Meg Cabot is the #1 New York Times Best-selling Author of several-dozen mega hits including The Princess Diaries series. Her young adult books include All-American Girl and Teen Idol and are being made into Disney films. She wrote the Ice Princess screenplay (Disney film now in theaters) and popular adult romances including her latest Every Boy's Got One. She also has a unique web log on the internet with email messages between her and Paris Hilton. Here, she shares her prolific life in an interview!
SQ: Meg, thank you so much for this opportunity to share your latest projects and life details! What motivated you to write the screenplay for Ice Princess?
MC: Well, Karen Glass, the fun Disney exec I worked with on Princess Diaries, called and said it had been a while since there'd been a girl figure skating movie, and did I want to write one. So I said I did. Because who wouldn't want to work on a girl figure skating movie?
SQ: What an amazing opportunity! What is the story's central plot?
MC: In the version I wrote, the heroine is a hockey player in a family of boys who decides she wants to be figure skater. In the final version, she is a physics student in a single-mom family. The Zamboni-driving boyfriend was my idea, though, and happily remains in the final version.
SQ: The film seems to stay true to your overall idea: An un-princess-like girl gets to become an ice princess. Like many of your inspiring creations, this one reveals what teen dreams are made of, Mr. Zamboni-driver included. You often write hilarious plots involving actual examples from popular culture. For instance, All-American Girl's heroine Sam worships singer Gwen Stefani. And your web log has transcripts between you and Paris Hilton discussing the TV show Degrassi. Where do you do the brunt of your book research and how did you and Paris come to meet?
MC: Thanks! I do my research by watching television and cruising the Web. And my relationship with Paris is something I like to call CEER-creative embellishment for the entertainment of my readers. I have no idea what Paris calls it.
SQ: Paris probably calls it the same thing and surely approves! Another bestselling romance author, Carly Phillips, also interviewed here, uses the same research modes. This is very inspiring to me, a total media addict. Can you discuss your latest Princess book and whether there will be a third film based on it?
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