Get to know Daisy…

Daisy Whitney is a new-media producer, a reporter, and an internationally known web show creator, and The Mockingbirds is her debut novel. She graduated from Brown University and lives in San Francisco, California, with her fabulous husband, fantastic kids, and adorable dog. Daisy believes in shoes, chocolate chip cookies, and karma. The Rivals, the sequel to The Mockingbirds, is available now in bookstores. Her third novel, When You Were Here, is a standalone YA and will release in Spring 2013. To learn more about her books, visit her website.

Let the conversation begin!

Describe your writing journey, from aspiring writer to published author.

More than 100 rejections from agents, more than 48 rejections for first three books, two and a half years of being agented, finally sold a book!

What do you miss most about being a kid?

The way they don’t worry if they look silly while dancing. The way they eat sweets without thinking about calories. The way they want to run around all day long. 

If you could throw any kind of party, what would it be like? 

Karaoke of Broadway show tunes! 

If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do?

Put aside money for my kids’ college, then take my family to Paris!

If you could only write one more book, what would it be about?

It would be about love.

What is your favorite quote? 

“To riding your bike midday past the three-piece suits,” from Rent. I love it because it typifies the kind of freedom I want to have in my job. 

What advice would you give to new writers?

Be tenacious and gracious. 

What do you consider to the most valuable thing you own?

Good health. 

Best writing advice you’ve ever received?

A newspaper editor once told me I would never making a living as a freelance writer. Nothing ever motivated me more to make a living as a freelance writer and I have – for more than 15 years. 

What element would you add to your writing space if money wasn’t an issue? 

A butler. 

How long do you take to write a book?

As long as the book needs. I wrote the draft of one novel in 21 days. For another novel it took me more than two years to get it where I want it. 

If this was your last day on earth, what would you do?

Spend it with my kids, doing whatever they want. 

What initially drew you to writing?

I believe in the suspension of disbelief.