Author Chat: Elizabeth Scott

Elizabeth Scott is the author of many young adult novels, including Perfect You, Living Dead Girl and Stealing Heaven. 

Me: You have written a good number of books, do you have a favorite?
 
Elizabeth: Nope! I can't pick a favorite--all of them have good memories for me!
 

Me: When writing one of your books, has an idea for another occurred   during the writing process?
 
Elizabeth: Always--which is how I can tell I have to keep going and finish. I  
write the idea down, and then turn back to what I'm working on. It's  
hard, but otherwise, I'd never get anything finished!
 

Me: You have a few new books coming out soon, what are they about?
 
Elizabeth:Something, Maybe will be out on March 24th and it's about Hannah, who  
has parents who redefine the word embarrassing. Her dad made a  
fortune showing pretty girls--and his "party" lifestyle--all over the  
Internet, and her mom, who was once one of her dad's girlfriends, is  
now the star of her own website. After getting the wrong kind of  
attention for far too long, Hannah has learned how to stay out of  
sight...and that's how she likes it.
Of course, being unknown isn't helping her get noticed by gorgeous,  
confident Josh, who Hannah knows is her soul mate. Between trying to  
figure out a way to get him to notice her, dealing with her parents,  
and wondering why she can't stop thinking about another guy, Finn,  
Hannah feels like she's going crazy. She's determined to make things  
work out the way she wants....only what she wants may not be what she  
needs.
 
Love You Hate You Miss You will be out on June 2nd, and it's about  
loss, grief, love, and learning to give yourself--and life--a chance.
 

Me: When did you decide to become an author?
 
Elizabeth: I didn't actually decide to be an author--I sort of fell into the  
whole thing! I started writing for fun when I was 27 (old, I know!)  
and after years of my friends trying to talk me into getting an agent/ 
seeing if I could be published, I decided to go for it (to get them  
to quit asking me, quite honestly! :-) ) and got *very* lucky.
 

Me:What do you suggest to teens who want to pursue writing?
 
Elizabeth:Well, I'm guessing you've already gotten the writing part down, so  
I'd suggest learning as much as you can about the publishing industry  
and the business end of it (and it is a business!) and also to just  
read as much as you can--and don't just read one kind of book, read  
all kinds!
 

 Questions about Perfect You **May Include Spoilers**
 

Me:What was the inspiration behind this book?
Elizabeth: I decided to write Perfect You after getting an idea for a story  
about a family who had to deal with an extremely demanding relative  
moving in. The original idea was very (*very*) different from how the  
story ended up, but that's one of the fun things about writing ---  
there are always surprises along the way!

Me: Kate’s father quit his job to sell infomercial vitamins, why did   you choose vitamins over everything else sold in infomercials?
 
Elizabeth: Because that's what I knew he'd be selling, plus the brand name made  
the perfect book title! :-)
 

Me: For most of the book Kate has trouble trusting Will who has been  nothing but nice to her, but easily trusts Anna who had ditched   Kate for her new popular friends. Why did she trust Anna again so   easily but not Will?
 
Elizabeth: Because when you've had a friendship end unexpectedly and you miss  
that person, really and truly miss them, how can you not hope, if  
even secretly, that they'll decide they miss you and want to be  
friends again? Loosing a friendship is, in many ways--I think--even  
harder than a breakup. Friendships tend to last for a long time and  
play a huge role in your life, and do have one just stop--it's life- 
shattering.
 
As for Will, well, he does have a reputation, and Kate--and everyone  
else--knows all about it! Plus, she's been burned pretty badly--her  
family is falling apart, she misses her best friend, she's dealing  
with her grandmother--is it any wonder she finds it hard to believe  
that something good could happen to her?

Thank you Elizabeth!