ya_DontGetTwisted

How long have you been writing?

I have been writing since I was seven years old. I sold my first short story at twenty-three, and my first book...well, two years ago. :)

Why YA?

I still totally relate to teen problems and feelings. Sometimes I joke that I’m having the happy teen years now that I had too much attitude to have then.

What do you like best about writing YA?

When I turn on the computer and “become” 16 or 17 again, it’s a wonderful journey back to a freer time, when anything was possible. I could still lose that last bit of baby fat, I could date Heath Ledger, I could be the first female U.S. President. As an an eternal optimist, this suits me just fine.

What's a typical writing day for you like?

I get up before the sun with to get my kids off to school, then usually write until about 9:00 or 10:00, when I do errands or go on long walks with friends, and then I return late morning and generally write until school pick-up time.

Describe your writing style in three words.

I aspire to live up to the Beach Boys' song: “Fun, Fun, Fun.”

What inspired TOP TEN USES FOR AN UNWORN PROM DRESS?

I was in the process of signing with my agent, and I knew she was going to ask me about upcoming projects, so I was racking my brain for something new and high concept. I saw a nonfiction book called something like 101 USES FOR A BRIDESMAID DRESS, and I thought, “But what if it was a prom dress? Oooh! What if he dumped her two days before the prom, and the dress had been sitting on the back of her door ever since, like a symbol of her failure...” And the book was born.

How did you come up with the title?

I took the working title, TEN USES FOR AN UNUSED PROM DRESS to my brainstorming group and we kicked it around until it was smoother.

Favorite scene to write in TOP TEN?

Oh, you’re going to think I’m awful, but I really liked the scene where Nic brings Rascal into her empty house (against her mother's rules and her better judgment) because I knew he was going to live up to his nickname and I knew she was going to prevail, and I couldn’t wait to find out how it would play out!

Favorite quality about Nic?

Her ability to shrug things off. (Well, except for her feelings about the prom dress!)

What's next for you?

How to Hook a Hottie is scheduled to be released on January 08, 2008. The heroine, Kate DelVecchio, is determined to become a millionaire before she’s 20, and sets forth making money by hooking up people in her high school with their secret crushes. The fact that she doesn’t know what she’s doing is only a minor deterrent, as is the fact she’s suddenly looking at her best buddy, Jason Dalrymple, through totally different eyes...

I have two more books contracted with Delacorte Press. The ABC's of Kissing Boys will be released in Spring, 2009, and I am presently starting an untitled one for Spring, 2010.

Interviewed By Lisa
YA Director