Your novel focuses on post-partum depression, and you’ve spoken about the topic in fiction in the past. What led you to this particular subject?

My stories always start with a character. I did not intend to write about postpartum depression or any of the other perinatal mood disorders that often accompany pregnancy and birth just as I didn’t intend on writing about infertility. Lara James was a character in crisis; that’s how I first knew her on the page. I had to pull the threads of her story to find out what brought her there and how she would change as a result. That said, I firmly believe we need to discuss postpartum depression louder and far more often than we do. I have learned so much in the course of writing this book. Perinatal mood disorders, including postpartum depression and anxiety, affect one in five women who give birth. And while these are treatable conditions, if left undiagnosed and untreated postpartum depression and the other associated mood disorders can take a catastrophic toll on mother and child. We need to break the taboo.

Where did the title The Unprotected come from? Did you have other ideas first?

The Unprotected was my editor at Skyhorse’s brain child. As soon as I read it I got goosebumps. Its resonance with every character and all of the themes just hums. I struggle with titles, so yes, there were several other working titles. The title brainstorm with my agent and editor didn’t last long: as soon as Chelsey proposed The Unprotected, we knew it was the one.

Have you gotten feedback from people who have experience post-partum depression? If so, what did they have to say?

I have heard a lot of feedback. I have been approached by strangers and friends alike who have said, “I thought I was the only mother to ever have thoughts like that.” One woman was someone I’d known for years. Our children are friends. We spend a lot of time together; but her postpartum experience was something she guarded from everyone, including her friends and her husband. Like Lara, and like thousands of other mothers, she was afraid that if she were honest about what it was like to mother a newborn, she would be labeled a bad mother. Or worse.

Did you have any say as to the book’s cover? What are your thoughts?

I was lucky enough to be involved with every iteration of the book’s cover and I’m thankful to Skyhorse for that. While I will cherish my galley copy with its radically different cover, I love the final look. Like the title, the cover design offers a glimpse of what lies inside on the pages. To me it looks like torn away wallpaper, edges burnt, attempts at perfection stripped away.

Do you see yourself writing more fiction in the future? Will you stay in the women’s fiction genre?

Absolutely! I’m well into a draft of another novel and am enjoying the discovery of  new characters and new secrets and new obsessions.