Where did you grow up?
Chappaqua, New York which is a suburb 40 minutes north of NYC. There were big raspberry bushes growing in our backyard and, I was rather certain despite the fact that none of my digging expeditions ever proved this, an enormous dinosaur skeleton buried under it.

Where do you live now?
I live in Manhattan in an apartment in the East Village that sits in between and Italian restaurant and a nail salon. There is a sign out front of the nail salon that says they offer a service called "Ear Candling" and lots of times when I'm on my way in or out I'll pass by someone standing in front of this sign looking very confused because nobody seems to know what that is.

What are your favorite coffee shops to write in, and why?
My two favorites are: Café Pick Me Up and Ost Café, which are both in my neighborhood. Ost Café is new and is extraordinarily cozy and has free wireless and squishy yellow chairs and everyone in there is very friendly. Café Pick Me Up is also very nice, and seems to be a very popular spot for people conducting job interviews and going on internet dates which makes for some fabulous eavesdropping.

When did you first know that you wanted to be a writer?
I'm actually not sure. I don't actually have any memories of being a kid and thinking 'I want to be a writer.' But I did always love writing stories and I loved, loved, loved to read. I remember one summer I didn't go to camp or anything and what I did most days all day long was just read and read and read. I'd read for 7, 8, 9 hours in a row sometimes. And when I was done I'd feel like I was in this strange other world somewhere in between the book world and real world.

When I was a kid I thought anyone who'd written a book was a rich celebrity. I remember once trick-or-treating at the house of an author who'd written a book I'd read at school. She gave out full-size candy bars instead of the little ones most people gave out, so that kinda confirmed that for me. I have since realized I maybe have been slightly off about this, perhaps what I was picking up on was just that writers really like candy. At least I do.

How did you come up with the idea for WHEREVER NINA LIES?
I used to be a book editor and when I left my job (to write) I sent an email around to all my publishing contacts saying "Hey if anyone wants me to write anything I am over here!!!" The lovely people at Scholastic Point got in touch and asked if I'd be interested in trying out to write something for them. In particular they were looking to do a YA book that would include drawings that would play a pivotal role in the story. I said I would love to and then tried to come up with a plot that would be a natural fit for the format.

Have you ever gone on a cross-country road trip? If not, what places would you want to stop in?
I've been on various car trips with friends, but the very longest one only two took days. The funny thing is, I don't actually have a driver's license and I can only just barely drive, which I suppose makes my having written a road trip book kind of funny. I actually just went and got my learners permit (my second one, I had another when I was a teenager) in part inspired by having written WNL. I've never been to Arizona, but I looked at lots of pictures when I was writing this book and decided it would be a lovely place to go and I would like to be able to drive myself there.

Art plays a big role in the story. Are you an artist yourself? Do you like to draw?
I wouldn't say I'm an "artist", but I definitely love doodling and making stuff. Lately, I have been drawing a lot of little animals either standing on desserts or with desserts balanced on their heads.