BEVERLY — When Erin Dionne was in middle school, she was always excited to open the book-fair flier and figure out what she would be reading next.
"Now to have my own book be a part of that — that's just crazy," she said.
The Montserrat College of Art English professor and writing center director had her first book hit the shelves in February.
The book, "Models Don't Eat Chocolate Cookies," was selected as a Scholastic Book Fairs Featured Title and was nominated to the American Library Association's 2010 Popular Paperbacks List, in the "bodies" category.
It's a story about an overweight 13-year-old girl named Celeste, who tries to lose weight to make sure she does not win the Miss HuskyPeach modeling competition for plus-sized girls, which her mother and aunt entered her in against her wishes.
Dionne, from Framingham, had her book published by Penguin Young Readers Group, after sending in 38 queries and getting 37 rejections.
Yet the hardest part of the whole process wasn't the writing.
"It was the waiting," she said. "I sold the book in May 2007, and it didn't come out until February 2009."
And the best part?
"Seeing it on the shelves, and signing it," she said. Dionne's also been speaking about her book at schools throughout Massachusetts.
We caught up with her for an author talk of our own.
How did this all get started?
It started off as a short story that won a writing competition in Natick. I read the story, and one of the faculty members said, "You know, you should really turn this into a novel." The first draft sort of poured out of me in six weeks. And then I spent two years revising it. I had 13 drafts total."
How did you come up with the idea?
It sounds a little crazy. I was driving up to Montserrat, and I got this picture of a girl sitting by herself — she was overweight and pretty — sitting in a cafeteria eating a spinach salad, with no dressing. I see characters. That's how it works for me. I'm not an outliner; I'm not a planner. I'd rather discover what my story is as I go along. That's what keeps me interested.
What made you focus on issues like weight and confidence?
I didn't set out to have this message about beauty and self-esteem. If you do that, I think it sounds too preachy. The message is there, but it doesn't hit you over the head. As the story developed, I could see these themes coming up. When working on revisions, I went back and defined them.
But you feel the message is obviously important?
Girls today are so bombarded by the media and images of beauty. You never see anything less than perfection. It was very important to me that Celeste didn't lose a lot of weight. She's not skinny at the end. In no way did I want to send the message that thin equals happier. ... Instead of eating her Oreos, she has an apple for a snack. At one point, she does try a diet drink and throws up all over the gym teacher's shoes and says never again will I take the easy way out.
Have you heard from any fans?
The first (e-mail) I got was this girl who wrote to me four days after the books hit the shelf. She said she was overweight and having problems with a bully. After reading about Celeste, she said she had some new ways to deal with her problem. I felt so lucky to be able to reach readers."
How did you discover your young-adult niche?
That's always been my favorite age to write for. I feel like I'm stuck in junior high, in terms of what I want to write about. Twenty years after graduating from junior high, I feel like I finally understand what was going on.
What were the books you read when you were that age?
"Harriet the Spy," "Charlotte's Web." I named my daughter after the spider. I loved the "Little House on the Prairie" books, and I love mysteries. I read a lot of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. I kind of credit "Harriet the Spy" with giving me my method of writing. I keep a notebook for every book I write, to jot down ideas.
What do you tell your students about writing?
I tell them revision is what makes a writer go from OK to great. I also tell them to read a lot.
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