We chatted with Sandra Block about what inspires her and the writing process behind her new book, The Secret Room, which is available now!

This is a tough one, because many of my favorite scenes contain spoilers! The Zoe Goldman series often rides a precarious balance between humor and creepiness (an odd mix, yes I know). My favorite creepy scene would be a nightmare featuring a bloody wedding dress and a stack of corpses. My favorite humorous scene is an exquisitely awkward family Christmas dinner with Zoe’s boyfriend.

Definitely Sofia – Zoe’s nemesis, who is also her patient, her prisoner and more. Sofia is tricky to nail down, because while she’s a sociopath, she’s not a monster. She’s also rather wry, and you can’t help but chuckle at her one-liners while at the same time fearing her.

I’m reading Furiously Happy right now by Jenny Lawson. I haven’t read any humorous memoirs lately, and it’s a furiously happy relief! I just finished Gilly McMillan’s What She Knew. I couldn’t flip the pages fast enough to find out what happened to Ben. Next up: I Like You Just Fine When You’re Not Around by Ann Garvin.

I’m a full-on plotter. I write a proposal, which essentially serves as my outline, then draft about 750-1000 words/day. Drafting is the hardest part for me. Then I revise, revise, revise, which often feels like a perilous game of Jenga. You take out one scene and hope the rest don’t tumble down. When everything is finally woven together, I have the pleasure of editing and shining the words.

My routine is that I write every morning while staring out my large kitchen window, so nature is my constant companion. In Buffalo, this essentially means a lot of snow. I am REALLY good at describing snow 🙂 When I’m lucky enough to take a beach vacation however, I’m in my true glory, joyfully writing to the sound of the waves.