Guest Star: Kay Cassidy!

My Guest Star author this week is Kay Cassidy, author of the brand new novel, The Cinderella Society

About THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY:

What's a girl to do when the glass slipper fits, but she doesn't want to wear it anymore?

Sixteen year old Jess Parker has always been an outsider. So when she receives an invitation to join The Cinderella Society, a secret society of the most popular girls in school, it's like something out of a fairy tale. Swept up by the Cindys' magical world of makeovers, and catching the eye of her Prince Charming, Jess feels like she's finally found her chance to fit in.

Then the Wickeds--led by Jess's arch-enemy--begin targeting innocent girls in their war against the Cindys, and Jess discovers there's more to being a Cindy than reinventing yourself on the outside. She has unknowingly become part of a centuries-old battle of good vs. evil, and now the Cindys in charge need Jess for a mission that could change everything.

Overwhelmed, Jess wonders if The Cinderella Society made a mistake in choosing her. Is it a coincidence her new boyfriend doesn't want to be seen with her in public? And is this glamorous, secret life even what she wants, or will she risk her own happy ending to live up to the expectations of her new sisters?

Order The Cinderella Society from Amazon now!

And here's my interview with Kay!


1. The Cinderella Society sounds like such a great concept. How did you come up with the idea?

The Cinderella Society actually came from a magazine article about high school sororities. I'd never heard of that before and, once I started thinking about the kind of society I would create if I could, I realized I would want it to be an organization devoted to fighting the everyday battle of good vs. evil. The idea snowballed from there and The Cinderella Society was born.


2. This series would make an awesome movie. Any interest from studios or producers?

The Cinderella Society is out on submission as a TV series right now. There were some early nibbles of interest, so we'll have to see how it shakes out in the end.

3. What’s the first thing you do when starting a new book? What’s the first thing you do when finishing a new book?

The first thing I do when starting a new book is fill out a couple of worksheets to lay the groundwork. I'm a big plotter (I usually use Hauge's method), so I use those worksheets to create a scene-by-scene outline of the entire book before I sit down to write the first draft. The plotting process can take several months, but once I'm done I can usually hammer out the first draft in less than a month because I know the story and characters so well.

The first thing I do when I finish a book is SLEEP. :-) And then celebrate by taking some time off to read with no nagging feelings of "If I have time to read, I have time to write."

4. As writers, we all love to procrastinate. What’s your favorite procrastination activity?

Ooo… that's a tough one. Probably a tie between Twitter and email. If I had no internet access, I would be a gazillion times more productive than I am. If I'm on deadline or if I have writer's block, I've been known to unplug the modem entirely just so I can focus with no tempting distractions.


5. What are you working on next?

Right now I'm working on the sequel to The Cinderella Society, titled Cindy on a Mission. It follows the further adventures of Jess and the Sisters as the Wickeds launch an offensive that threatens everything the Cindys hold dear. Cindy on a Mission will be on shelves in Spring 2011.


About the Author
Kay Cassidy is the author of teen fiction she wishes was based on her real life. She is the founder of the national Great Scavenger Hunt Contest reading program for kids and teens and the host of the inspirational Living Your Five web project. In her free time, she enjoys yoga, movies, music, and reading. Lots and lots of reading. She hopes her debut YA novel, THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY (April 13, 2010 - Egmont), will help girls embrace their inner Cindy.