Something that I get asked a lot is this: where do I get my wacky ideas from. Well, I collect them from everywhere. From news articles, from TV shows, from books, and even from real life, too. Here’s a little Q & A from behind the scenes with Confessions of a Serial Dater.

Q. In Confessions of a Serial Dater, Rosie’s grandmother is a committed garden gnome collector who becomes a victim of mysterious garden gnome theft. Where did you get the idea for mysterious garden gnome theft?

A. From real life. It’s absolutely true! People really do get heated up about the topic of garden gnomes. Some think they are marvelous, wondrous things, some think they are tacky and tasteless, some strive fervently to relocate the gnomes to their natural habitats, but not many people are indifferent to them. As for me, I secretly love them.

Q. Rosie and her partner co-run Odd Jobs, an agency that supplies staff for the oddest of jobs. Where did you get the idea for that?

A. Well, one morning when I still lived in America I was listening to my favorite radio show (Lesley Gold, a.k.a. the Radio Chick) and one of her guests was a fluffer. I’d never heard of a fluffer before. A fluffer’s job, so I discovered, is to “prepare” some of the actors in porno movies. You know, um, to ensure they can perform. Also, once upon a time in the old days when I lived in London, I took part in a drag act, which is an odd yet fun kind of job for a woman. And so the idea for Odd Jobs was born

Q. At the beginning of each chapter of Confessions of a Serial Dater you have quirky confessions. At the beginning of chapter one, the confession is about turtles being able to breathe through their asses. Is that true?

A. Absolutely!

Q. Also in Confessions of a Serial Dater, there’s a bit where Rosie talks about squirrelly warning labels on consumer goods. Like takeout coffee having a warning “contents may be hot” on the cup. Is the one about the Swedish chainsaw true?

A. Yes. It’s amazingly odd what kinds of strange things people might do with their chainsaws if left uninstructed in their usage, so better safe than sorry! Although why one might be tempted to place a chainsaw anywhere certain parts of one’s anatomy is a mystery…

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