In this is my worst nightmare: please be nice to me, a young high school teacher is confronted with losing her best friend and must come to terms with the trauma bond the two have formed. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

The inspiration for this story came to me organically, as it started from a poem. I wanted to delve deeply into human relationships, and I find that people often don’t solve their problems and battle their ghosts unless they’re in a desperate situation, like the one in the novel, which is why I wanted to have a somber setting, like a hospital for instance.

Is there anything from your own life found within the characters of Sunny and Charlie?

I think whenever we write we always take something from our lives. Everyone I’ve ever met, every book I’ve ever read and every film I’ve ever seen are in this book, as well as some of myself. But I do think that building these characters and getting to know them as the writing process continued was wonderful, and they definitely didn’t just come to me ready; I had to slowly meet them and find out more about them.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

I wanted to explore the complexities of humans and the way they relate to each other, all the joys, pains, and grief. But ultimately, I hope that what readers take away is that it’s a story about love and its power, for good or bad.

What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?

I can’t say much about my next book other than it’s a big shift from this one, something a little more mysterious, and in an entirely different genre. Other than that, I’m working on plenty of films, and writing a lot of screenplays! I’m currently focused on food writing, and a couple of my next projects are about food and cooks.

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