Amy Goldman Koss/Judy Gregerson

Welcome, Amy, Thank you for giving me a little one on one time.

Q. What inspired you to be a writer?

A. Blank paper.

Q. Can you tell us about your latest book release?

A. Side Effects is a snarky cancer survivor story - I like to think of it as a realistic - funny - horror
story with a happy ending.

Q. Would you take us through your typical writing day?

A. My office manager (my old black lab named Sweetie) and I, mosey out to my office (a yellow room
behind the house) about ten am, them mosey back in for snacks around 10:22. In, out… it takes a lot
of back and forth to get the day up and running. Some words get typed along the way but then it's time
to get my kids from school.

Q. Do you think about your readers when you write a book?

A. No, sorry.

Q. What sort of things do you do when you're not writing?

A. I go out to eat with the ladies of the canyon - there are a lot of freelancers where I live - graphic
designers, film critics, actors -- and we all get VERY hungry working alone. Only one of us, (the
improve comic) is thin. I also read a lot and drive my kids around and yell at them for one thing and
another. Plus I garden bombastically, and worry about my husband who is a news guy specializing in
horrifically dangerous parts of the globe.

Q. What are some of your favorite things?

A. Dogs, books, squishy socks, Fritos.

Q. Many writers speak about writer's block. Do you ever have that, and if so what are some things
you do to get over it?

A. I once suffered a 7 1/2 month bout. There are countless articles and books full of therapies and
snake-oil cures, but I had to just wait it out. Very hard. A fine reason not to become a writer in the
first place.

Q. If you could say one thing to a new writer what would it be?

A. Tell the truth, even as you lie.

Q. If you could say one thing to the children reading your books what would that be?

A. Thanks.

Q. When it comes to writing what's next for you?

A. My daughter's friend whose life has been….um….messy, wants me to tell her story. I've never
done anything like that before so I'm thinking on it.

Q. Are you available for signings, school visits and writing workshops?

A. Yes, for oodles of dough.

Welcome, Judy. Thank you for taking the time to let me interview you.

AF - What inspired you to be a writer?

JG -Around the age of twelve, I discovered that I could write and that people liked what I wrote.
There's tremendous satisfaction in seeing the smile on someone's face after they read something
you've put to paper. That was enough to get me going!

AF - Can you tell us a little about your road to publication?

JG -My first book sold to the first editor who read it and was published quickly. So, there wasn't much
of a road there. The second book is another story. That took a lot longer.

AF - What prompted you to write your books? Are they based on true life or are they completely
fiction?

JG - They're a mix of real life and fiction. I use what I know and then fictionalize what I don't know.
Then I mix it all up.

AF - Can you tell us a little about your latest book release?

JG - Ok, here's the standard blurb. Bad Girls Club: A horrifying incident at the top of Crater Lake
leaves Destiny in charge of her abusive mentally ill mother and her little sister. She hides the secret of
what happened, but falls farther away from her friends as she tries to save her mother and her little
sister from the evil that has taken over their house. When she finds out that her mother has killed
before, she's afraid that neither she nor her sister will get out alive.

AF - Would you take us through your typical writing day?

JG - I've been so busy doing pre-launch publicity that I don't have a standard writing day anymore.

AF - Do you think about your readers when you write a book?

JG - I do think about the people who will relate to what I'm writing and I try to make the story the best
I can for them.

AF - What sort of things do you do when you're not writing?

JG - I travel a little. I shop. I'm doing more gourmet cooking.

AF - What are some of your favorite things?

JG - I like clothes. I like going to the lake in the summer and sitting on a floatie all day and toasting in
the sun. I love my laptop and carrying it around with me when I travel.

AF - Many writers speak about writer's block. Do you ever have that, and if so what are some things
you do to get over it?

JG - If I get writer's block it's because I don't know something about the character or the plot. It's my
mind's way of telling me to stop and think it through.

AF - If you could say one thing to a new writer what would it be?

JG - Get a day job!

AF - If you could say one thing to the children reading your books what would that be?

JG - Be careful what you believe about yourself.

AF - When it comes to writing what's next for you?

JG - Well, I have a humorous YA ready to go. It just needs a home. I have several other manuscripts I
ought to get out and tune up.

AF - Are you available for signings, school visits and writing workshops?

JG - Yes, I am. There's more info on my site about speaking at: www.judygregerson.com.