Basic Stats

Born: in a blizzard in Hayward, Wisconsin, sometime in the 1970’s

Grew up in: Litchfield, Minnesota

Currently residing in: San Francisco

Education: B.A. in Russian from Carleton College, M.A. in English as a second language from the University of Minnesota

Siblings: two brothers and a sister, all younger

Married: yes, since 2000

Kids: two young daughters

Pets: Do house plants count?

Height: 5′10″

Weight: fluctuates

Celebrity crushes: Jack White, Dave Navarro

Likes: writing (‘course), chocolate treats, young adult novels, going out for walks with my daughter, finding out I made a good impression on someone when I totally wasn’t even trying to

Dislikes: hot weather, organ meats, the word “scrumptious,” grammatical ignorance, cold-hearted snakes

Favorite…

• old adult novel: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. Hands down.
• young adult novel: I can’t choose just one.  I really can’t.  However, my favorite YA authors are E. Lockhart, Lauren Myracle, and John Green.
• magazine: Cook’s Illustrated. The recipes rock even though they tend to make me dirty every dish in the kitchen.
• way to stay fit: yoga
• movie: It’s a tie between Harold and Maude and The Big Lebowski.
• TV show: Survivor (Hey, you back there! Stop snickering!)
• food: Japanese, Indian, Mexican, Thai, and Burmese cuisines. And desserts of all kinds.
• band: old school: Jane’s Addiction, new school: The White Stripes
• color: red
• childhood memory: beating my arch rival in the school district spelling bee (He taunted me for weeks beforehand, saying I was going to LOSE!)
• place: my bed

Frequently Asked Questions

How did you become a writer?

In early elementary school, I wrote a series of stories about two best friends named Rocker and Mary. I did my own illustrations and bound the books using cardboard, wrapping paper, and Scotch tape. I started keeping a diary when I was nine. In fifth grade, I decided to write a novel about a girl who could fly. I didn’t attempt to write another novel until I was thirty, and the result is TMI. In between fifth grade and thirty, there was a lot of angst-ridden poetry, articles for the school paper, and hate letters that I never sent to my enemies.

And then, lots and lots of papers in college and graduate school.

When I was working on my master’s thesis, I discovered an excellent procrastination tactic: blogging. A couple of my friends had blogs, and after reading them for a few months, I decided to start my own. I wrote about my life in an exaggerated way, and my friends and family found it amusing. Encouraged by my audience, I kept up the blogging for several years.

In 2005, I was living in Manhattan teaching English. One afternoon, I got an email from an editor at Dutton Children’s Books who had randomly stumbled across my blog and “spent entirely too long reading it when [she] should have been working.” I called her, and she asked me to pitch her an idea, so I did. We went back and forth for a few months as I developed the story. Finally, she presented the sample chapters and outline I’d written to the publisher, and I got a book contract.

How’s that for a Cinderella story?

Where did the idea for TMI come from?

After seeing my blog, my editor thought that I could write a good story about a character who uses her blog to form an alter ego. I decided that this character would start a blog because she felt that she had things to say that no one wanted to hear, and the blog would serve as her escape.

I drew on a lot of my own experiences, too. I am definitely a TMI sort of girl, which is wonderful when I’m explaining symptoms to a doctor but awful when I meet a squeamish stranger.  My oversharing has gotten me into plenty of trouble over the years although nothing as serious as what Becca deals with.

How long did it take you to write TMI?

I was teaching part-time while I wrote, and the first draft took about six months. Edits took another year. I am very grateful to my editor for speeding along the final copyedits. The entire book was finished two weeks before my daughter was born.

Why does it take so long to write and publish a book?

I don’t know. It just does.

Are you working on another book?

Yes. Many people want to know if it’s a sequel to TMI, but it’s something new.  Stay tuned.