I’m a writer and journalist who lives somewhere between Richmond, Virginia; New York City; and Nashville, Tennessee. My first young adult novel, The Debutante, was published by Disney Hyperion in May 2008. My second, The Lost Summer, will come out in July 2009. My illustrated humor/advice book about living with roommates, Roomies: Sharing Your Home with Friends, Strangers and Total Freaks, hit gift and bookstores in August 2009. My work has appeared in The New York Observer, Newsweek, and Shecky's, among others, and I never, ever wear white after Labor Day… or is it before Labor Day? To be safe, I just never wear white.
About My Work
The Debutante
With SATs and college applications, senior year can be stressful. Throw in a huge move, a best friend's betrayal, and poofy, white dresses, and you have the makings of a Lifetime original movie. Unfortunately, for seventeen-year old Annie McRae, this is no television special... it's her life.
Weeks before the start of what's supposed to be the best year of her high school career, Annie’s parents decide to move... to Beaufort, Alabama – land of double names, "debs," and worst of all, her grandmother. It's enough to send this true-blue Connecticut Yankee running for the Mason-Dixon Line. But before she can say "ya'll," Ann Gordon learns she'll be trading in her prippie cords for a debutante dress – or risk losing her ride to college, and out of the South.
Roomies
Looking for someone to share your apartment—and your deepest, darkest secrets with? Or maybe you’re living with the Roommate from Hell—the one who clips his toenails at the kitchen table? For these quandaries and more, call upon Roomies: Sharing Your Home with Friends, Strangers and Total Freaks, the wise and wonderful guide to the finer points of cohabitation. Chock-full of ideas for taming pack rats, sabotaging snack moochers, disciplining bill dodgers, doling out tough love . . . and avoiding small claims court. The perfect passive-aggressive gift for that hard-to-shop-for roomie!
The Lost Summer
"I died one summer, or I almost did. Part of me did. I don't say that to be dramatic, only because it's true."
For the past nine years, Helena Waite has been returning to summer camp at Southpoint. Every year the camp and its familiar routines, landmarks, and people have welcomed her back like a long-lost family member. But this year she is returning not as a camper, but as a counselor, while her best friend, Katie Bell remains behind. All too quickly, Helena discovers that the innocent world of campfires, singalongs, and field days have been pushed aside for late night pranks on the boys' camp, skinny dipping in the lake, and stolen kisses in the hayloft. As she struggles to define herself in this new world, Helena begins to lose sight of what made camp special and the friendships that have sustained her for so many years. And when Ransome, her longtime crush, becomes a romantic reality, life gets even more confusing.
Also look out for Disney Press adaptations under my pen name, Lucy Ruggles. Out now – Tales from Halloweentown: The Witch’s Amulet, Minutemen and Camp Rock:The Junior Novel!<?em>
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