Melissa de la Cruz facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Melissa de la Cruz
At the 2013 LATimes Festival of Books
Born	(1971-09-07) September 7, 1971 (age 53) Manila, Philippines
Occupation	Writer
Language	English
Nationality	American
Alma mater	Columbia University
Genre	Young adult fiction
Years active	1996–present
Notable works	Blue Bloods, Witches of East End
Spouse	Michael Johnston
Children	1

Melissa de la Cruz is a popular American writer born on September 7, 1971. She is famous for her exciting books for young adults, often called YA fiction. Some of her well-known series are Blue Bloods, Au Pairs, and The Beauchamp Family.

Early Life and School

Melissa de la Cruz was born in Manila, Philippines. She has said that she wanted to be an author ever since she was eleven years old.

When she was 13, in 1985, her family moved to the United States. They settled in San Francisco, where she finished high school at Convent of the Sacred Heart High School. Later, she studied art history and English at Columbia University in New York City. After college, she worked as a computer consultant for a while.

Her Family Life

Melissa de la Cruz is married to Michael Johnston, who is also a writer. They even wrote the Heart of Dread series together!

Melissa, Michael, and their daughter live in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, California.

Becoming a Writer

Melissa de la Cruz wrote her first full-length novel when she was 22. At that time, she was living in New York City and working at a bank. That first book didn't get published, but an editor suggested she try journalism to gain more writing experience.

She started working as a freelance writer and published her first essay in New York Press in 1996. She also worked as a beauty and fashion editor. In 1998, she sold her first published novel, The Cat's Meow. After her first book came out in 2001, she decided to become a full-time writer.

Her experience as a fashion writer for Marie Claire magazine helped inspire her book How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less (2003). She wrote this book with Karen Robinovitz.

Melissa de la Cruz also worked as a nanny and visited The Hamptons. These experiences became the background for her Au Pairs series, which started in 2004. She has also written original books for Disney's Descendants movies, with the first one published in 2015.

Book Series by Melissa de la Cruz

• Au Pairs – This series is about three girls who work as au pairs (nannies) in The Hamptons. The first book, The Au Pairs, came out in 2004.
• Blue Bloods – A popular vampire novel series that began in 2006 with the book Blue Bloods.
• The Ashleys – This series features girls who go to a fancy prep school. It started in 2008 with The Ashleys: There's a New Name in School.
• The Beauchamp Family – This series is about a family of witches who live in the same world as the Blue Bloods books. It began in 2011 with Witches of East End, which was later made into a TV show.
• Wolf Pact – A spin-off series from the Blue Bloods universe. It was first released as four short ebooks in 2012.
• Heart of Dread – Melissa de la Cruz wrote this series with her husband, Michael Johnston. It started in 2013 with Frozen.
• The Ring and the Crown – A historical fiction series about five young adults dealing with love, politics, and magic in London.
• Alex and Eliza – This historical fiction series tells the love story of Alexander Hamilton and Elizabeth Schuyler from the 1700s. It started in 2017.
• 29 – A modern story about a South Korean teenager looking for love. This series began in 2019.
• Never After – This series started in 2020 with The Thirteenth Fairy.
• The Queen's Assassin – This series began in 2020 with The Queen's Assassin.

Her Books

Short Stories

• Mistletoe (2006) – a collection of stories where she was a contributing author
• "Shelter Island", in 666: The Number of the Beast (2007), a collection
• 21 Proms (2007), a collection of stories by de la Cruz
• "A Manhattan Love Story", in Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys (2007), a collection
• "Shelter Island", in The Eternal Kiss (2009), a collection
• "Code of Honor", in A Thousand Beginnings and Endings (2018), a collection edited by Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman

See also

In Spanish: Melissa de la Cruz para niños