I am so excited to introduce you all to Lindsey Leavitt, author of the newly-released book Princess for Hire (Disney-Hyerion).

I ran across her site while researching literary agencies several months ago and have adored her ever since. She is witty and honest and she even made me laugh after my 2-year old just dumped an entire canister of Ovaltine and was spraying it with a squirt gun to watch it melt on my brand new area rug. So, in my book she’s a keeper. I’m pretty sure you’ll think so too.

I asked Lindsey a few questions about her debut novel and a little about her journey as a writer:

Me: Tell us a little about yourself and your upcoming book, Princess for Hire.

LL: Eek! I’m lousy at the About Me Stuff. Um, I married my high school sweetheart (although we weren’t really that sweet until college). I’m a SAHM to three wildly adorable little girls. Needless to say, there are an excess of tiaras and dress-up in our home. I like competitive sports, funky ballet flats, and diet Pepsi. And is it just me, or does Sylvia’s blog banner make you crave cereal?

Here’s the Jacket Copy for Princess for Hire:

When an immaculately dressed woman steps out of an iridescent bubble and asks you if you’d like to become a substitute princess, do you

a) run

b) faint

c) say Yes!

For Desi Bascomb, who’s been longing for a bit of glamour in her Idaho life, the choice is a definite C–that is, once she can stop pinching herself. As her new agent Meredith explains, Desi has a rare magical ability: when she applies the ancient Egyptian formula “Royal Rouge,” she can transform temporarily into the exact lookalike of any princess who needs her subbing services. Dream come true, right?

Well, Desi soon discovers that subbing involves a lot more than wearing a tiara and waving at cameras. Like, what do you do when a bullying older sister puts you on a heinous crash diet? Or when the tribal villagers gather to watch you perform a ceremonial dance you don’t know? Or when a princess’s conflicted sweetheart shows up to break things off–and you know she would want you to change his mind?

In this hilarious, winning debut, one girl’s dream of glamour transforms into something bigger: the desire to make a positive impact. And an impact Desi makes, one royal fiasco at a time.

Me: What inspired you to write a book about a young girl who could magically transform herself into any princess in the world with a cool face cream (other than the fact that every girl wishes she could do that)?

LL: A general rule of writing is don’t write to the market, because by the time you get the story done, the market has moved on. And I follow this, I swear, except this one time I was at a writer’s conference and someone asked an editor what she was looking for (A questions always asked that annoys editors to no end because they really just want a good book). So the editor explained this, but ended with an off-hand comment “Of course, never hurts to hit a sweet spot, like dinosaurs or princesses or something.”

I started thinking how I could never write that book since I was such a tomboy and never big on the whole princessy things. But the comment also triggered a daydream I used to have in fifth grade where I was whisked off to a castle in the dead of the night, and a whole bunch of girls would line up, and a prince would pick a dance partner/girlfriend/best friend. The catch, he had to pick based on the girl’s cool personality!

The prince always approached me, the only brunette (yeah, Barbie gave me issues), and said, “You’re the one. You are different. You seem cool.”

OK, that was a bit personal and I guess he wouldn’t really know my personality from a look. But hey, I was ten, and a rather awkward ten at that. But that memory hit a chord with me–what we want in our prince, really, is the recognition we are special for who we are. And if I was lined up with a bunch of princesses, how would I stick out, and how would I fit in? From that, I came up with a teen girl figuring out who she is while constantly pretending to be someone else. And there it was… a substitute princess.

ME: Tell us about the process of writing a young adult novel. How long did it take with rewrites, etc? What would you do different next time?

LL: I started PRINCESS FOR HIRE in August 2005, but only worked on it for a few weeks before putting it away for almost two years because I thought it was too fun and silly to warrant my attention (this was during my Serious Writer phase. I figured out quickly Serious was not my thing). Once I started up on it again, though, it all went rather fast. Four months of work before my agent saw a still-messy draft, a month or so of intense revision, and less than a month later, we sold. So almost three years from concept to sale, but I had other projects and life stuff (babies, moving, new jobs, you know the drill) inbetween.

After sell, I did some hefty revisions because I had to change my stand-alone novel into a series. It was W-O-R-K, but I don’t think I would do it differently because I learned so much about writing and revision in the process.

ME: What steps have you taken with your writing that have made an impact on your career, positive or negative?

LL: The most important thing I ever did for my writing was to START. I can’t tell you how many people talk to me about writing a book but never actually put pen to paper. It’s one thing to talk about it, it’s something else entirely to sit down and do it. And that rule applies every day—you can be involved as you like in the writing community, but you still need to take the time to be alone with your characters.

Another pivotal step was SAYING I was a writer. For years, most of my friends had no clue I wrote. When I finally owned it, it gave me some accountability and confidence.

One of the worst things I’ve done is played the comparison game. It’s toxic. There will always be someone with more awards or sales or money or skillz and it’s easy to get caught up in it. Bottom line—I get to spend time doing something I love. Heck, I get PAID to do something I love. When I focus on that and let the other stuff go, I’m happier and far more productive.

ME: Tell us about your experience with getting an agent.

LL: I got my agent the old-fashioned way — cold query. And serendipitously enough, my agent wasn’t even agenting when I started querying, so I’m grateful for the process that led me to her. It took me six months from my very first query to my first offer, though I took some time off in between to nurse my wounds.

I queried in smaller batches — three or four carefully selected agents. Within those six months, I had some great feedback that led me to make some changes. I learned everything I could about the market climate. I had some close calls that had me raiding my children’s Halloween/Christmas/Easter candy stash. But the most important thing I did was work on another novel. Not only did it help me maintain my sanity level (however low that was at the time), but I also believe having some range made me more appealing as a client.

When I did receive offers, the agents were interested not just in my first novel, but in my WIP (which I mentioned in a one-line pitch at the end of the query). I was very lucky to sign with Sarah Davies, who really got both strands of my writing.

ME: What did you look for when researching literary agencies?

LL: I wanted an agent who worked solely with children’s books, but represented everything under the children’s literature umbrella so if I wanted to branch out, she would have the connections. I also wanted someone who had experience in the field, whether it be through agenting or editing.

ME: In a time of the so-called “princess phenomenon” what makes your book different from other books about princesses?

LL: Even though the concept is fantastical, this book is set in the present day, real world. The princesses Desi subs for may be fictional, but they all face challenges teens today face, not to mention they come from all around the world.

ME: What do you hope young girls take with them after reading Princess for Hire?

LL: My main point in writing is to entertain. I want the reader to laugh and feel good when they put the book down, like they just spent a few hours hanging out with a good friend. I didn’t have a Message in mind when I set out writing it, but there were some themes—like being true to yourself—that came out more and more in each draft.

ME: What has been the most rewarding part of this entire experience?

LL:So far, the best thing is hearing from readers. These emails go in my Feel Good file (yes, I do have a file and yes that is the name of it). Once a book is Out There, the author’s ownership of their world dwindles and that’s a hard thing to let go. So when you hear from someone who connects with the story or characters, it’s almost like going to a parent/teacher conference and hearing your kid is doing great and not eating the glue.

ME: What can we expect next?

LL: The second book in the PRINCESS FOR HIRE series will be out in spring 2011. I also have a YA contemporary, SEAN GRISWOLD’S HEAD, due out with Bloomsbury in early 2011.

Thank you so much Lindsey! You rock!   Stay tuned for my review of Princess for Hire coming soon!