The gross Aaron Rose character on teen soap Gossip Girl is just that: gross. A greasy, judgy young artist, it makes no sense that the blonde, be-titted Serena would fall for the likes of him. Heck, even Cecily von Ziegesar hates him! She told New York Mag that she finds the TV Aaron just plain old icky:

Every author knows that seeing your work adapted for the screen is a mixed blessing: The money and exposure is fantastic, but there's always a risk that those Hollywood philistines will fail to capture the essence of your storytelling or, worse, change your carefully-drawn characters. And why should Gossip Girl author Cecily von Ziegesar, who created her series at bastion of artistic integrity Alloy Entertainment, be any exception?

With all due respect, Cecily von Ziegesar, I must dispute your contention that Barack Obama is Blair Waldorf. He is so totally not Blair. I realize that I could not be writing this post at all had you not blazed the trail by authoring the transcendent works of literature on which the meta-popular Gossip Girl television series is based, whereas I have watched said derivative television show exactly once. But perhaps in that relative ignorance I can claim a kind of wisdom you are too enmeshed, too beholden, too blinded by detail and deep-seated loyalties to your own creations, to possess. In that way you would be not unlike ex-Hillary Clinton aide Howard Wolfson, who last month described awakening "Rip Van Winkle"-like after his boss finally conceded to her charismatic young rival "to a world transformed by political currents we had stood against." Wake up and smell the green tea mimosas, Cecily! Like the country, Gossip Girl is bigger than you now.And when you glibly state, pollster-like, that "the truth is, Barack is just not blond enough or vague enough to be a Serena" as if that is just the accepted truth, like "America is not ready for a black president" or "socialism is for Europeans", you are failing to detect the paradigm shift underway that had the "smart money" backing the Serena as Obama metaphor all the way back in Season One:

Cecily von Ziegesar claims she's "really not a big drinker..." but then says: "If I drink too much, I end up throwing up in a dumpster somewhere, which I've done many times. I think I've thrown up everywhere in this city." Hmm, sounds like her first step is admitting she has a problem! Serena did, and totally turned her life around. [NYP]

Gossip Girl author Cecily von Ziegesar has sold a novel to Hyperion in a deal said to be in the seven figures. Cum Laude, repped by Suzanne Gluck, is for adults, although judging from the description—"a murder story involving a preppy girl from Greenwich, CT, a hippie from the city, a jock-turned-artist from the suburbs, and a brother-sister duo"—it probably won't be too challenging for fans of Blair, Serena and co. [Observer]