Yay!!!! Secret Society Girl is finally on shelves! I've been waiting for this one, and can't wait to go snag my own copy (it's my reward for finishing the book I'm currently working on).



Anyhoo, here's the scoop:

Secret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreund takes us into the heart of the Ivy League’s ultra-exclusive secret societies when a young woman is invited to join as one of their first female members.

Elite Eli University junior Amy Haskel never expected to be tapped into Rose & Grave, the country’s most powerful–and notorious–secret society. She isn’t rich, politically connected, or…well, male.

So when Amy receives the distinctive black-lined invitation with the Rose & Grave seal, she’s blown away. Could they really mean her?

Whisked off into an initiation rite that’s a blend of Harry Potter and Alfred Hitchcock, Amy awakens the next day to a new reality and a whole new set of “friends”–from the gorgeous son of a conservative governor to an Afrocentric lesbian activist whose society name is Thorndike. And that’s when Amy starts to discover the truth about getting what you wish for. Because Rose & Grave is quickly taking her away from her familiar world of classes and keggers, fueling a feud, and undermining a very promising friendship with benefits. And that’s before Amy finds out that her first duty as a member of Rose & Grave is to take on a conspiracy of money and power that could, quite possibly, ruin her whole life.

A smart, sexy introduction to the life and times of a young woman in way over her head, Secret Society Girl is a charming and witty debut from a writer who knows her turf–and isn’t afraid to tell all....

****

Sounds fun, doesn't it?

And here are Diana's answers to my burning GCC questions....

> HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR TYPICAL "WRITING DAY"?

Typical? I don't think I know this word! It's changed so much since I
started writing full time and my schedule has been off recently because
I've been travelling two or three times a month since May. When things
go well, I get up, check email, write in my blog, write for a little
while, hang out with my boyfriend, make food, write for a while longer,
run errands, do more email, hopefully write a little more.

Right now, when I'm on deadline, everything else falls by the wayside. I
write. That's it. That's all I have time for.

> DO YOU RECALL THE KERNEL OF INSPIRATION FOR THIS BOOK?

I was watching the movie THE SKULLS on TV and thought it was about time
that someone wrote a secret society story that described them the way
they really were. From there, it was a matter of finding the right facet
of the long collegiate secret society history to use as a framework for
the story. It was very important for me to make the story as accurate as
possible, which is why most of the events in the story are based on
things that happened in real life. A few people have been mystified by
this choice, but my favorite kind of fiction is the kind that is so
firmly rooted in reality that you feel as if any second you could step
into that world -- and that goes for everything, even fantasy. I want
people to question where the truth lets off and the invention begins.

> PICK A CHARACTER IN THE BOOK AND TELL US WHAT TRAIT YOU SHARE (OR COME
> CLOSEST TO SHARING) WITH THAT CHARACTER.

Like my protagonist Amy, I have

> IF YOU WERE STUCK ON A DESERT ISLAND, WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE A MAGICAL
> TRUNK THAT GAVE YOU LIMITLESS BOOKS TO READ, OR A LIMITLESS SUPPLY OF
> PAPER ON WHICH TO WRITE?

Limitless books. I need to read. It's a requirement for living. And this
way, if I needed to write, I could just use the flyleafs and inside
covers.


> BEER OR WINE?

Wine, without a doubt. Champagne if you've got it.


> CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA?

Sometimes I crave chocolate, but in general, I love a really
high-quality vanilla, especially ice cream or shakes.

> WHAT'S YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE BOOK?

This is hardly a fair question. I don't think it's possible to pick just
one. There are definitely books I can read over and over and over again,
as well as books I read once but will always stick with me. And how do I
choose amongst those? I can make a list of several favorites: The Voyage
of the Dawn Treader, Anne of the Island, The Count of Monte Cristo, The
Phantom Tollbooth, A Girl of the Limberlost, Clarissa, Solaris, Lost
Horizon, The Odyssey, Pride and Prejudice, Frankenstein, Hearts Aflame,
The Giver, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Mists of
Avalon, Millenium Hall...


Visit Diana at http://dianapeterfreund.com