When Veronica Roth got the news that she had received a book deal for her young adult novel, “Divergent,” she took a bath. In marshmallows.

The Weinberg senior and creative writing major, who finished her class requirements Winter Quarter, fulfilled the pledge she made in a recent blog post.

“I had written about how if I ever got a book deal I would do all of these practical things,” she said. “The last one was jump into a pool of mini-marshmallows.”

While a pool proved too large, an apartment bathtub was deemed suitable, and she pulled off the stunt.

Roth’s novel will be published in the summer of 2011 by Harper Collins/Katherine Tegen Books. Her story is a dystopian thriller revolving around a young woman living in a world of warring societies.

Roth wrote the first draft over a 40-day period during Winter Break, revised the manuscript throughout January, sent her query letter to the publishing company in February, signed with her agent in March and signed her book deal in April.

“This was pretty unique because I had previously worked on a very long project for eight months, and nothing ever came of it,” she said. “I’ve never written this fast before. I think it was just the right idea at the right time.”

In fact, Roth wrote the first 20 pages four years ago, but she set it aside because she didn’t think it was “worthwhile.” She found the work in her folder Fall Quarter and decided it could be an interesting project if she took it seriously.

“I wish I had figured it out sooner,” she said. “But I’m glad I figured it out.”

The Creative Writing Program was thrilled for Roth, said Prof. Averill Curdy. The poet directed the honors seminar for creative writing majors, and she said she was impressed by Roth’s senior thesis.

“It’s very unusual that I keep thinking about a piece past the point when I’ve read it, commented on it and handed it back,” Curdy said. “The novella Veronica was working on really stuck with me.”

Roth signed a three-book deal and plans to craft a trilogy, she said. As a life-long lover of young adult literature, she said she hopes this will be the beginning of a long career in writing novels in the genre, though she is a little concerned about the publicity side.

“I’m not generally someone who enjoys having the attention focused on her,” she said. “But it’s exciting too. How many people get a chance to go places and talk about their books?”[email protected]