"It's a theme I keep coming back to: the stuff that looks pretty but is a hot mess inside."

Author Sheila Yasmin Marikar on cosplaying wine snobbery, a real-life bar brawl, and her juicy new novel, FRIENDS IN NAPA

Check out the collection of past Words With (Author) Friends, wherein I g-chat with an author and you get to read over my shoulder, and buy Sheila’s unputdownable book, out April 1!

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Me: Hellooo!

How's it going??

Sheila: I just dropped a handful of walnuts on the floor and decided that they're still fine to eat

So, great!!!

Five-second rule!

Living that glamorous author life

Exactly. These are the crutches my frazzled, pre-launch brain needs

Of all the heuristics that can lighten the mental load, the five-second rule is one of the best

Truly. Then there's the justification that maybe some extraneous bacteria is good for the microbiome? Maybe?

Germ theory! You're doing your health a favor, truly

But speaking of being pre-pub!!

Can you share a little about FRIENDS IN NAPA??

HAPPILY

It's about six friends from college who reunite in Napa Valley. It's supposed to be a weekend of wine and good times, but it quickly turns ugly.

Old grudges rear their heads, new tensions simmer, and the getaway takes a TURN

I LOVE a delicious reunion story. Because it's always hard to disentangle: Who are these people apart from our shared history? If we met now, would we even be friends?

YES! It's a question that I've asked myself about several people in my life, and I'm sure you have too.

If the only answer is, "because we've always been friends," well ...

100%. Where did the idea come from?