I earned an MA in fiction writing from Syracuse University in 1992, taught private school English for three years, subbed briefly and incompetently in California public schools, and then began collaborating with my husband Tom McNeal on a novel with the staggeringly bad title WHEN ALL THE GOOD HOLIDAYS ARE OVER. Since the completion of that book, which a Knopf editor wisely suggested we call CROOKED, I've alternated full-time writing with the problem of how to motivate our children to turn their socks right side out. (Still unsolved.) Tom and I are the co-authors of four young adult novels published by Knopf, and my solo book, DARK WATER, was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2010. THE INCIDENT ON THE BRIDGE, forthcoming in April, took five years to finish and can be pre-ordered now. My historical novel, THE PRACTICE HOUSE, will be published by Little A, the literary fiction imprint of Amazon, in 2017. I knit useless things, wish fervently to have my life narrated by Nina Stibbe and/or to become a roadie for Billy Joel, and I know enough arcane poetry facts to be the dethroned world champion of poetry on Quiz Up.