Sarah’s Life Story (the medium-length version):
Even though I’m not technically a teenager anymore, I still consider myself a teenager at heart. I love stealing my sisters’ clothes and a good door slam, and since I write young adult books, I keep up on things cool through all the teenagers I know and meet.
I got the idea for my first book, How to Raise Your Parents: A Teen Girl’s Survival Guide, when I was 16. After coming home late for curfew (again) and fighting with my parents about various forms of punishment, I realized they were as clueless as I was. (This was a major revelation for me!) The idea for the book was born. But I didn’t stop there.
While interviewing and surveying thousands of teenagers across the country, I realized dating (or lack thereof) is as big of a mystery as parents, and I got started on my second book, Boyology: A Teen Girl’s Crash Course in All Things Boy.
When I’m not writing or working at my day job in book publishing, you can probably find me at the movies (I’m a total movie addict–Netflix and the big screen), riding my road bike, learning to sew, trying (not very well) to cook, and perfecting the art of napping. I’m addicted to Dole strawberry popsicles and have to limit myself to one box a week. It sounds easy but trust me, it is not. I love to read and get tons of great book recommendations from teens, so keep them coming! I also drive a cherry red Vespa, spend a ridiculous amount of time on Twitter, and am hard at work on my next book about teen friendships. I consider myself a pretty good friend, but as in all things, I’m still learning. Thank goodness I have such amazing friends to take care of me. I’m a lucky girl.
Things I Love:
(in no particular order)
- Reading
- Skiing
- Tasti D Lite
- Riding my Vespa
- Anything crafty (I’m learning to sew)
- Travel (I had to cancel a trip to Mexico this Spring thanks to the swine flu, so not I’m trying for 2010)
- Red lipstick
- Writing
- Grant
- Avey – our former pet canary. We moved into a building that won’t allow pets. I still think we should’ve snuck him in.
- Birds in general
- Jazz
- My family
- Fashion week parties
- Handbags
- Salsa (it tastes good on everything!)
- Audrey Hepburn
- Fall in New York
- Spring in Salt Lake City
- Neil Simon plays
- Cheap manicures and pedicures
- The Sunday Styles section
- Afternoon naps
- Did I say Grant?
- Making up my own lyrics to songs – mostly because I can’t remember the real lyrics to anything
- Running into old friends
- Road trips
- Cafe Lalo
- Free diet coke refills
- The mountains
- The Book Review, ok–the entire Times but only online
- Capri
- When Grant makes me dinner
- That new-book smell
- Vieques (the bioluminescent bay is amazing!)
- Humming
- My niece Abbie Jane
- My nephew Andrew
- Pants you don’t have to wear belts with
- Natural light!!
- Montauk
- Edward Hopper
- Living in Jackson Heights – I’m one of those people who’s obsessed with her neighborhood
- Decrepit architecture – especially Soviet era stuff in St. Petersburg
- The Georgia Nicholson books by Louise Rennison
- The Great Gatsby – I re-read it every summer
- Domino magazine (I’m still mourning that they shut it down)
- Curling up on the couch when it’s snowing outside
Things I Loathe:
- Dirty snow
- Ice in my milk – especially the unintentional ice that happens when the fridge setting is too cold and things start to accidentally freeze
- Bad hair pieces (True story: I once saw the Just for Men hair guy wearing a terrible hair piece!)
- Negative people – you know who you are
- Name dropping
