Melissa de la Cruz
Born in Manila on July 7, 1971, Melissa de la Cruz holds citizenship in both the Philippines and the United States. She was educated at Columbia University, and she went on to work as a novelist, children's writer, young adult author, and editor, writing in English.
De la Cruz works in the young adult literature genre and has occupied more than one role in the book world, functioning as both a writer and an editor. Her output spans fiction for younger readers as well as children's literature. She writes in American English and has built a body of work across those connected areas.
Her notable work includes Blue Bloods, which stands as a concrete marker of her career as a novelist and young adult author. That title represents the clearest anchor in the public record of her work, reflecting her focus on young adult literature and her standing as a writer and editor working across that space.
Quotes by Melissa de la Cruz
Melissa de la Cruz's insights on:
Dark books do appeal to kids because they have nice, sheltered lives - and they also appeal to children who are going through pretty hard times themselves.
I always thought of vampires, especially the young-adult ones, as a metaphor for sex - sucking blood, forbidden, taboo. I think they just ooze sex. Vampires are all the big themes in life in one attractive, bloodsucking package.
We all want to live forever, but we don't want to suck blood to do it, right? I think people like to have these deep moral questions that don't come up in real life.
I don't write that much horror. People tell me my books are scary, but they're not really; I don't go there.
Just because I worked in fashion doesn't mean I didn't go to see 'Underworld' three times!
I was always a sci-fi and fantasy geek. I was in the 'Lord of the Rings' club and all my cool friends made fun of me.
I used to write my books at night when I was a freelancer with no children. I used to really work in huge spurts - I could turn around a revision in two weeks, I used to be able to write 10,000 words a day. It's like, 'Wow, what happened to that?' That's just gone.