A: Ahhh, I grew up in the wonderful suburban town of Jeffersonville, Indiana, which is five minutes away from Louisville, Kentucky. While there, I had rowdy friends, parents, and, yes, boyfriends. We had to be creative, but we had a great time in our half-midwestern, half-southern area of the country. (There we shopped at Wal-Mart and ate KFC!)

Q: I WILL SURVIVE has its bleak moments, but it's definitely a comedy. What was it like to write something dark and funny? Where do your ideas come from?

A: My ideas come from my large group of colorful friends. I take something they say or do and magnify it. I am very, very good at making the mundane melodramatic. (Just ask my ex!)

I always give this piece of advice: Whenever you're trying to get inspired in general, shut all of the windows and hole yourself up in the dankest, darkest, most depressing writing spot you can find. Then use your mind to imagine what it's like to be happy, sad, dark, and even bleak. It works for me.

Q: One of the things I love the most about Ellen, the lead character, is that she's willing to face her uncertainties — and the fact that sometimes she was happier being clueless. What are some of the things that went through your head as you were writing about her?

A: Ellen is a wonderful mix of sweet and bitchy. I want to be more like her! As I wrote her, she became cooler and cooler, even though she was sometimes unsure of herself and her decisions. More than anything, I admired her inner fire-she has a lot of it.

I wrote about Ellen blindly. I had an idea what she was like, and let her develop. I can't say that I do these long character sketches. My fictional people just emerge and grow on their own. They usually wind up with the qualities I wish I had myself or that I really admire in someone else.

Q: While Ellen's friendships in the book are a little, um, volatile, I know that you've had some really close best friends for a long time. How do these friendships help you with your writing (and your life!)

A: Without my two closest, oldest friends (from high school!) and my mom, I'd probably be dead. They save me from my mistakes but never fail to pick me up when I make them anyway. So how have they helped me? Well, they make me feel good about myself. They don't let me get down on myself either. Yet, they're very honest, too. If I'm screwing up, they'll let me know and help me get back on the right track. Best of all, they are a blast to hang out with — whether we're having serious conversations or serious nights out on the town.

Q: You've written a lot for teen magazines. What's that like? What are some of your most memorable experiences?

A: I once went on a photo shoot where this real teen spent a day and evening with a model. The model knew he was just doing his job and getting paid his day rate for hanging out with this beautiful high school girl. It was just a day's work to him. Meanwhile, I'm pretty sure the girl fell in love!

I also went to the set of the (unfortunate) movie, Loser, when they were filming in Toronto. Mena Suvari and Jason Biggs were doing scenes together all day, and they were really cool to hang out with. Jason Biggs is surprisingly hot in person. I don't know how they always make him look like such a dork! He's not.

On a sad note, I will never forget a brave young woman named Margie Luna. I wrote a story about her-she was an amazing girl who beat a particularly brutal form of cancer. But just when the story came out, the cancer came back, and she passed away very quickly. I learned about so much about being positive and selfless from her.

Q: What are some of your literary influences?

A: Judy Blume, Meg Cabot, Joan Didion

Q: What are your musical influences?

A: I'm all over the place. I love R&B (bring on the Ashanti and Jay-Z)! But the kind of music that inspires me is Bjork, Portishead, Shawn Colvin, Madonna, Fiona Apple, and the Mammas and the Pappas. I am really, really into chick music.

Q: What's your writing life like? Obviously, writing a novel is different from writing magazine articles. What's the process like for you?

A: Every day, it's a huge process just getting out of bed! Really, you have to be very disciplined to get up every morning when you are your own boss, like I am. I make myself get up by 8:30 a.m., and I try to work solid from 9 a.m. to at least 3 p.m. Sometimes I have to pull all nighters, sometimes I take entire, eh-huh, weeks off. I love my job and the freedom in my life.

Q: You're now living in Manhattan — what's city life like?

A: It's exciting, exhilarating and scary all at the same time. I am the kind of person, though, who could be happy living anywhere as long as my closest friends are around. I'm just lucky to have landed in New York for now. I am so happy experiencing everything this place has to offer.

Q: Do you know the way to San Jose?

A: No way, man. I'd have to look it up on Mapquest.com.