I’m notorious for jumping to the worst-case scenario. For writing, it’s a great skill. I identify my heroine’s greatest fear and then concoct the worst possible outcome that I can think of that preys upon her anxiety. This skill is awful when it comes to real life, especially when you have a child getting his driver’s license.

With my second book, The Merchant's Yield, launching, I feel like a mother sending my young son to his first sleepover...