AM: You read Tarot cards for yourself and friends, as Rita does in My Only Story. Do you ever use the cards to help you with your writing?
MW: I read Tarot cards for my fictional characters. I read Rita's cards many times, whenever I got stuck. There's nothing magical about the cards. They won't show you something you don't already know subconsciously, but occasionally they can save you some time. For example, I did Rita's cards at one point, and the Knight of Swords kept showing up, galloping on a horse at full speed and waving his sword. (Swords represent challenges or problems in life.) At the same time the card of childhood kept showing up. I finally put two and two together and thought, Darla has to come back into this story but in a really swooping way. And she did. I'd have come to that decision eventually, but it might have taken six months and a few dead ends, because I never intended to have Darla be a big part of the book. The cards have a way of jogging little spaces in the unconscious that have been asleep too long.
