When my agent, Sarah Davies, signed me, all I had was a rough draft of Princess for Hire. And an impact Desi makes, one royal fiasco at a time.Ĭould you describe both your pre-and-post contract revision process? What did you learn along the way? How did you feel at each stage? What advice do you have for other writers on the subject of revision?

In this hilarious, winning debut, one girl’s dream of glamour transforms into something bigger: the desire to make a positive impact. 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? Well, Desi soon discovers that subbing involves a lot more than wearing a tiara and waving at cameras. 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!įor 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.Īs 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. I hug the planner to my chest and slowly brush the leather.Lindsey Leavitt is the first-time author of Princess for Hire (Hyperion, 2010). That thirty or so minutes of faint inebriation had nothing on this feeling. Not that I have much experience with buzzes, especially of the chemical variety, but my brother did double-dose me on NyQuil once when I was eleven. Nothing creates a buzz like an Executive Deluxe day planner.

For more information about the festival, visit. Saturday during the young adult sessions at the Vegas Valley Book Festival at the Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. Leavitt is scheduled to join authors Jay Asher, Heather Davis, Cat Patrick and Suzanne Young in a panel discussion moderated by Daisy Whitney titled “Blending Realistic Fiction With Fantasy” at 12:25 p.m. The former elementary school teacher is the author of the Princess for Hire series and “Sean Griswold’s Head.” Unlike many authors who write for young adults, Leavitt said she loved being a teen, and growing up in Las Vegas she got involved in “sports, theater, student council, honor society… yeah, I was that hyper girl you wanted to dial down. Sometimes exclusively, sometimes simultaneously,” Las Vegas resident Lindsey Leavitt writes on her website. “I write books, chase kids and eat cookies.

Princess for Hire by Lindsey Leavitt