The Divas: The Inspiration that Keeps on Giving

As the spring book giveaway continues, it’s time to talk about our third book and first novel for teens, Introducing Vivien Leigh Reid: Daughter of the Diva.

In typical Collins-Rideout fashion, we decided to write this one on a whim. The short gap between our two adult novels felt teen-sized. And we knew we’d have no trouble capturing the voice of a fifteen-year-old girl. Why the confidence? Because Yvonne and I made a choice long ago to remain immature permanently.

That’s harder than you think.

Sure, it was easy enough when we met at 13 and 15. Then, we were immature without even trying. And believe me, it showed.

At the time, we were working at a public library in a Toronto suburb. I was initially suspicious of Yvonne because she was a cheerleader, and I dislike peppy people on principle. But she was hiding a cruel wit beneath her pom-poms and it wasn’t long before we were behaving so immaturely at work that the evil head librarian began scheduling us on separate shifts.

We credit this separation for launching our coauthor career because we wrote hilarious (at least, to us) notes and limericks and pinned them to the staff bulletin board. When asked to desist, we started putting unsuitable books “on hold” for patrons for the joy of watching the head librarian place the notification calls. (e.g., “Hello, Mr. Cox, it’s Mrs. Tanner at the library. We have A Woman’s Body on hold for you.”)

We reveled in our immaturity and expected it to last forever. Given our antics through high school and college, we had every reason to think it would. But eventually we graduated and got real jobs. I worked in government and Yvonne in a bank. The future of immaturity looked bleak.

Fortunately, we came to our senses quite soon and blew off those jobs for something more appropriate. Specifically, I handed out towels in a gym and Yvonne tended bar. We rented a house together downtown, and devoted an entire room to two bicycles and a cedar chest full of booze. We lived on Kraft Caramels and Smarties. Every so often, we’d host a massive party to give ourselves a reason to vacuum.

Those were good times—immature times—but they had to end. Nothing kills immaturity faster than an empty bank account. Besides, we were starting to hear complaints from the suburbs: “Aren’t you ever going to grow up?”

Bending to pressure, we downsized to a smaller place and got real jobs again. We worked long hours. We ate vegetables. We got pets, relationships, washing machines and car loans. In short, we grew up.

Then, one night, as were nodding off in front of the TV at 9:30, it struck us that we were old before our time. “We can’t give up that easily,” Yvonne said. “We have to fight this.”

The only solution was to make immaturity a priority in our lives. We had to commit.

“Politically Incorrect Thursdays” were an important first step. It meant staying up late and maybe having a drink and some caramels for old time’s sake. It meant saying outrageous things that we’d never dare think on regular weekdays. Who knew regressing could feel so good?

Rejuvenated, we took our act on the road, behaving immaturely in a number of locales, including several cities in Texas and right up the coast of California.

But vacations are easy. It’s the daily grind of responsibility that puts immaturity at risk.

That’s where the teen books come in. Writing one gives us a license to think like a teen for months at a time.

In Daughter of the Diva, Leigh Reid is quite a brat and we truly enjoyed slipping into her head. Sadly, by book three in the series, Leigh has become more mature than we are.

These days, we make it a point to surprise each other now and then with small acts of spontaneous immaturity. Just yesterday, I opened an e-mail from Yvonne to find she’d done unspeakable things with a hideous photo of me that I’d (stupidly) shared. It was iMac “art” worthy of the Immaturity Hall of Fame. Vanity prevents my sharing it here.

Anyway, here’s what Daughter of the Diva is about:

Leigh can think of a million ways she'd rather spend a summer besides visiting her movie-star mother, Annika. But her dad insists the two need some "mother/daughter bonding time" and packs fifteen-year-old Leigh off to Ireland, where she'll become her mom's personal assistant on the set of her latest film, Danny Boy. It could be worse. Annika may be a distant, self-absorbed diva, but Sean, her young co-star, is the hottest guy Leigh has ever met.

Things heat up when Leigh lands a bit part in the movie, and soon Leigh and Annika are sharing scenes, scripts—and the spotlight. With tensions rising on the set, Annika and Leigh must finally grow into their most demanding roles: mother and daughter.

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