Where did you get the idea for the book itself? Was any of this book actual experiences? Is there any correlation to the novel and your own life?
I wanted to write How Good It Can Be for ten years before I actually put pen to paper. A couple things in the book actually happened—a boyfriend in high school did attack me, and I was in a major car accident, though luckily WE ALL SURVIVED. The rest of the book is pure fiction.

Did you go to Berkeley?
No, I went to the University of Pittsburgh for both undergrad and grad, but I lived in California during grad school, which I completed online. Cal (Berkeley) is a stand in for Pitt; they're both huge state schools and each have a building on campus that's an architectural centerpiece: the Cathedral and the Campanile. Going back to grad school really revived my undergraduate memories, and I wrote the sequel book, The Love Quad, my second year of grad school.

What was the basis for the Emma character?
Emma is meant to be a blank slate. She's an everyday girl, a little extraordinary, but someone that any reader can relate to and imagine walking in Emma's shoes. I definitely did not write Emma after myself.

Why did you choose to make Emma so naïve?
The book is satirical. Emma is naive so we learn from her experiences.

Why did you choose to place such emphasis on the socio-economical status of the characters and their friends? What made you make high school so extravagant, ie: kids driving Porsches, et al?
To show that domestic violence permeates all levels of the social strata. And to show that there's more to life than shallow materialism, like the freedom to follow your dreams.

Have you always enjoyed writing?
I LOVE WRITING. I try to write every other day.

Do you plan on continuing in the genre of young adult writing?
YES. Right now I'm writing the story of Emma's cousin, Skylar, who is a librarian detective living and solving crime in San Francisco. More at www.librariandetective.com.

Did you write this book based on a personal experience? Why did you choose this subject for the book? What is the meaning behind your writing this book? Do you have a specific attachment to this topic? Where did the inspiration for this novel come from?
Yes. My high school boyfriend assaulted me, and even though I've forgiven him and wish him well, the lingering effects messed up an engagement in my late 20s. All for the best, but I needed to work through complicated feelings, and writing is a creative outlet that allowed me to do that. Luckily, my experience was relatively minor, which I feel let me tell the story with less of an emotional toll. But if sharing my story encourages even one young woman to walk away from an abusive relationship, it will have been worth it.

Why did you choose to write towards a teen audience? What drew you to writing for young adults/adolescents?
I'm really young at heart. I may write in a mature voice sometimes, but can also write teen speak. I'm very bubbly and laugh a lot, which I learned to use as a defense mechanism. I tested at gifted levels in school, but not everyone can handle a female who is the full package, so I dumbed myself down sometimes to fit in. I wanted to show a character like Emma being less and accepting less on purpose, because it could have been a lonely and solitary existence if she lived to her full potential. However, she ultimately realizes that it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks and how good it can be to be true to yourself.

Why did you choose to focus on Emma as opposed to Blake?
There are already so many stories about men. I'm more interested in hearing about female perspectives.

Did you plan to kill Blake when you began writing this book?
Definitely. To me, Blake symbolizes all the bad things that've ever happened with a guy and killing off his character felt really good. Writing How Good It Can Be gave me a fresh start.

Why did you choose to write Blake as abusive? Explain the dynamics of Blake.
Blake was abusive but he was oblivious to it. We see this more and more: the abusers are people we know, who walk among us. It's more common than you think; it's just that people are embarrassed and afraid to talk about. Maybe if we talk about it more, people will be less likely to be assholes.

For you, what is the main topic or point to this novel? What made you choose to write about this topic?
Following your heart and true desires no matter what anyone else thinks of you. How Good It Can Be to be true to yourself. Loving yourself first, so you can love others more purely. Also, holding out for the right kind of love. "I've been holding out for love ever since I heart."—from the song How Good It Can Be by The 88.

Read the rest and comment here: http://howgooditcanbe.com/discussion/

Being able to create an entertaining story, and the feeling when the words just flow, hopefully changing the reader's life. It's amazing.

Everything. Connecting with them and touching each other's lives is what communicating is all about.

I'm finishing the last part of Librarian Detective right now. Then I'll publish my novel ALLEGRA, which is complete but being edited. I also have a memoir complete but being edited. What I'm writing next is either Emma in New York or a time travel novel about a young female artist, tentatively titled MAYDAY.

Anne Rice, Ellen Emerson White, Jack Kerouac, Jennifer Donnelly, Michelle Richmond, Ally Carter, Carolyn Keene

I meditate before getting out of bed. It's clears the mind so well, that I'm completely reset to a state of pure joy. Try it. I have a meditation playlist on my YouTube channel, Michelle Z. from In the Stacks.tv, that I'm happy to share with you.

Music also makes my mood. Also on YouTube are the playlists of songs I listened to while writing each of my novels.

Cooking, socializing, shoppping, with my family and friends. I love being at the beach and walking around the city.

We created an app for discovering books librarians love. It gives you top five picks of what librarians recommend for you to read. You can find out more at In the Stacks.tv

I was a literary non-fiction journalism major, and then an editor and journalist for Hearst in New York before moving to San Francisco to become a writer. So, early on, I mostly wrote non-fiction journalism and essays. How Good It Can Be is the first story i wrote.

I blog about this extensively at michellezaffino.com and also on my video series On Storytelling, which can be found on YouTube at http://bit.ly/2xdVGWh

Ever After Island by Elizabeth Starr Hill was a childhood favorite. It's a very magical chapter book.

I love designing my own book covers. I've done the design direction for all of them so far. That's one of the best parts of indie publishing.

The cover art needs to highlight a few of the main themes of the book. For instance on the cover for How Good It Can Be, a prep school tie is worn as a belt, to illustrate that the antagonist attended prep school. The lines on the pavement allude to driving as a theme and the chalk typeface says that the novel is about young adults who are dying to grow up but they're still kids.

The earbuds on the cover of The Love Quad are my favorite, though, and asking the professional artist Kim Frohsin to provide art for Librarian Detective brought cover design to a new level.

iPad

Being added to a list of books that librarians recommend.