Oh SEP, Why??

Posted January 1, 2010 by Holly in Discussions | 12 Comments


You may or may not remember, but back in September when we did the Susan Elizabeth Phillips Author Spotlight we talked about who might be the heroine for Ted’s book. If you remember, Ted was introduced as a sniffling kid in Fancy Pants. SEP hinted for years that she’d one day write his book and she announced earlier this year that she was in fact writing it. At the time she said she wasn’t sure who his heroine would be, Lucy Jorik from First Lady, or Meg Koranda who was first introduced in Glitter Baby and later had a role in What I Did For Love.

In September we discussed it and we all agreed Lucy is the woman we want Ted with. We even posted a poll about it and most of you agreed. I can’t remember the exact number of votes, but Lucy was in the lead but quite a lot when the poll ended.

So it’s with a sad heart that I bring you today’s news: Meg will be Ted’s heroine.

The first chapter of their book was in the paperback version of What I Did For Love and after quite a bit of discussion on her message board, SEP came forward and confirmed the speculation that it will be Meg:

IT’S MEG!!!!! That will become blindingly clear in the next chapter. The key is what has happened to Lucy.(All the clues are in the first chapter.) Mat and Nealy never made her feel as though she had to live up to being adopted by them, but Lucy feels it, something that only gets magnified with Nealy in the White House. The only way Lucy can repay them for everything they’ve done for her is to be as perfect as she can possibly be. And part of that is marrying the perfect man. Except, as Meg sees right away, Ted has become one more person Lucy feels as though she needs to live up to. Our darling Lucy has been slowly losing touch with the wild child she was at fourteen, and marrying Ted is NOT going to bring that wildness, that absolute bravery back to her. They’re so POLITE to each other. As for Ted… OMG! That’s all I’m saying about him for now…except that Lucy and Ted were a terrible match from the very beginning. It’s why I could never write their book. I love them both too much to have them “settle” for each other.

While I appreciate that she’s the author and can do what she wants, I can’t help but feel betrayed somewhat. For almost a decade I’ve been thinking Lucy and Ted would be a couple..and now they’re not. I didn’t care for Meg at all in WIDFL – poor spoiled little rich girl is mad b/c mommy and daddy are famous – and I have no desire to read about her as a heroine.

But that’s just me.

What do you think? Are you as disappointed as I am, or do you think Meg is the better choice?

Thanks to Diana for the link


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12 responses to “Oh SEP, Why??

  1. Well, I’m happy… I voted for Meg; I thought her a better fit for Ted.

    I’ll read anything SEP writes, as she’s fantastic and her characters are all great.

    Sorry you’re disappointed, though…

  2. C2

    So I read the excerpt standing in B&N yesterday and I have to say, I see where she’s going with Ted and Meg. Even in that first chapter she’s made it pretty clear that Ted is not the guy for Lucy.

    Maybe we just have to mentally adjust to Meg? I have faith in SEP…if she says Meg and Ted belong together then they do, I guess. Still slightly disappointed, though.

  3. I’m pretty conflicted here. Part of me is VERY disappointed because like most fans I expected Lucy and Ted to be together one day… why ? why ? why doing that to us ????

    On the other hand SEP always wrote stories that touched my heart so I expect this book will be another winner. I didn’t care at all for Meg in WIDFL… I really hope this new book will show her in a different light. I mean SEP write a new book every other year so I’d just hate to be disappointed !!

  4. YESSSSSS YES YES YES YES YES!!!
    Haha. I have NEVER liked Teddy with Lucy. 😀

    I’m thrilled with Teddy and Meg. Hee. 😀 (Teddy with anyone but Lucy… really.)

    :X

  5. I haven’t read First Lady or Glitter Baby so I don’t have much invested in the Ted and Lucy pairing. I did read the excerpt and liked the tension between Ted and Meg. From the just excerpt Ted and Lucy came off as kind of boring together. Almost too nice to each other if that makes sense. 🙂

    Sorry you feel betrayed by the pairing. I can certainly understand how that can happen and it makes it that much harder to read about the new couple. We get so invested in these characters that it’s hard not to have strong opinions about them.

  6. I’ve read Glitter Baby (though God knows I flippin’ HATED it) but not First Lady) I’m an SEP reader that discovered her after MMIYC and then read all the backlist my library had to offer, kinda reader. So my investment in Ted’s book is minimal. I hate to hear though, that this may be a match that isn’t very good. The only saving grace is that it is SEP and the woman can write. So I’m sure it’ll be great.

  7. I am in agreement with you too that I didn’t care for Meg either. SEP is such a great writer that I expect the book to be terrific anyway! Who knows, SEP might have a hidden agenda for this pairing. We shall see!

  8. I just inhaled WIDFL. SEP surprises me with every book anyway,even when I think I know where she’s going with each one. I only just discovered her & have read all her Chicago Stars & a few others.Haven’t read Fancy Pants yet so I’m going to have faith in Ted & Meg but I get your frustration.

  9. Rowena

    Ugh, I’m not happy about this at all. I thought for sure that this would be a new storyline that SEP was going to conquer.

    In most every single SEP book that I’ve read, the hero and the heroine hate each other and then grow to love each other. It happened with Dan and Pheobe, with Bobby Tom and Gracie, Molly and Kevin all the way down to Bram and Georgie and now again it seems that it’s going to be that way with Meg and Teddy because from what I read, Meg is not a big Teddy fan. I was hoping that SEP would have tackled something new because we already know that she writes the angsty love exceptionally well.

    Gah. I had such high hopes for Teddy and Lucy. High hopes and all of those hopes have been dashed.

    I’m annoyed.

  10. Rowena and I were talking about it and she makes a very valid point- SEP can write the hell out of the lovers who hate each other. It would have been nice, then, to see her write something a bit different.

    Why not make Ted and Lucy help one another bring out their true selves? Why does it have to be Ted and Meg who hate each other?

    Still, she can write the hell out of a story, so I imagine I’ll read this one and like it. I just can’t get my head around it right now.

    Lime, I wondered how long it would take you to come and crow.

    CheriDee, welcome back!

  11. Anonymous

    I was holding out hope until the last moment that it’d be Lucy, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. I was so sad when it was confirmed that Meg was Teddy’s heroine, but as time has passed, I’ve come to accept it. I love SEP’s books and will read this new one with an open mind. Then I’ll be eagerly awaiting Lucy’s book. I hope she gets a grand, epic love story with a hero so great that I’ll be thinking, “Teddy who?” 😛

    Diana

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