What book feels like home to you?  

“I love the book Falling Up by Shel Silverstein. It’s a poetry book from when I was a kid and I’ve read it like a thousand times.” 

Which living author do you most admire?  

“Freida McFadden. I love that she’s always in a disguise and is actually a secret (not-so-secret) real-life genius.” 

What’s your most unusual writing habit?  

“Probably that I wrote my entire book in my notes app on my iPhone.” 

What’s the first thing you do after finishing a draft? 

“Record it right away to post online so I don’t have time to overthink it. If I’m particularly proud of it, I’ll read it to my husband out loud if he’s around!” 

Describe your writing process in one word? 

“Emotional.” 

Where do you most like to write? 

“In my car, in the garage after I pull in from driving. Or in bed. Or in the bath. The three places my brain can really shut off.” 

What moment in your life felt straight out of a novel? 

“I showed up once at an ex-boyfriend’s house on Valentine’s Day in lingerie under a trench coat, and he broke up with me that day! I will never forget that. It felt made up!” 

What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever researched for a story? 

“Probably just asking random strangers what makes them sad the most often, so I can write about it!” 

If you could swap places with another author, who would that be? 

“In the poetry world, I’d love to live in the mind of Hayley Grace for a day. I find the way she writes to be extremely unique. I think her prose is so cool and different from anything I’ve ever heard.” 

What emotion do you find hardest to write about? 

“Probably love. Like, real, healthy love. I really thrive in writing about sadness and heartbreak because it’s nostalgic. But love, that’s a hard one. Maybe, because it has been such an easy feeling lately.” 

Which book is your most treasured possession?  

“This is so silly and not what you’d expect, but likely the 'fill it in’ journals from when I was a kid. I was so honest and strange in the Hilary Duff and Junie B. Jones journals. I’d never be able to get back what I wrote if I ever lost those books.”  

Who are your favourite writers? 

“This is recency bias, but Freida McFadden is currently my all-time favourite. I’ve always been a sucker for John Green since I was a kid as well. I still resonate with his writing, even today: ‘If people were rain, I was drizzle, and she was a hurricane.’ So 2010 Tumblr, but it’s okay.” 

What’s the strangest thing in your workspace? 

“I recently put my vision board in my workspace, and I love having it in there. It’s kind of weird but also very inspiring.” 

What book title best describes your life? 

“Maybe In Five Years by Rebecca Serle. I loved that book, and I feel like I’m always living in my past by about five years at a time. As a super nostalgic person, it’s hard not to always be looking back. As someone with ADHD, it’s also hard to not always be looking ahead. So, I think the five years concept fits super well.” 

What Canadian season best matches your writing style?  

“Without question, autumn. It brings out all the emotions in me. Specifically, early November. The way the air is at that time of year makes me never want to stop writing.” 

Best word to describe Canadian literature? 

“Important.” 

Your favourite Canadian author, past or present? 

“Joey Kidney!”