A Conversation With the Author
Where are you from?
That's a tough one. I was born in Brussels, Belgium, and then lived in Chicago, Cleveland, and San Diego before college at Stanford. From there: San Francisco, Prague, Anchorage, Paris, Salt Lake City, Brooklyn, Madison, and my new hometown of Minneapolis.
What are some of your favorite books?
Jesus' Son, by Dennis Johnson, As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner, The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway, Unless, by Carol Shields, Gilead, by Marilyn Robinson, Beloved, by Toni Morrison, Winesburg, Ohio, by Sherwood Anderson, To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf, Last Night at the Lobster, by Stuart O'Nan, In the Lake of the Woods, by Tim O'Brien
What are your hobbies and outside interests?
My main interest is pottery. I have my wheel in a studio in the basement. Since becoming a mother, I have not been able to devote much time to it, but working with clay will be a lifelong pursuit.
What is the single best piece of advice anyone ever gave you?
No More Donuts. My first writing teacher, Lewis Buzbee, gave me a pencil printed with that advice. Basically, it means get to work.
What is your favorite quote?
From a fortune cookie: All things have beauty, but not everyone sees it.
What inspired you to write your first book?
While a grad student in Salt Lake City I had two jobs: I was an obituary writer and I answered phones/booked dates at an escort service. The experience at the escort agency inspired Calling Out.
What is the question most commonly asked by your readers? What is the answer?
Were you an escort? No!
Where do you write?
Anywhere where my family is not. Sometimes at a desk, sometimes on the bed, sometimes at a coffee shop. Always on a laptop.
