Daily Archives: May 31, 2012

Lady Jessop Interviews Tina Hakim Baba

Meg Cabot cover

As you may already know, I’m a huge Meg Cabot fan. So when I heard about the Meg-A Readers Blog Hop hosted by Romance Bookie and Little Miss Drama Queen I made sure I was on the list to participate. Little did I know that this would open up a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. Because for my Meg-A Readers assignment I am thrilled to announce that I am interviewing one of my favorite Meg Cabot characters, the royal bestie to Her Royal Highness Princess Mia Renaldo Thermopolis, the one and only…Tina Hakim Baba!

Lady Jessop: Ms. Hakim Baba, welcome to my humble blog.

Tina: Thank you so much! And please, call me Tina.

Lady Jessop: Tina, I’m honored. As best friend to Princess Mia, you must be in the public eye a lot. How do you manage?

Tina: Well, I do have a bodyguard, Wahim, who has been with me since high school, and he protects me from the paparazzi. And from stray maniacs who my father is convinced may kidnap me.

Lady Jessop: I see Wahim sitting in the corner over there. He’s quite the looker.

Tina: So I’ve heard but I don’t see Wahim like that.  Never have.  Besides, I only have eyes for my boyfriend, Boris.

Lady Jessop: Ah yes, Boris. What is he up to these days?

Tina: Well after the release of his 5th album he got pretty bored with music so he’s now studying law at Harvard.  He wants to specialize in international law with a focus on Russia.  He’s so brilliant!  In fact he’s currently writing a paper exploring the issues of intellectual property laws in the post-Soviet space.

Lady Jessop:  <yawn!>  Excuse me Tina.  If I could change the subject…I have to ask…what is with this fascination you have with Kay’s Jewelers?

Tina: Hey don’t knock Kay’s Jewelers! Of all the jewelry retailers out there, Kay’s is by far the most romantic. Have you seen some of their commercials? Tiffany’s may have those sweet turquoise boxes, but Kay’s supports romance and that’s what giving jewelry is all about, romance!

Lady Jessop: Were you disappointed when you found out that Boris bought your promise ring at Tiffany’s?

Tina: Well…maybe just a little. But poor Boris couldn’t help it. He was unfairly influenced by Lana who makes no secret that she thinks my attachment to Kay’s is lame. And Boris presented the ring to me in such a romantic way I decided to let it slide this one time.

Lady Jessop: You do know a lot about romance Tina! One might say that you’re an expert on the subject. Have you considered a future in…say writing romance novels?

Tina:  Oh I couldn’t.  Writing a romance novel would be so hard.  I’ll stick to reading them….and going to medical school of course.

Lady Jessop:  What are you reading these days?

Tina:  I just finished Lawless, a classic historical romance by Nora Roberts.  Jake Redman was sooo hot and reminded me of Boris!  That scene where he knife fights the Indian to save the kidnapped Sarah was just like the time when Boris pulled me and the Michael Kors tote I had my eye on, from the sales mob at Saks.

Lady Jessop:  That Boris sure is a prize.  Any other favorite authors?

Tina:  My new favorite is Meg Cabot.  I found out about her after she wrote Mia’s biography, so I decided to read some of her other biographies and I was really impressed!  The books she wrote on Samantha Madison, you know, the girl who saved the president’s life? Those were fantastic! I always wondered what possessed that girl to share her sex life on VH1. And that expose on Nikki Howard was amazing!  Then I found out that Meg Cabot wrote Regency Romances under the pen name of Patricia Cabot years ago!  Most of those books are out of print now but I scour for old copies on eBay and used bookstores.  They are fabulous!

Lady Jessop:  Do you read any of Meg Cabot’s recent work?

Tina:  Absolutely!  I can’t wait to get started on my copy of Underworld and I’m anxiously waiting for the release of Size 12 and Ready to Rock.  My favorite will always be Mia’s biography though.  I’m not exactly sure how Ms. Cabot got a hold of Mia’s diaries, even I have never been privy to them.  I think Mia’s grandmother may have something to do with it but I guess it’s OK since they did set the record straight after those extremely inaccurate (but very entertaining) movies about Mia’s life.

Lady Jessop:  Anne Hathaway is great and all but hello?  Mia is a blond!  And San Francisco???

Tina:  I know right?

Lady Jessop:  I see Wahim pointing to his watch over there.  I think you may need to go.  Thank you Tina for stopping by!

Tina:  My pleasure!

 

*Don’t forget to enter the giveaway to win some great Meg Cabot-themed prizes!  Click here to find the entry form.