The Secret Diamond Sisters (32 page)

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WTF

Posted on Sunday 07/10 at 11:15 AM

Who else saw that Brett guy making out with Courtney Diamond
in the middle of Myst last night? He came outta nowhere. Not gonna lie, he's a
complete hottie, but as everyone who was there last night knows, their parents
are
engaged.
To
each
other.
WTF doesn't even cover it. Not that they're related or
anything, but still. It's weird.

1: Posted on Sunday 07/10 at 11:49 AM

I never noticed Brett before, but you're right, he's super
hot! Apparently he went to Palo and transferred to Goodman in the middle of last
year. When he's done hooking up with his future stepsister (and I agree,
definite weirdness), I'll be waiting…

2: Posted on Sunday 07/10 at 12:53 PM

those diamond girls are pretty hot, too. hopefully i'll have a
few classes with them in the fall. maybe they'll need help catching up on the
goodman curriculum…

3: Posted on Sunday 07/10 at 1:13 PM

School? We've still got a month and a half left of summer! Who
wants to think about school?

4: Posted on Sunday 07/10 at 1:48 PM

You've got a point. But I think we can all agree on one
thing—judging from the past week, there are gonna be major changes around school
with the Diamond girls in town. I'm interested in what those changes will be.
Guess we'll have to wait and see :)

Cya around! And remember—what happens in Vegas stays in
Vegas…but that doesn't matter when you live there ;)

* * * * *

Acknowledgments

Five years ago, I was a junior in college and decided to write my first novel for the goal of publication. I can't believe that dream has become a reality, and it definitely didn't happen without the help of some incredibly supportive people along the way, who never stopped believing in me.

Brent Taylor—you believed in
The
Secret Diamond Sisters
from the very first draft, and that means so much to me. Your never-ending enthusiasm and advice showed me that this book deserved to be read by the world. Whenever I doubted myself, I thought of that and it helped me through!

My editor, Natashya Wilson—ever since we first met at Book Expo America, I knew I wanted to work with you, and I am honored to join your talented group of authors at Harlequin TEEN. Your insight and ideas have helped this book become so much more than I ever imagined it could be. You pushed me to dig deeper into the characters and the story, and without you, this book wouldn't be
close
to what it is today. I am a better writer because of you. Thank you a million times for taking a chance on me and believing in me!

My agent, Molly Ker Hawn—you are such an incredible person and agent, and I will never forget that day when I was in Nebraska and got the call from you that you wanted to take on
The
Secret Diamond Sisters!
You helped me polish my writing, and pushed me to bring these characters to life. You are so organized, prompt, kind, fun and amazing at what you do, and I am so grateful that you believed in this story and took a chance on me.

Lisa Wray—it was so great meeting you at BEA last year, and thank you for your enthusiasm for
The
Secret Diamond Sisters!
I loved hanging out with you, and I know that with you, this book is in perfect hands to get out into the world.

Erin Craig, and the cover design team—thank you for bringing the spirit of the story alive in your amazing cover art. The cover is beautiful (I literally stared at it for hours in awe of your work), and while I knew my cover art was in fantastic hands at Harlequin TEEN, it still exceeded all of my expectations!

My mom, Anne Madow—you have done
everything
for me to help ensure my dream of publication became a reality. Thank you for reading through hundreds of drafts, figuring out the details of the business side of writing when it became too much for me to handle on my own, scheduling all of my events, keeping me organized and for always, always believing in me!

My dad, Richard Madow—thank you for being patient with me, and for believing in me even when it might have felt like reaching this goal would be impossible. I know you worried about my plunging headfirst into such an eccentric career choice, but through it all you never gave up on me and were always proud of me, and that means so much.

My brother, Steven Madow—every time I meet a friend of yours, they tell me how you talk about my writing all the time and how proud you are of what I'm doing. Thank you for reading my books, giving your opinions, coming to my events and your never-ending enthusiasm! I hope you enjoy the inside jokes added for your amusement :)

My grandparents, Phyllis and Paul Lichtenstein, and Lois and Selvin Madow—the four of you are such smart, hardworking individuals, and are fantastic examples to all your grandchildren. You are always enthusiastic, proud and supportive. Thank you!

Aunt Barbara, Uncle Jeffrey, Uncle Dave, Aunt Yoko, Uncle Marshall, Lauren Setzer, Michael Setzer, Evan Madow, Sandy Lichtenstein, Jackie Lichtenstein, Michael Lichtenstein, Kandy Scherr, Sam Scherr, Ben Scherr and the rest of my amazing family—thank you for the interest, support and questions about my writing whenever we get together. Your genuine interest and belief in what I'm doing means so much.

