Author Abdi Nazemian ("Like A Love Story"): "The Opposite of Shame Is Madonna"

Dennis is joined via Zoom by author Abdi Nazemian (Only This Beautiful Moment) to discuss his previous book Like A Love Story, which is about three high schoolers in the late 1980's who are obsessed with Madonna. Dennis first met Abdi at a queer writers mixer and commented on Abdi's Madonna T-shirt. They discovered they were both big fans of Madge so it made sense to talk for the podcast after they had both seen Madonna's current Celebration Tour. Abdi and Dennis compare notes about the tour and share the moments they found most inspiring and moving. Abdi also talks about how his Madonna obsession inspired the plot of Life a Love Story and how the book ended up being a breakthrough success for him after publishing several other books. Other topics include: Abdi's obsession with old Hollywood, how he got his entire boarding school into Mommie Dearest, what the label "Young Adult Novel" actually means, the time he almost met Madonna as a kid in France, where he was when he heard she'd been hospitalized and the question he'd really like to ask Madonna about the spoken-word section of "Vogue."