Holy crap!  My delinquency is taking on epic proportions!  I was supposed to post this interview weeks ago.  I think it came in while I was on vacation and then I got sucked into draft edits, and I…sorta, kinda, forgot, and somehow convinced myself that I had already posted.  I'm so sorry Julianna Baggot (aka Bridget Asher) who so kindly agreed to answer the 5 questions.  I suck.  If it makes you feel any better, you are not the only thing to fall through the cracks. I never managed to pass my UK driving test (after having failed before I even left the test center), I'm due for a dental cleaning, and a trip to the bathroom just confirmed that yet again I am wearing my underwear on inside out.

Those of you who "like" me on Facebook (and if you don't why not?  click here!  as I've said many a time, you don't have to like-me, like-me, you just have to think I'm, well, okay enough) have already heard about THE PROVENCE CURE FOR THE BROKEN HEARTED, which sounds awesome.  For those of you who haven't, here's what you need to know:

"Fans of Under the Tuscan Sun will adore this impossibly romantic read."

– People magazine

"Readers who enjoy … Lolly Winston's Good Grief and Jane Green's The Beach House or travel-induced transformation books like Frances Mayes's Under the Tuscan Sun and Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love will find common themes … and become quickly invested in the lives of the deftly drawn characters."

– Library Journal

Want to hear something crazy?  Julianna is the author of SEVENTEEN books. Yup, that's right. SEVENTEEN.  I've been teaching Elili to count these days, and when she gets to six, she invariably says: "six, eight, TEN!"  and then starts clapping with enthusiasm for being just so right.  And I'll admit it has occurred to me, since I can't even put my underwear on correctly, that perhaps this is my fault.  That I've somehow forgot to mention, you know, seven and nine.  So, right, back to Julianna.  My point is SEVENTEEN books is a lot o'books.  SEVENTEEN is no joke.  SEVENTEEN makes me want to stop writing this measly book number three, and go home and climb back in to bed.  And maybe teach Elili seven and nine.  You know what SEVENTEEN tells me?  SEVENTEEN tells me that Julianna's underwear is not on inside out.

Okay, the 5 questions:

1. Where were you the first time you saw your book in a bookstore and who did you call first?

I haven't yet. I'm holed up at home – on deadline for a new novel (a dystopic thriller, oddly enough, called PURE, how's that for a switcheroo in tone?) – and touring virtually as Bridget Asher instead of literally (and I MUCH prefer this pajama version). It'll be in Target starting April 3rd. We'll plan an excursion – during which we'll also buy some summer gear and unders, of course (5 for $20).

2. I'm convinced all writers are a little bit crazy. Do you agree, and if so, what kind of crazy are you?

Basic hypochondriac germaphobe with a little over-scrupulosity and some overriding anxiety that can occasionally manifest in a panic attack (rare, though the Xanax is on hand) and some bouts of sleeplessness.

In other words: garden variety.

3. If you were going to have another author write your biography, who would you choose to write it and why? Any title ideas?

Blake Bailey. Hands down. I'm hoping the title isn't Julianna Baggott: Garden-Variety Neurotic. But I'd take that over Julianna Baggott, Bridget Asher and N.E. Bode: A World of Utter Madness.

4.  When did you start to take yourself seriously as a writer?

I used to say that I wasn't a writer unless, at that moment, I was writing – because I hadn't published anything really to point to, something lasting. This mindset instilled a great work ethic. I still consider myself a writer mainly when I'm actually writing.

5.  If your house was burning down, and you had time to rescue only three books from your library, what would you choose and why?

Aside from old photograph albums, I'd grab the signed book of Atwood poems, the signed book of Heaney poems, the signed copy of Lee Smith's Fair and Tender Ladies. (I assume I've grabbed the husband, children, the dogs, the cat….)