Where did you get the inspiration for this story that’s now being turned into a Lifetime movie?

At one point after my story collection, “The Secrets of the Fire King,” was published, the pastor of the church that I was attending approached me. She’d read my book and said that it reminded her of a true story that she’d known about a man who had discovered in his forties that he had had a brother who was born with Down syndrome, who had been put into an institution and had died there without anyone in the family knowing about him. But I didn’t start writing the novel for about three more years.

Why three years later?

It was then that I was invited to do a workshop for a group of adults who had different kinds of mental challenges. I had never worked with that population, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But when I went in, I had a really wonderful experience with them. It made a very deep impression on me. I started thinking about that idea the pastor had given me, and pretty soon after that, I started to write.

Did you learn anything that surprised you while writing this book?

So much surprised me. I really knew nothing at all about Down syndrome when I started writing the book. I was a little shy at the beginning to even start interviewing people, because I knew so little. When I started talking to people, one of the wonderful surprises was how warm and how welcoming they were. They talked to me about what the landscape had been like for them and how it was changing.

Does it ever affect your mood to write books with such serious subject matters?

A lot of people think the book was depressing to write. It wasn’t at all. I always felt like the characters that I was writing about were growing and they were moving towards a greater understanding of themselves and the world. So I never found it to be depressing in any way.

Where do you think the characters from your book would be today?

Lots of people have asked me to write a sequel, but I never think about that. For me, the story ended where it ended. There was a moment of resolution there, even though it’s a rather open ending. Many different things could happen. My sense is that Paul and Phoebe will go on living their lives in different ways, and Caroline and Norah will too.

Do you have any rituals that you have to do while writing?

I have a certain room in my house that I write in. And I usually write in the morning. But my children still need a fair amount of attention. So I’ve had to learn over the years to be flexible about rituals and to treasure my writing time when I get it.

Did you make any visits to the set for this movie?

I did get to go to the set of the movie when they were filming it in Halifax. I got to see them film the scene where Norah wants to have the memorial service because she thinks Phoebe has died, and David is opposed to it. And some of the scenes with snow, which were a lot of fun to watch.

Did you always know that you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always wanted to be a writer, ever since I was very small. I loved books. I loved reading. It’s something that’s always been a part of who I am.

What were your favorite books as a child? Any that influenced the way you write?

I guess I remember reading a biography of Marie Curie that really stuck with me. One of the stories in my collection is based on Marie Curie’s life, because she was a woman who was doing something that women weren’t expected to do in her time. And in the same way, I think I loved the book “Little Women.” I loved it because there was a young girl in that book who wanted to be a writer, and I identified with that.

Who are your favorite authors today?

I have lots of favorite authors. Writers that I go back to all the time are Alice Munro and William Trevor. I enjoy Jodi Picoult’s novels as well. I’ve just been reading Geraldine Brooks. She’s a wonderful writer.

When you write a book, who do you show it to? Do you wait for input till it’s completely done?

Some writers like to write in groups and get feedback all along the way. I wait until the story is what I consider to be completely finished, and then I have a group of writers that I really respect who I usually ask for their opinions.

What’s the most interesting encounter you’ve had with a fan of this book?

I often have people come up after a reading to tell me their stories. Sometimes those stories have to do with knowing someone with Down syndrome. But sometimes the stories are about family secrets, about a loss that the person experienced that they felt connected them to the book in some way.

Any really memorable book readings or events?

When I was in Italy for a book launch, they did a wonderful public forum with a panel discussion with respected community members, some of whose children had Down syndrome. There were five people on this panel, and they had this incredibly spirited discussion at four in the afternoon. The room was packed. It was a marvelous thing to watch that kind of passionate discussion about the book.

If you had to come up with a title for your life story, what do you think it would be?

Something to do with finding myself in new places and new situations. I’ve had a wonderful life. I’ve traveled a lot. I’ve lived in a lot of different countries. New worlds keep opening up for me, as they have with the publication of this book and its astonishing success.