What inspired you to be an author? Are there authors that you view as a role model?

I've always known I wanted to be a writer. When I was a kid, if I didn't like the ending of a book I'd just make up a different one. I moved on from there to making my own, complete with a beginning and a middle :) I don't really role model anyone, no. I'm not big on emulating people so much as doing my own thing.

Where did you get the idea for NOT A DROP TO DRINK?

I watched a documentary called Blue Gold, which is about a projected shortage of potable water on our planet due to overpopulation. It was a horrible thought --- we all need water to survive, and it's something we can't make. I went to bed very grateful for the small pond in my backyard, and that night I dreamt I was teaching a young girl how to operate a rifle so that she could help me protect the pond. I woke up and thought, "Hey... I wrote a book in my head just now."

What got you into writing YA?

I've worked as a YA librarian for 13 years. I'm surrounded by my audience 40 hours a week and completely immersed in the market. Not writing YA would be foolish.

So we know NOT A DROP TO DRINK is your debut novel, but is it the first book you’ve ever written? 

Not by a long shot. I wrote two novels for adults when I was in college, both rather horrible. Then I wrote two unpublished YA's prior to DRINK. I have a few half-finished projects as well from college. 

Near the beginning of the book, Lynn is a character with many flaws. Readers tend to gravitate towards flawed characters because they’re so relatable. How were you able to get into her head and really live out her story?

It wasn't easy. She didn't want me in there. But I live in the middle of nowhere, a lot of the elements in Lynn's life are already present in mine (gardening, canning food, being wary of coyotes - yes really) so putting myself in her shoes wasn't terribly difficult.

How did working as a YA librarian help you write NOT A DROP TO DRINK? 

It helps because I know what the teens like, and what they hate, and what they're sick of. But in the end I have to write the story the way it wants to be told... and sometimes I know my readers might hate me a little for it. And that's okay.

SPOILER ALERT! Did you always intend the book to end the way it did, or did it evolve over time? 

I don't plan or plot my books at all. I just let the story happen. There was never any intention going in any of the character deaths... they're just things that happened organically as the story unfolded. So to me that means it's how the story was supposed to go.

I am a HUGE fan of your blog, Writer Writer Pants on Fire! How do you manage to balance your time between blogging, writing, and working as a YA librarian?

Blogging is from the heart, and entirely free. I don't make a dime off my blog, and there are definitely days when I wonder if it's worth the amount of time I put into it. But then I get comments like yours and that's payment enough. Time management is always a problem. I routinely fail at one thing every day. If I failed at blogging today, that means I did good on the WIP. If I failed on the WIP it means I probably did laundry. As long as I am accomplishing something and rotating what I fail at, I manage.

How long did it take you to write both NOT A DROP TO DRINK and IN A HANDFUL OF DUST?

About six months for each of them, first drafts.

Did you ever have a favorite moment, between writing NOT A DROP TO DRINK and seeing it on the shelves for the first time?

Getting your cover is probably the most exciting part for an author. It's the face of your book, the biggest marketing tool you have. You want it to be good. So far I've been blessed.

The covers to both NOT A DROP TO DRINK and IN A HANDFUL OF DUST are beautiful! Did you have any input on the cover design?

I have cover consult, but I've never needed it. My cover artist at HarperCollins is Erin Fitzsimmons, and basically I just open up my cover emails and the respond-- "This is gorgeous and perfect."

Can we expect any new works coming soon?

Yes! I have a Gothic historical thriller set in an insane asylum coming October 6 - A MADNESS SO DISCREET. It's a departure from my debut genre so I'm looking forward to taking my readers someplace new... and rather horrifying.