Hi Cari! Thanks for doing the interview, could you introduce yourself to the people reading this.
Sure, I’m 26 years old, I was born and raised in Manhattan and have been working in the music industry for the last 10 years. I started interning when I was in high school and wanted to get my feet wet in all aspects of the field- so I spent a few years trying out all different kinds of jobs – from radio promotion, street team coordination and publicity to tour marketing, booking and management. When I started working with unsigned artists, I found my niche, and began a management and booking agency out of my bedroom, in my parent’s apartment- not too glamorous, I know!

You have just completed your debut novel 'Rising Star', could you tell us a little about the book.
The book is about a high school student- Nikki, who works in the music industry. She wins a contest and the title of #1 Teen Entrepreneur and begins to work with a band called Long Story Short. Nikki gets them a record deal, and the book takes you behind the scenes of what life is like on the road, being in a touring band, recording a major label album, and the various industry professionals that she has to deal with on a daily basis. Not to mention a little romance going on between Nikki and a band member, and inner- band turmoil.

You have been working in the music industry since you were in your teens, much like the character of Nikki. How much did you base the character on yourself?
People that know me well, would say I am Nikki down to the description of her characteristics, her relationship with her parents, and her choice of dialogue, especially – when she has to stand up for herself when dealing with the president of the label and other executives. For me, it was almost impossible to not have Nikki emulate me. I knew what I would say or do in certain situations, and felt it would be more realistic if I took what my own actions would be and put it into her character.

Are the boys in Long Story Short based on any of the musicians you've worked with?
Again….. yes. I have been managing a band –Oval Opus for the past 5 years. They definitely were a huge influence. Over the years, the stories that I have heard from them about life on the road, sharing the stage with larger acts, the colleges concerts that they have played, it gave me so much to write about. I took pieces of each of them and intertwined them within each character. This book isn’t based on them, but they helped shape all of the characters. The bassist of the band- Patrick Martin, even played a large role in helping with the dialogue and really capturing the male, musician voice for me.

If you could choose a favorite scene in 'Rising Star', which would it be and why?
I would have to say the last scene, but I don’t want to give away what happens….so I will say the scene in Virgin Megastore, where the band is signing autograph CDs on their release date at Midnight and Nikki’s grandparents show up. The grandfather walks out of the store with a CD- without paying, and the alarms go off, security comes- and they cause a scene. It’s my FAVORITE because it really happened! Oval Opus did an instore performance in the city at J&R Music World, and they were signing CDs after their set. My grandparents lived down the block so they came to see them, and my grandfather took a CD from the shelf, had Aaron (lead singer) sign it and then walk out of the store and the alarm went off!

How long did you work on 'Rising Star'?
It took me two years to write it. I started it in August 2003 and finished it last summer. Then went through a million revisions and edits, and started the publishing process this past winter.

If Rising Star were to be adapted into a film who could you see playing the role of Nikki?
Hmm…tough one….I don’t really want to be cliché and say Lindsay Lohan, but she would probably play the part well…I like Scarlet Johansen…or maybe someone like Christina Ricci. I would love to find an unknown and find a teenager actually who is passionate about music but also has enough sass to be a business woman!

I hear you are working on a sequel to 'Rising Star'. Could you give us any inside information on this?
Well… I have enough material for another 10 books! But I haven’t sat down and made sense of any of it yet. I left the last chapter very open-ended so I can pick up with a second book and develop both Nikki’s character and the band easily. I am thinking of having Nikki, who is now about to be a college freshman, work at a label or for a music executive while the band is on their first National Tour in support of their new CD.

Are you currently working on any other novels?
No, I just keep an ongoing journal of my experiences, or stories that my bands tell me. What author would you classify as your writing idol or role model?
I went to a YA panel a year or so ago and listened to Rachel Cohn the author of Shrimp , Pop Princess, and Gingerbread speak. There is something about her writing that really connects to teenagers. They absolutely love her books and style of writing, she was definately inspiring to listen to. And non-teen authors I’m a huge fan of Jennifer Weiner and Augusten Burroughs. Both are authors that write with very different styles, but both are humorous and have a very real voice that I connect with.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
If you are passionate about writing and want to publish your own novel – anyone can do it. There are so many tools out there today, between the internet and all of the self publishing companies- that allow anyone to make their dream of writing a book and get it out – real. Don’t get discouraged, don’t lose sleep over not knowing what to write about one day, it will come to you at the most random moment. There were nights when I was getting close to finishing the book that I would sit down and stare at the computer screen for hours. I knew what I wanted to say but had no idea how I wanted to say it. One night I woke up probably at 3 or 4am. and had an idea for one of the last chapters- it just came to me in my sleep, maybe it was in my dreams, I don’t know – but I turned on the computer and just started typing for hours. Don’t give yourself any deadlines or a timeline that pressures you to have to get done.