Exclusive Interview
‘Young Sheldon’s Raegan Revord on Debut Novel ‘Rules for Fake Girlfriends,’ Movie Adaptation Dreams & More
Rom-Com Rule #1: You’re going to adore this debut novel from Young Sheldon and Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage star Raegan Revord. Revord, who has played Sheldon’s twin sister Missy Cooper in the CBS sitcom universe since 2017, was cast at just nine years old. Now, they’re stepping into a new role: novelist. Their debut, Rules for Fake Girlfriends, was released on September 2, published by Macmillan’s Wednesday Books, as the first of a two-book deal. And let’s just say, this queer rom-com is the perfect swoony book for the 17-year-old who recently came out as nonbinary. You can even listen to Revord narrating the Rules audiobook.
In Rules for Fake Girlfriends, young college student Avery Blackwell, who is obsessed with rom-coms but has never been in love, travels abroad to attend the University of Brighton in England, which her late mother attended. On her way to college, she meets the charming Charlie, and the two have a pretty sweet meet-cute. There’s delightful banter, themes of grief, a scavenger hunt across England, and so many fun side-characters in Rules, which Revord originally began writing on the set of Young Sheldon.
Below, we picked Revord’s brain on their debut, and — spoiler alert — that surprising ending!
You started writing Rules for Fake Girlfriends in between takes on set. What was that experience like?
Raegan Revord: It was very hectic. I think I was pretty well-suited to do that back and forth because I’d been doing that for years with school [on set]. But I would be filming a scene, and then they would say, “Cut.” And I would quickly get my computer out — I would have it hidden somewhere — write as much as I could in those two minutes, and then hide it right before they would say, “Action.” And I wrote about half of the book like that.
In the book, Avery is also writing a rom-com, and there’s this moment where she grabs a stack of her favorite romance novels for inspiration. Is that something that you did when you were first visualizing this story?
Revord: Oh yeah. I did so much rom-com research. I watched so many, I read so many. I already was a really big rom-com lover. But the mindset when you read a book to read a book, and then the mindset when you read a book to do research is so different. And so I was re-reading books I’d already read and new ones, trying to figure out: What are some common tropes? What are things that people enjoy? In Rules, I poke fun at those typical tropes that everyone knows. And so, I wanted to see which ones people love and could fit into the story in a funny way.
Which books were in your inspiration stack?
Revord: I think the main ones probably are I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston, Heartstopper by Alice Oseman. I also love Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter. I wouldn’t say that is as much of an inspiration, but that’s just a good rom-com in general.
Avery and her mom’s relationship is so interesting, and a big part of the book. It’s something she’s always thinking about. Is that inspired at all by your real-life relationship?
Revord: My mom and I have a much better connection than Avery and her mom. Avery’s very Type-A, a rule-follower going to go to Columbia to study medicine to become a doctor. And then her mom is the opposite, very free-spirited, whimsical, go with the flow. They’re very different in that regard. My mom and I are much more similar, but we do have our things [that are separate]. And so, I did draw upon those little differences that we have, and put that into Avery and her mom’s relationship, and then expanded it, and made it a bigger gap. It was interesting to write, though, because my mom and I are close, and Avery doesn’t really understand her mom.
Before she begins her mom’s scavenger hunt, Avery and Charlie have the sweetest meet-cute on the train to Brighton. At this point in the story, you include another trope — faking dating — as Charlie begs Avery to pretend to be her girlfriend. Can you talk about why they’re drawn to each other here?
Revord: I think the main reason they meet in the first place is Oasis [when Charlie sees Avery’s band shirt]. So it’s a common interest. [But] it’s a very black cat, golden retriever relationship. Avery’s very much the introverted black cat, and Charlie is the golden retriever, extroverted, very sunshine-happy all the time. And I think that’s why they work. They can give what each other needs. Of course, there’s tension, things happen, you find out there’s some strife there, but it does end up working out. [First], there’s a little bit of miscommunication; maybe it doesn’t work out. I love that. That was a lot of fun to put in. But yeah, I think it’s just that they’re [ultimately] similar people, but they’re different enough that it works.
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How much Oasis did you listen to while you were writing this book?
Revord: So much. [Laughs] I have a Spotify playlist, and it goes chronologically, so whenever I’m writing a certain part of the book, I’ll listen to that part of the playlist. And of course, there’s “Wonderwall” throughout the playlist.
Each chapter begins with a different “Rom-Com Rule,” which is just cute, but also gives you a nice hint as to what’s ahead. Do you have a favorite rom-com rule or trope that you got to use in this book?
Revord: I discovered a lot of my favorite rom-com tropes and rules because of this book. But one that’s in the book very early on, that I just find so funny because it’s so not real life, is: “The heroine is broke but has this really nice apartment.” It’s just so funny to me because if you’re a college kid moving overseas to go to university in a dorm room, you’re not going to have this lavish apartment. So, I think it’s the fourth chapter, that’s the rom-com rule. And then throughout the chapter, Avery disproves that trope — covering mold spots, dealing with the leaky faucet, listening to a creaky neighbor upstairs. I love that so much.
Have you thought about an adaptation for Rules? And would you want to star in it?
Revord: I really want it to be a movie. I think because I come from the film world, of course, I see things very cinematically when I’m writing. I’m a visual person, so I have a whole Pinterest board for Rules. I could see a movie very clearly. I also want to film something in England so badly. So, yes, I can 100% see it as a movie. But I don’t know who I would cast as Avery. I could see a younger Kathryn Newton for Charlie. I’d like Emily Blunt for Charlie’s mom, and then maybe Rachel McAdams for Avery’s mom.
If you wouldn’t act in it, would you direct?
Revord: I would produce it, and I would be a part of the creative process, but I feel like I would trust someone better than me to direct. [Laughs] I’d rather like a little cameo.
[SPOILER ALERT] We need to talk about that ending. It’s very open-ended. Is there more to come?
Revord: It’s kind of a cliffhanger. It’s up to the reader’s interpretation as to what happens. I do want to write a prequel about Maddie, at some point. I think they have a really fascinating backstory. But as far as Avery and Charlie, this is their ending. I’ve actually always loved those slight cliffhanger endings. I love the uncertainty. Originally, in a very, very, very early draft, Charlie was supposed to die in the book. And then we thought that might be a bit too dark for a rom-com because the book already has a lot of death and grief and mental health talk. It’s already heavier than what a normal rom-com would be. So we were like, maybe not this one. [Laughs]
Have you started working on a Maddie book?
Revord: I have little scenes here and there. That’s not the book I’m working on right now, but whenever I was writing Rules, I wanted to stay in the same world, and I ever needed a break from writing that specific story, I would work on Maddie’s. [But] at some point in the future, I’ll come back to Maddie. I’m a side-character person, and Maddie’s my favorite.
What are you working on right now?
Revord: I’m working on a fantasy right now. It’s a similar type of fantasy to [Sarah J. Maas‘] Throne of Glass, which I’m re-reading right now. It’s actually the first book I ever seriously worked on. It was what I was working on before the rom-com, and then we had some technical difficulties with it that was going to take a bit of time to fix. So I put it on the back burner, but now I’m going back to this fantasy. It is a series. It’s an off-world fantasy. I think that’s all I can say. [Laughs]
Rules for Fake Girlfriends, available now where books are sold
