, snapped his photo with my phone. Later that afternoon, I posted it on my Facebook fan page, sure that there would be some takers in the 404. Within an hour, there were over two-hundred comments from girls in Atlanta and all over the country. Parker Estep became an instant cult figure on my page, and my moonlighting matchmaking career was born.

Find out more below!

Editor's Note: Readers, get excited! Emily Giffin, the author of Something Borrowed and four other best-selling novels, is our new guest blogger! Here's what she has to say about it:

As a writer of popular women's fiction, including Something Borrowed and Heart of the Matter, and a lover of all things pop culture, I am thrilled to be a guest blogger for TrèsSugar. I look forward to sharing with you my girly pursuits — from my latest must-read books to all the relationship advice that comes my way as the author of five best-selling books about love and friendship. I can't wait to hear from you as we go along; please keep me posted on your latest obsessions, too! Stay tuned for my first post, going live tomorrow.