The Housewife Reads…

BIG BONED, #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot’s third mystery featuring intrepid amateur sleuth Heather Wells, a former teen singing sensation-turned- assistant residence hall director. After solving two murders at New York College’s “Death Dorm” (a.k.a. Fischer Hall), Heather wants to focus her honed-and-toned (well, more honed-and-toned than her posterior in yoga pants, at least) investigative skills on undercover affairs with her new love interest (and remedial math instructor), Tad Tocco. The relationship is highly illicit – like stolen Dove bars illicit – as teachers and students aren’t allowed to date. Although she’ll never admit it, Heather is really hoping that her longtime crush/upstairs neighbor/good friend (not to mention brother of her slimy singing star ex-boyfriend) Cooper will totally regret telling Heather he doesn’t want to be her rebound guy.

Before the crime scene tape is even applied, Heather is swept into a public relations maelstrom, thrown to the media hounds by the university’s new crisis control manager, the blonde, big-haired steel magnolia Muffy Fowler. Heather’s promised both Cooper and the detective in charge of the case that she won’t get involved. Between dodging giant inflatable rats, avoiding union rallies, venturing into the wilds of suburbia to bail out students from local jails, and skirting proposals from both Tad and her father (who wants her to star in a new children’s musical series – kind of like Barney…but cuter, with an edge), one might think she hasn’t got time to meddle in a murder investigation. But Heather has an insatiable appetite for trouble – and this time, she just might be jumping out of the frying pan and straight into the line of fire.

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Heather Wells’ adventures at New York College are, in part, based upon your own experiences working at NYU. What’s the most outlandish situation you ever had to face as an assistant dorm director?
It would have to be the time someone walked into my office and told me there was a brain on the elevator. And there was…a cow brain. It took the New York City coroner’s office to determine it wasn’t a human brain, though. And we had to shut down the elevator for seven hours and rope it off as a crime scene until we knew for sure.

Is there something about college life that still calls to you?
I think college kids are great, because they’re at that age where they’re still exploring who they are and what they want out of life. They aren’t set in their ways yet, because they don’t know what their ways are! There’s something great about that, and I loved working with kids that age. Every day was different, and I never, ever was bored at work.

How much inspiration do you draw from tabloid tales of fallen teen idols in crafting these wild and witty Heather Wells mysteries?
Well, I have to say, these days, not much. Heather is definitely the anti-celebrity. About the only thing she has in common in with some of her rock ‘n roll peers is a tendency to get a little rounder as she ages. She definitely won’t be shaving her head or checking into Promises any time soon.

What feedback have you received from readers “graduating up” to the Heather Wells and Queen of Babble books?
Quite a lot. So many readers–but by no means not all–of these books started out reading The Princess Diaries and Mediator books, and have graduated to my adult books (although all of them swear they’re still reading the YA books too). Strangely, lot of the adult readers who started on these books also tell me they’ve started reading the YAs as well….

Your two adult series, featuring Heather Wells and Lizzie Nichols, show the heroines heading towards the wedding aisle…any reason you’re getting all matrimonial on us?
Well, it’s a natural progression for these ladies. I think the only real question is which of the many guys in their lives are they going to marry (if any). For some them, THAT is the real mystery.

Please say we’ll see more of Heather? It seems like she’s got at least one more adventure in her before she ties the knot…
Who knows? I certainly don’t think the murder rate in Manhattan is going to go down anytime soon. And as long as there is crime in Fischer Hall, Heather is going to be on it.

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