Rebecca Serle Latest News, Photos, and Videos

Do you have dreams of becoming a novelist? Aspiring Author 101 is a new feature on JustJaredJr.com where we dive into the nitty gritty of writing a novel with some of our favorite, successful YA authors.

First up is author Rebecca Serle – the brains behind the popular Famous in Love series – who also happens to write for the Freeform television adaptation of her book.

We talked with Rebecca about everything from where she writes, what books she recommends, and what advice she has for aspiring young novelists like you!

Be sure to pick up your copy of Famous in Love.

JJJ Aspiring Author 101 – Rebecca Serle

What’s one book everyone should read at some point? Stephen King‘s On Writing. It’s the best book on process that I’ve ever encountered. It’s the No. 1 piece of advice I give to someone who asks me for advice about writing. I also think it’s just a great life book. And because it’s Stephen King, it’s a page-turner.

One book you’ll never get tired of reading? Harry Potter. God knows how many times I’ve read Harry Potter (laughs).

Hardcover, paperback or digital copies? It’s different for different things. I’m a big memoir person and I love to read memoir. So Patti Smith’s memoir, Diane Keaton‘s memoir, I have all of those in hard cover. And most of them are signed, which is pretty cool. That’s the fun thing about living in New York. They all come to the Barnes and Noble in Union Square, so I get to go. Books like that I have in hard cover. I prefer to read in the flesh, but because I travel so much – I’m back and forth between New York and L.A. constantly – I do use my iPad a lot. I use everything. I get a lot of paperbacks [too].

Click inside to read the rest of our Q&A with Rebecca Serle… More Here! »

Rebecca Serle, the woman behind the Famous in Love novels, is also a writer on the highly-anticipated upcoming television adaptation.

In fact, she told us that she always planned to make a movie or TV show out of the idea.

“I was over at one of my really good friend’s house and I was flipping through this magazine,” Rebecca explained. “There was a photo of Katie Holmes and honestly, it may have with been Tom Cruise. She may have still been married. This was seven years ago. I was reminiscing with this friend about obsessed I was with [Dawson's Creek couple] Pacey and Joey, and them dating in real life, and their characters falling in love on screen – and sort of that dialogue between fiction and reality. And I just stopped, and looked at my friend, and we were both like, ‘That’s a book.’”

“It was always a dream of mine to create a show and contribute to this space,” she told us. “I was obsessed with teen content growing up. I grew up on shows like Dawson’s Creek and Roswell, and moved on to Gilmore Girls. I felt like those characters were really my friends in moments that were challenging in adolescence. I just think it’s really cool to create content for people who are becoming adults. It’s really fun. I remember when Alex died on Roswell, I was inconsolable. It felt like I had really lost a friend. Television is so intimate – you invite people into your home. They sit with you week after week after week. You’re so invested over the course of many years.”

So, Rebecca wrote the pilot script and gave it to Pretty Little Liars showrunner Marlene King, with whom she now works on the series.

“I was a fan of Pretty Little Liars and she’s obviously done really amazing things in that YA space,” Rebecca said. “It was super educational. Shes definitely a powerhouse. Pretty Little Liars has something like the biggest social media presence…it’s a total phenomenon. I think if we can have a tenth of the success that they’ve had in that space, we’d be very happy.”

Famous in Love premieres TONIGHT, April 18 @ 9/8c on Freeform.

In case you missed it, find out what Rebecca told us about the killer cast!

More Here! »

One of the hardest things to do when adapting a book into a television series has to be casting the right people for those beloved roles.

Famous in Love author Rebecca Serle, who also developed the series for Freeform, was very involved with choosing which actors would play which characters on the show.

“That was the hardest part for me, was casting,” Rebecca told us when we recently sat down with her. “It was really tough because at the time, I had lived with these characters for six years before anybody else really got involved, so it was hard for me to see other people as being them.”

She added, “Bella [Thorne] was different because we had sent Bella the book first and she loved it. And that was a year and a half before the book even came out. I had her in my head for a long time as Paige. So there’s no separation between Paige and Bella.”

“We ended up with such a great cast. We had amazing casting directors and there are so many people who are involved in the casting process,” Rebecca said. “I just feel really grateful. I don’t know how else it happened other than luck and having really great people involved.”

“When a character comes to life, they become more complicated,” she explained. “Just by the reality of breathing, and living, and talking, and walking, and moving. I think sometimes there were discrepancies where I’d be like “Whoa, whoa, wait.” But as soon as we had the cast at our first table read, I was like “Oh yeah, this is it.” It just felt good to me. They are all such good people and they get along with each other so well. It’s great.”

Click inside to find out what Rebecca told us about each castmember… More Here! »