My college best friends and sorority sisters: Kaitlin, Tiffany, Devan, Alicia and Amy—you are all amazing people, and I'm so grateful that we shared an incredible (crazy, fun, emotional) four years together. You all know me better than anyone else. Thank you for believing in me from the first draft of my first book, for being my cheerleaders, for always being there to talk to and for your great advice. Even though we all live far apart, whenever we see each other it's like no time has passed, and I know with the group of you I have friends for life.

Everyone who picked up this book at a bookstore or downloaded it to their ereader—THANK YOU! I hope you enjoyed the story of the Diamond sisters, and that you continue to enjoy it, as there is more to come!

The fans who have been there since
Remembrance
—thank you for taking a chance on an unknown author, believing in me and supporting me from the beginning of my career.

My college writing professors from Rollins College: Twila Papay, Phillip Deaver and Bruce Aufhammer—you saw something special in my writing before I realized it myself. Thank you for guiding me and helping me grow to become a published author.

My classmates in my Fall 2008 Intro to Creative Writing class—I will never forget the first time I shared my writing with you, and the positive feedback you gave me. You made me believe that other people might care about the stories I'm always creating in my head. You may not know it, but you changed my life. Thank you!

The Secret Diamond Sisters Playlist

Most of these songs don't have scenes they correlate to in the
book, but they generally remind me of the vibe of the story. I listen to this
playlist whenever I want to imagine the Diamond sisters having adventures in
Vegas!

“Waking Up in Vegas”
by Katy Perry

“Diamonds”
by Rihanna

“I Like It” (feat. Pitbull)
by Enrique Iglesias

“Vegas Girl”
by Conor Maynard

“Don't Stop the Party” (feat. TJR)
by Pitbull

“International Love” (feat. Chris Brown)
by Pitbull

“We Run the Night” (feat. Pitbull)
by Havana Brown

“Don't You Worry Child” (feat. John Martin)
by Swedish House
Mafia

“Va Va Voom”
by Nicki Minaj

“Pound the Alarm”
by Nicki Minaj

“Last Friday Night” (T.G.I.F.)
by Katy Perry

“Gold”
by Britt Nicole

“Party Rock Anthem”
by LMFAO

“Raise Your Glass”
by P!nk

“I Love It” (feat. Charli XCX)
by Icona Pop

“Get Lucky” (feat. Pharrell Williams)
by Daft Punk

“Crazy Kids”
by Ke$ha

“Poker Face”
by Lady Gaga

“My Heart Will Go On”
by Mariah Carey

Q&A with
Michelle Madow

Tell us a little about yourself and how
you became a writer.

I’ve always loved writing—in second grade, I was “that kid” who
on free-write journal day would write long stories and share them with the
class. In high school I wrote an (embellished) online journal about my life, and
my classmates loved reading it. Then my parents discovered the journal (I talked
about some things I did that they weren’t aware of…) and I got in
major t
rouble and stopped journaling. In college I
discovered the world of fan fiction, and for two years I wrote a ton of it,
mainly in the worlds of
Twilight
and
Harry Potter.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but
fan fiction was great practice for honing the craft of writing for later down
the road.

In my junior year of college, I signed up for an Intro to
Creative Writing course. Our first homework assignment was to turn in any piece
of writing we wanted—it could be a poem, a short story or a first chapter of a
novel. I wrote the first chapter of a novel. It was the first time I shared my
original fiction with anyone, and I was nervous about what people would think.
To my surprise, my teacher and classmates
loved
it and said I had to continue writing the story because they needed to
know what happened next. Hearing such positive feedback brought tears to my
eyes. I had always been scared to try writing a novel because I doubted I would
be able to finish it, or that the stories in my mind would be long enough to
take up all those pages. But in that moment I realized I would never know if I
could do it if I didn’t try, and by the end of my junior year, my first novel,
Remembrance
, was completed.

You clearly have an inside knowledge of
Las Vegas and what makes it unique. What do you love about the city, and
where would you recommend visitors go to have the Diamond
experience?

I’ve been to Las Vegas every year since I was fifteen, and I
love how the city bursts with magic and excitement. Vegas does everything as big
as possible, so being there is like entering a fantasyland.

