Quinn Ivins has released two books and both have been phenomenal. She is also the newly crowned funniest lesbian on the internet. There isn’t a crown per say, since I made the award up and this is a no budget operation. Quinn, thanks so much for chatting with me!
You’re welcome! Thank you so much for asking me.
Your first book, The Love Factor, is set in the 1990’s and features two women taking on homophobia and statistics. I’m a big fan of the 90s, although, my best friend recently told me I held onto the blue eye shadow a little too long. What do you love so much about the decade that you set the book in it and what were your fashion faux pas during the decade?
I still wear blue eyeshadow. Is that bad? Anyway, I was a teenager in the 1990s, so it’s all about nostalgia for me. Nineties pop culture takes me back to those heady years of discovering and defining my own identity for the first time.
As for fashion… I spent my teenage years attempting to dress “sexy” only to be thwarted by grown-ups at every turn. My school banned spaghetti-strap tops. I begged my mom to let me wear makeup, and she finally bought me a tube of lipstick…that made my lips even lighter. (Well played, Mom.) Hooker boots were “too expensive.” After Clueless came out, I wanted a skintight babydoll tee that said “Whatever” across the boobs. That Christmas, I received a frumpy sweatshirt that said “Whatever.” So close, yet so far.
But when it came to accessories, I went wild. I loved scrunchies, platform flip flops, and eyeball rings (remember those?). I never stopped wearing scrunchies, and I’m delighted that they’re back in style. Ylva, my publisher, allowed me to use a little picture of a scrunchie as a scene divider in The Love Factor, and it makes me so happy.
Worthy of Love is terrific! It features a character with ADHD, which you have been very open about having. When were you diagnosed and how are you managing your symptoms?