You gotta love an empowering twist on an old fairy tale, where instead of Cinderella stumbling upon her destiny, she’s asked to join a secret society and fight for it. Girl power! And that’s exactly why I’m excited for GCC Member Kay Cassidy’s (www.kaycassidy.com) new novel, THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY, which debuts this month through Egmont U.S.A.
As always, here’s a little bit about her book to get you hooked:
What a girl to do when the glass slipper fits, but she doesn’t want to wear it anymore?
Sixteen year old Jess Parker has always been an outsider. So when she receives an invitation to join The Cinderella Society, a secret society of the most popular girls in school, it’s like something out of a fairy tale. Swept up by the Cindys’ magical world of makeovers, and catching the eye of her Prince Charming, Jess feels like she’s finally found her chance to fit in.
Then the Wickeds–led by Jess’s arch-enemy–begin targeting innocent girls in their war against the Cindys, and Jess discovers there’s more to being a Cindy than reinventing yourself on the outside. She has unknowingly become part of a centuries-old battle of good vs. evil, and now the Cindys in charge need Jess for a mission that could change everything.
Overwhelmed, Jess wonders if The Cinderella Society made a mistake in choosing her. Is it a coincidence her new boyfriend doesn’t want to be seen with her in public? And is this glamorous, secret life even what she wants, or will she risk her own happy ending to live up to the expectations of her new sisters?
Here’s what Kay had to say:
Q: In AMOR AND SUMMER SECRETS, Mariana discovers a hidden family secret. Are you a good secret keeper?
Kay: I’m good at keeping other people’s secrets but I tend to be terrible at keeping my own. LOL! I always swear I’m going to keep it secret and then spring the news on everyone at the same time but I always fold and need to share a squee moment with someone I love. 🙂
Q: What is the favorite place you ever traveled to, and what was the coolest thing you saw/did there?
Kay: My all-time favorite vacation was when my husband and I spent a week in San Juan. The hotel we stayed at is no longer there but the rooms were in low buildings that were literally steps from a grassy patch with a hammock and the beach. It was heaven. We went to the Arecibo Observatory while we were there which was amazing. It’s the world’s largest radiotelescope, so if there’s life out there beyond Earth, Arecibo is likely the place we would discover it. My husband and I both loved the movie Contact and the observatory is in the movie, so it was neat to see it in person.
I’ve been to that observatory! It’s not that far from Utuado, where my dad (and my character’s dad) is from.
Q: I often tell the story of how a psychic once predicted that I would go on to write children’s books. Have you ever visited a psychic?
Kay: I have! One of my favorite stores for my angel collection has them and I’ll go in with a friend whenever she’s in town. More often than not, they’ve been right even though I would’ve sworn they were totally off base given how my life was at that point. 🙂
Q: My character Mariana spends her summer in Puerto Rico connecting with her father’s heritage. Have you ever researched your family tree?
Kay: Yay, Puerto Rico! My dad went through a massive genealogy phase and traced our ancestry back to Josephine, the wife of Napolean. He even has a database where he scanned in only photos to associate with people’s entries… it was probably a decade long project for him. So I’m fortunate that his side of the family is completely done. And honestly, after seeing the painstaking efforts he went through, I gave up after only documenting a few generations of my mom’s side. It’s a daunting task!
Q: Where were you when you found out that your book was going to be published?
Kay: I was at home when I got a call from my agent. It was the day after an editor who had been championing the book for two months in-house had called to say it was finally passed over at acquisitions. I was crushed and certain the book was never going to sell. So naturally, my agent called the next morning with an offer from another publisher. That’s so like life, isn’t it? 😉
Thank you, Kay! Now, everyone go out and buy books, lots and lots of books!
