Today I interview a writer-friend of mine who has published her writing in more places I have time to link to, so you can read about them all here. We originally got to know each other back in the day because we published small books with So New Media, and now she's promoting her newest book, The Kept Man, published by Riverhead (those of you who read Elle may have seen a review of it in the latest issue.) She's also the author of the book Instant Love, and if you ask her nicely, sometimes she'll tell you about she learned in advertising that can help authors promote their books.

There is some sex in your writing. Did many of your readers assume that the scenarios in it came from your real life?
Well, I think people know I'm not a virgin, so it's not like I'm making up what it feels like to have sex. And sometimes people will tentatively ask me, "How much of your writing comes from your real life?" But no one has ever asked me if the sexual scenarios come from real-life experience, so I can't rightly say what they're thinking out there. (And now is not a good time to start asking, in case anyone is getting any ideas.)

Speaking of which, when I saw you read a sexy kind of story from it, your parents happened to be in attendance. Do your parents opine at all on the subject matter in your books?
I've been writing about sex for a long time, both in my fiction and non-fiction. I think the shock value stopped registering with them around the year 2000, when I wrote about a one-night stand I'd had for Salon. I hesitated having them send my first book to my grandmother, but she said to my parents, "Tell her I'm 86 years old and I think I've heard of most of this stuff by now."

What's the worst reading experience you've had, either as a performer or attendee?
For my first tour I was supposed to read at A Clean Well-Lighted Place for Books, which closed about a week before I arrived in San Francisco. I was rescheduled at a bookstore that had been open for three days or something like that, in a really weird part of town that my friends who had lived there for years had never even heard of before. I think five people showed up, and that included the guy on the street I convinced to come in and watch me. Right before I went on the owner said to me, "You don't have to do this, you know." Totally mortifying. I sallied forth though, but it was super quiet in that store. And then I left immediately afterwards.

So I'm publishing my first book next year; any advice on how to follow up with a good sophomore effort?
Write your second book while you're prepping the first book for publication. It takes your mind off the long wait in between the sale of the book and the pub date. Also: completely ignore the reviews (good or bad) and just write from your gut. You know better than anyone what stories you have to tell, Claire.

You've been getting lots of good reviews: do you read them all? Have you gotten any less than great ones, and how do you handle it?
I'm not going to lie to you, reading a bad review sucks. For like, a day. And then you get over it. There hasn't been any criticism I've seen yet that I've felt was going to help me improve my writing. Whether that has to do with the intent or the execution of the criticism, I don't know. And I love getting a good review, but it's not like I read it over and over again to cheer myself up when I'm having a bad day. I think it's all a part of the process. I've been told frequently that I should just be happy anyone wants to talk about my book in a public forum, and so I am.

Does keeping up your blog get more difficult as you work on your books and promoting them?
Yes, totally. I don't write as much about my personal life anymore, because I feel like there's probably enough out there as it is. (Also it's not really that interesting these days; I've settled down quite a bit.) And I don't like to give all my writing energy to something that pretty much just fades after a day. I take a lot more photos now to fill up the space. Still I don't know if I'll ever give it up entirely. It's been a document of my life for nearly ten years now and it's as much a part of my creative output as anything else, even if it's a smaller part now.

What's it like working in a residency? I'd worry that all that free time to write would paradoxically create a lot of pressure. And also I'd worry that I'd be around a lot of humorless artiste people.
I've only done a few, and twice I've totally gotten sick of it and left a few days early. But there are always a few good weeks in there where I'm insanely productive. I wouldn't say the artists are humorless, so much as eccentric. (Come on, artists are HILARIOUS.) You have to learn to live with a really intense group of strangers. Usually you can find one person to hang out with, and they're going to be your friend for life. I would much prefer being by myself in the woods, though.

How do you sign your books? Legibly? With a sassy note?
I was just noticing the other day that I have completely given up on the last four letters of my last name.

How much do you think having a last name that begins with an A impacts your books' visibility? And what does that say for me?
I think you're fucked, Claire.

For first time authors, does checking the Amazon rankings help anything other than getting a complex?
Unless you're in the top 100, Amazon is totally meaningless, but I still completely check it nine million times a day. Seriously, don't bother. But I know it's impossible to help yourself. My latest fascination/sickness is goodreads.com, where you can see how many people intend to read the book. I think there's 25 people right now who have listed my book as a "to-read." Why only 25? Why not 5,000? And every day it inches up just a little bit higher. I don't know what I'll do when it drops, though.

I feel like we're in high school and I'm an anorexic and I just taught you how to put your finger down your throat.

What are your tips for a great book launch party?
I am currently baking my internationally recognized chocolate chip cookies to bring to my book party tonight. Also lots of alcohol. And don't invite any assholes. You may think you have to, but it's your book party. You do what you want.

You've lived in a lot of places: how do you decide where to set your stories? Do you have any settings that you'd like to work in that you haven't thus far?
I usually set my stories in places I've actually visited or lived, because that's just where my head tends to go. If it's a familiar location, that's a safe place to land an unfamiliar character who I'm trying to get to know.

I have an idea for a book that I think I'd like to set in Portland, OR, if only because it will give me an excuse to move there.

For The Kept Man, did you do a lot of research on comas? Did you learn anything interesting?
I did a little bit of research on comas. I worked at a nursing home for a year in Seattle, and it did not house coma victims, but it did have an Alzheimer's unit, and I drew on that experience for the book. And while I was in the middle of writing the book I interviewed a doctor who had pulled the plug on quite a few patients. He had seen families that held on for far too long, and I asked him why he thought they did that. And he said, "Because they're selfish."

Do you have a writing schedule?
I am doing nothing right now except for touring and promoting this book, and I imagine it will be a while until I get back to it. But I like to write in the mornings. I get up early in the morning with a head full of good ideas and lots of energy and then by the afternoon I'm just playing Scrabulous like the rest of the internet losers.

What are you working on now?
I'm on the third draft of a novel about stolen money, broken hearts, plastic surgery, mummification cults and the great state of Nebraska.

How does it feel to be the 196th person interviewed for Zulkey.com?
I'm just wondering what took so long.