FAQ

Etcetera

What are some of your favorite films? Shawshank Redemption, Stand by Me, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Dirty Dancing, Broadcast News, Unfaithful, Trading Places, Grease, Brokeback Mountain, When Harry Met Sally, Sixteen Candles, Out of Africa, The Parent Trap and The Graduate.

What types of music do you like? Is there any particular kind you like to listen to when you're writing? In no particular order:

Bruce Springsteen
Dire Straits/Mark Knopfler
Ryan Adams
James McMurtry
Liz Phair
The Avett Brothers
Rachael Yamagata
Ray LaMontagne
Tom Waits
Non-misogynistic Eminem
Mat Kearney/Jason Mraz/Joshua Radin (and most sensitive guy crooning types)
Ani DiFranco
Duffy
Steve Earle
Paul Simon
Wilco
Mason Jennings
Dixie Chicks
LL Cool J
Al Green
Coldplay
Outkast
and… Lady Gaga!

I sometimes listen while I write—sometimes I need silence, depending on my mood and what’s happening in my story. When I’m writing intimate scenes, I love listening to slow stuff—and often become obsessed with one set song. When writing Love the One You’re With, I listened to Ryan Adams's “La Cienega Just Smiled” on repeat, for day—and even included it in my book.

Do you ever put lyrics in your books? Yes—I have several times. It’s a huge pain and can be very expensive to get permission. For my first book, I paid Bruce Springsteen $500 to include “Born to Run” lyrics!

25 Things You Don’t Know About Me

I hate driving and have not driven on a highway since 1996. Also, I’ve been in five accidents, all in parking lots.
I can name any “Brady Bunch” episode in 10 seconds or fewer and cannot be stumped in even the most obscure trivia question related to that show.
I played the violin for years, and often referred to it as my fiddle.
I am obsessed with fonts. My favorite is Nicholas Cochin. Go ahead, test-drive it at myfonts.com.
If I could do anything besides write, and get paid for it, I would be a professional baby naming consultant. It baffles me that so many couples put so little effort into making sure certain things work—like, whether the name goes with their last and/or sibling names. Feel free to email me with queries.
I was the men’s basketball manager at Wake Forest University and during my senior year, when we were playing UNC on the road, I left the jerseys back in Winston-Salem. For a televised game. A police escort barely got them to the game on time. We lost by more than 20.
My favorite foods: avocados, ribs, deviled eggs and hummus.
I’ve never been stung by a bee; I have never broken a bone or had stitches; I have never had poison ivy. What can I say? I’m an indoorsy girl.
I hate speed and have never ridden a roller coaster.
I am good at keeping secrets. I do not believe that: “Don’t tell anyone” means “Don’t tell anyone except someone you tell not to tell anyone.”
I hardly ever cry when I’m sad but often cry when I’m angry.
I secretly fear that I mixed up my identical twin sons shortly after they were brought home from the hospital. We will never know.
I am always in search of the perfect cheeseburger.
January is my favorite month of the year—and there’s no close second. Spring makes me panic.
I can say the alphabet as quickly backwards as I can forwards.
My parents are on far ends of the political spectrum—which is why I think I’m so moderate and lukewarm to politics in general.
I knew Elizabeth Smart wasn’t dead—and was sure they would find her. It is the only sort of real premonition I’ve ever had.
I broke all kinds of records in Frogger. And I have to believe my initials are still up in an arcade in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.
I have a mild case of prosopagnosia.
I once went mud-bathing in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, the most interesting place I’ve ever visited.
I once listed “fly fishing” as one of my hobbies on a school application. I have never been fly fishing.
When I was in high school, my boyfriend and I got jobs together at a restaurant. Our first paychecks came and he got 50 cents more per hour than I. It became my first “legal” claim, and I demanded that the manager pay me back wages at the end of the summer.
The one product I cannot live without is La Mer lip balm. It is outrageously priced but worth every penny.
I take an insane number of photographs. It is a rare day when my camera does not see action.
I can touch my tongue to my nose.