WORDS OF AN AUTHOR WITH... SECRET SOCIETY GIRL AUTHOR→ DIANA PETERFREUND
→ Hello, Diana, thanks so much for taking the time to chat. Would you
please tell us a little about your writing background and how you came to
sell your debut novel - the first in the Secret Society Girl series - Secret Society Girl, to Bantam Dell?
Diana: I've written stories on an off my entire life, but started writing novels soon after I graduated from Yale in 2001. It was a "put my money where my mouth is" project. The only thing I knew I definitely wanted to do in my life was write books, so I had to actually prove to myself I could write one. I finished four books in the next three years and joined RWA, which is one of the best organizations out there for aspiring genre fiction writers. I received a smattering of contest wins and industry interest for these manuscripts. In early 2005, I began Secret Society Girl, and when I had a few chapters finished, I told my critique partner about it. She pitched it to some editors and agents, sight unseen, at a conference that weekend. Armed with a handful of requests, I got an agent within a few days, who held a six-way auction for me within a week and a half. At the end of the auction, we sold the book to Bantam Dell. It was pretty overwhelming, not least because it went against everything I understood about how the industry worked. I do not think my experience bears any resemblance to the usual order of things. Generally, new authors go out with a completed manuscript and often books sales take a lot longer.
→ Readers and writers often like a behind the scenes peek of an author's writing routine. It would be great if you could please share your typical writing day schedule.
Diana: You know what else would be great? If I actually had a typical schedule! I quit my job a few months ago and ever since I've been writing full time, I've been unable to make a regular schedule. I'm sure it would do wonders for my output, but it's something I'm still working on. Every day, it seems like there are myriad other tasks to accomplish. One of my goals for this month is to actually come up with a regular writing schedule and - here's the tricky part - stick to it!
→ What's up next? Do you have the next book in the works? Anything you can share with us?
Diana: Right now, I'm working my tail off on the next book in the Secret Society Girl series, which is due out summer 2007. (And due in August.) I'm enjoying revisiting these characters and their relationships. Getting to go back, knowing that I haven't left them for good, has so far been the best thing about writing a sequel - but ask me again when I'm done!
→ Secret Society Girl hits shelves July 2006 . Please tell us about the novel and what we can expect from your characters.
Diana: It's the story of a perfectly normal Ivy League co-ed who is one of the first women tapped into a very powerful secret society called Rose & Grave, and the adventures and intrigue that follow her initiation into the society. As one of the first class of women, she's got to deal with a lot of broken traditions, as well as alums who don't want those traditions broken. Amy, the heroine, is a really fun character. She's very strong-minded and sassy, with a certain style which I wouldn't call grace under pressure, but more like snark under pressure. And there's a large, colorful supporting cast: Malcolm Cabot, the ultra-cool son of a governor big sib; Bergdorf blonde trust fund socialite Clarissa Cuthbert; Amy's friend-with-benefits, the geek-chic badminton player Brandon Weare; and the sexy-as-sin campus bad boy George Harrison Prescott. I think there's a little something for everyone.
→ Sounds really intriguing, Diana! Thank you again for taking the time to share. I wish you the best with your new secret series. Would you like to close with a writing tip?
Diana: My favorite writing tip is one I heard at my very first RWA meeting in 2002, by now-New York Times bestselling author Karen Hawkins: Love the book, not the scene.
So often, we get caught up in the perfect scene or line or whatever, not realizing that it doesn't serve the novel. Love the book, not the scene. Some days, I want it tattooed on my forehead. I always need reminding of this fact.
