Lifetime: What inspired you to write "Plain Truth"?
Picoult: It's not an answer anyone would expect - I wrote it because my mother told me to. She said, "Jodi, no one really knows much about the Amish and if anyone could find out about this culture, it's you."

Lifetime: It is true you lived with the Amish to research the book?
Picoult: I lived with an Amish family of dairy farmers for a week. I thought I'd hit the mother lode with that opportunity. I dressed very modestly. I got out of my car and introduced myself, and the family nodded and then just ignored me.

Lifetime: How did you begin to break through?
Picoult: They had an eight-year-old boy, and at the time so did I; eight-year-old boys are somewhat universal. So I scrunched down to his level and asked him to introduce me to the family's cows. So he introduced me - to all 40 of them - by name!

Lifetime: What surprised you most about the Amish way of living?
Picoult: The Amish cannot stand to stick out from the crowd. So if you're Amish and accused of crime, you're only drawing attention if you defend yourself. An Amish person would rather quietly take the punishment. That was fascinating to me.

Lifetime: What was the response to your book from the Amish community?
Picoult: I love mentioning that the Amish who have read my book have said it's 100% accurate, which is kind of funny because technically they shouldn't be reading it. The Amish usually don't read worldly things that include violence and sex.

Lifetime: Who did you envision portraying the book's characters in the film?
Picoult: During the days of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," I thought, How cool would it be if Sarah Michelle Gellar played the Amish girl Katie? It would be so absolutely anti-typecasting.