Cathy Hopkins (1953–) Biography

(C.M. Hopkins, Cathy M. Hopkins)

Personal

Born 1953, in Manchester, England; Education: Attended art college; received degree in comparative religion.

Addresses

Agent—c/o Author Mail, Piccadilly Press Ltd., 5 Castle Rd., Kentish Town, London NW1 8PR, England.

Career

Writer, 1987–. Worked previously as a rock-and-roll singer with Driving Rock and the Rockettes, as an occupational therapist in a mental hospital, as a teacher of meditation, as an aromatherapist, as a comedy-script reader for the BBC, and as a newspaper reviewer.

Writings

"MATES, DATES" SERIES

Mates, Dates, and Inflatable Bras (also see below), Piccadilly (London, England), 2001, Simon Pulse (New York, NY), 2003.

Mates, Dates, and Cosmic Kisses (also see below), Piccadilly (London, England), 2001, Simon Pulse (New York, NY), 2003.

Mates, Dates, and Portobello Princesses (also see below), Piccadilly (London, England), 2001, published as Mates, Dates, and Designer Divas, Simon Pulse (New York, NY), 2003.

Mates, Dates, and Sleepover Secrets (also see below), Piccadilly (London, England), 2002, Simon Pulse (New York, NY), 2003.

Mates, Dates, and Sole Survivors, Piccadilly (London, England), 2002, Simon Pulse (New York, NY), 2004.

Mates, Dates, and Mad Mistakes, Piccadilly (London, England), 2003, Simon Pulse (New York, NY), 2004.

Mates, Dates, and Pulling Power, Piccadilly (London, England), 2003, published as Mates, Dates, and Sequin Smiles, Simon Pulse (New York, NY), 2004.

Mates, Dates, and Tempting Trouble, Piccadilly (London, England), 2004, Simon Pulse (New York, NY), 2005.

Mates, Dates, and Great Escapes, Piccadilly (London, England), 2004, Simon Pulse (New York, NY), 2005.

Mates, Dates, and Chocolate Cheats, Piccadilly (London, England), 2005, Simon Pulse (New York, NY), 2006.

Mates, Dates, and Diamond Destiny, Piccadilly (London, England), 2005, Simon Pulse (New York, NY), 2006.

Mates, Dates Guide to Life, Piccadilly (London, England), 2005, published as Mates, Dates Guide to Life, Love, and Looking Luscious, Simon Pulse (New York, NY), 2005.

Mates, Dates, and Sizzling Summers, Piccadilly (London, England), 2006.

Mates, Dates Simply Fabulous: Books 1-4 (contains Mates, Dates, and Inflatable Bras; Mates, Dates, and Cosmic Kisses; Mates, Dates, and Designer Divas; and Mates, Dates, and Sleepover Secrets), Simon Pulse (New York, NY), 2006.

"TRUTH OR DARE" SERIES

White Lies and Barefaced Truths, Piccadilly (London, England), 2002, Simon Pulse (New York, NY), 2004.

Pop Princess, Piccadilly (London, England), 2002, published as The Princess of Pop, Simon Pulse (New York, NY), 2004.

Teen Queens and Has-beens, Piccadilly (London, England), 2003, Simon Pulse (New York, NY), 2004.

Starstruck, Piccadilly (London, England), 2003, Simon Pulse (New York, NY), 2005.

Double Dare, Piccadilly (London, England), 2005, Simon Pulse (New York, NY), 2006.

Midsummer Meltdown, Piccadilly (London, England), 2006.

Love Lottery, Piccadilly (London, England), 2006.

All Mates Together, Piccadilly (London, England), 2006.

OTHER

Girl Chasing: How to Improve Your Game, Angus & Robertson (London, England), 1989.

Sixty-nine Things to Do When You're Not Busy Doing It, Fontana (London, England), 1991.

The Joy of Aromatherapy, Angus & Robertson (London, England), 1991.

Revenge of the Essex Girls, Robson (London, England), 1992.

Keeping It Up!: How to Make Your Love Affair Last Forever, Fontana (London, England), 1993.

Blooming Pregnant!: The Real Facts about Having a Baby, Robson (London, England), 1993.

Divorce for Beginners: How to Get Unhitched without the Hitches, HarperCollins (London, England), 1995.

The World's Best Light-Bulb Jokes, HarperCollins (London, England), 1995.

Thorsons Principles of Aromatherapy, Thorsons (London, England), 1996.

101 Shortcuts to Relaxation, Bloomsbury (London, England), 1997.

The Wisdom of the Master Cat, Michael O'Mara (London, England), 1998.

Holy Moley, I'm a Dead Dude, Chicken House (Frome, Somerset, England), 2006.

Dead Dudes on Holiday, Chicken House (Frome, Somerset, England), 2006.

Adaptations

Film rights to Holy Moley, I'm a Dead Dude were optioned by Nickelodeon.

Sidelights

Cathy Hopkins began her writing career in 1987 with a series of humor books with cartoonist Gray Jolliffe. She continued work on nonfiction books about relationships and books on aromatherapy, but neither of these sated her writing bug. "In 2000, I met Brenda Gardner at Piccadilly Press who asked if I'd like to write for teenagers," Hopkins explained on her home page. "These last five years have been the best." Hopkins has written two series for teens: "Mates, Dates" and "Truth or Dare," and has begun the "Dude" series for middle-school readers. From trouble with relationships to friendship to ghosts, Hopkins has covered a wide variety of teen interests for readers both in the United Kingdom, where her books were first published, and the United States.

