Liane profile picture

Liane

Taking a closer look at stardom's dark side...

About Me

I'm a Los Angeles-based writer who recently pounded out my first book, Celebrity Skin: Fame Unlimited, for NAL/Jam (a subsidiary of Penguin Books). It's the first in a series, and it hits stores February 2007.

NEWS FLASH -- I'm hosting a contest for readers! The prize is a $100 AMERICAN EXPRESS GIFT CARD! Check it out here -- http://lianebonin.com/newsletters/contest0407.html
"A scandalously catty, guilty pleasure. It's Entourage for teenage girls. -- Laura Morgan, JANE magazine

I'd talk it up, but that's embarrassing and, bluntly, kind of weird. I'll let another writer do that for me. "Sexy guys! Psycho moms! Mean girls! A heroine to love—and one you'll love to hate! Who could ask for anything more than this glamorous, garish, behind-the-scenes glimpse of what really goes down in Tinseltown?"—Nina Malkin, author of 6X: The Uncensored Confessions and 6X: Loud, Fast, & Out of Control
My stuff has also appeared in places like Entertainment Weekly, The Los Angeles Times, Maxim, Teen People, Variety and public radio. I've met lots of famous people (which is mostly fun, except when it's not), but it seems like every time someone asks me, "Hey, have you ever met X?" they name the one star I haven't met. It's a Murphy's Law kind of thing.
Anyway, all those close encounters with the Famous Kind led to a book series. And, having lived in L.A. for a looooong time and seen stars rise and fall at close range, I couldn't deliver a totally happy, smiley take on stardom -- there's as much grit in this book as there is glamour (but of course, there's glamour, I mean, come on -- otherwise, what's the point?). So, if you want the "Skin" skinny, read on --
Nowadays, Taylor Christensen is gorgeous, rich, and one of the biggest stars around, but the day Erin Kim meets her, Taylor is on the middle school D-list -- with the headgear to prove it. Erin, under her own stress from her traditional Korean-born parents who don't want her to change, is there for Taylor when she needs a friend, and is there for her when the braces came off and the whole world notices.Sure, Taylor has exactly what Hollywood is looking for, but someone has to help her deal with the ups and downs of superstardom. Erin doesn't mind -- especially since it helps her get her mind off problems at home. Through it all, Erin is Taylor's one true friend. But as Erin watches her best friend self-destruct, she knows that telling Taylor the truth about what she's become could end their friendship once and for all.
For more info about me and stuff I've written, check out my website, www.lianebonin.com.
And finally, for fun, FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Q: Have you met XYZ? I love him/her! A: Yeah, nice guy/girl! Shorter/thinner than he/she looks on television. And close up? Baaaaad skin/crooked nose/wrinkles. But really nice! Q: So, who's your favorite celebrity in person? A: The really, really nice ones. James Marsden. Bill Paxton. Kevin Smith. Catherine Keener. Viggo Mortensen. Sandra Bullock. Kristen Bell. They're all incredibly nice, smart, likable people who don't have fake bones in their bodies. Q: Alright, dish. Who's a jerk in real life? A: As the GoGos once sang, my lips are sealed. Q: Oh, come on! No fair! A: Well, the thing is that I still do entertainment reporting, and actors can be very sensitive (I've discovered the hard way) and can make your life a little (or a lot) difficult. So unfortunately, a moment of amusement for you is career suicide for me. So, you can understand, right? Q: Why are you writing books now? A: Because I've always loved fiction, even more than journalism. And having spent a lot of time thinking about celebrity, I was itching to write a story about a girl whose best friend was an A-list star -- Erin's A-list adjacent, privvy to all of Taylor's experiences and choices, but she still has enough distance from the action to keep her head on straight (and yet is close enough to see every bump in the road and every little victory). I had a blast writing "Celebrity Skin," so I hope you'll enjoy reading it!
And hey, check this out! Read my interview with TeenReadsToo.com! http://www.teensreadtoo.com/InterviewBonin.html
This layout is from WhateverLife.com; get yours today!

