Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Groggin'

Hey everyone, I’m Maureen. I’m 28 and I live in a suburb of Chicago with my husband, one year old son and an assortment of morbidly obese pets. I love writing, drinking wine, going to Cubs games and traveling. My guilty pleasures are cheesy (and thus awesome) movies and television series from the ‘80s like Teen Witch and Small Wonder. (Please stop laughing.)

As a child, I inhaled every Baby-Sitters Club and Sweet Valley High book that I could convince my mom to buy. These books really fueled my love of writing (and possibly warped my views on fashion, but more on that later). So, at a tender school-age, I decided that I would become a writer.

My first attempts at writing as a kid always involved a group of four friends who were cool, popular and wore amazing clothes. What I never figured out was something sort of important: a plot. Which meant most of my stories ended after like four paragraphs.

Fast forward to high school and college. “Yeah, someday I’ll write a book,” continued to float in the back of my brain.

Finally, in the fall of 2005, I decided to just start writing. I still didn’t have one of those pesky things called a plot, but I yanked out a pad of paper and somewhere along the way, a great voice emerged. About a year later, I had a completed manuscript. Add another year onto the timeline, and I had an agent and a two-book deal.

My book, Was It Planned? is about a newly married couple and an unplanned pregnancy. It’s a hilarious take on the journey from happy hour to baby shower and all of the embarrassing, touching and shocking moments that come along with entering the world of Mom Jeans and minivans. It comes out from St. Martin’s imprint Thomas Dunne Books in summer 2009.

Shortly after I finished writing my book, karma laughed and I found myself unexpectedly pregnant. My husband suggested I tempt karma again and write a story about a married couple with a toddler living in Chicago who win fabulous riches in the lottery.

Yeah. I’ll get right on that.

Anyway, I’m thrilled to be a part of this new “grog.” My grog-mates all have fabulous books coming out and I cannot wait to read each and every one! The writing world is so full of heartbreak and soul-crushing that it’s amazing to find a little niche, a little community in the vast sea of publishing.

What else? Oh yes, I used to have a cat who was obsessed with Barbie clothes and lingerie, but that, my friends, is a story for another time.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Maureen! Nice post. I can't wait to read about the cat :) Oh yea, and your book too!

Tracy Madison said...

Maureen: Loved your post! And there's nothing to laugh at, I liked those shows too. Oh, do I remember the Sweet Valley High series...I think you can still buy them, lol.

Jillian Cantor said...

Teen Witch was my favorite movie!!!! My sister and I used to watch it over and over again. Wonder if it's out on dvd. . .

Carolyn McTighe said...

Excellent start. I was a Sweet Valley High fan too. I could never decide if I wanted to be like Elizabeth or Jessica (it's sad that I pulled those names out of my cluttered mind as quickly as I did.)Can't wait to read more!

Tracy Madison said...

Ha! Carolyn, I remembered one of the twins was Elizabeth, but I couldn't remember the other name. Thanks for filling in the blanks or it would have driven me crazy until I finally looked it up.

Maureen Lipinski said...

Ha ha! I often say the reason why nothing new fits into my brain is because it's too cluttered with quotes from movies like The Goonies.

Jess Riley said...

Maureen & all, what a great 'grog' you have here!

(Small Wonder!!! Oh, that made me laugh. I remember finding that show fascinating yet oddly repellant.)

Eileen said...

I am so excited for all your books! The site looks fantastic

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

I'm another Sweet Valley High reader! I didn't remember the names, but I do know which one I identified with. It wasn't the popular one. LOL

Lisa Patton said...

Maureen: Great Post! I loved hearing more about you! I'm hoping we get to meet soon, maybe at a St. Martin's Press fun party - perhaps!! Now wouldn't that be fun??

Lesley Livingston said...

Awesome post, fellow NG!

And - yeah. I'm now utterly intrigued over the cat-thing.

(And, Maureen, you may have The Goonies, but I have Ghostbusters. All of it.)