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In an odd coincidence, the cover for Life's a Witch reminded me a lot of a couple of Melissa Walker's Violet books. Then when I was Googling, I saw that Melissa had interviewed the author about her cover for a series Melissa does on her blog about covers.

Small world, huh?

Teen's Best Friend is a big reader. She has also modeled in the past and is being recruited to model again. So when I heard about the Violet books, I had to get them for her. And she really liked them - a huge compliment when you know how much she reads.

Later, today I'll stop by Annie Blooms Books and get her the latest: VIOLET IN PRIVATE by Melissa Walker.

No less than the New York Times loves the series: “It’s a hard sell, asking readers to muster sympathy for the congenitally gorgeous whose job it is to wear designer clothes and walk. In ‘Violet on the Runway,’ Melissa Walker pulls it off," raved Holly Brubach in The New York Times.

VIOLET IN PRIVATE is the third novel in the series about Violet— the wallflower who blooms into an international modeling star—until she realizes there may be more to life than the runway…

Everyone knows her as Violet Greenfield, the supposedly cultured and worldly nineteen-year-old with sky-high confidence because she’s done fashion weeks internationally. But the truth is, modeling has done little for Violet’s self-esteem. And now that she’s finally headed to college, she’s terrified that she’ll turn back into that girl who blended into the walls all throughout high school…

Violet’s friends in fashion are only a two-hour train ride away in New York City, and they all think she’s crazy to stop modeling. But her best friend Roger hopes she’ll go back to being the girl next door. Of course, things have been weird between them ever since they kissed—and now he’s got a girlfriend. So the question is: if she’s not “Violet on the Runway” anymore, who exactly is she?

Melissa knows what she is talking about, because she's a former editor at ELLEgirl and Seventeen magazines. Visit her at melissacwalker.com, or at myspace.com/melissacwalker.

I asked, Melissa answered
A. What's the scariest thing that's ever happened to you? Bonus question: have you used it, in any way, in a book?
M. This question kind of scares me because I have to think about scary things. I guess I'd say that when my dad died suddenly a few years ago it was pretty much the realization of the most terrifying thing I ever thought could happen. It was awful, of course, and I still miss him every day, but I survived. And now I know that I can survive the scariest thing imaginable to me. So that makes me feel strong somehow. I haven't used that one yet, but I might....

A. Mystery writers often give their characters an unreasoning fear - and then make them face it. Do you have any phobias, like fear of spiders or enclosed spaces?
M. Just recently, I've started being scared of flying. Does that count? It's so lame, and it doesn't stop me from traveling, but I just get really jittery during takeoff. Then I'm okay.

A. Do you have a favorite mystery book, author, or movie?
M. Clue! Book Chic, a great reviewer, talked about it on a blog recently, and I adore the movie and the game. It's the ultimate mystery experience.

A. At its heart, every story is a mystery. It asks why someone acts the way they did - or maybe what will happen next. What question does your book ask?
M. The mystery of Violet in Private is really about how Violet can find her voice and speak truths about what she knows is right to express who she really is--in love, at school, in the fashion world... everywhere.

A.Is there a mystery in life that you are still trying to figure out?
M. So many. But one main one is: WHAT do they put in Fiber One bars that make them so yummy. They're seriously so sweet and yummy, but also Bob Greene approved! If Oprah's trainer says yes to food, I'm scarfing it down. And these are like candy! [Full disclosure: Melissa is right! The chocolate ones taste like oatemal chocolate chip cookie dough.]

Melissa is hosting a big Violet contest until September 1.