Ivy Hopper is a teen columnist who talks with authors and fans of books that are currently being read by today’s youth.

This week I sat down with author Pamela Wells.

Pamela Wells wrote The Heartbreakers and The Crushes.

The Heartbreakers is soon to be a movie called “Rules of Dating for Teenage Girls.” The sequel, The Crushes, just came out in paperback this month.

Four Friends.

Alexia, Raven, Kelly and Sydney have always been there for each other, through breakups and heartaches, good times and bad. But during one summer, their friendship will be tested in ways they never imagined.

Three Boyfriends.

Sydney and Drew are back to­gether, but there’s some trouble in paradise. Raven loves Hor­ace but isn’t sure she’ll be able to remember that. Alexia and Ben are stronger than ever except for that one decision she can’t make.

Forty One Rules.

As Kelly is the only single one in the group, the girls cre­ate a list of rules for her, all about how to turn a crush into something more. But soon, all the girls are using the rules and creating problems in their relationships as they develop crushes on guys that are off-limits.

And Kelly starts crushing on the one person she can’t have.

Here is what author Pamela Wells had to say to me:

Ivy: What first got you in­terested in writing?

Pamela: I became inter­ested in writing when I was in the ninth grade. I had to keep a journal that we had to turn in at the end of the school year. It was there that I dis­covered that I had a voice and a love for creating characters for people to read about.

Ivy: What kind of impact do you hope your books will have on readers?

Pamela: I hope that my books will empower girls in their lives.

Ivy: Why did you write a sequel to The Heartbreakers?

Pamela: I wanted to write a rules book on how to turn a crush into a boyfriend.

Ivy: How did you come up with the idea for The Heart­breakers?

Pamela: I went through a bad breakup when I was in college. Breakups have al­ways been hard for me. I feel very deeply and as a result of that I tend to get really sad when I’m about to sepa­rate from some­one. The end just seems so final to me. Since I was studying psychol­ogy, I knew that crying and beg­ging a guy back that didn’t want you anymore was emotional suicide. My friends were sick of hearing about my breakup so I decided to write a story about what I was feeling and going through.

I created the breakup code. I followed my own breakup code to help me get over my Ex.

I figured there must be oth­er girls going through what I was going through so I de­cided to write a book about surviving a breakup while empowering yourself as you get over it.

Ivy: Do you research your settings and characters?

Pamela: Yes. I came up with Birch Falls, Connecticut because I love the east coast.

Ivy: Are your characters based on people you know or have known in real life?

Pamela: Yes. All the char­acters are fictional. I use a few traits of someone from real life.

I had a friend in high school that loved this guy and the ground that he walked upon.

He liked her, but she loved him.

I was a good friend of this guy and a good friend of this girl. She would have me get on the phone with the two of them so that they could just talk so I got to see how much she liked him but his feelings were not as strong for her.

I created Kelly as a girl that was into a guy that wasn’t re­ally that into her.

I based Sydney and Kelly off of me with my friend.

Off page, prior to the book opening, Sydney uses Kelly to get Drew to notice her. My friend did this with a good friend of mine in high school. She used me to get close to my friend because she had a crush on him.

I take situations from my life and exaggerate them to fit into a fictional novel that I hope my readers will enjoy.

Ivy: Why did you decide to use many narrators to tell your story?

Pamela: I wanted to cre­ate a book about four different girls but I also wanted these four girls to be going through the same thing. I wanted to show that even though the girls are different the pain is the same when you break up with someone.

Find out what else Pamela had to say by going to www. cvweekly.com and click on the Meet Ivy Hopper tab.

ivy.hopper@gmail.com