ABOUT
Alissa DeRogatis is a writer, creator, and author based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Born and (mostly) raised in New Jersey, she is an extrovert and oversharer by default. Alissa has always been fascinated by words—from songwriting with her dad in high school to writing freelance articles in college—the art of storytelling has gotten her through a lot of life experiences. She obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2018 with a bachelor of arts in communication studies and a minor in journalism.
In 2022 she experienced her first big heartbreak. She started writing down her feelings hoping to better understand why she was so hurt over someone she never dated. Eventually, she took to TikTok with the idea of writing a book loosely inspired by that heartbreak. She wanted to write a story that validated the thoughts, emotions and feelings that you experience in “almost relationships” to let girls like her know they’re not alone.
In 2023, Alissa self-published her debut novel, Call It What You Want. It quickly became ranked #1 in New Adult and College Fiction and #39 in overall books on Amazon. In August 2023, she signed a two-book deal with Sourcebooks. Call It What You Want was re-released in June of 2024. She is currently working on her sophomore novel, which is expected to publish in early 2026.
“There are two ways you can go with pain. You can let it destroy you or use it as fuel to drive you to dream bigger, work harder.”
- Taylor Swift
