Hey!

You made it to the end! It means the world to me that you did.

You don’t know how much sweat, blood, and tears went into outlining, writing, editing, and launching this book. But it’s been worth it.

I’m confident that it’s my best work to date, but as you’ll see in the Acknowledgements, I couldn’t have done it alone. You’re one of the people I have to thank. I wouldn’t be an author without readers who love my stories :)

So thank you for reading #TheRealCinderella. Truly.

What inspired this series?

I’ve always loved stories, whether they’re books or movies, about close-knit groups of girlfriends. A couple of my favorites are Pretty Little Liars and the Sisterhood of the Travelings Pants. I knew I wanted this new series to revolve around that same concept.

The girls would each be different, of course, with their own interests and unique personalities, but they would be best friends.

I just needed someone to bring them together :)

That someone ended up being Ms. Moreau, the school counselor at Westwood High. Ms. Moreau is inspired by my real-life friend and counselor, Anita Vera. She’s kind of quirky like Ms. Moreau and loves to dress up for St. Patrick’s Day, Dr. Seuss week, you name it. And like the counselor in the book, her passion is emotionally and academically guiding students. She also wears the coolest earrings!

If you’ve read the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books, you may have also noticed that there is a nod to the series in #TheRealCinderella. Ella wears the same pair of perfectly-fitting pants when she wins the science and technology competition and when she finally tells Jesse how she feels :)

Want to know more about what inspired the characters in this series?

Ella, Rey, Harper, Tori, and Lena were inspired by the girls in Pretty Little Liars, the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, A Cinderella Story, Gilmore Girls, and more.

Of course, there’s a little bit of me in each of them :)

Like Ella, I have stepsisters (but they’re not evil), and I enjoy math. I love to read and write like Rey. I love playing soccer and am super competitive like Lena. And I can be a little snarky and intimidating at first, like Tori. And growing up, I was the new girl in school like Harper.

Which character are you most like? Whose story do you want to read next?

I’d also love to hear what you thought of the #TheRealCinderella.

Email me your thoughts and questions at [email protected]. You can count on me to reply!

I’m working hard on book 2 of the #BestFriendsForever series. It’ll be available in late July of 2018.

To be the first to know when it releases, make sure you become a VIP reader ASAP!

Become a VIP Reader today and get access to all of your exclusive bonus content, including:

• the short story of how Baller929 and TheRealCinderella met (from Baller929’s point of view!)
• a never-before-seen Cinderella retelling short story I wrote in middle school
• a behind-the-scenes video diary of what it was like to write this book
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• plus fun updates & pictures of me and my kids you won’t find anywhere else

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If you enjoyed this book and would like to see more books from me, make sure to write a review (just a couple sentences is okay)!

Reviews help other readers find my books, so thank you in advance!

Once again, thank you for reading #TheRealCinderella! I’ll see you in the next book :)

Yesenia