April 29, 2008
Shelley Adina is the author of three books that will come out this year called All About Us. It’s a fresh, great series. After reading “Fruit of My Lipstick” (book two), I wanted to check in with this author to talk about the book, about faith, and about life! Hope you love this interview as much as I did.
Suzie: Hi Shelley, I met you first through reading advanced copies of your books (which I loved!). It’s great to meet you. Tell us a little bit about your writing journey.
Shelley: And I was thrilled to see such a great review … it made my week! I’ve been writing all my life, and have always known that was what I wanted to do. After a B.A. in Literature from the University of California, I earned an M.A. degree in Writing Popular Fiction in 2002 from Seton Hill University in Pennsylvania.
I watched with interest the meteoric popularity of a certain glitz-and-glam series that shall remain nameless, and then came a blinding moment of clarity when I … well, okay, it wasn’t that dramatic. I was eavesdropping. I overheard some women talking about their daughters’ reading material, and I could tell by their voices how distressed they were about it, yet on the other side of the coin, their girls were reading. We all want teens to be reading, right? So it was a dilemma for these parents.
A light went on in my head and I thought, “What if there was a series of books where, given similar choices and circumstances, the characters made different decisions based on their faith?” Next thing I knew, I was running for my computer!
Suzie: I love your character, Gillian, and I also happen to be a friend/fan of Camy Tang. Tell me about the connection. : )
Shelley: Every time Camy laughs, I hear Gillian 
We live in the same town and have become good friends. I’m so thrilled for her success and have to confess I shamelessly pick her brain in the writing of my own books. Part of her personality was grafted straight into Gillian, which is maybe why you like her!
Suzie: I love the fact that your characters are real, flawed, but in love with Jesus. Lissa shows us that you have second chances, Gillian shows us that you should stay true to who you are, what will the third book/character show us?
Shelley: Carly Aragon is in a different situation than Lissa and Gillian. Her family isn’t wealthy, her parents are divorced, and she’s at Spencer Academy on a full scholarship. While she’s grateful for the opportunity, and worked hard to get it, she’s still a little ashamed of the fact that financially, she doesn’t have the freedom the others do. This leads her to stay in the background a lot, and to be a people-pleaser so that the other students will like her.
This also means she gets taken for granted and people overlook her. But all that changes when she and Lady Lindsay MacPhail, the daughter of the Earl of Strathcairn, are assigned to room together during spring quarter. It’s extreme dislike at first sight. But then Carly learns something about Mac that changes everything—and she has to step into the spotlight, make some hard decisions, and act to do the right thing. Not so easy for a girl who’s used to being invisible.
Suzie: If you could give advice to the teen girls reading this, what would the most profound piece of advice be?
Shelley: In each book in the series, the protagonist learns to find within herself a biblical power. It’s never mentioned or spelled out, but it’s always there as part of the underlying theme. In It’s All About Us, Lissa discovers the power of discernment—especially when it comes to boys. In The Fruit of My Lipstick, Gillian Chang learns the power of honesty—with herself. And in Be Strong and Curvaceous, Carly finds out that there’s such a thing as being too nice and going with the flow—that sometimes you need the power of courage.
So my advice would be, since we know that the powers in the Bible are still alive and well, draw on them in your own life to get you through any experience, and to help you learn and grow. In fact, I had pocket mirrors made that say, “What’s your power?” Every time a girl puts on her lip gloss, she’s reminded about the powers she has inside.
Suzie: Can you tell us about your writing day?
Shelley: Three days a week, I work at an advertising agency. But on my writing days, which are all the rest of the time I’m at my desk by 8:00 a.m. I do e-mail, interviews, and promotional stuff until 11, when I take a lunch break. Then from 1:00 until 4:00 p.m., I write. My goal is 2,000 words a day, but sometimes even a measly 500 can take the whole afternoon.
Suzie: Where can people find you, or find out more about the series?
Shelley: FaithWords has built a series website where the characters are blogging at http://www.allaboutusbooks.net. Come on over and register, and you might win some cool stuff!
Suzie: Okay, now for some fun. What is your favorite color? Your favorite food? Your favorite TV show? What is one surprising thing that most people don’t know about you?
Shelley: My favorite color. Hmm. I have so many! But you really can’t beat the beautiful apricot color of the Sonia roses my husband gives me because he knows I love them.
My favorite food is Ukranian perogies with bacon, onions, and sour cream. I’m not even Ukranian—I’m Canadian—but I lived in Calgary, Alberta for several years, where there’s a fair-sized Ukranian community, and I got hooked then. Now I buy frozen perogies at Trader Joe’s. Yum.
Favorite TV show … okay, it’s a toss-up between Supernatural (on the CW) and Masterpiece Theatre (on PBS). I DVR both of them religiously until the DVDs come out.
And one surprising thing that most people don’t know about me … I am a period costumer and have made an 1892 late Victorian ballgown, an 1812 Regency day dress with a matching spencer and a bonnet I trimmed myself, and a Regency ballgown trimmed with Brussels lace. I also made an Italian Renaissance gown, but it has a zipper so it doesn’t count
My next project is another Regency gown, in amethyst silk to match the amethysts in an Austrian Empire antique necklace I just bought. You can see the dresses on my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=550040704.
Suzie: Anything else you want to share?
Shelley: Just to say thank you for inviting me to come by and talk! It’s been fun!
