How tall are you?
5′ 11″.

And you don’t play basketball?!
Not if I can help it. I approach all sports like I approach swimming: do it only when required not to die.

How do I become a writer?
Start a blog. Do NaNoWriMo. Get a job that requires you to write frequently, on a deadline, for people who are smarter than you are—then listen to them. Read a lot. Study foreign languages. Study dead languages. Learn what a query letter is, then don’t think about writing one again until you’ve written a couple of books. Get writing friends—I cannot overstate the cruciality of both peer reviews and co-commiserators. Revise early and often.

Keep on truckin’ and never, never, never give up.

How many verses of the version of “Modern Major General” that your fifth-grade class sang in its production of “The Phantom Tollbooth” do you remember?
At least two and a half.

Why Medieval Studies?
Oh, man! Have you ever seen a cathedral? Or the Lindisfarne Gospels? Next question.

What is the secret to your success?
Grit, gumption, and my “Pure Moods” Pandora station.

How many times have you appeared publicly in costume?
Not counting Halloween—four. Two Harry Potter premieres, one Renaissance Faire, one Scav Hunt roadtrip (and that was for three days straight).

Have you ever broken the law?
One time I crashed a prom, if that counts!

How much can you deadlift?
145#. 200 pounds! Wow.

What was the first PG-13 movie you ever saw?
Josie and the Pussycats, in fifth grade. Even my mom agreed that the rating was overzealous.

What was your favorite computer game as a kid?
Microsoft Publisher. I made newspapers that nobody read.

Why do you like grammar so much?
Words, like any halfway-decent system of magic, need rules. They’re what binds the universe together.

Is Blair Thornburgh your real name?
Very yes.

How do you eat in restaurants with a deadly food allergy?
It’s an exercise in knowing and sticking up for thyself. Learn what cuisines highlight your nemesis food and avoid them (example: I don’t eat Thai, Chinese, and most African food because peanuts, peanuts, everywhere). At restaurants, talk to your waiters, politely, double-and-triple check things with them, and thank them profusely for keeping you alive. Don’t leave home without your EpiPen. Learn to cook. Fear no food.

When are you going to publish a book?
As soon as I can, promise. March 2014! Lookee here.

Burning questions may be directed here.