No matter when you were born or where, puberty is the same. It's the same for your parents as it is for you - what's happening in your body dictates everything.
Francine Pascal
I always had a fascination with twins.
When I first thought of the idea for 'Sweet Valley High,' I loved the idea of high school as microcosm of the real world. And what I really liked was how it moved things on from 'Sleeping Beauty'-esque romance novels where the girl had to wait for the hero. This would be girl-driven, very different, I decided - and indeed it is.
I always loved reading. Growing up, my favorite book was 'A Child's Garden of Verses,' by Robert Louis Stevenson.
I get some of my ideas from watching my three daughters, but most of them come from my own memories of growing up. I can remember how romantic I was, not just about love, but romance in the classic sense - the romantic ideals: of honor and truth, of loyalty, sacrifice and fairness. Those were the elements that made a story satisfying to me.
Since I was a small child, I was always writing either poems or plays... plays in which I had the starring part.
I know you think that when you're 35, 45, 55, you'll be different. But I'm going to let you in on a bit of a secret. You're going to look different, and your life is going to be different, but in your head you'll always be that 16-year-old girl.
I like to play poker. I have a nice poker group that's been going on for years.
I don't do rewrites. I put all the pages in a pile next to the typewriter.
The same way that some people can play the piano, I can do plots! They just come!
