Born: Syracuse, N.Y.
Education: Syracuse University
Hill experience: Interned for an unidentified Arizona congressman and Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.); legislative correspondent for Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio).
Fired: Summer of 2003 from DeWine's office
Current residence: Apartment in Manhattan's West Village with her dog. 
Age: 27

(Dog barking in the background of the phone)
Is that your dog from the book?
That's Biff, the only character that's a real life character. He is a chocolate cocker spaniel in the book. He was never without food or water (like he was in the book). He did pee on the floor a lot.

How is everything going with your book?
I was surprised that Jonathan Yardley from the Washington Post even reviewed my book. I thought he only reviewed serious books.

You don't think your book is serious?
I was having a hard time writing it because I thought, if this isn't good, people are going to laugh at me. I just had to get over myself. Books are just entertainment for people, so just write an entertaining book.

How long did you have to write it?
A few months. I had to do rewrites, four or five drafts before it was approved.

Were earlier versions of the book raunchier than the later ones?
Some people say there's not enough sex. Other people were like, that was gross. It really depends on your threshold. For me, [writing about foreplay and romance] is a very tired concept to go through all those steps. People have had sex for millions of years and that's usually how it goes. I did try writing scenes like that, but I didn't like them. I didn't want to write a romance novel. There are different ways to talk about sex.

How much of your book is based on real events and characters?
The book is a big composite of what happened to me and my friends. That name (Jacqueline) is the fake name, by the way, that I used to give at bars. That's like me, plus like two other people. 

Was Jacqueline essentially you?
Yeah, I guess. It's a novel, so I could change the [characters] to fit an overall plot. I can't say this is exactly how these things happened to me. I had to use my imagination.

How did you feel the night before your book came out?
It's been out here for awhile. I got a box of books from my publisher to give to my family and friends. It's a great feeling. But on May 31, I wasn't like in bed all excited.

Were you nervous about your book coming out?
Not at all. I wrote the book. I know what's in it. I've read it a million times. For me, I'm very interested when someone reviews it, what they think. To me, what happened in real life happened over a year ago. I totally forget one-fourth of the blog. Some guys, I can't even remember what some of them looked like. It was a very long year, I mean, really.

What do your parents think of your book?
My dad, I think he read up to the first section and stopped reading it. My mother is from Korea, but it's not fun for her to read novels. If there's a Korean translation of the book, I'm sure she'd read it.

Where do your parents live now?
They still live upstate. I have two sisters. I get asked so many questions about my family. I'm like 27 years old. I'm an adult. My parents didn't have anything to do with my activities. You know, they were like grownups in the 70's. I think they've seen and heard everything. You'd have to be pretty naﶥ to think this stuff doesn't happen all the time, people dating around, sugar daddies. I'm sure you know that there are these types of guys in D.C. who are looking for you. If they buy you something you are going to have to make out with them so you might as well pick someone who is good looking.

Are your parents divorced?
Their divorce is their business. I don't talk about it. I was in seventh grade.

Would you let someone pay you for sex again?
I keep hearing it, and that's not what happened. They just gave me gifts - cash gifts. It's like having an arrangement with somebody. I really thought every married man had an arrangement. At some point they are going to want to have sex with someone besides wifey. 

Would you date someone now who was married?
I'm just talking to someone, I wouldn't say I was dating him. He thinks I don't know he's married, but he's married.

Isn't it wrong to date a married man?
If I liked them, I don't see why not. That's his marriage that he's jeopardizing. If it's not me, it's going to be somebody else.

What about when you're cheated on, does that bother you?
People have to do what they really want to do. People owe it to themselves to pursue other relationships. I've had guys tell me I am the only one they are dating. I never believe anything anyone ever tells me. I don't trust anybody. 

What happened to Marcus? (a character in the book with whom she falls in love ) 
That's like two different people. I'm in New York, I'm dating around. I'm not serious with anybody. There really isn't a person like that who exists in real life. In every chick lit novel there's a nice guy waiting in the wings. 

Some people read the book and say they feel sorry for you, or you're a sad woman. What do you think of that?  
Why are they sad for me, that I got to write a book? I don't get that. In real life I was just doing what I thought I had to do. If I thought I was doing something wrong, I wouldn't have done it. I especially wouldn't have come forward. The blog was really just 13 days of girl talk and then everyone on the Hill was reading it. It's horrifying at first but then it's like, what did I have to be ashamed of? This stuff is pretty common practice. If I was to be super ashamed, what kind of message does it send, that it's not okay to have sex on the Hill, that it's not okay to talk about it? Staffers are people too. They have sex.

