Melissa de la Cruz (born September 7, 1971) is a Filipina-American writer known for young adult fiction. Her young-adult series include Au Pairs, the Blue Bloods, and The Beauchamp Family.
Early life and education
Melissa de la Cruz was born in Manila, Philippines and says that she has wanted to be an author since she was eleven years old.[1]
De la Cruz is married to Michael Johnston, another writer,[6][7] with whom she co-wrote the Heart of Dread series.[2]
They and their daughter live in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, California.[8][9]
Career
De La Cruz wrote her first full-length novel at 22 while living in New York City and working at Bankers Trust.[5] That novel ultimately did not sell, but an editor at Little, Brown suggested she become a journalist to work on her professional writing credits.[1][5] She started working freelance and published her first essay in New York Press in 1996. She also worked as a beauty and fashion editor until she sold her debut novel, The Cat's Meow, in 1998.[1][5] De la Cruz has published articles in periodicals including The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, Teen Vogue, and Harper's Magazine.[10] After publication of her debut novel in 2001, and layoff from the U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley, she pursued writing full-time.[5]
Work as a fashion writer for Marie Claire was the inspiration for How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less (2003) by de la Cruz and Karen Robinovitz.[11]
Work as a nanny and visits to The Hamptons formed the background for the 2004 to 2007 series The Au Pairs.[12] De la Cruz has also written original novels for Disney's Descendants franchise, with the first published in 2015.
Series
Au Pairs – featuring three girls working as au pairs in The Hamptons, inaugurated 2004 with The Au Pairs
Wolf Pact – spin-off from Blue Bloods, released September to December 2012 as four short ebooks
Heart of Dread – co-written with her husband Michael Johnston, inaugurated 2013 with Frozen[15]
The Ring and the Crown – historical fiction about five young adults embroiled in love, politics, and magic during a London coming-of-age season[when?]
Alex and Eliza – historical fiction following the 18th-century romance between American founding father Alexander Hamilton and his wife Elizabeth Schuyler, from 2017
29 – contemporary fiction featuring a South Korean teen and her path to finding love, from 2019
Never After – inaugurated 2020 with The Thirteenth Fairy[16]
The Queen's Assassin – inaugurated 2020 with The Queen's Assassin[17]
Works
Au Pairs
The Au Pairs (2004)
Skinny Dipping (2005)
Sun-Kissed (2006)
Crazy Hot (2007)
The Ashleys
There's a New Name in School ... (2008)
Jealous? You Know You Are ... (2008)
Birthday Vicious (2008)
Lipgloss Jungle (2008)
Heart of Dread[18] De la Cruz and her husband Michael Johnston wrote the Heart of Dread trilogy together.
Disney Descendants[20] The Isle of the Lost novels are one series of print books in the Descendants franchise inaugurated by the 2015 Disney musical fantasy TV film Descendants
Wolf Pact was first published October to December 2012 as four ebooks entitled Wolf Pact: Part One of Four and so on, followed by a paperback first edition of the whole.[23]
Wolf Pact (2012)
The New Blue Bloods Coven
Vampires of Manhattan (2014)
White Nights (2017)
Stand-alone novels
Cat's Meow (2001)
How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less (2003), by de la Cruz and Karen Robinovitz
The Fashionista Files: Adventures in Four-Inch Heels and Faux Pas (2004)[24]
