Color: Blue. A) It’s my favorite color, and I kind of like my book and all; B) It’s cold. Very cold. One of my friends designed business cards for me before we had a cover, and he made them this deep blue. He had only read the first chapter, but he said my book felt like the color blue. And I agree.

Animal: Flying fish. You may think you’re in for a straight paranormal romance (there’s an element that is, arguably, paranormal; and there is, you know, romance), but then the fish jumps out of the freaking water.

US city: Boston: it’s small, but there’s a lot going on…

Car: Some sort of SUV. Trust me, there’s a lot of snow.

Food: Cereal. You can have it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. With milk or without. Sometimes it feels healthy, sometimes it doesn’t. Eat it in a bowl or straight out of the box. Use a spoon or grab fistfuls with your hand. I won’t judge.

Thank you! Honestly, I think my answer to this has changed over the years. Growing up, I was totally a science geek who just happened to love to write. Actually, my high school advisor was the one who gave me that very label. He said I was a science kid who just happened to also love English. I’m not entirely sure I agree – I think my writing teachers saw the writer first…. But from his perspective, I think that’s a fair assessment. Now, though, I’d say I’m an author who likes science. Really I think it has to do with priorities, more than anything. When I was studying and working in the science industry, most of my time was devoted to science (and a lot of my free time was spent reading science journals, etc). Writing and reading were my “weekend activities.” But after I had kids, I wanted to pursue the writing, give myself a real shot. Now I prioritize that first, and most of my time is spent reading or writing, with “free time” spent reading science journals, or researching something I’m interested in.

Not exactly. More from the idea of one. I grew up across the street from a boy who was also my best friend. He moved away when I was 7. And now my daughter is living next door to her best friend, a boy she’s known her entire life. So I got to thinking: when does the relationship start to get hard? I think it’s such a common thing, having a boy for a best friend. I had guy friends in high school, but it’s not exactly the same as a friendship that transitions from childhood. So I developed the friendship from a what if situation: what would happen if someone doesn’t move away; if you have to transition to adulthood together.

Well, Decker was my favorite to write…. but I was closest to Delaney. I spent a lot (A LOT) of time in her head, for better or worse. I also really liked Janna, mostly because I feel like she was someone I would’ve been friends with.

I did struggle with Troy a bit, but not for the reasons people probably think. I felt like I knew him really well (he changed a lot during rewrites), but all his history didn’t have a place in the book. And I had to be okay with that: with hoping that people understood him, could see that history, without every detail.

Oh man, love and redemption – that’s pretty much everything, you know? The idea that we can be redeemed for anything is powerful. That someone can leave prison, break parole, start a new life, take in a child (a la Les Mis), spend another lifetime devoting himself to that cause… it really resonated with me the first time I saw the musical (and then read the book) (and then saw the musical) (and then saw it again). A lot of times, people ask me about how… certain characters…. could forgive… certain things. And I think it all comes back to this idea: that the past doesn’t have to be all of you. That you can spend a lifetime regretting, or you can spend a lifetime living (and in the process, forgiving).

The characters in Les Mis were also very memorable, in that I felt that they all felt so strongly about their positions (especially when it comes to justice). These are all themes that resonated with me then, and still resonate with me now.

I definitely thought a lot about this while writing the book, because Delaney had to think about it. And the truth is, there isn’t one Big Thing I’m waiting to do. Writing the book did change me a bit—I try not to wait.

If I had one day left, I’d spend it how I spend most days: I’d spend it with my kids, doing something they absolutely love.