Bestselling author Deirdre Martin discusses high school reunion hell, tackling the tough stuff with humor, and the kind of brother a girl can call "hero." Read on ...

MB: What or who inspired your novel?

DM: I was inspired by my best friend's struggle with her weight when we were kids, as well as my own in later years (Put it this way: I've never met a cookie I didn't like).

My best friend was very heavy in high school and was picked on a lot. Eventually she lost the weight, and she's now a very successful owner of her own business who also competes in triathlons! But when we got the invitation to our high school reunion, she was adamant about not going. For her, high school brought to mind only one thing: pain.

I started thinking: What would happen if you really came to terms with your past? What if you were able to see that just as you've changed since high school, maybe the people who made your life hell during those years have changed, too? I know that sounds serious, but as is the case with all of my books, I use a lot of humor to tell the story.

MB: What do you like most about your novel?

DM: That it's done! Writing is hard work. No, I like the dialogue. Dialogue is my favorite thing to write, and there are some lines in "The Penalty Box" that I'm really pleased with.

MB: Who is the most heroic person you know?

DM: My brother, Bill. He struggled with alcohol for many years and at one point, he lost everything: his home, his job, his girlfriend ... finally it dawned on him that he was slowly killing himself.

He went into rehab and completely turned his life around. He's been sober for over eight years now. Every time I think of his strength, determination and discipline, I'm humbled as well as awed. That's why I dedicated the book to him, saying, "To my brother Bill, who daily proves F. Scott Fitzgerald wrong."

Fitzgerald said there were no second acts in American lives. He was wrong.

MB: Who's your romance hero: dark, brooding bad boy or white knight in shining armor?

DM: Definitely the bad boy. I'll take Heathcliff over Lancelot any day of the week.

MB: Answer the question you wish an interviewer would ask.

DM: Question: Is there's any truth to the rumor that you and Angelina Jolie are identical twins?

Answer: Yes, but I try to keep out of the limelight because I don't want to steal her thunder ...