Author Interview: Cherry Cheva

Today, I'm so excited to have Cherry Cheva on my blog! She is the fabulous author of DupliKate and She's So Money. She is also a writer for the show Family Guy, which is a totally hilarious TV show, you guys should go check it out! I reviewed DupliKate already so if you want to read my review, click here.

What made you write Young Adult?
Uh...I have no idea? It just felt natural, I guess, to tackle a story with characters in high school. I have no problems tapping back into that part of my brain. Some might call it "being immature". :)

Where did your ideas come from for DupliKate?
See aforementioned ability to tap into tragic, horrible, stressed-out memories of high school! I wasn't quite as hard-core as Kate is about getting into college (I mean, I was AP girl and all that, but I wasn’t all over every single kind of extracurricular & volunteer activity like she is). But I *certainly* remember what it felt like to have finals and papers and standardized tests all breathing down your neck at once. It sucks! So I basically remembered that suckage and wrote it all down.

How are you and Kate alike? How are you different?
Well, like Kate, I was pretty hard-core in high school about trying to get into a good college. But aside from the academic-type stuff, we are very different. She's a lot more independent than I was (or was allowed to be) at that age, since her mom is pretty laissez-faire as parents go, whereas my parents were super strict. Plus she's got this whole thing of feeling like she has to do everything all at once and saying yes to everybody and not ever letting anybody down, and I...am lazy. :)

Do you have any must have's while writing?
Water. I get cranky and tired when I’m dehydrated. Also, the internet. It is totally detrimental to my writing because I will waste so much time looking at youtube or whatever, but I must have it anyway.

What are your strengths and weaknesses in writing?
Oh my god. Hmmm. I guess strengths I would say dialogue, because you get used to writing lots of dialogue in TV scripts, so at the very least it's an easier part of writing for me. Weaknesses, description. My editors are forever telling me to be more detailed, but I am so not the girl you wanna run to if you want a whole paragraph about how hot some dude is. I would just as happily say he’s hot and leave you and your imagination to figure out the rest while I think of something snarky for him to say.

What has been the best thing someone ever said about your books?
I totally flip out with happiness anytime someone says something made them laugh out loud. Also, warm fuzzies whenever someone tells me that they really related to a character or something the character was going through.

If you weren't an author, what would your dream job be?
Unrealistically? Dancer. Equally unrealistically? Millionaire librarian. Realistically? Librarian.

Lastly, is there anything else you'd like to add?
Thank you for this interview, it was so fun! Also, my next episode of Family Guy airs (or aired, depending on when this comes out) November 8th and is about Stewie becoming obsessed with Miley Cyrus. Plus, completely randomly…Russell FTW on SYTYCD! :) twitter.com/cherrycheva

Thank you Cherry! That was an awesome interview! Remember to watch the latest Family Guy episode! =)