So my modem is fried. Which means I’m sitting in a coffee shop typing this. People! Outside world! Extraordinary.

Question: “How do you pronounce your last name?(I’ve told some of my friends about your books, and I’m sure I messed up your name)”

Answer: Thank you for telling friends about my book! I tend to say “Peter-froind” (like “Freud” but with an N), but “Peter-friend” is what most of my family sticks with. It’s the Americanized version, since “freund” is German for “friend.” I suppose if you were German, you’d pronounce it “peh-tur-froind.” “Peter-friend” seems to be easiest to most people. It’s unfortunate that people can pronounce “freud” just fine but add that N and it throws everyone out of whack!

Question: “Were you ever a virginal unicorn hunter?”

Answer: Yes, but I’m married now, so those days are behind me. It’s all ironing boards and bread baking and affairs with the milkman.

Question: “What do you love most about unicorns?”

Answer: They are very tasty, but a bit tough, so you have to marinate them for at least two hours in a sauce made from equal parts soy sauce, honey, and olive oil. Delish!

Question: “Who did you want Veronica Mars to be with?”

Answer: Logan. I never bought any of her boyfriends but Logan. Duncan, in particular, was disastrous. Then again, if Veronica is with Logan, that means he can’t be my boyfriend. Hmmmm…

Question: “What should I major in to become a writer?”

Answer: Major in anything you want. I did Geology, and then, because I wound up taking classes that worked for the Literature major (which fell into every category from Film to American Studies) I wrote another paper and took a second major in that. I think it’s better, actually, if you don’t major in English, Literature, or Writing. It means that you know stuff that every other yahoo trying to write a book out there doesn’t know. If you major in Epidemiology or Computer Science or 17th Century Danish History, while the rest of us are breaking our backs doing research for our books, you’re sitting pretty, because you already know all this stuff. Ask Tess Gerritsen or John Grisham or Michael Crichton.

Plus, it’s way easier to get a job to support you while you write with an Epidemiology or Computer Science degree. Danish History I don’t know about.

Question: “How hard a job is writing?”

Answer: 6.7. Kidding. It’s the best job ever, since I can work whenever and wherever I want, and I get paid for making things up. At the same time, it’s the hardest because the onus is entirely on me to create a demand. People don’t actually need what I do. I’m not a butcher or a baker or an overpriced espresso maker. So I have to write something that people actually want to spend their discretionary income on.

Question: “How do you respond to the blank stares from people when you say you’re a writer?”

Answer: I feel very lucky that I don’t get blank stares. I do however, get an automatic assumption that “I’m a writer” equals “unemployed.” The conversation goes like this:

Cocktail Party Guest: “I’m a lawyer. So, what do you do?”
Me: “I’m a novelist.”
CPG: “Oh. Um, er, anything… published?”
Me: “Yes. My third book comes out from Random House this month.” (Inwardly, I wonder why no one ever responds to “I’m a lawyer,” with “Oh, Um, er… an employed one?” Yet the assumption is that I’m an out of work novelist. Believe me, if I were, I would say something like, “I’m a barista at Starbucks” or etc.)

I’ve taken to telling folks at cocktail parties that I’m a smoke jumper. More believable. Of course, then you do get blank stares.

Question: “What time of day is best for writing?”

Answer: For me? All times are the same. Sometimes i get good writing done in the morning, sometimes in the evening. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and go write until I can fall back to sleep. I probably shouldn’t admit this.


Question: “When writing a book do you already have an idea on the ending for some characters?”

Answer: Absolutely. In fact, it’s pretty rare that I don’t know what will happen to the characters, or that it changes while writing. The interesting thing about writing a series is looking back to where the characters were at the end of the first or second book, and thinking about where they’ll be by the end of the fourth. I didn’t necessarily have that all mapped out, though I did have a general impression. George, of course, is abducted by aliens. And Odile becomes a kindergarten teacher.

Having said that, however, I love it when characters surprise me. For example, when I first started writing Secret Society Girl, I didn’t think of Poe as a major character, but he appeared on the page and insisted upon being included. So I did. I always try to go with my gut when things like that happen. If there’s an interesting character hanging out in the wings, use him!

Question: “Where do you get your ideas?”

Answer: Varies from book to book. With the Secret Society Girl series, it was a conversation I had with my now-husband about the bizarre and misleading way Yale secret societies are represented by Hollywood. I wanted to write a story about secret societies the way they really are — where the twenty year old members aren’t constantly committing murders that the “powerful” members of the society are somehow hushing up, or being branded, or being given hundreds of thousands of dollars — but where the personal, collegiate level intrigues and influence can be every bit as mysterious and devastating. The impression is that a secret society can destroy your life, empty your bank account, ruin your family… the reality is far more mundane (though no less important to the people involved).

Rampant developed from an overheard snippet of dialogue, a dream, and a bit of research that snowballed. It’s all about playing what if. What if I a girl who buys into the conspiracy theories of secret societies were to join one? What if unicorns weren’t the fluffy gentle creatures we think they are? What if they were dangerous?