My Interests

Writing. Reading. Travel to far off places. Prowling museums and odd shops. Avoiding direct sunlight.

I'd like to meet:

Paul Zindel. Rob Thomas (creator of Veronica Mars). And people who like my writing, of course.

Music:

She Wants Revenge. Amy Winehouse. Bauhaus. Elvis Costello. And always, always Morissey. Siouxsie and the Banshees. Arctic Monkeys. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Sleater-Kinney.

Movies:

Sid and Nancy. The Wild Bunch. Midnight Cowboy. Harold and Maude. Heathers.

Television:

Arrested Development. The Office. Lately, Reno 911.

Books:

The 6X series by Nina Malkin. Running with Scissors. Kavalier and Clay. Ghost World and anything by Daniel Clowes.

Heroes:

Teachers. Social workers. Anyone who works too hard for too little...

My Blog

She's ALIVE!

Okay, this is pretty cool. If you haven't read Celebrity Skin yet (and if you haven't, seriously, what's keeping you? Go get it already!), the gorgeous, blonde, selfish superstar antagonist is n...
Posted by Liane on Tue, 22 May 2007 10:23:00 PST

First off...

Let me say that, if you're one of the toadies spamming me about how I, too, can get a $500 Macy's gift card/an XBox 360/free weed/a larger penis, I'm really not interested, although the...
Posted by Liane on Mon, 21 May 2007 12:39:00 PST

Yes, Paris' Sentence WAS too good to be true

Well, we all knew that Paris Hilton serving somewhat hard time was too much to hope for. Now comes word that her sentence has been cut to 23 days in a, yes, cushy celebrity slammer. I guess it only ...
Posted by Liane on Thu, 17 May 2007 11:23:00 PST

Um, This Is Just Weird.

So, Candy Spelling sent an open letter to Paris Hilton through celebrity gossip peddler TMZ.com. If you don't know who Candy Spelling is, she's the mom of Tori Spelling and the widow of Aaron Spelling...
Posted by Liane on Thu, 17 May 2007 07:42:00 PST

Short Memory

The seniors at Virginia Tech graduated this week. It barely registered as a news story. Just a footnote, stuck into the middle of some newspapers (at least where I am) and the bottom of the news on t...
Posted by Liane on Sat, 12 May 2007 08:26:00 PST

Check it out, but consider yourself warned...

So my buddy Dennis Hensley interviewed me for his blog on Outzone TV. Warning: the content is, in places, a little, um, edgy. Heavy on the snark. So, sensitive readers may want to read something ...
Posted by Liane on Wed, 09 May 2007 07:27:00 PST

Paris Hilton's Top 10 Jail Mistakes

Paris Hilton in jail... there's really no serious way to address this. The gal showed up to court late, then pled, well, stupid ("I didn't think my license was suspended because, um, I didn't rea...
Posted by Liane on Sat, 05 May 2007 10:41:00 PST

The latest on Brit's (last?) dance, Mischa's big pants and Eddie's lame-o baby stance

C'mon. You know you want to read the May Skin Deeper newsletter, don't you? http://lianebonin.com/newsletters/newsletter0507.html...
Posted by Liane on Thu, 03 May 2007 03:08:00 PST

Lindsay Lohan + Oscar = Beginning of the End of Civilization

Lindsay Lohan has told Nylon magazine that she really, really wants to win an Oscar. And that she totally digs it when the paparazzi takes pictures of her. Uh-huh. Jeez, does the girl eat stupid ...
Posted by Liane on Tue, 01 May 2007 03:41:00 PST

Screaming at Kids and Virgina Tech

Wow, you turn away from the blogosphere for half a second, and all sorts of stuff happens. Unfortunately, for the last few weeks it's been pretty bad. Let's start with the less-bad stuff -- the Alec B...
Posted by Liane on Mon, 23 Apr 2007 01:27:00 PST