With Mates, Dates, and Inflatable Bras Hopkins introduced readers to best friends Lucy and Izzie, fourteen year olds who start having troubles in their friendship when Izzie befriends the new girl, Nesta, who is half-Jamaican. Lucy is jealous, but she is also confused about issues in her own life. A school assignment requiring Lucy to describe who she is and who she wants to be leads her to question her identity, and her crush on a new boy does not make things any better. With no cleavage in sight, and little self-confidence, Lucy feels doomed—until her Mum, a psychotherapist, helps her find her self-worth and Izzie and Nesta provide her with a beautiful inflatable bra. When Lucy begins to design new outfits to go with her new look, she finds a passion for design she had not before discovered. "Girls will eat this one up," wrote Janet Julian in a review for Kliatt.

Fourteen-year-old Lucy is happy the way things are between her and best-friend Izzie; she resents the intrusion of glam newbie Nesta until her eye catches a cute boy and she realizes Nesta may have wisdom to impart in Hopkins' teen romance. (Cover designed by Debbie Stetsios.)

Izzie is the one suffering from a crush—which becomes more like an obsession—in Mates, Dates, and Cosmic Kisses. Meanwhile, both Lucy and Nesta feel left out, but wait for their friend to come back to her sense. "Both novels fly along with pitch-perfect details and slapstick humor that is deepened by sharp insights into real issues," Gillian Engberg noted in a Booklist review of the first two titles in the "Mates, Dates" series. "The stories are fast paced and sassy," commented Angela M. Ottman in School Library Journal, who compared the books to Louise Rennison's series that began with Angus, Thongs, and Full Frontal Snogging. Sherri Forgash, writing in Kliatt, wrote of the characters that "they are hip, bright, and sassy teenagers," and commented that the series "should catch on like wildfire."

The "Mates, Dates" series continues, each book being narrated from the perspective of one of the three girls. When Nesta's family has financial trouble in Mates, Dates, and Designer Divas, she worries that a boy she likes is out of her league until her friends convince her to be herself. Hopkins "nails the teenage dialogue and British slang," according to Sherri Forgash in her Kliatt review of the title. In Mates, Dates, and Mad Mistakes Izzy dates a bad boy, gets a bellybutton ring, and experiments with what it is like to be a "bad girl." "Izzie's mid-teen crisis and interactions with her mates, mother, and stepdad are authentic," complimented Linda L. Plevak in her School Library Journal review Nesta discovers that her friends think she is shallow in Mates, Dates, and Sequin Smiles, and when she has to get braces, her ideas of beauty are all called into question. "Hopkins creates a unique yet identifiable heroine in Nesta," wrote Lynne Pisano in Kliatt.

Unlike the North Londoners starring in the "Mates, Dates" series, the teens of the "Truth or Dare" books live in Cornwall and are a mix of boys and girls. White Lies and Barefaced Truths begins the series with a dare: Becca is too shy to talk to the object of her crush, Lia's brother, Ollie, so the girls dare Cat to talk to him on her behalf. Cat is dating Squidge, but when she follows up on the dare, she finds that she, like Becca, also has feelings for Lia's brother. She wants to tell Becca the truth but does not know how, and when she begins to keep track of how many lies she tells every day, Cat decides to tell only the truth. This puts Cat in the doghouse with Becca, as well as with her teachers, until she manages to find a balance between honesty and her friends' feelings.

In The Princess of Pop the friends (including Squidge and a boy named Mac) dare each other to audition for a reality show pop competition. Becca has just had a miserable audition for the school musical, but to her surprise, she finds herself as a real competitor for the title Princess of Pop. "This is primarily Becca's story," noted Steaphanie Squicciarini in Kliatt, "but readers get a sense of all the friends" from the series' second title. Squicciarini noted that while Hopkins uses British slang, "readers should have no trouble enjoying the universal humor, questions, and friendships explored." Catherine Ensley praised Hopkins's insight into the teen mind, writing in School Library Journal that "the stories are humorous and very hip; Hopkins clearly remembers exactly what it's like to be fourteen."

Taking some time out from teenage girls and focusing on a crowd-surfing rock star who dies—and becomes a ghost, Hopkins started the "Dude" series with Holy Moley, I'm a Dead Dude! As ex-rock star Dude is quick to find out, being a ghost is not all that bad, until you have to deal with ghost hunters like nerd Sid Wiper. Dude and his ghostly friends have to face off against the ghost hunter, or the whole ghost community will be wiped out! Dude's afterlife adventures continue in Dead Dudes on Holiday.

On her home page, Hopkins lists her top ten writing tips for young writers. Along with tips such as practicing writing and spending time reading, Hopkins pro-Cat wrestles with totally serious moral issues while she tries to figure out the best way to break up with her soon-to-be ex in the first installment in the "Truth or Dare" series. (Cover designed by Debbie Stetsios.)vides the following advice: "Never give up. Persevere through rejection. Loads of famous novelists had their books rejected first time round but were successful because they didn't give up."