Queen of The Oddballs by Hillary Carlip
→ Chosen as one of the Best Literary Memoirs of 2006 by Borders Books
→ American Bookseller's Association Book Sense Pick Bestseller
→ Lambda Literary Award finalist in two categories -- humor and memoir
→ Chosen as a Bookmarked Breakout by Target
→ Featured on Ellen
Queen of the Oddballs is a hilariously offbeat memoir about an adventurous young woman's escapades as she defies conventions and transforms an ordinary Los Angeles life into a star-studded, extraordinary miracle of self-discovery.
Queen of the Oddballs: And Other True Stories from a Life Unaccording to Plan forms a chronology of Hillary Carlip's habitual straying from roads more traveled -- from a wisecracking third-grader suspended from school for smoking (while imitating Holly Golightly), to a headline-making teen activist, juggler and fire eater, friend (NOT "fan") of Carly Simon and Carole King, grand prize-winning Gong Show contestant, cult rock star, and seeker of spiritual and romantic truths that definitely defy expectations.
Illustrated with ephemera -- from diary entries and photographs to a handwritten letter from Carly Simon -- Queen of the Oddballs presents a virtual time capsule of pop culture's last four decades and celebrates a creative life lived to the hilt.
To promote the book, Hillary appeared on Ellen for some oddball antics...
The title of the book is based on a chapter of the same name about Hillary's appearance on the Gong Show (she won!)
And in the chapter, Hillary shares about being kissed on the lips by a professed CIA Assassin, Gong Show host and subject of the feature film A Dangerous Mind, Chuck Barris. After the book's release, Hillary received a very special fan letter:
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