Sarah Mlynowski tells Karen Saunders that she's happy to be known as a Chicklit author.

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Canadian born author Sarah Mlynowski published her first novel, Milkrun when she was 24. Since then she has written four novels for adults Fishbowl, As Seen on TV, Monkey Business, and Me vs Me. She is the author if teenage chicklit novels Frogs and French Kisses and Bras and Broomsticks. Sarah lives in New York.

Your first book was published while you were 24, which is relatively young for an author. How did you motivate yourself to write it and what path did you follow to end up as a professional writer?

 I always knew I wanted to write. I studied English literature at McGill University and wrote for the school paper. My goal was to one day write books for teens. When I graduated, I interned at various publishing houses until I got a job in the marketing department at Harlequin Enterprises, known in the UK as Mills & Boon. The truth is that I never expected to start publishing when I did, in my twenties. I thought that maybe, if I was lucky, I would write a novel at some point way off in the future…but then I discovered chick lit, where twenty-something voices are valued as authentic, and I decided to make a go of it. I found the juxtaposition between my single in the city life and the books I was marketing (novels such as The Virgin Bride Said Wow and The Texas Sheik) to be the perfect irony to explore in fiction. How did I stay motivated? I broke down the "I want to write a novel" goal into small tasks: one chapter a week.

Did you develop an interest in reading/writing at school and how did this grow?

 In school I used to write stories about my little sister, Aviva. They were called Life with the Squirt, The Squirt ate my Homework, and Adventures of SuperSquirt. That last one was about a little sister who could fly. Basically, All About Rachel is its updated version. What were/are your favourite books as a child/teenager/adult? As a child I loved anything written by Judy Blume. As a teen I loved soap opera books (Jackie Collins, V.C. Andrews, Danielle Steele) and thrillers (Christopher Pike, John Grisham). These days I’m less author specific. I read everything from literary fiction to chick lit, teen lit, thrillers, mysteries… My faves are: Bridget Jones’s Diary, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, White Noise, Cat’s Eye, the Harry Potter series...and many more.

Who was your biggest influence in deciding to become an author, and why?

My mom. Even before I knew how to write I would tell stories and she would transcribe them.

 How do you feel about the tag ‘chick lit’, and do you think your books fit into this genre?

 I think that yes, all my books, even my teen lit, do fit under the chick lit umbrella. And I’m most definitely fine with it.

What messages do you try and present to young adults through your books?

 I guess I try to show that every action has a cost or a consequence. If you obsess about popularity, then you’ll probably miss out on deeper, more meaningful friendships. Even magic has a cost. In the world of Frogs & French Kisses, if you zap yourself up new clothes, those clothes go missing from someone else’s closet. And of course you have to be careful what you wish for…because sometimes what you want isn’t really what you need.

Where did the idea for the All About Rachel series of books come from, and how did it develop?

Aviva (my little sister) was the inspiration for the series. No, unfortunately, not the witchcraft part. What inspired the story was the always complicated love, jealousy, and pride involved in a sister relationship. (Is it fair that my younger sister sports a larger bra size than I do? I think not.)

How did you create the character of Rachel, the lead protagonist in the ‘All About Rachel’ series, and do you share any of the same characteristics?

 Luckily, the Rachel voice came very naturally to me. I’m not as sarcastic or melodramatic as Rachel, but I’m usually as upbeat, and occasionally as, er, self-absorbed. And I was careful about scaling down our, I mean her, whininess.

How much research, particularly into the magical aspects, did you have to do for the ‘Rachel’ series?

 I watch a lot of teen television shows, read teen books and magazines, and talk to teens. I need to stay current about what fifteen-year-olds are worrying about these days. A lot of my research actually comes from my own high school diaries. Times may change, but emotions stay constant. Angst is angst. For the magical aspects, I consult with witches and warlocks around the globe to make sure my spells are accurate. Yup.

 Rachel finds herself in loads of embarrassing situations in your books. What was your most embarrassing teenage moment? (if you are willing to share that with us!)

Picture it: summer camp, July 1990. I agreed to be in the camp play. I was an extra and had one line. One single line. Seven words. I rehearsed with my friends on the beach; I rehearsed by myself in the shower. Finally it was the big night. And then it was one act until my line, and then it was one scene until my line…and then it was time for my line. Unfortunately, my mind was suddenly wiped clean. I just stared at the audience. Blinking. I prayed I would wake up and be in my bed. Or at school. Or getting root canal. Anywhere else. Finally, after two minutes of painful silence, they continued with the scene. And I will never be in a play again.

In Frogs and French Kisses, Rachel’s sister Miri is busy casting spells to try and sort out the world – if you could cast any one spell, what would it be?

 It’s a three-parter. World peace. A cure for cancer. Naturally straight hair.

What plans do you have for future books for teenagers, and are there more ‘Rachel’ titles in the pipeline?

 I just finished writing the third book in the Rachel series, Spells & Sleeping Bags. Magic runs amok at sleep-away camp. I’m also co-writing a new book called How to Be Bad with two of my favourite teen authors, Lauren Myracle and E. Lockhart.

How long does it take you to write a book and can you explain your personal writing process (i.e. when you work best, how many words you try to write a day, etc)?

 It takes me about a month to come up with idea, a month to write the outline (I always outline), four months to write a first draft (I let it all pour out—no editing, no tweaking, no spell check), and another two months to edit. I have an office where I do most of my work: editing, e-mailing, contract stuff. But I have a weird first-draft ritual. I park myself on my living room couch, put my laptop on my legs, and type while the TV plays in the background. My favourite background noise is Law & Order. Something about the Da! Da! frees up the creative side of my brain. Weird, eh? (Excuse the eh. I’m Canadian.)

 Which book do you wish you’d written, and why?

Harry Potter! I love that series. So much fun, So imaginative. So addictive. And boys read it too! At some point in my life I’d love to write a book that doesn’t scare away the male gender.

Which of your own books are you most proud of, and why?

 I guess I’m the most proud of Bras & Broomsticks. Writing a book for teens was always my goal. I’m proud that I was able to .

Thank you Sarah Mlynowski for talking to Write Away.