About Jill Smolinski

             I’ve wanted to be a writer ever since I was invited to participate in a young author’s conference at age six because of a short story I wrote, “The Boy Who Ran Away.”  I got to miss a day of school and eat cookies. I believe there may have been a framed certificate involved. 
             Once you get a taste of that sort of glamour, it’s hard to give it up.
            So after serving as literary editor of my high school yearbook (Troy, Michigan), and editor-in-chief of my college yearbook (Central Michigan University), I took my Journalism degree, loaded up the Chevy Nova, and headed for Los Angeles.
            Since then, I’ve been on-staff at ‘TEEN magazine, and my articles have appeared in numerous women’s magazines. I’m also the author of nine non-fiction books on topics including origami, travel games and science fair projects. 
            Living in Los Angeles, its hard not to complain about the traffic and smog, and in 1990, I decided to do something about it and started working for a non-profit that promotes carpooling or riding the bus instead of driving alone.  Over the years, I’ve become somewhat of a “rideshare” expert—I can rattle off statistics and facts about carpooling in California so extensively and with such zeal that I’m rarely invited to dinner parties anymore.
            It remained my dream to write fiction, however, so I gave up this crazy thing we like to call sleep and starting setting my alarm for 5 a.m. so I could write before my son woke up—and sometimes before I woke up as well.
            My first novel, FLIP-FLOPPED, was published in 2002.  It tells the story of Keeley Baker-Kekuhi, a volcanologist whose life turns upside-down when she divorces her Hawaiian husband.  In addition to the U.S., it was published in the U.K., where it hit the best-seller list, and Germany (where it went by the title RENDEZVOUS UNDER THE VOLCANO).
            In 2004, a short story, “40 Days” was included in the anthology AMERICAN GIRLS ABOUT TOWN alongside some of my favorite authors including Jennifer Weiner, Adriana Trigiani and Laura Weisberger. 
            My newest novel, THE NEXT THING ON MY LIST, comes out April 10.  It’s about a woman doing a “things-to-do-before-I-die” list—taking on challenges in life and trying to put herself on a new course.  Rights have been sold in North America, France, Germany, Spain, Korea, Australia, Holland, Sweden and Brazil.
            Currently, I live in the Los Angeles area with my son Danny, who is now 14, and guinea pigs Joan and Scruffy, who prefer I don’t disclose their ages. The carpool gig is part-time now so I have time for my fiction writing and sleeping—plus I get to work out of my house.  I’m thrilled that I get to live the glamorous life I always dreamed of … something I think about every morning as I step over the laundry to get to the computer to start my day.