Hallie Ephron

1 - What's your latest?

Hallie Ephron: NEVER TELL A LIE - the paperback edition is just out from HARPER. It tells the story of how expectant mother Ivy Rose's life is upended when an old acquaintance (also very pregnant) turns up at her garage sale, enters the Roses' house on the arm of Ivy's husband, and disappears.

2 - Assuming I haven't read it, why should I?

Hallie Ephron: Because it'll give you the most visceral impression of what it's like to be 9 months pregnant...how can you resist? Also it'll keep you up nights.

3 - What can you tell us about your main character that you hadn't realized until you answered the question?

Hallie Ephron: The book really is about the thing that so many women care most about-protecting the people we love.

4 - What's your favorite scene and why?

Hallie Ephron: A favorite scene is when Ivy looks out onto the street from her kitchen window. Earlier, she and her husband David put an ancient wicker trunk out for garbage pickup. She can see that the lid of the trunk is open and someone is out there, picking through its contents. The person drops the lid and, in the flash of passing headlights, Ivy sees that it's a woman that, for a moment at least, looks exactly like Ivy. Why do I like it? Because it's unsettling without a hint of violence.

5 - What's next?

Hallie Ephron: I'm working on the final draft of a novel about a recluse, a woman who spends most of her hours in virtual on-line worlds. Her sister disappears, and the only way Diana can get up the courage to go out into the world is to dress up like her avatar. Working title: COME AND FIND ME.