Ferraro, Tina (Christina Ferraro)

PERSONAL:

Born in Los Angeles, CA; married; children: three. Education: Attended the University of California at Los Angeles. Hobbies and other interests: Reading, movies, travel, drinking lattes, and getting to know her readers.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Southern CA.

CAREER:

Writer. Co-coordinator, Daphne Du Maurier Award of Excellence contest.

MEMBER:

Romance Writers of America (Kiss of Death chapter).

WRITINGS:

YOUNG ADULT NOVELS

Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 2006.

How to Hook a Hottie, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 2008.

SIDELIGHTS:

Tina Ferraro first exhibited an interest in creative writing as a child, but she was shocked when her teacher informed her mother that she had a talent for it because she considered writing something she did just for her own entertainment. She spent her free time writing stories in notebooks. They were frequently tales about the ups and downs of the relationship between her Barbie and Ken dolls. Also a competitive swimmer, she eventually gave up the sport, but her interest in writing remained. As an adult, Ferraro married and began a family, but eventually she pulled out a notebook and tried her hand at writing once again. Ferraro enrolled in creative writing classes at the University of California at Los Angeles. She started to submit stories to the romance magazines she had enjoyed reading as a teenager, and the second story she submitted was accepted. Encouraged, she kept writing for the publications, but also began penning longer works. Joining the Romance Writers of America, which provided her with a support network, she began to learn the ins and outs of the publishing process.

In 2006 Ferraro published her first novel, a romantic book for young adult readers titled Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress. It features Nicolette Antonovich, who was dumped by her date just two days before the prom during her sophomore year. As a result, she still has the dress she had planned to wear but never did. The next year, older and wiser, she is preoccupied with an entirely new set of worries. The bank is threatening to foreclose on the family house, and her father is off with his new family that includes a new daughter. Nic has issues with her best friend and her best friend's brother, as well as lingering feelings for the boy who dumped her the year before. These problems are just the tip of the iceberg. Feeling overwhelmed, Nic tries to figure out what to do with the prom dress still taunting her from the closet. Many critics enjoyed the book, though some found Nicolette to be a bit unrealistic. Amanda MacGregor, in a review for Kliatt, commented that "Nic is a likeable, well-written character, but she is often frustratingly naïve." School Library Journal contributor Emily Garrett praised Ferraro's debut for its "interesting plot, funny dialogue and situations, and an engaging lead character."

How to Hook a Hottie, another book for teen readers, is Ferraro's follow-up offering. Heroine Kate Delvecchio is an entrepreneur in the making; she is convinced college will only stand in the way of her aspirations, however. Her parents agree to give her control of her college fund as investment money, but only if she can raise five thousand dollars on her own before high school graduation. Kate is still searching for a way to raise the money when she finds herself making a date for the annual sports banquet with the school's hottest guy. Suddenly, people are throwing money at her in an effort to hire her dating advice, and it looks like Kate's financial problems are at an end until more complications ensue.