How to perfect a sassy hair flip that will entice a tall-dark-and-handsome Spaniard – Katherine Chloe Cahoon can tell you how. Thanks to her four summers spent traveling abroad while attending Vanderbilt University, she’s talking with Hollywood producers for a movie deal, filmed an online video series that went viral and has been featured everywhere from Publisher’s Weekly to the Charlotte Observer all for her book: “The Single Girl’s Guide to Meeting European Men.”
This chick-lit guide offers instruction of many sorts: dating and relationship advice, as well as being a travel guide for 20 different European countries. It contains true stories from Cahoon’s travel experiences, and other women’s stories as well. From hookup-seeker to girl-looking-for-love, each story has something of value to teach the reader.
Cahoon now lives a glamorous life, splitting her time between her home in Bellevue and Los Angeles, where she attends screen writer’s meetings and plans for the movie adaptation of her book. She speaks to the Bellevue Reporter about what its like to be criticized on the Internet, dancing in Pacific Northwest Ballet’s “Nutcracker” and her passion for guys with hot accents.
Bellevue Reporter: You’ve been compared to Carrie Bradshaw. What do you make of that comparison?
KC: I’ve always loved ‘Sex and the City.’ Fans sometimes get really excited and say, ‘Oh, you’re like a European Carrie Bradshaw.’ I think they just say that because I’m a writer like Carrie. I talk about the different types of girls, like the fun-seekers for example. It’s European dating 411.
Bellevue Reporter: What do European men have that American men don’t?
KC: First of all, I love American men, too. But many European men seem to be more concerned with a girl’s personality rather than her physical features. I have this one friend, she was so self-conscious because American guys said she had ‘child-bearing hips.’ When we went to Europe, guys who could have put men’s fitness models to shame started asking her out.
Bellevue Reporter: Flirting tips for women?
KC: I had a friend who invented the hair flip. She could do it so well. A dozen guys would instantly flock to her. But there’s a difference between the hair flip like what you’d do at a dance club and the flirting hair flip. This kind has to be very subtle. You have to gently shake your hair out, but avoid getting a crick in your neck like the one I got.
Bellevue Reporter: What about dating safety in a foreign country?
KC: It’s really important to get a foreign phone. Always have the country’s emergency numbers plugged in. When it comes to dating, always meet a guy you don’t know very well in a public place. For a first date, make it a double date.
Bellevue Reporter: Is there a comment you’ve gotten from a reader that’s stuck with you?
KC: Not so much as a comment. It is interesting though, at my book signings, lots of men come and meet me who’ve read my book. I was talking to my editor and it seems my target audience is bigger than what we planned on. I think they like to sneak around to see what women think. I even get e-mails from male readers. It’s pretty cute.
Bellevue Reporter: Do you have any dating tips for American men?
KC: Be yourself. Let your guard down.
Bellevue Reporter: You made a series of online companion videos to accompany your book. How did that come about?
KC: My publisher said I should create a blog, and that I could just quote parts of my book. But I didn’t want to cheat my readers that way. The videos are meant to be fun. I have lots of ‘Sex-and-the-City’ style wardrobe changes.
Bellevue Reporter: Some bloggers thought the videos were a hoax. Is that over-the-top persona in the videos really you?
KC: People got a little confused. They were commenting on those videos and saying, ‘Is she for real?’ In the videos, one of the guys takes off his shirt. We had so much fun with it. But people didn’t really get it. One of the guys who was in the video called me and said,’Do people really think I take my shirt off at the gym?’ He’d been reading some of those online comments.
Bellevue Reporter: Talk about growing up in Bellevue.
KC: I’ve lived here since I was 2. I went to Enatai Elementary. We were hardcore focused on academics, but they also encouraged creativity. I learned about history and culture of different European countries … it’s no surprise that I ended up writing my book!
Bellevue Reporter: What about your teenage years?
