SHORT BIO
Lindsey Leavitt grew up in Las Vegas and now lives in Alabama with her husband and three small daughters. Although she has been a substitute teacher and a homecoming princess, she has never been a substitute princess. Yet. She’s still scanning the Want Ads…
LONGER BIO
1. People always raise an eyebrow when I tell them I grew up in Las Vegas, like my suburban childhood must be riddled with scandal. Sorry to disappoint, but I lived in a nice tract home, played catch with my brothers in our cul-de-sac, and rode my bike to get chili dogs at the mini mart down by the development’s man-made lake. So OK, some of my field trips were at hotels. And it was pretty cool to see Elvis at our fourth grade career day. And when I wore a white dress to Prom and walked through the casino to get to a show, people might have clapped because they assumed I’d just gotten married. But the rest? Normalville.
2. I’m the second of five kids. Since my only sister is eight years younger than me, I pretty much grew up around boys. Based on some of my childhood pictures, I may have even thought I was male. I preferred my softball t-shirt to a dress, baseball cards to dolls, and considered a dip in the swimming pool an adequete bath. Hygiene note: a cholrinated swimming pool that everyone pees in IS NOT going to get you clean, kids.
So of course I find it vastly amusing that my first book is pink with make-up and jewelry on the cover. Ten-year-old Lindsey would be very confused.
3. I might be in the minority of YA authors here, but I really liked being a teenager. In highs school, I participated in sports, theater, student council, honor society…. yeah, I was THAT girl. Mostly, I loved how everything was new and my perspective on the world was constantly shifting (thanks largely to the literature I read, which ranged from Vonnegut to scandalous romance novels).
That doesn’t mean I didn’t have my own drama. I spent way too much time in front of the mirror wishing I had bigger boobs/a smaller butt/a cuter nose/skinnier ankles. I stressed out major on things I couldn’t control. Still, if I could go back for a day, I totally would (if anything just to tell teenaged Lindsey the poofy bangs were NOT A GOOD IDEA).
4. I’ve been lucky to have three of the best jobs in the world. I went to school to be an elementary school teacher and taught for a couple of years. Even though it was a lot tougher than I would have imagined, I loved how every year–every DAY–involved something new. And I LOVED the literature I shared with my students. Reading and discussing books was my favorite part of the job.
When I had my oldest daughter, I decided to stay home and be a full-time mom. Thing is, my baby liked to sleep a lot (that’s my girl) so I found myself with time and the desire to take on something impossible. So I started to write during her naps. Then I did it at night. Then I did it every spare moment I could, until one day my writing hobby became an actual job. Best part? If I don’t get dressed or leave my comfy writing chair, that usually means I had a productive day.
5. Ummm, bios are hard to write. I think I covered the basics. It’s not like I’m going to mention the embarrassing stuff, like when I peed my pants two days in a row in first grade. Or the time I was carrying a bunch of pies in the high school quad, TRIPPED, then had to pay for the smooshed treats. Oh, and don’t get me started about the time I thought I’d hung up the phone after talking to this boy I liked and then proceeded to tell my friend how hot I thought he was while he was still sitting there on the phone, listening to my lameness.
Maybe I should stop now.
PRESS KIT
Interviews: If you are interested in writing an article about me, please contact me at contact at lindsey leavitt dot com and we can set up an interview–phone, email or in person local. You may also contact my publicist, Hallie Patterson, at hallie dot patterson at disney dot com
Book Info:
PRINCESS FOR HIRE
Disney-Hyperion
ISBN 978-1-4231-2192-3
$16.99 • Ages 10 and up
Publication date: March 16, 2010
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