Tia Williams, a 30-year-old Northern Virgina native graduated with a BA in English Lit in 1997, and moved to New York City after landing a plum editorial assistant position at Doubleday Books. After grouchily reading other people's manuscripts for a year, she realized that she was a frustrated writer. She went on to work her way up the mastheads of YM, Elle, Glamour and Lucky, and in only four years, landed the Beauty Director position at Teen People magazine, the industry's top selling teen magazine at newsstand. Check out our interview with Tia about her newest book, IT CHICKS!

What is IT CHICKS all about?

IT CHICKS is a series centered around a group of girls that go to a prestigious Manhattan performing arts high school.  There's a dancer, a singer, an actress, a rapper--and they're all from different socio-economic backgrounds.  And there's something in IT CHICKS for everyone...there's a fabulous love story, lots of intrigue, competitive drama, and hot boys.  I even wrote a coming-out story for one of the main characters!  I’m really so excited because IT CHICKS is the first of it's kind.  There's never been a sort of upscale, chick-lit "lite" teen series for multi-cultural girls.  And it’s also a guilty pleasure for grownups, too (anyone over 21 who’s obsessed with The Hills and Laguna Beach will love IT CHICKS!).

What inspired you to write this book?

My goal as a writer is always to come up with characters that young black girls can relate and look up to.  When I was a young teen, I loved reading Sweet Valley High and the Judy Blume books, but there were never any characters that looked like me.  I really just wanted to provide young black girls with a group of fabulous characters that they recognize.  And I came up with the performing arts school background because, as a child of the 80’s, I was obsessed with Fame!  Also, I speak a lot at inner city high schools, and when I ask what they’re reading, I either get street fiction like “Homo-Thugs,” or way-too-sexy-for-their-age Zane erotica.  Not that there isn’t a place for those categories, but I want girls of color to have a choice!

Do you see yourself in any of your characters?

I see myself in ALL my characters, even the boys!  For me, the only way to make my characters really come alive is to infuse them with at least one aspect of my personality.  But I think I’m most like Tangie, the main character—and not because she’s a brilliant hip-hop dancer (I’m so not).  She’s just not very comfortable in her skin yet, and the social aspects of high school give her major agita...I was the same way.

What are your favorite books?

I am totally schizophrenic when it comes to my favorite books!  But here are a few—THEIR EYES WERE WATCHING GOD by Zora Neale Hurston, SCRUPLES by Judith Krantz, WHAT SHE SAW by Lucinda Rosenfeld, and WUTHERING HEIGHTS by Emily Bronte. 

What's next for you?

Right now, I’m working on the second book in the IT CHICKS series...it’s going to be fabulous, one of the main characters lands her own “My Super Sweet 16” episode on MTV!  I have a beauty/style blog, “Shake Your Beauty,” that’s found a huge, international audience; and I cover beauty, fashion, and celebrity news on TV shows for In Touch Weekly.  And sometime next year, the follow-up to my first novel, THE ACCIDENTAL DIVA, will hit bookstores!