I decided that if I were to write a teen series I'd want to set it in a place that was familiar to me – Manhattan where I'd grown up – and I'd model the characters on myself and my friends.

I decided that if I were to write a teen series I'd want to set it in a place that was familiar to me – Manhattan where I'd grown up – and I'd model the characters on myself and my friends.

I certainly didn't say while writing 'Gossip Girl' 'Oh this is going to be big!' It was really like 'Oh god everyone's gong to hate these people! They're so bratty!' But I actually think what is so appealing about them is the humor in them.

I certainly didn't say while writing 'Gossip Girl' 'Oh this is going to be big!' It was really like 'Oh god everyone's gong to hate these people! They're so bratty!' But I actually think what is so appealing about them is the humor in them.