For some, the commute to Manhattan aboard the Long Island Rail Road provides an opportunity to sleep, read or listen to music. For Jennifer L. (Calonita) Smith it provided the opportunity to write a book.

A 1992 graduate of Carle Place High School, Smith began writing Secrets of My Hollywood Life, which was published in June by Little, Brown and Company, while seven months pregnant and commuting for her job as an entertainment editor for Teen People magazine. "I would lug the laptop on the train every day so that I could write to and from work. I finished the proposal before my son Tyler was born in November 2004 and then finished the book itself by May 2005," said Smith, whose parents, Nick and Lynn Calonita, currently still reside in Carle Place.

While Smith knew she always wanted to write, it wasn't until she was working as a magazine editor conducting celebrity interviews that the idea for Secrets was born. "One day, I was with Hilary Duff at a photo shoot at Henri Bendel and an idea hit me like a ton of bricks - what if Hilary suddenly decided she had it with the trail of fans following her around the perfume counter and wanted to disappear from the Hollywood game forever ... in a world where US Weekly publishes pictures of stars pumping gas at Mobil?" asked Smith. "That's where the idea for Secrets of My Hollywood Life came from. It's about a fab young star named Kaitlin Burke who tires of the fame game and decides to hide out in high school disguised as someone else. A lot of Kaitlin's story is based on my experiences meeting stars and it's filled with tons of Hollywood secrets that have been spilled to me during interviews."

According to the book's description, Secrets of My Hollywood Life focuses on the glamorous life of Kaitlin Burke, a co-star on one of the hottest television shows who is exhausted from the pressures of fame so she decides to spend a few months undercover as an ordinary high school student. "I knew it could be a fun teen read. I knew I'd read something like Secrets and I'm definitely a teen at heart," said Smith.

Although she has seen her name in print many times prior to the publishing of Secrets, Smith said it was an amazing feeling to see her book on the shelf of a bookstore. "I didn't believe it until I actually went to the Carle Place Barnes and Noble for myself and saw it! It was so surreal," she said, adding that speaking to teens who have read and enjoyed Secrets is equally as rewarding. "I'm so proud of the book and I really hope teens enjoy the characters ... and want to read about them for years to come," Smith said. "I'm so glad it's not just me who enjoys Kaitlin's company!"

Over the summer, Smith completed Secrets' sequel - Secrets of My Hollywood Life: On Location, which will be out in May and follows Kaitlin's character on a crazy, big-budget film set. At this time, Smith is working on the third book in the series, Secrets of My Hollywood Life: Family Affairs, out in the spring of 2008, as well as her next series, Sleepaway Girls, a story about teen counselors at a co-ed camp, which is something she knows a little about.

"I always say 'write what you know' and I truly believe that. The Secrets series was inspired by the celebrities I interviewed when I worked at Teen People," said Smith. "My next series, Sleepaway Girls, is inspired by my work as a teen camp counselor at Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville. My teen years really gave me a lot of material!"

Smith said she always knew she wanted to be a writer and has always been fascinated with creating stories. "In school, I spent way too much time daydreaming about my rich fantasy life - the one I had with Joey McIntyre from yes, New Kids on the Block, and our life on tour," she said. "I was always much cooler in my dream world. I was dressed to the nines, always had a great one-liner and was the object of every guy's affection. Sure it sounds cheesy, but it got me through some of those tough high school moments - like, ahem, rarely having a boyfriend."

According to Smith, her local academic career played a major role in her future as a writer. "My English teachers at Carle Place knew I loved to write and they really helped me find outlets for my creativity ... [and] helped me work on my talent," she said. "They helped me enter essay contests, encouraged me to join the school newspaper. They gave me every opportunity to write and I really think that helped me become who I am today," she said, adding that in high school she contributed to a local teen newspaper as well as sent story ideas to teen magazines.

After graduating from Carle Place High School, Smith went on to major in communications/journalism at Boston College and, in 1996, graduated Summa Cum Laude. Shortly after, she was hired as an editorial assistant at the former Mademoiselle magazine and in 1998, was promoted to assistant entertainment editor. In addition to writing entertainment and fitness features, Smith regularly reported from the red carpets at movie premieres, award shows and special events.

In 2000, she was hired as an associate entertainment editor by Teen People and, a year later, promoted to senior entertainment editor. Through this position, which she held until the birth of her son in 2005, Smith wrote, edited and assigned articles for the magazine's entertainment section. In addition, over the past decade, she has been a freelance writer for such well-known publications as Woman's Day, Glamour, Self, Marie Claire, Entertainment Weekly, Modern Bride and Maxim, among others.

"I loved being an entertainment editor. I got to see movies before they hit theaters, watch TV pilots months before they'd air, attend fabulous parties, go to photo shoots and, of course, interview the hottest young stars," said the self-professed entertainment junkie, who, when she isn't writing, can be found going to the movies and working on a home improvement project as well as taking pictures, reading and, "watching way too much TV." She admits being addicted to The OC as well as Gilmore Girls, Everwood and Food Network.

Although Smith, her husband, Mike, and their 23-month-old son, Tyler, reside in North Merrick, she hasn't forgotten her hometown roots. Over the summer, Smith conducted a reading and book signing at the Westbury Memorial Public Library and in September she participated in a writing workshop. On Saturday, Oct. 28, she will be part of a teen author panel at the Carle Place Barnes and Noble. At this time, Smith will join teen authors Sarah Mlynowski (Bras and Broomsticks, Frogs and French Kisses), E. Lockhart (The Boyfriend List) and Sara Shepard (the upcoming Pretty Little Liars) on the panel, which begins at 2 p.m.

"We'll be taking questions from audience members about our writing experiences and how we get our ideas and how we got our start," said Smith. "It's a great opportunity for aspiring writers to hear from four different authors on their experiences."

Her advice to aspiring young writers is "write, write, write as much as you can about everything and anything that inspires you." "The more experience you have at writing, the better you'll be and eventually someone will take notice," Smith said, adding "If you want something bad enough, it can happen."