It's impossible to list the many accolades of San Francisco native Vendela Vida without wondering what the hell you've been doing with your own life. She's a New York Times bestselling author, of course; publishes a magazine, The Believer; founded 826 Valencia with her also-famous husband Dave Eggers; and even cowrote (with said husband) the screenplay for Away We Go, the 2009 indie hit starring Maya Rudolph and John Krasinski.

In June, Vida's newest novel, The Diver's Clothes Lie Empty, was released to critical acclaim. The mesmerizing story tells the tale of a woman (in fact, "you," as the book is written in the second person) who travels to Casablanca under rather mysterious pretenses. While checking into your hotel, you are robbed of your wallet and passport containing all your money and identification. Stripped of your identity, you feel burdened by the crime yet strangely liberated by your sudden freedom to be anyone you choose. This is the book all our friends are talking about this summer.

So, we checked in with Vida to get her take on writing, editing, and life in San Francisco.

7x7: What's your hands-down, absolute favorite thing to eat in SF?

VV: I love the Swedish waffles they serve at the “Church of Sweden" at the Seamen's Church at 2454 Hyde Street. They're small and heart-shaped and served with jam and whipped cream. I was born and raised in San Francisco, and remember eating them there after every Swedish ritual. They (and by “they" I mean sometimes my mom) still serve them daily after 10am. Bonus: The view from there is incredible.

7x7: What's your perfect night on the town?

VV: Two of my favorite nights out in the past few months involved music. My husband and I saw Zach Rogue and Ben Gibbard play at the Swedish American Hall. (I really don't mean to be pushing for an all-Swedish San Francisco.) And a friend and I went to the Sleater-Kinney show at the Masonic. We couldn't get enough of them and listened to their new album in the car afterwards.

7x7: When you need a low-key afternoon, where do you go for down time?

VV: I love that walk along Lands End that starts near the Legion of Honor and ends at the Cliff House.

7x7: What's your favorite day trip from the city?

VV: To visit my sister and her family on the peninsula.

7x7: How has living in the Bay Area inspired your writing?

VV: I love how low-key it is—that makes it easier to get writing done. And the writers here are very supportive of one another.

7x7: What inspired you and Dave to found 826 Valencia? Do you have any plans to expand?

VV: I'm a founding board member of 826 Valencia, so I've been on the board since it opened in 2002. My passion is teaching a class called “Writing the College Admissions Essay." I was the first in my family to attend and graduate from college, and so I feel a deep commitment to helping others be the first in their families as well. Whenever I think about the college essay I submitted (without showing it to anyone first—-big mistake!), I flinch. As for expansion plans, yes, there will be a second location in the Tenderloin soon.

7x7: What does your typical day look like?

VV: Get up, make tea, set grand ambitions for my work day, make breakfast for kids, pack their lunches, worry that grand ambitions will not be met, write, tell myself that my ambitions for the day were way too grand and unattainable, attend kids' sports games or performances, vow to meet grand ambitions the next day.

7x7: Where did you write The Diver's Clothes Lie Empty?

VV: When I really need to concentrate I check into a motel—there's a place near Point Reyes I like—and lock myself up for a few days.

7x7: What's your favorite book store?

VV: I can't pick one. All the independents.

7x7: Place to people watch?

VV: SFO

7x7: San Francisco story?

VV: The story of how my parents met. My mom was at a dance hosted by a club called “Never on Friday" on, well, a Friday night at the Jack Tar Hotel on Van Ness. (The hotel's no longer there, but it was featured in Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 masterpiece The Conversation.) My dad was at a conference at the hotel and, afterwards, stopped by the dance with a work colleague. He intercepted my mom as she was on the way to the restroom and asked her to dance. They danced for hours, and then he offered to take her home. She thought that meant that he'd drive her, but he didn't have a car that night because his friend had driven them to the conference. So, in the small hours of the night my parents walked through the city to Russian Hill, where my mom was living with a roommate. My mom still talks about how chivalrous my dad was—he asked her for her key, unlocked the door for her, said goodnight and left. My younger sister is named Vanessa.

7x7: What indulgence will you would never give up?

VV: Fresh flowers on the kitchen table.

7x7: Where do you go to conquer writer¹s block?

VV: To the movies. I miss the Bridge Theater.

7x7: Where do you go for date night with your husband?

VV: Some place dark and quiet. Usually a rave. Did I just say rave? I meant our couch. If we just get a drink somewhere, is that date night?

7x7: Do you two read each other's writing? Do you give each other criticism?

VV: We help out when asked. We've edited other people's work for so long that it's easy and not a big deal.

Quick-fire round:

Burrito or Burger:

Burrito

Presidio or Golden Gate Park?

Golden Gate Park

Bi-Rite or Mitchell's?

Bi-Rite

Bike or MUNI?

MUNI

Fort Mason or Dolores Park?

Dolores Park

The Independent or the Fillmore?

Both.

Baker Beach or Ocean Beach?

Baker Beach

Three words that describe your life in the Bay Area?

Traffic getting worse.