Melissa de la Cruz is a New York Times bestselling Filipina-American author known for her work in young adult fiction. She has written several series of young adult novels, including the Au Pair series and the Blue Bloods series, and a contemporary fiction series following The Beauchamp Family, as well as a number of stand-alone novels.
Early life and education
Melissa de la Cruz was born in Manila, Philippines and says that she has wanted to be an author since she was eleven years old. She immigrated to the United States with her family when she was 13, in 1985. The family settled in San Francisco, where she graduated from Convent of the Sacred Heart High School. She went on to study art history and English at Columbia University in New York City. After graduation, she worked as a computer consultant.
She wrote her first full-length novel at 22 while living in New York City and working at Bankers Trust. The novel ultimately didn't sell, but she received a suggestion by an editor at Little, Brown to try becoming a journalist to work on her professional writing credits and started working freelance. She published her first essay in New York Press in 1996 and worked as a beauty and fashion editor up until she sold her first novel, The Cat's Meow, in 1998. De la Cruz has published articles with The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, Teen Vogue, and Harper's Magazine. After her first novel's publication in 2001, she started pursuing writing full-time, after getting laid off from the U.S. investment bankMorgan Stanley. Her work as a fashion writer for Marie Claire was the inspiration for How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less which she co-authored with Karen Robinovitz. Her work as a nanny and her visits to The Hamptons formed the background for the book series The Au Pairs. With the first published in 2015, she has also written the original novels for Disney's Descendants franchise.
Series
Au Pairs – The first book in this series about three girls working as au pairs in The Hamptons, The Au Pairs, was published in 2004
Blue Bloods – A vampire novel series, with the first novel, Blue Bloods, published in March 2006
The Ashleys – The first book in a series about girls who attend an exclusive preparatory school, The Ashleys: There's a New Name in School, was published in 2008.
The Beauchamp Family - The first book in a series about a family of witches, Witches of East End, was released in June 2011. It was adapted into a television series by Lifetime in 2013, with the show lasting two seasons before it was cancelled.
Wolf Pact - This spin-off from the Blue Bloods series was released from September to December 2012 as four short e-books. It was later published in paperback.
Heart of Dread - The first novel Frozen, co-written with her husband Michael Johnston, was released on September 17, 2013
The Ring & the Crown - A historical fiction series about five young adults embroiled in love, politics, and magic during a London coming-of-age season.
Alex & Eliza - A historical fiction young adult series following the romance between American founding father Alexander Hamilton and his wife Elizabeth Schuyler.