As mentioned in
The Secret Diamond
Sisters,
many hotels on the Strip have a unique theme, and one of my
favorite activities to do in Las Vegas is visit the hotels and explore. Some of
my favorite hotels are: Venetian, Paris, Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Mirage and my
number one favorite, the Wynn.

I also love the shows in Vegas. In
The
Secret Diamond Sisters,
Courtney and Brett see
Phantom,
which was my favorite show there.
Unfortunately it has since closed, but the theatre where it played in the
Venetian was built to resemble the Paris Opera House, so I recommend seeing
whatever is playing there at the time you visit. I also love
Beatles Love,
which is playing in the Mirage, and
Le Reve,
which is playing in the Wynn.

Another great part of Vegas is the shopping. There are stores
everywhere, and some of my favorite places to shop are: the Forum Shops at
Caesars Palace, the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian, the Miracle Mile Shops
at Planet Hollywood and the major department stores (Saks, Neiman’s, Nordstrom)
at the Fashion Show Mall. Fashion Show Mall also has a
huge
Forever 21 if you’re looking for more budget-friendly
shopping.

What inspired
The Secret Diamond Sisters?
How did you create the sisters’ different
personalities?

I was inspired to write
The Secret Diamond Sisters
while walking through my
favorite hotel in Las Vegas. I thought, “What would it be like to live here?”
and the story grew from there.

As for the four main characters, there are pieces of me within
each of them. Savannah, with her dreaming, optimism and desire to fit in, has
bits of my high school self in her. Courtney, who is self-aware and happy to be
who she is without needing the approval of her peers, has a lot of my
current-day self, and she’s what I
wish
I had
been like in high school. Peyton is the most different from me of the four, but
she has my dislike of following arbitrary rules and my desire for individuality.
Madison has my confidence and ambition, along with my tastes in clothes and
food. From there, I took those qualities and built each character into their own
person.

Time to fess up—do you have a favorite
sister? How about a favorite potential hero?

Out of the four main characters, I would most like to be friends
with Courtney. But the ones I have the most fun writing are Savannah and
Madison. Out of the guys, Brett is definitely the one who I would most want to
date. You know all of Courtney’s reasons for liking him? Well, those would be
mine, too.

You’ve given those heroes a lot of room
to grow. Can you spill any secrets or give us a hint of what’s to come for
any of the guys?

At the end of
The Secret Diamond
Sisters,
none of the guys are where they want to be, as they’re all
trying to figure out what they want—either in life, or in their relationships.
As the story continues, more secrets will be revealed that will challenge
everyone, and will push them to think about where they’re going in life and with
whom their loyalties lie.

What’s in store for the Diamond sisters
in book 2,
Diamonds in the
Rough?

In
Diamonds in the Rough,
major
secrets will be uncovered that will change everything. I don’t want to give
anything away, but I hope you end up feeling completely differently about
certain characters by the end of
Diamonds in the Rough
than you did at the end of
The Secret Diamond
Sisters!

What advice do you have for aspiring
authors?

A writer I know once told me, “You have to write one million bad
words before you write anything others want to read,” and that is so true.
Writing is a skill, and like any other skill, it takes practice to improve.
Experiment with different approaches to writing a novel so you can find what
works best for you. I can’t write a book without outlining it in detail first,
but some people like to let the story come to them as they write. There is no
right or wrong way—only the right way for
you.

Most importantly, above anything else, you have to
write.
Know what time of day you get your best
writing done, and force yourself to write during that time, even if you’re not
feeling “inspired.” Writing is work, and it’s not going to be fun all the time.
There will be parts you will struggle with, that will frustrate you to no end
and make you want to hit your keyboard, but you need to keep your end goal in
mind. Set a minimum goal of how many words you can comfortably write per day,
and reach that minimum five days a week. Make sure your goal per day is
attainable for you—if it’s too high, it will be frustrating and will make you
want to quit. And remember that even if you’re having a rough writing day, force
yourself to reach that minimum. First drafts don’t need to be perfect, since you
will edit it afterward.

Once you draft and edit your first book until you can’t edit it
any further, write and edit a second. Your second book should be the first in a
new series and not a continuation of the first book you wrote, because this will
improve your chances of one of your books getting picked up by an agent. Then do
the same with a third, and so on. During this time, do your research on the
publishing world and submit your books to agents. If you continue to do this, if
you believe in yourself and if you want it badly enough, you are giving yourself
the best chance for success. Remember: the people who make it are the ones who
never gave up!

xoxo,

Michelle