1. What inspired you to write your first book?
I had this idea that what if the main problem someone was facing was a lack of being able to communicate with someone else. There could be a hundred reasons why person B doesn’t understand what person A says, OR person B does understand but can’t communicate back to person A what he/she is feeling. Once I had that idea, characters started to form in my head. Jane and Charley were the first to arrive and the first to feel really fully formed. Everyone else sprang out of them.
[divider type=””]
2. Writing can be a difficult job. What inspires you to keep going?
With Summer Melody, I really felt like this was a story that a lot of people might be able to relate to. So I really wanted to be able to finish it to see if it could find an audience, or resonate with even a few people. Imagining that finished product was what kept me going when I felt like giving up.
[divider type=””]
3. What are you working on now? What’s next?
I have an idea for a book, but still need to plunk my butt in the chair and get it written. This novel would be a satire of life in the suburbs and deal with everything from being volunteered for the PTSA to the politics of dog walking, to the endless supply of home shopping opportunities like Pampered Chef. Readers have also asked if there’s a sequel to Summer Melody in the works. I’d love to say yes, but so far, the characters haven’t told me what they’d be doing in 10 years. So I’m kind of stuck there.
[divider type=””]
4. What’s your writing process, schedule or routine?
I do a lot of character development in the shower at the beginning stages of thinking about a novel. Something about the running water is really good for sparking my brain. With Summer Melody, my kids were still small, so I’d take Sunday afternoons and my husband would take the kids, and I’d go off to a coffee shop and not return until I had 1500-2000 words written. Other writers may shun me for this, but I did a lot of outlining of the plot for Summer Melody. I wanted each chapter to have a dramatic arc, so I literally made sure I could identify the conflict, and the climax and denouement of each chapter. And because the book takes place over a summer, I had to make certain each of the three protagonists had enough going on to carry her through all the chapters and could interact with the other main characters.
[divider type=””]
5. Who is your favorite book character of all time? Why?
Holy cannoli. That’s like picking your favorite child. I have no idea. Let me think. [Insert thinking time here.] Honestly, the first character that popped into my head was Meg Murray from Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time. I think the characters that affect you as kids probably stick with you the longest. And I remember loving Meg from the first time I read her. She was so flawed and fairly grumpy, and perceived herself as kind of plain, and I just thought “Now this is someone I can relate to.”
[divider type=””]
6. What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
If you feel like you have a story to tell, then tell it. Arm yourself with the best tools you can in advance – take some writing courses to learn the basics of the craft of storytelling, and know your characters inside out. Know that your first draft, no matter HOW GOOD you think it is, is not your final draft. And most of all, have faith and believe in yourself.
[divider type=””]
7. What’s your favorite quote?
It comes from some line of greeting cards: “You know it was a good day if you didn’t hit or bite anyone.” ~ Nathaniel, age 4.
[divider type=””]
8. Who would you most like to have a cup of coffee with? Explain.
Going on the assumption that when I actually met this person, I wouldn’t seize up in shyness and feel like I had absolutely nothing in common and was utterly unworthy to be spending time with this person, i.e. going on the assumption that I would act normal and not like a fool, I’d say Tina Fey. I think she is one of the funniest and smartest women out there today, and I have that common fan-girl feeling like if we knew each other, we could be buds.
[divider type=””]
9. What is your biggest pet peeve?
I’m a silent seether over bad grammar. I AM that person on Facebook who silently judges you if you use the word 
“irregardless” or “nauseous” instead of “nauseated.” I try not to be public about it, because I know people do the best they can, but it’s still depressing.
[divider type=””]
10. Tell us something quirky about you.
I can say “The ship is in Byzantium” in ancient Greek.
[divider type=””]
11. Favorite comfort food?
Brownies.
[divider type=””]
12. Star Wars or Star Trek?
No contest. Star Trek, Next Generation. Make it so.
[divider type=””]
13. Sunrises or sunsets?
Sunrises. That’s usually when I’m walking my dog, and they always make me feel how lucky I am to be here.
[divider type=””]
Learn more about Toddie HERE