Hi Stephanie! Thanks for doing the interview. Could you start by introducing yourself?
Hi Kat! My name is Stephanie Hale and I am a young adult author.

Your recently released your debut novel Revenge of the Homecoming Queen Could you tell us a little about the book and your inspiration for it?
Revenge of the Homecoming Queen is a little bit mystery, romance, and a whole lot of humor. I originally got the idea for Revenge when I remembered something that had happened when I was in high school. The boys in my class got together and voted one of the more..ahem..less popular boys to the homecoming court. It all turned out okay but I got to thinking about what would happen if the queen didn’t want to reign with a geek by her side. VOILA…Revenge of the Homecoming Queen was born!

You have two sequels coming up: Twisted Sisters and Spring Breakup. What can we expect from the books? Any sneak peak info available yet?

Twisted Sisters follows Aspen & her Comfort High peeps to college. Aspen has another mystery to solve while trying to fit in with her new sorority sisters. It debuts April 1st, 2008!

Spring Breakup will follow Aspen on Spring Break to Las Vegas. Just when she thinks she is going to get some R&R (Rand & relaxation, of course!) a beauty contestant goes missing and Aspen has to save the day AGAIN!

If Revenge of the Homecoming Queen were to be adapted into a film in the next year or so, who would you like to see play the lead characters?

If I could have my dream cast it would be:

Aspen- Hayden Panettiere

Rand- Shia LaBeouf

Angel- Alexa Vega

Miss Hott- Ricki Lake

Lucas- Cody Linley

Tobi- Kristen Stewart

Not that I’ve thought about it or anything! ?

Do you have plans to work on any other novels – either teen or adult – outside of the Aspen series in the near future?
Absolutely! I’m currently working on a top secret YA project (keep your fingers crossed) and I would someday like to write adult also.

What was your High School experience like? Were you anything like Aspen?
No, I was nothing like Aspen. I had a blast in high school. My high school was pretty laid back with minimal drama!

When did you decide you wanted to be an author? Has it been a lifelong dream?
I have always loved reading, and when I was laid off from a job I had spent eight miserable years at, I decided I would try my hand at writing. I just hope I can continue writing forever. I never realized a job could bring me so much joy!

What were some of your favorite novels when you were a teenager and what are some of your favorites today?
As a teen I was obsessed with Danielle Steel. Did you know she has her own perfume? How cool is that? My favorites today are Stephenie Meyer, Tina Ferraro, Tera Lynn Childs, Meg Cabot, and Bethany Griffin. I’m currently reading The Luxe by Anna Godbersen, which is absolutely delish!!

Since starting your career as an author, what would you say are some of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
Don’t listen to the negative statistics. If you want something, don’t ever give up.

What advice would you like to offer to aspiring authors?
Don’t stop reading. I hate it when I hear authors/aspiring authors say they are too busy to read. You have to be a reader before you can be a writer.

Portrait Magazine is a teen magazine. What are some of your favorite websites? (We’re loving stephaniehale.com by the way)
Oh thanks! My web designer, Denise Biondo, is the bomb! All her sites are amazing. I hang out at www.Booksboysbuzz.com a lot because it is a group blog that I am a part of. I’m totally addicted to MySpace! I also frequent Amazon & Barnes & noble b/c I am addicted to buying books!

Thanks for doing the interview. Anything you’d like to say in closing?
I read a crazy statistic the other day. It was something like only 1 in every 8 adults read a book last year. This is unbelievable to me. It is up to us booklovers to get everyone to put down their Wii’s and pick up a book! Give books as gifts, start a book club, spread word of mouth about the last book you loved. Let’s get that statistic up!