From her Q&A with Deborah Kalb:
Q: How did you come up with the idea for Pop Star Goddesses, and how would you define a pop star goddess?Visit Jennifer Keishin Armstrong's website.
A: I noticed that we tend to treat our female pop stars in particular very much like we think of goddesses and goddess worship: These women represent specific energies, and we look to them as inspiration to invoke those energies in our own lives.
For example, I have a “What Would BeyoncĂ© Do?” sign above my desk and a Britney Spears “Work Bitch” prayer candle, both of which give me genuine encouragement throughout my work days. So I thought it would be fun to write a book looking at the ways different pop stars inspire us.
I ended up doing 35, and that still meant doing some serious narrowing down. I was looking specifically for pop stars who started their careers in the 1990s or after, who clearly represent a certain kind of inspiration, and who had a story I could tell in the essays.
Q: Can you say more about how you chose the women you included in the book--as well as their ancient goddess sisters?
A: I looked for women who...[read on]
My Book, The Movie: Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted.
The Page 99 Test: Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted.
The Page 99 Test: Seinfeldia.
The Page 99 Test: Sex and the City and Us.
--Marshal Zeringue