Chicago is a vibrant and diverse city with so much to do and learn every single day. It’s also my home—I’ve lived here for all but three years of my life. I grew up in the south suburbs, went to graduate school in the north suburbs, and currently live in the city. While a little part of it is “writing what you know,” it’s no secret that Chicago has always been an amazing backdrop for crime, mystery, and suspense, and I’m happy to have the opportunity to add my voice to that.

Have you ever stopped writing a novel halfway through?

No, I haven’t. That’s because I rarely get halfway through a story without knowing where the rest of it is going to go. I am a heavy outliner, so I have a good sense of how a story is going to turn out by the time I’ve written the first chapter. I often put stories away for a while and come back to them, just to give them some time to breathe. But my unfinished manuscripts tend to be pages long, not chapters.

So how many (brief) unpublished books do you have in a drawer somewhere?

It’s hard to say! Probably ten to fifteen, in various stages. I haven’t given up on them yet!

When you develop characters, do you already know who they are before you begin writing, or do you let them develop as you go?

I know the basics about them when I start writing—their primary motivations, their backgrounds, their hobbies. But I definitely like to let them grow and develop along the way. A scene near the end of the book might give me a clue about how a character would react to something earlier in the novel, and I’ll go back and add in a detail. It’s fun to be able to watch characters come to life during the writing (and even editing) process.

What are some of the common themes in your work?

My suspense novels are very family-driven, with the major conflict often centering around relationships between parents and children, siblings, and spouses. I think that’s because it’s our deepest relationships that test us the most. Those are the ones we’ll risk everything for and for which we’ll put everything on the line.

What writing habits are you trying to break?

Writing stories in my head while I’m in the middle of a conversation…humor that borders on snark…oh, and overusing ellipses…!

Acknowledgments

As always, I would like to thank my family and friends for their seemingly endless supply of love, support, excitement, and encouragement. Thanks, too, to my book family—Shana, MJ, Barbara, and the rest of the Sourcebooks and IGLA teams. And a special shout-out to The Book Cellar in Lincoln Square for supporting new authors and creating a space for people who love books to meet, mingle, and discuss.