LAS MUSAS BOOK BIRTHDAY - 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT PROM

Today we celebrate the book birthday of 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT PROM, by Elle Gonzalez Rose, illustrated by Rebeca Alvarez. We sat down with Musa Elle Gonzalez Rose to learn more about the inspiration behind this book.

10 Things I Hate About Prom is a young adult rom-com that follows Ivelisse Santos, a wallflower who's senior year takes an unexpected turn when her best friend, Joaquin, enlists her help in pulling off the perfect promposal for the most popular girl at their school.

When Ivelisse begins sabotaging Joaquin's promposal attempts to save him from having his heart broken, she tells herself it's just because she doesn't want to see her best friend get hurt. But as her sabotage begins to get out of hand, she starts to realize her feelings for Joaquin might not be just platonic.​

Read more after the jump...

What was the most difficult scene to write in this story? 

This isn’t a specific scene, but one of the most challenging parts of writing this story was definitely learning to write about multiple teenagers being messy (as teenagers are, haha), and how they address the way they’ve hurt those around them. This story takes place during senior year, so the characters are dealing with a lot of huge changes in their lives, and with that comes lots of different big emotions. I really wanted to make sure that, when they let those emotions take over and do things that hurt their loved ones, that they acknowledge their mistakes and do the work to show that they’ve grown from the experience. Which was definitely more difficult to convey than I originally thought!

What 3 words would you use to describe your book?
Fun, romantic, and nostalgic!

What was your favorite part of the publication process with this story?
Getting to write a story about the senior year experience! Throughout the editing process for this story I was encouraged to feature more of the nostalgic milestones from senior year outside of just prom–like senior Skip Day, pep rallies, and spirit week. I had the best time revisiting the most fun moments from my own senior year, as well as getting to explore some of the traditions my school didn’t have - which was so much fun to research!

What comes next for you as an author?

I’m taking a turn genre-wise with my next release, which is a YA dark academia thriller! The Girl You Know follows a girl who disguises herself as her twin sister to infiltrate the elite boarding school she attended, and find her sister’s killer. It’ll be releasing in Winter 2025 from Bloomsbury, and then I’ll be back to my YA romcom roots for my next release with Joy Revolution in Summer 2025. Marisol Acts the Part is a sapphic Latine rom-com that’s heavily inspired by Legally Blonde!

What 3 recommendations would you give writers who are starting out?

1. Done is better than perfect! I know it’s a cliche saying, but it really is so true. Getting the words down on the page has always been the hardest part of the process for me, and even if my first drafts are messy and don’t make any sense, at least I have something tangible to work with and polish into something I’m proud of. 
2. Write what you love! You’re going to spend so much time working on a story across your publication journey. Revisions can wear you down, and it’s totally normal to fall in and out of love with your project, but so long as you still have that passion for the story you’re telling, it’ll make the hard work of polishing it that much easier to get through.
3. Read in your genre! Yet another cliche, but still so true! When I first set out to write my debut, I wasn’t super well-read in more recent YA, especially rom-coms, and had a really difficult time learning how to craft a story that would fit into the traditional publishing market. Plotting has become so much easier for me now that I’ve dedicated a good chunk of my creative energy to reading recent releases. While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all formula for plotting your novel, having recent references in the genres I’m writing in has been incredibly helpful in knowing what beats I should hit in my own stories!

Photo credit: Kristen Pierce

​Elle Gonzalez Rose is a producer and author from New York who’s better at writing love stories about short, queer Latinas than she is at writing bios. Her dog thinks she’s okay. She's the author of Caught in a Bad Fauxmance and 10 Things I Hate About Prom--Elle, not the dog.

Twitter: @egonzalezrose
Instagram: ellegonzalezrose​

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