What Gillian Flynn Can’t Live Without

I drink Cherry Coke Zero from morning to night. I get this creepy Cabbage Patch Kid smile as soon as it hits my blood stream. It has to be on ice, thus the Yeti bottle, which is sorcery. Whoever invented it should be burned as a witch, which is an unkind way to thank her or him for providing me with all the long, long hours of cold beveragery, but I didn’t make the witch rules.

I hate makeup, but I love lipstick, and I have an extensive Bobbi Brown collection. I work from home, and my one nod to civilization is putting on lipstick each morning. My everyday choice is Blondie Pink, but if I’m writing a really nasty scene, it’s Burnt Red.

Their tees are ecofriendly and so soft, it’s like a million puppies wore them for a million days and then sent them to me care of a pink cloud in the shape of a kitten.

This is the book I give most often as a gift — I keep about half a dozen in my home at any given time because every person should read it, as it’s a classic and completely awesome. And Neil Patrick Harris? This song’s for you …

Every writer has panic attacks. Whenever I realize I’ve just spent a week writing absolute trash and I know I have lost my mind and will need to retire to the woods, I rub Vicks under my nose and the calming scent brings me down. My husband always knows things are going badly with a book if I smell like a small child with bronchitis.

I’m from Kansas City, Missouri. I know my barbecue. We served Gates at our wedding. I put this sauce on white bread and eat it as a snack, and it feels like home.

I’ve given up plastic straws because they are ruinous for the environment, so I always carry metal straws in my purse. For the Yeti. And the Cherry Coke Zero.

I’m even less into shoes than I am makeup, but I love my combat boots. They make me feel cool and stompy, even though they’re comfortable and suede. And people actually say, “Wow, cool shoes,” which they never say to me on any other occasion. [Editor’s note: Flynn’s exact pair of suede boots are sold out, but this pair is similar.]