You accepted money from "Fred" a character in the book in exchange for sex. Do you feel badly about that?
I feel bad for him because maybe his wife found out. I don't know. I don't talk to him anymore. Do I feel bad about taking someone's money? No, why would I feel bad about that? We were already in a relationship at the time. Guys in general on the Hill, they know you make sh-- money and that's what they have to offer. It would be like, I'd hate to see you struggle, I'd hate to see you stuffer. At first you're like, how arrogant. You can never respect someone who thinks they can buy you. At the same time, 90 percent of the time, having sex isn't about caring about someone, it's about having fun. Whatever, that's just my opinion. No guy sees a girl in a bar and says, 'oh I really care about her.' They are horny. I don't know why people are stuck on that. It's like grow up, move on.

Have any lawmakers ever hit on you?
They didn't proposition me. I never got asked out or anything crazy like that. They like girls. They stare at your boobs. If you want to keep your job you let them stare at your boobs.

Did it bother you?
Of course, I don't want guys on the street doing that. In that case, it's so, you know, there's an uneven balance of power. You as an office girl.

So you want to be respected?
It's manners. If you're a congressman and you're staring, it's bad manners. It's so basic. If I meet a man I don't stare at his crotch…

Who are your model writers?
Brett Easton Ellis is my favorite. I've liked their books since I was a kid. I like Jay McInerney. "American Psycho." Best book I've ever read in my life. Love it, Love it. "The Last Days of Disco (with Cocktails at Petrossian Afterwards)" I thought was very good by Whit Stillman. I don't read any chick lit.

Is Phillip (a sugar daddy character in the book) one person or many rolled into one? What about "Fred" (the married federal agency aide)?  
Phillip is about four different guys. Fred, that's a few different married guys I dated…

Which guys are better - R's or D's - or does it not matter?
I never really thought about it. I'm not a big Republican or Democrat. I'm really not interested. I was on the Hill for the ambience, ok? They actually hired me for the ambience. They said they wanted to hire a girl. The office I worked in really was called the "Locker Room." I was the only girl.

Do you still think Capitol Hill guys are nerds?
I mean, they are in the way that they freak out. They are just so worried about what everybody thinks. That is just so wimpy.

Are you still good friends with April, Laura and Naomi (her three best women friends in the book)?
No, they are made up characters. They are drawn from female friends, but not everyone is. When you are writing a novel you have to make stuff up.

Are you working?
It's summer. I want to take the summer off. It's really hot. I can't imagine having to put an outfit on and interview this summer. In the fall. I have friends who work here at different places. They say 'oh you should come work here with me.' I don't want to talk about it.

Will you write another book?
We're working on a proposal for a second one. I'm going to have to make a decision at some point. I mean, writing is not a social way of life. It's not very fun. The thought of having to sit inside my apartment for months and months is not very attractive to me, but it's very rewarding when you're finished.

Do people recognize you on the street?
In D.C they do. Here it has happened a couple of times. It could have been worse. They could have seen me throwing up somewhere. To my face, no one has ever shown any disapproval. I stayed in D.C. all summer, and in the fall, no one ever said anything negative, no one every heckled me.

Are you in or therapy?  
Everybody is in therapy. Yeah, it's a once-a-month thing for me. I'm kind of going out with a psychiatrist so it's tons of free advice. It's a great thing to do. 

Is it helping?
I don't know. It isn't supposed to make you feel high, so I can't tell. The thing was, I never thought I had problems to begin with. I take it as a preventative for when I do these interviews. So when someone ask me something I don't get upset and lose it.

What's the diagnosis?
It's depression and ADD. Thrill-seeking behavior. It's so boring.

Has your life changed?  
Well, I live in New York so yeah. I go out on weekdays a lot. I don't go out on Friday and Saturday nights at all anymore. It's for amateurs. Drugs, drinking, yeah, ..doesn't everyone drink? Everyone does drugs at least once in their life.

Do you feel like you have a problem?
It's recreational. No, it's very typical and boring.

Any regrets about the blog?
In retrospect, I'm a very selfish person. That's the conclusion I come to. But the thing is, I feel like I need to be. I never gave anyone a chance when I was in D.C. Those relationships were temporary in nature. I knew I wasn't going to marry any of them. Why waste your time? To me, we were just going out, we were just having fun. I don't put those expectations on every relationship I have. Washington? Everyone's just passing through. Even the president is going to leave at some point. It's not a good thing that I did or a bad thing. I don't have to answer to anyone on the Hill.