By Michelle Libby
Special to The News

Tammy and Laura Drew grew up in Bridgton, so finding themselves living together and teaching in Beverly Hills, Calif. was quite a culture shock.

“We came from a town with one traffic light,” recalled Laura, “so our kids in Beverly Hills would beg us to tell them stories about our lives growing up in Maine.”

After moving back to Maine seven years later, the sisters began to tell their stories about living and working in Beverly Hills to their Maine friends and

WRITING PARTNERS — Sisters Tammy Drew-Hoidal (left) and Laura Drew-Farraher have written their first novel, My Mother is a Rock Star. It is about the daughter of a rock star who has the opportunity to travel from Beverly Hills to Maine with the help of her teacher.

family.

“I remember Barbara Gately, our neighbor growing up said, ‘You girls need to write a book about this. These are hysterical stories! Reminds me of the Nanny Diaries.’”

So five years later, that is exactly what Tammy and Laura Drew have done. They recently wrote their first novel for young teens titled, My Mother is a Rock Star. It is about the daughter of a rock star who has the opportunity to travel from Beverly Hills to Maine with the help of her teacher.

“We always thought it would be so great if our students from Beverly Hills could see what Maine is like. Our parents would send us boxes of leaves every year to show the kids what foliage looked like. They were in awe,” remembers Tammy.

So is the book true? The sisters look at each other and smile.

“Well, we like to say the book is loosely based on reality. Many of the characters and stories are based on our students and their experiences.”

The sisters have published part of their book on Figment.com. They are urging Mainers to take a look and leave any comments or reviews that they can provide.

“We feel this book celebrates Maine in every way: the beauty, the people, the food…” says Laura.

Their hope is to attract as many readers to the site as they can. If the book receives lots of attention, publishers and agents will more than likely take notice.

“The site allows readers to read part of our book and then leave a heart if they like what they have read. So I guess, yes, we are asking Mainers to give us their hearts,” adds Tammy with a smile.

To read the Drew sisters’ novel My Mother is a Rock Star log onto Figment.com. Keyword in the search engine is “Mother.”