Meg Cabot, the number one New York Times bestselling author of recent hits "The Princess Diaries," has another book about to hit the shelves. "Size 14 Is Not Fat Either" follows the character of Heather Wells, an assistant resident hall director at New York College, first introduced in "Size 12 Is Not Fat."
Unlike her other books, written for young adults and sometimes referred to as "chick lit," this new series is geared more toward college-age and above. Drawing on her own experiences as an assistant manager at a New York University dormitory, Cabot addresses many of the issues and experiences facing college students today.
Cabot spoke about her fascination with the college lifestyle, the students who live it and the joy she finds in writing about it.
"Being a college student is such a fun time in life," she said.
One of the things Cabot said she loved most about her job at NYU was watching the students grow and discover themselves.
"They are such an enthusiastic, open-minded age group that I really enjoy writing about," she said.
"Size 14 Is Not Fat Either" is a departure from earlier juvenile romance novels penned by Cabot. It follows a slightly-older-than-usual and imperfect heroine as she is thrown into the midst of a murder investigation of a dorm resident. The occurrences in Cabot's book are meant to help college students find their way in life.
"The time period where you are just getting ready to finish college and trying to find out what you want to do is traumatizing. I wanted to write books that people going through that can relate to," Cabot said.
The book touches on a variety of issues seen on college campuses all across the country. Cabot addresses the antics of fraternities and sororities, both good and bad, the self-image problems faced by college students, especially girls, and of course the trials of love.
The events that take place in the book are based on real-life experiences with the exception of the murder, Cabot is quick to reassure.
"I saved all my files from when I was working in the dorm, which is probably illegal," Cabot said. "But I did it anyway!"
Almost all of the characters are also based on people that Cabot at one time worked with.
"I don't like to name names because I don't want to get sued," she said. "So far I've been able to disguise everybody well enough that they can't recognize themselves."
While the fact that Cabot knew a great deal about her topic of choice made it easier to write this latest book, she had some advice for any aspiring writers.
"You're going to get rejected so many times. I got rejected probably 17 times for 'The Princess Diaries.' ... You just have to develop a tough skin, but be open to advice," she said.
"Be true to yourself, and you will do fine. You are not a one hundred dollar bill - not everyone is going to like you"
