Scooby Doo interviewed Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries.  We want to thank Colleen O'Connell of the Children's Online Marketing Department at HarperCollins Publishers for helping to make the interview possible.

Scooby Doo:  Where did you get the idea for The Princess Diaries?

Ms. Cabot:  I got the idea for The Princess Diaries when my mom started dating one of my teachers.  It freaked me out, so I started writing about it.  A publishing friend suggested I write a book about a princess instead, but I was too lazy to start a whole new book, so I just stuck a princess in the book I was writing about my mon and my teacher, and VOILA:  The Princess Diaries was born.

Scooby Doo:  How did you come up with the characters:  Mia, Lilly, Tina Hakim Baba, Boris Pelkowski, Josh, Lana, and Michael?

Ms. Cabot:  Most of these characters are loosely based on people I know or have known.   There really was a Boris Pelkowski (that was not his name) who used to practice the violin during my Gifted and Talented class.  Whenever the teacher wasn't around, we used to lock him in the boiler room to preserve our ears.  He didn't mind though, he said he liked the acoustics.

Scooby Doo:  Who is your favorite character in the book?

Ms. Cabot:  Mia, of course!  Someday I would like to grow up to be just like her, because she always tries, at least, to do the right thing.  I wish I could say the same about myself.  I always try to do the easiest thing, which isn't the same thing.

Scooby Doo:  How did you feel when you were asked to let someone make a movie of The Princess Diaries, and Princess in the Spotlight?

Ms. Cabot:  I didn't really believe them until principal filming started and I got this giant check.   Then I ran out and bought the biggest TV that I could reasonably fit into my apartment, because I love TV.  I felt pretty good after that.

Scooby Doo:  Did you pick the actors/actresses that were going to play parts in the movie?

Ms. Cabot:  No, but Debra Chase, the producer, kept me in the loop during the casting process.  And now I can't even remember how I imagined Mia looked before Anne Hathaway took over the role, because she is such a perfect Mia!