Danielle Joseph talks about what it’s like to have her young adult novel, SHRINKING VIOLET, become a Disney movie

The Disney title for Danielle Joseph’s YA novel, SHRINKING VIOLET, will be RADIO REBEL and is scheduled to air on cable in early 2012. We will keep you posted when we hear more about the air date. In the meantime, we thought you’d like to hear how the author feels about her book turning into a movie. Here’s what she has to say:

“When I set out to write SHRINKING VIOLET my dream was to get it published. I was so pleased after I had done some revisions for my agent that she deemed it ready to go out into the publishing world. I was even more pleased when MTV Pocket Books made an offer to buy the book. Becoming an author did not happen overnight. I have wanted to be an author ever since I wrote my first book in first grade. So I worked hard to get my book published—I received a BFA in Creative Writing, worked in copywriting and taught middle school Language Arts for several years. Then after my first son was born, I joined a critique group and eventually signed on with my agent.

“A month before SHRINKING VIOLET was due to be released, I was told that there was interest from A Disney TV movie producer. I was super excited by this news but also guarded because I had heard that among the many movies that were optioned, only a few were produced. So when my option first expired, I thought well, it was nice while it lasted. But then six months later, the option was renewed and that’s when I knew things were serious.

“However, it really didn’t feel real to me until I visited the Vancouver set with my family this past August. The cast and crew were amazing. I was especially happy that they had picked Debby Ryan to play Tere. My kids and I loved Debby on SUITE LIFE ON DECK on the Disney Channel, but there is much more to Debby than you see on TV. Debby is as real as they come. She is one of those rare gems and fits the role of Tere perfectly. She really understands where Tere is coming from and that shines through in her acting. The rest of the cast that I met on my visit were also wonderful. Often readers write me and say they would like to meet a Gavin. Well, Adam DiMarco is a perfect Gavin, on and off set!

“The coolest thing is that SHRINKING VIOLET is about going for your dreams no matter what obstacles might stand in your way. Tere Adams is painfully shy but dreams of being an on-air DJ. She must get past her own fears and her mother’s disbelief in order to reach her dreams

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“It is amazing to see SHRINKING VIOLET on the bookshelves and I feel very blessed that I will soon see it on the TV screen too. Having my characters actually come to life is most certainly a dream come true.”