The media seem to be going crazy with Harmony's name, when in reality they're usually pretty good about protecting the identity of rape accusers (such as Kobe Bryant's). Is your portrayal realistic?
The press suffers from an extreme pack mentality, so when a major newspaper like the Los Angeles Times chooses to publish the name of an alleged rape victim, the rest have no trouble joining in because hey, they're not the ones who broke the embargo. It happened in 1991 when the Globe revealed the name of William Kennedy Smith's accuser. Of course it should be noted that the Globe recently printed the name and photo of Kobe Bryant's accuser, and none of the other news orgs joined in.

It's an ongoing debate in the journalism world, but for this story's purposes, the debate is moot. In the previous chapter, Alonso gave Gail Steiner permission to use Harmony's name, and the rest of the media followed suit.

Of course Alonso burns Gail in the very next chapter by denying he ever gave her permission. In reality, a reporter would have gotten proof of Alonso's complicity before ever revealing his client's name. That makes Gail Steiner uncommonly (and unrealistically) stupid.

While Scott talks to Harmony on his cellular (p. 255), who keeps calling him on his home line?
I figure it's Madison, who would presumably be glued to the TV and desperate for Scott's analysis of the situation.

Given how close Harmony is to her roommates, wouldn't she have told them by now what she was really up to?
Scott manages to convince Harmony in Chapter 13 that her friends are better off not knowing the truth, and that she's better off with them not knowing. But as you see over the next three chapters, the wedge that Scott drives between Harmony and her roommates soon becomes a wedge between Harmony and Scott himself.

As Harmony makes her way to Alonso's car (p. 256), the press throws some AWFUL questions at her. Are they really that crass?
Keep in mind that the news thrives on images. As such, getting a reaction out of Harmony is just as good as getting an answer. So I figure most of those terrible questions were designed to provoke an emotional response and thus generate good images. As to how these people can justify their behavior, I haven't a clue.

Once again you manage to work Fairmont into the story. Do you have some kind of product placement deal with them or something?
Oh shut up. When I first began writing this chapter, I referred to Harmony's hotel as the Sheraton Miramar. And then on further research, I learned that Fairmont had acquired the hotel from Sheraton shortly before the events of SLICK. So instead of finding a new hotel, I simply did a Find and Replace. Trust me, I shill for no one but myself...and maybe Bertelsmann.

Did Disney's California Adventure theme park really open that day?
Amazingly, yes. It really did open on February 8, 2001. In the real world (the one without Harmony), the theme park was the big news of the morning. And of course Good Morning America (a property of ABC/Disney) dropped a big steaming pile of synergy on their viewers that day.

L'Escoffier Room: real or fictional? (p. 263)
Real, but I don't think it's as bright and sunny as my writing implies.

Did you mean to make Simba such a raging bee-yotch, or did it just sort of happen?
I get more nasty comments about Simba than any other character in SLICK. Most readers just don't like her. It certainly wasn't my intention to have her or anyone else in this book vilified (which is why I tried to show a different side to the Judge in this very chapter). Like Scott and all the other potentially-objectionable characters, Simba simply is who she is. I actually kind of like her.

Did Columbia Records really change the title of Marvin Gaye's "Sanctified Pussy" to "Sanctified Lady"? (p. 269)
They sure did. I read about it in Eric Nuzum's fantastic book, Parental Advisory: Music Censorship in America.

And the Judge's story about Al Gore and the origin of the Parental Advisory sticker? (p. 264)
Also true, although I should point out that there were three other senators who presided over the music obscenity hearings while simultaneously shepherding a bill that would put hundreds of millions of dollars back into the pockets of the big music labels. Once again, see Eric Nuzum's book for more details.

Why is Maxina so determined to end the hoax early?
Because the press reaction to Harmony was far stronger than she anticipated, and the longer it goes on, the worse it'll get for her clients in the music industry.

Why didn't Maxina anticpate this kind of reaction to Harmony?
"In case you haven't noticed," Maxina tells Scott on page 267, "Harmony is a black woman. A lower-class black woman. From the way they've already canonized her, she might as well be rich, blond, and dead."

Admittedly, Maxina had precedent on her side. The last black woman the media went gaga over was Anita Hill. But she was far from "lower-class." And she was hardly canonized.

Would Scott really be so dumb as to antagonize Maxina the way he does on page 268?
As you can see, Scott's judgment is becoming increasingly impaired by the wild success of his schemes. Needless to say, it leads to problems in the very next chapter.