Alice and Jewel have been best friends since grade school. Together, they don’t need anyone else, and together they blend into the background of high school. Invisible. To Alice, Jewel is the opposite of invisible. Jewel is her best friend who goes to Indie concerts and art shows with her. Jewel scoffs at school dances with her. Alice is so comfortable around Jewel that she can talk to him about almost anything. But she can’t tell him that she likes the cool, popular Simon. And then Simon asks her to the school dance the same day that Jewel kisses her for the first time. Still, she can’t say no to Simon. He seems like the easy choice, the one she’s attracted to, the one she’s ready for. But will it mean losing Jewel? In a bright debut novel set against the lively backdrop of Seattle, Alice must learn the difference between love and a crush, and what it means to be yourself when you’re not sure who that is yet.
Embarrassing fact: One of my earliest memories involves a five-year-old me overhearing a teacher at my school telling another teacher, "Lizzy sometimes talks to herself, but I'm not worried about it."
In the spirit of overcoming the embarrassing nature of that statement, let me here embrace talking to myself. I'll try to ask myself questions that you, as a visitor to my author page(Thanks for stopping by!) might like to know.
So, Liz. Where'd you grow up?
You know that! You were there.
Ahem?
Okay. Last joke about talking to myself. I grew up in Paoli, a suburb of Philadelphia on what's called the Main Line. A book that I think is set on the Main Line is THE LOVELY BONES by Alice Sebold. It's also set in heaven. You should read it if you're very brave.
So you live in PA?
No, now I live in Seattle. But I go home when I can to see friends and family. And to eat cheesesteaks.
Hey, aren't your books set in Seattle, too?
Yes, they are! Convenient, that. THE OPPOSITE OF INVISIBLE is set in the neighborhood where I lived for five years, Fremont. MY NOT-SO-STILL LIFE is set in Ballard, one 'hood over.
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
I can honestly say I have. I didn't always think it was possible as a career, but I've always loved writing. It was the part of me that was nurtured all through school. I was never sure if this story was true, but my kindergarten/first grade teacher predicted that one day she'd see my book at the library. Now I have proof, a letter from that teacher. My mom found it in a closet!
So what other jobs have you had?
Café girl, bookseller at the fabulous All for Kids Books & Music, editorial intern at Highlights for Children, Montessori school assistant (the longest-running part of my grown-up jobs), other school jobs, freelance writer for some fun web sites and magazines, product copy and marketing writer at a daily deals shopping site.
Why do you want to write for teenagers?
I just think that my inner voice is perpetually fifteen years old. I think like a fifteen year old, who's lived for twenty-nine years, if that makes any kind of sense. I write the kind of books I like to read. I'm just drawn to the themes of growing up, too. I do think people come of age more than once, so it wouldn't shock me if I sometime wrote a book about an older girl, but even if my character is in her thirties, a lot of the themes will stay the same.
