ORLANDO, Fla-- With the classroom staged for a press conference and the Valencias Journalism students ready with pad and pen, waiting for the arrival of their tiny 5'0" guest, ready to soak up every great quote, and every piece of advice from Kristin Harmel.

At just 31, Harmel has had an extensive experience within the communications world. Beginning when she was 6 years old, Harmel knew at a young age that she was meant for the world of entertainment. At first, her dreams were to be a singer, until she realized one fatal flaw: she couldn't sing. So she turned her attention to journalism. At 16, she was writing and being published by the St. Pete Times before graduating High School. Her years in college would continue to move her forward in her career as a journalist when she interned with People Magazine (and yes she is still with People).

Through time and connections, Harmel soon decided to take yet another road of communications and published her first novel "How to Sleep with a Movie Star" in 2006. Five more novels would come from the "lit chic" author, her most recent is "After" released February of this year. So with having a local paper, a major magazine, and six books under her belt, Harmel is more than ready to take on the antsy students who have many questions they want answered.

Harmel begins sharing all that she knows to the best of her ability. She is describing how she balances her day between writing her novels, and writing for People, stating that it is two totally different mind sets, and that she never mixes the two. Then we get personal, asking how she balances her personal life, with the life a reporter. Harmel shares that her family and friends are very important to her, and that she does not have any issues, she makes sure of that. When questioned on how to approach this career from an older age, Harmel insists that age is just a number, and to be successful in this field you need to be agressive, and you have to risk, risk, risk, before the rewards start piling in.

As the press conference comes to an end, one student notices that in Harmel's books, her characters often become gluttens when they hit hard times by eating 4 pints of ice cream. A detail Harmel was not aware of "Wow- me and my emotional eating."

Valencias Journalism students step in line to meet Harmel one on one, and to have her sign their new copies of "The Art of French Kissing" before she departs to her car, that of course had a ticket waiting for her, because she committed the horrible crime of parking in faculty reserved space.

As an advocate for teens, Harmel enjoys speaking with the younger generation in hopes that she can reach them, and convey just how important reading and writing really are.