Kristan Higgins

Well, my tagline is "Laugh, cry, laugh again," so that sums it up pretty well. I write book club fiction…realistic, deeply emotional, funny stories about people at a defining moment in their lives. It could be a crisis, a life change, an opportunity, but the journey makes them look at where they are in life and what they want to change. There's a love story in the book, family issues, a beautiful setting and usually a wonderful dog as well.

I grew up in Connecticut and Massachusetts in very small towns, and yes, that influenced my writing quite a bit. I love the sense of community you can get, love the picturesque New England and New York towns where I set my books (sometimes real, sometimes fiction). Like any region of the country, there's a certain sensibility about New England…we're honest, practical, good-hearted but not effusive. We mind our own business, in other words, don't care where you go to church or how much you make, but if you get sick, we're going to stack your firewood and leave dinner at your front door.

Voracious. Reading gave me a safe place when I needed one, an escape into a world where people are braver than they think and can do the impossible, and everything works out in the end. I read every single book in the children's section of our library before I was twelve. Granted, it was a tiny library, but even so.

Hmm. I would say that OUT OF THE CLEAR BLUE SKY is a recent work that embodies all things that define my writing. It's wickedly funny…starts with our heroine trapping a skunk to release in her ex-husband's glorious new house. It's messy, it takes a deeper look at people and explores relationships that may have been taken for granted, even makes you like characters who don't seem likeable at first. And it's set on Cape Cod in one of the most beautiful towns there is.

Oh! Great question! Elinor Lipman, Sonali Dev, Jonathan Tropper, Pam Jenoff and Kelly Rimmer. The list changes by the day, because I have so many favorite authors, but that's a start.

Goodnight Moon.

What an interesting question! All my characters are part of me, of course, since I made them. Maybe Marley in GOOD LUCK WITH THAT, because she's both confident and yet plagued with certain lifelong insecurities; is devoted to her family; loves good food; and is a really great friend. She loves kids, goes to great lengths to make people feel welcome and doesn't like to burden people with her greatest sorrows, even when she should. Unlike me, she has fantastic, curly hair. In that sense, I live vicariously through her.

RJ Julia, Madison, Connecticut, my local! But having been on book tour many times, I've been able to see so many great indie bookstores: Anderson's Books in Downer's Grove, IL; An Unlikely Story in Plainville, MA; Town Center Books in Pleasanton, CA; Blue Willow Bookstore in Houston, TX. There's nothing like a couple of hours in an indie bookstore. They are magical places.

I write on my enclosed front porch so I have a great view of the trees and field. We live in a rural town, and we're tucked away with the deer and owls. My dog lies at my feet (shout-out to you, Buttercup!), I've got a cup of coffee and maybe a few Hershey Nuggets, and I sit on a small velvet couch. On very cold winter days, I go upstairs and sit in a big squishy multi-colored chair and am surrounded by pictures of my family.

A little bitty room that's just big enough for a comfy chair that holds my dog and me, surrounded by big windows framed by overstuffed bookshelves. There's a little marble fireplace, a soft rug. It would ideally be snowing, and very quiet. A little table would hold my mug and some tissues, because I love a book that makes me cry at least once. I'd also need a soft blanket, because my feet are always cold.