Exclusive Interview: Four stars of The Young and the Restless bring to life 'She Wrote, He Wrote,' a fun, romantic novel

Four stars of The Young and the Restless, Melissa Claire Egan, Mark Grossman, Michael Graziadei, and Elizabeth Hendrickson, recently put aside their respective Genoa City counterparts of Chelsea, Adam, Daniel, and Chloe, to bring to life characters from the new romance novel, "She Wrote, He Wrote: A New York Love Story." Ashley Wren Collins and Jordan Rockwell are the authors of the fun, romantic novel that's available just in time for summer.

The Young and the Restless, summer lovin', summer reading

Egan, Grossman, Graziadei, and Hendrickson, under the direction of Daytime Emmy-winner Fritz Bekeller, a Y&R stage manager, read scenes from "She Wrote, He Wrote: A New York Love Story," which tells the love story of aspiring writer Joanna Peterson-Mills and finance scion Logan Thurgood.

Joanna and Logan meet at a dinner party, and soon, their romance is on! The duo's story is told in alternating chapters, hers (written by Wren-Collins) and his (written by Rockwell).

The authors are married -- but not to each other. Their platonic relationship began in college, sort of, at the University of Pennsylvania, which they both attended at the same time, only they didn't technically meet until about five years later at a mutual pal's wedding.

"We just hit it off and had a great time," Wren-Collins says. "Jordan calls me his 'sister from another mister.' He's my 'brother from another mother.'"

"We bonded over jokes," Rockwell adds. "We both had this idea at the same time [to write] a romantic comedy book, and here we are!"

After working on an outline for the entire book, Wren-Collins and Rockwell took turns writing alternating chapters. "I would write Joann's chapters, and he wrote Logan's chapters," Wren-Collins explains. "Then, we would come together and do all the editing and look at the throughlines."

Putting it together

Jordan Rockwell, Mark Grossman, Michael Graziadei, Melissa Claire Egan, Elizabeth Hendrickson, and Ashley Wren-Collins | Image: Nikki A. Rae @nikkiaraephotography

Rather than do a traditional book signing and Q&A, the authors decided to reach out to various contacts, including Bekeller, who directed the actors in the staged reading held at Barnes & Noble at the Grove in Los Angeles. Attendees and the authors heard the actors bring their characters to life.

"When you're writing, you 'hear' the characters in your head, and now, it's an eerie thing to hear it out loud," Wren-Collins said after the reading. Graziadei queried, "Did we sound like them?" Both authors enthused, yes! "All the awful dates we'd all been on [came to life]," chuckles Wren-Collins.

"We had so much fun!" Egan tells Soap Central exclusively. "It’s always nice to do something a little different together and work with each other in a very different way. [Mark, Michael, and Elizabeth] are so super-talented, it was cool and unique to play other roles together, separate from our day jobs. And do some comedy!"

The actress adds, "The book is so well written. It’s so funny to see both his/her perspectives on life and dating. I can’t wait to read the rest of the book now!"