Up in the middle of the night with a newborn, suburban mom/writer Sarah Schmelling heard the siren call of Facebook. The way she answered it became the book Ophelia Joined the Group Maidens Who Don’t Float: Classic Lit Signs on to Facebook. Schmelling has taken characters from classic literature and given them Facebook accounts. They’re wacky! They’re mad! They use emoticons! Here, she tells us all about it…

1. I think we need more info on how you came up with such a brilliant/crazy/unusual idea as Ophelia Joined the Group Maidens Who Don’t Float…so how did you come up with it?

I joined Facebook a month before my son was born, so I think the idea came from a big mix of social-networking obsession and sleep deprivation. I, like so many people when they first join Facebook, got really into it—and of course I had way too much time on my hands. Then, in the middle of one of those crazy, newborn-centric nights, I started to wonder: what’s the strangest thing you could write in a status update? Somehow, the former English major in me thought of Ophelia losing her mind. And the idea to write a Facebook news feed version of Hamlet began. The piece was published by McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, and it went viral—leading to the fantastic chance to give this “Facebook treatment” to other classics. That’s exactly what I’ve done: I’ve brought more than 50 works of classic literature, and its authors, to the wackiness of social media.

2. What is your background? Were you raised by two classic lit professors or somehow otherwise steeped in classic lit?

I was an undergrad English/Creative Writing major, so I think I had the standard literature curriculum. I went back to school for journalism and have worked many years as a journalist, while also writing humor pieces for places like McSweeney’s on the side. I’ve always been a voracious reader, though, and I think this Hamlet piece was a perfect combination of my interests. I’m actually nerdy enough to have loved being given the chance to immerse myself in all of these books—re-reading many of them that I certainly didn’t appreciate the first time around in school, and reading some for the first time.

3. How did you decide what was “classic” anyhow? Is there a real list somewhere or some other iron-clad criteria that I’m not aware of? (I understand that most people agree certain works are classic but I’m just wondering if there was any debate surrounding others)

I conferred with all of the former English majors I know, I looked at a lot of the lists various newspapers publish from time to time. But I mainly tried to stick to books I had to read in school or that I always think of when I think “classic.” I also had to include books that I thought I could bring to the Facebook world. I didn’t want to attempt any cult classics I haven’t read like the Lord of the Rings books, which would be a project in itself, and other books people suggested, like The Bell Jar were just too hard to make funny.

4. People might say that much of the book reads sort of like Facebook-style crib notes but you have to know the pieces to get (much less create) the jokes. That’s one thing. The other thing, though, is that you do such a brilliant job conveying tone with your entries. Many of us lament how emails and Facebook posts/replies can be misinterpreted because tone isn’t conveyed. Any tips, since you are a master at this, at conveying tone with e communication?

I agree tone can be really difficult. I try not to rely on emoticons or acronyms like LOL to show I’m joking about something, but I understand why people do it. I think it’s really important, especially on Facebook, to think through what you’re writing and how others might read it. I have one Facebook friend who writes every status update in all caps. This only says to me: “I’M CRAZY!” (So then I borrowed that technique for Miss Havisham’s profile page). Definitely read something two or three times before you share it with the world. Sarcasm unfortunately never translates well.

5. How did you do it? I mean the nuts and bolts: how did you juggle your child and whatever else you had to do and still get this done?

It was a tricky balance. My son was about 6 to 9 months old while I worked on the first draft. My husband was a huge help—he works at home and could often watch my son in the mornings. And we had a sitter come in a few days a week. When I was given the chance, I would just immerse myself in the books and, of course, the computer. I was often reading or going through about four books at once. I had a great time, but I think I was probably a very annoying person to talk to at that point—always going on about Jane Eyre or Dracula or Holden Caulfield.

(OKAY, WE LIED. YOU GET TWO BONUS QUESTIONS/ANSWERS!)

6. What do you hope people take away from your book? (For me, it’s inspired me to read some of the classics I skipped.)

First of all, I just want people to have fun with it. I hope it makes them laugh. But yes, if it encourages people to go back and read some of these books they never tried, or even to re-read some of them, I think that’s great. It’s wonderful, for example, to read The Great Gatsby as an adult; you just get to appreciate the story and language without having to look for symbolism or think about what you’ll be asked on a test. One thing I realized that may seem obvious is all of these books are truly called classics for good reason. They’re all worth revisiting, or visiting for the first time.

7. You said you live in suburbia…describe where you live, how long you’ve been there and how you got there (was it housing prices, close to somebody’s work, etc? do you like suburbia or does it grate on your nerves?)

I grew up in suburban Chicago—so I’m no stranger to suburbia. But I’ve lived in large cities for much of my adult life, so it was a bit of an adjustment moving to a suburb about a year and a half ago, when I was pregnant and we knew we needed a bigger place than we’d find where we were, in Washington, DC. I live in Rockville, Maryland, which even has the R.E.M. song “(Don’t Go Back to) Rockville” warning people about it, but I don’t think Michael Stipe and the boys had ever been here. It’s great for kids—there are so many parks and outdoor spaces, and so many families. Becoming a parent has helped me revise my idea of living in the suburbs. We always thought we’d miss all the access to great restaurants and theater and events, but so far, with a baby, we haven’t had much time for those things anyway. I sometimes hate having to choose between strip malls to go to lunch, but for right now the amenities and the kid-friendliness here really outweigh the merits of the city.