KC: I actually went to Chrysalis in Woodinville for high school. I trained with Pacific Northwest Ballet until I was 18, so it was easier to work around my dance schedule. We also had some other athletes and professional snowboarders who went to my school.
Bellevue Reporter: Did you perform in PNB’s “Nutcracker”?
KC: Yes! I honestly think my most memorable role was as mother mouse, the one who gets her baby stepped on right before the battle scene. At 15, I was the youngest mother mouse. They used to give that role to professional division students who were closer to 20. What’s really cool about mother mouse is that there’s no set choreography. You really rely on your acting ability.
Bellevue Reporter: Do you still dance?
KC: I don’t anymore, but I’d love to take classes again. I love dancing and wish I had time to do more of it. I was on the dance/cheer team at Vanderbilt. It was really fun, but nothing serious. We shook our butts.
Bellevue Reporter: Favorite place to write in town?
KC: I know it’s cliche, but I like writing at Starbucks. It’s a nice atmosphere, especially the Starbucks by the mall when Snowflake Lane is going. I actually wrote my entire book in Bellevue.
Bellevue Reporter: Ever run into any European men around town?
KC: I have been running into the European men in Bellevue! Especially at Bellevue Park and the grocery store.
Bellevue Reporter: What do European men think about American women?
KC: European men really do like traveling women just as long as they don’t fall into bad habits, like drinking too much or going everywhere in really large packs. A European man will not break through the pack to sweep a girl off her feet. They like us as long as we honor the culture and behave well.
Bellevue Reporter: Before writing your book, you studied writing for film at Vanderbilt University. How did you make the transition from screen writer to author?
KC: Before graduating in 2008, I started working with a Hollywood exec. who encouraged me to write [the book]. He had been affiliated with the movie, ‘He’s Just Not That Into You.’ I already had a 40-page tip book for women traveling in Europe that I had mainly just written for my girlfriends. But then I decided I wanted to make it a complete book.
Bellevue Reporter: You’re currently in the early stages of working on the movie adaptation of your book. If you could choose a lead actress and actors, who would you chose?
KC: That’s a tough one. I don’t know. Do you have any ideas?
Bellevue Reporter: Are you planning a second book?
KC: People keep asking me that, like, ‘Are you gonna go to Asia next?’ I take life one opportunity at a time, and my movie is my next project.
Bellevue Reporter: Which Europeans do you prefer?
KC: That’s really hard. I feel like I could go on and on. Some of my favorites: I love the Spaniards, just for the fun-factor. For politeness and chivalry, the Portuguese. For loyalty, Greek men are very strong. For the gorgeous factor, Greek men a.k.a “the Greek gods.”
Bellevue Reporter: Is there a European man in your life now?
KC: Right now, I unfortunately haven’t been able to get back to Europe. As of now, I’m not dating my European men, but I am in contact with some of them.
Bellevue Reporter: What did they think of your book?
KC: They were all really happy with it. Many of them even gave me permission to use their real names, but of course I didn’t.
Bellevue Reporter: Some say your book is liberating to women, others say its sexist.
KC: It’s definitely empowering to women. I say whatever your goal is, that’s what I want you to have. It’s not just helping women with meeting men, it’s about helping with whatever aspirations you want. For example, I talk about career women coming to Europe. I’ve gone to Europe in the past to perfect my own business skills. Just be yourself. A lot of women will look to society for how they’re supposed to look and be.
Bellevue Reporter: What’s it like to be 24 and this successful?
KC: You go to school and turn in projects. When I first completed my book, I was like, ‘When is my grade coming?’ After all, I only graduated in 2008. The first time I was stopped on the street and someone recognized me, I didn’t know what to say. It seems very surreal, but I’m very grateful.
Find out more about Katherine Chloe Cahoon and “The Single Girl’s Guide to Meeting European Men,” at meetingeuropeanmen.com
Cahoon wrote her book during her four summers spent studying abroad and traveling in various European countries, including England and Spain, during her college years at Vanderbilt University.
Courtesy of Katherine Chloe Cahoon
