(cont...) Backstory for Little Divas by Philana Marie Boles!

...And on the weekends my poor cousins would have to endure my makeovers. I’d dress everyone up, do their hair and makeup, and we’d put on plays and concerts—lip synching to Whitney Houston, Anita Baker, and Shirley Murdock. But, when no one was around to play with, I’d read. Through books, through the magic of stories by Ellen Conford, Beverly Cleary, and Ann M. Martin, I could vicariously learn to deal with some of the things I was going through. Thanks to Judy Blume and a girl named Deenie, I imagined what my first kiss was going to feel like. Books became my refuge, my saving grace, and my inspiration. I’m really thankful to those authors.

By seventh grade, I was running for student council president. I not only won the election, but also my confidence back. Still in honors classes, I realized that I could be friends with the smart kids as well as my usual friends.

Reminiscing and reflecting on Cassidy in Little Divas, I’m amazed now at how far I’ve come, at how much she reminds me of myself back then.

I’ve always wanted to write for kids—to give them some of the magic that I experienced through books—and I’m so thrilled that it’s actually happening. The funny thing is, I didn’t imagine that it would happen this soon. I wanted to do a few more novels for adults first.

Blame it on Eve was out and In the Paint was on its way. I sent my agent at the time—Mel Berger—a proposal for a novel more epic in length. I wanted to follow the entire lives of three women, lifelong friends, from childhood on. After reading it, Mel called me with the news, he loved the characters but suggested that I cut the parts about when they were kids. I was devastated, of course, but I always respected my agent’s opinion. So, I cut two hundred pages of material and prepared to move on...