LAST INTERVIEW/BOOK RELEASE: Stephanie Kuehnert, "I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone"

FINAL DAY
Welcome to day 5 of our interactive author interview at the Examiner.  I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone, Stephanie Kuehnert's debut novel from MTV Books(an imprint of Simon and Schuster), officially has been released in bookstores nationwide, July 8th. Tomorrow, she'll be reading and signing from the book at Women and Children First Bookstore, and July 10th at her local dive, The Beacon Pub (101 Circle Ave. Forest Park, IL). If you have any questions/comments please post them and Stephanie will try to respond. Her schedule is loaded so you have plenty of opportunities to ask your question in person!

QUESTION 5
Congrats on the release! Now you can just sit back and let the royalties roll in, right? You've got so many readings, promotions, and interviews coming up it's like a full time job. In all your preparation/fantasizing, what question are you hoping someone will ask you and what is the answer?

ANSWER 5
Damn you, making me come up with both a question and an answer!! I don't really think I have one that hasn't already been asked. So how about: "What are you doing today to celebrate your release?"

Well, everyone says you have to relax and enjoy yourself around your release, which I am finding much harder to do than I initially thought because of all the interviews and events and stuff. But this morning, I'm going to listen to myself on WBEZ (and probably find it super weird). Then I'm going to do girly spa stuff, including putting a pink streak in my hair. I haven't done anything really fun with my hair since I got a "real job". But for three weeks my only job is to be an author, so I get to have fun. Then unfortunately, I have to do the housework that has been left undone due to the hectic stuff going on lately. Hopefully I will get a chance to play in my garden though because I love that. But tonight is the real celebration. Tonight me, my boyfriend, my mom, and my closest friends are going to have a fancy dinner at the restaurant where my best friend is chef, Gaetano's in Forest Park. Mmmm, yummy fancy Italian food (made specially vegan for me) and champagne. That's the way to do it.