NEW YORK, April 17 (UPI) -- New York City-based writer Francine Pascal says Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield, of the teen "Sweet Valley High" series, are all grown up.
Pascal said that's why she decided to write a sequel to the former California-based series, calling it "Sweet Valley Confidential," the New York Times reported.
In the new book Elizabeth and Jessica are 27, live on opposite coasts and enjoy alcohol and apparently at times, even casual sex.
"I've had people who have questioned Elizabeth having orgasms," said Pascal, the creator of the original series and author of the new book. "And I say to them, if they're listening, would you deny a 27-year-old woman the right to have an orgasm?"
St. Martin's Press is the publisher of "Sweet Valley Confidential" and its target audience is not new readers, but those who were devoted to the story in its original form. Despite some poor reviews, the new book made its debut on The New York Times bestseller list Sunday.
"We were surprised by the reaction," said Dan Weiss, the publisher at large at St. Martin's. "It speaks to the fact that initially there was a real core group of fanatic fans, who are always the preservationists. They don't want things to change."
Pascal understands how fans of the previous series feel.
"Sweet Valley was their adolescence and I've done some very radical things," Pascal said. "But you are different from that inchoate person of 16, and you have to allow that change to those characters."
The series was introduced in 1983. It chronicled the high school dramas of the Wakefield twins, Jessica, a playful diva, and Elizabeth, a moral goody-goody.
Pascal said that's why she decided to write a sequel to the former California-based series, calling it "Sweet Valley Confidential," the New York Times reported.
In the new book Elizabeth and Jessica are 27, live on opposite coasts and enjoy alcohol and apparently at times, even casual sex.
"I've had people who have questioned Elizabeth having orgasms," said Pascal, the creator of the original series and author of the new book. "And I say to them, if they're listening, would you deny a 27-year-old woman the right to have an orgasm?"
St. Martin's Press is the publisher of "Sweet Valley Confidential" and its target audience is not new readers, but those who were devoted to the story in its original form. Despite some poor reviews, the new book made its debut on The New York Times bestseller list Sunday.
"We were surprised by the reaction," said Dan Weiss, the publisher at large at St. Martin's. "It speaks to the fact that initially there was a real core group of fanatic fans, who are always the preservationists. They don't want things to change."
Pascal understands how fans of the previous series feel.
"Sweet Valley was their adolescence and I've done some very radical things," Pascal said. "But you are different from that inchoate person of 16, and you have to allow that change to those characters."
The series was introduced in 1983. It chronicled the high school dramas of the Wakefield twins, Jessica, a playful diva, and Elizabeth, a moral goody-goody.
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