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Before
I took pen to paper, I was an actress. I
attended a local university majoring in
theatre and spent a summer in London at
the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts where
I learned about the Old Bard from
amazingly talented teachers.
When I returned from London, I relocated
to Chicago where I lived for five years.
There, I graduated from the Second City
Training Center and performed improv,
Shakespeare, comedies and dramas--I even
sang and danced on a cruise
boat--without falling in Lake Michigan!
A classmate of mine from Second City and
I created and performed a two woman show
for a year before I braved it alone
doing stand-up comedy. It was during
this time I began to write an adult
novel about a rock star--I had always
enjoyed writing...
Fast forward a couple of years along
with a move home where I was performing
stand-up at comedy clubs in the area.
On a plane to LA to decide my fate-- to
move to LA or not to move to LA that is
the question, my big bro, Mark,
coincidentally with the same last name
as mine (author of PRINCES IN EXILE,
DREAMS OF THE SOLO TRAPEZE and
STARCROSSED) handed me a young adult
book he found at the library he thought
Id like to read during the flight.
As I read the book, I thought, I can do
this!
I returned from LA, and instead of
moving there, I wrote my story about the
rock star as a young adult novel and
called it JOHNNY LIGHTNING.
Mark, my writing mentor, edited JL for
me. He was kind enough to send the
manuscript to his publisher in
Belgium--Facet--and they published it!
In Dutch!
I was on a new life path!
I joined a writer’s organization (SCBWI) hoping I could get group insurance and in the back of their monthly mag they posted important publishing news. A fabulous editor named Katherine Tegen was joining HarperCollins and for a short time would be accepting “unsolicited manuscripts.” This means non-agented material. Since I didn’t have an agent at the time, this was big news.
I sent her Teenage Mermaid.
I few months later, I got the letter of a lifetime! I still have it framed on my wall. In 2001 Katherine Tegen at HarperCollins made me an offer I couldn’t refuse! Not only was HarperCollins going to publish TEENAGE MERMAID, but it was in a language I could read and book stores I could walk into!
I showed her my other books and HarperCollins also bought VAMPIRE KISSES and COMEDY GIRL. Katherine’s first year’s listing had already been filled so I was going on the 2003 releases. I had to wait two long years until they came out!
Talk about patience! But it was worth every minute I waited. :)
After Vampire Kisses was published, Katherine asked me for a sequel, and there begins the evolution of the series. I have her, my brother Mark, my parents, and of course all the fangtastic readers to thank for that!
Then in 2006 or 2007, Tokyopop and HarperCollins approached me about making a Vampire Kisses manga. I was escatic! Raven and Alexander came to life in three volumes and at least eight foreign editions. I loved reading manga and it was a dream come true to be creating one!
When I'm not writing about the love affair between vampire obsessed, goth girl Raven and her favorite mysterious dark-eyed hottie, Alexander Sterling, I enjoy working on my other novels, shopping for Hello Kitty items on Ebay and attempting to gain control of the remote from my husband. :) |
