A decade from now, twenty-somethings will remember their teenage years for their first kiss, the prom date, getting their drivers’ license, and their collection of books by Melissa de la Cruz, young adult fiction author who has built a strong international teen following with her best-selling Au Pairs series.

Yes, Melissa de la Cruz is her real name. A child of the diaspora, Melissa was born in Manila, later moving to San Francisco with her family. There she finished as salutatorian at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, later going off to college as an art history and English major at the Columbia University.

Melissa published her first book, Cat’s Meow, in 2001, but it was the Au Pairs series, launched in 2004, that clicked among teenage and young adult readers.

The story follows the experiences of three girls with different backgrounds who go to the Hamptons for the summer and play au pair to a family. That summer’s experience forges a friendship that would last a lifetime.

In this interview with PinoyCentric, Melissa talks about getting published, her experiences as a young immigrant, and her father’s advice on making it big in America.

PinoyCentric: How does it feel to be a world-renowned author? When you started, how did international readers react to your being a Filipina author?
Melissa dela Cruz: I’m not really sure how to respond–being Filipino hasn’t really made an impact on my life as a writer. I made my novel debut as an “American First Novelist” and being Filipino is simply my background. International readers think of me as an American author.

The only people who are interested in my Filipino background are fellow Filipinos, who are very excited when they discover my heritage, and it’s very nice to have their support. A lot of Filipino girls write me to say I am an inspiration to them, and that makes me feel very happy. I am by no means a role model for anyone, but I’m glad that because I am a writer, they can dream of growing up to be writers too. When I was young, I didn’t know any Filipino authors.

You grew up in Manila, and went to San Francisco during high school. How did you cope with the culture shock?
It was very difficult. The culture shock was pretty high. Filipino teens grow up much slower and are a lot more sheltered than Americans. I felt dorky and left out of a lot of fun because my parents were very strict. I wrote about my experience as a young immigrant in my novel Fresh off the Boat.

What motivated you as a writer?
I am a very ambitious and competitive person, and I think my drive comes partly from being an immigrant and partly from my own intense nature. I like to win, and I also like to work very hard, and I feel lucky enough that I was able to take advantage of opportunities that came my way. I said yes to every writing assignment I’ve ever been given, and I was always open to new avenues.

I didn’t set out to write for teens, but when my publisher asked me if I’d like to try to do it, I said yes. Saying yes and keeping an open mind and always working on something new is a good way to live as an artist.

You worked for prestigious publications such as the New York Times, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, and Teen Vogue. Tell us about your experiences with these publications.
Publishing is a very hard business to crack, and I think one way to go about it is to make a name for yourself in a smaller venue, a smaller publication.

I launched my career as a writer for a free, alternative newspaper called The New York Press. I wrote fiery, scathing articles that caught a lot of people’s attention. I don’t think a lot of people know I started out as a very “angry” young writer. But a lot of people in publishing read our paper, and I got assignments from being such an opinionated writer. From them on, my clip file built, and once I published my first novel (Cat’s Meow, for adults) then a lot of the big magazines came calling.

To what do you owe your success?
I think for women one of the secrets to success is to meet your mate early in life and have your romantic life steady and stable so that you can concentrate on your career. I always knew I wanted it all—a career and a family, and I count myself really lucky that I met my husband when we were both very young—I was 25; he was 23. A few months after we met, I got published in the newspaper for the first time.

All the energy I used to focus on dating went into my career. I knew Mike was the guy for me two weeks after we started dating, and it just freed me up to focus on my writing. Plus he’s very supportive and I trust his judgment totally –he’s the only one who reads my manuscripts other than my editors.

Other than that, it’s really, just work hard, say yes, be smart about your business—know who the players are and familiarize yourself with the market. I also would say, cultivate your own voice, your point of view.

Will you be visiting the Philippines soon? What do you miss about the Pinoy life?
I’m hoping to visit either this December or next December. I would like my husband and daughter to see the country.

I miss the slower pace of it—the pleasures Filipinos take in friends, in eating, in being with family. I try to listen to my Filipino side a little more. The American way is the workaholic way, and that can be brutal and not very happy-making sometimes. Whereas Filipinos are a happy and relaxed people who realize there are more things in life other than just work.

This one’s hypothetical. If you are to write something about the Philippines, what would it be?
It’s always been a dream of mine to write a nineteenth-century novel about the Philippines. Sort of like Edith Wharton but set in Manila. I started this project a long time ago but I abandoned it out of having too much other work to do. I’d love to write a very glamorous, very scandalous, fun and sexy novel about Manila, whether it’s set in the nineteenth century or the present, we’ll see. But I think Manila is such a cosmopolitan city with lots of fun stories to tell, and I hope one day to be able to bring one to life!

What advice can you give to Filipino immigrants/workers on succeeding abroad?
My dad always said for an immigrant to succeed, we had to be twice as good as anyone else, because you’re already at a disadvantage. So you can’t be just as good as the person next to you. You have to be two times, three times as good. I think it’s a pretty fair assessment–and no one should be scared of working hard. Especially in the US, hard work is rewarded.

Last words for aspiring Filipino writers?
Keep writing, keep working, don’t give up! If you give up, you never get there.

Visit Melissa de la Cruz’s official Website
Special thanks to Christina Green
With Marge Gonzales