Every week, Heather Mackenzie's column lands in Portsmouth mailboxes on the front of iT's Portsmouth, and every week we wonder: how can she print this? Equal parts romantic advice column and candid diary entry, "Single on the Seacoast" is innocently sexy and weirdly voyeuristic. Since her column began last October, the 25-year-old has covered everything from flirting and spring fever to the challenges of one-night stands. Chris Dahlen asked Mackenzie about the inspiration behind her column, and what it's like to expose your love life to strangers-and to your parents.

How did you start writing for the Herald?

I was working in their Internet department, in order to get my foot in the door for writing. And they finally gave me a chance. Actually, I finally told them I was interested in writing and they gave me a chance pretty much right away. And I wrote a piece on Lord Bass as my audition article, and then they wanted something more personal, so I wrote a story where I went to a different place with Karaoke every night of the week, right around here. You can go to a different place every night, which is scary, but true.

They kept having me write sporadically, and, finally, they asked me if I had any ideas and I just pitched this column idea. So that's how it started.

Did you do a few test columns before you started publishing it? or how did you get a handle on how you wanted to approach it?

Basically what I did is, in my pitch I set up a list of column ideas that I could write about, and after that I just-I wrote the first one and then I started going right from there. I pretty much write them on a Monday and send them on a Monday and they're on the Web site Wednesday, and (in the paper) by the weekend. So it's not like I hold onto them for a while or anything, I pretty much just write them and send them before I can change my mind.

How did you establish a voice for the column?

Voice has pretty much always been my strong suit, even in my fiction writing, it's always been really easy and I write like I talk most of the time. Which is good, because my friends will read it and if they haven't seen me for a while, they'll go, "Oh my God, this is just you." I've been able to do that pretty easily.

How do you set the parameters, about how confessional to make it? You wrote a column about one-night stands, but it didn't get that detailed-

Because my parents read my column every week. And that one was tough on them, just as it was, because I had to admit in it that I've had a one-night stand in the past.

How do your parents react to the column?

They're actually really proud of it. They think it's great, they tell everybody about it. My father's told all the people that he works with. He works at the Shipyard, and they read it every week. So he has to read it, 'cause he has to be able to respond to them, which is why he read the one-night stand one, even though it had that really nice parental advisory that said, pretty much, "My parents shouldn't read this" right on top.

My mother actually did not read that one. She felt too uncomfortable about the entire concept to read it. But my father read it.

What did the guys at work say?

You know, I don't think they ever said anything specifically about it. I think they just came up and were like, "Hey, I read your daughter's column!" Probably let that one go.

I said right in the beginning, when it first came out, I told them like, "Dad, there's going to be things in there that you're probably not going to want to read." And his response at the time was, that's OK, he's been there first. And then I said, well, there's things that my grandmother's not going to want to read, because she reads it, too! He thought for a moment and said, well, she's been there before all of us. It should be OK.

What kind of feedback have you gotten so far?

It's been pretty good. I've only gotten one hate mail. And it wasn't really hate mail, it was like this little criticism but it was so hard to take seriously because it was written all in capital letters, and it was just saying, "It's irrelevant to everybody's life," which I thought was really sad, if romance was irrelevant to this kid's life. And every time they spelled "you are" like "you are stupid and irrelevant," they spelled "you're" wrong each time, they did it like "your." And "you're boring," and there was a whole bunch of o's in boring. And it was just funnier than anything. So all I did was write him back and say, "Thanks for taking the time to write."

The rest has been really positive, and the creepiest thing is getting recognized around town. People feel like, "Oh, you write that column," or "Why do I know you?"

Has the column ever led to you getting a date?

I've gotten attempts. People have written, but I find it kind of creepy when you write an e-mail or something and somebody says, "I wish that I could bring some of that romance into your life that you're lacking, you're in my thoughts," stuff like that. ... I've actually, I got asked out by somebody in person, which wasn't as bad. "You should date me, I'd make a really good story." I thought that was an interesting pick-up line.

Who are some of your favorite writers or role models?

My favorite writers are Charles De Lint and Neil Gaiman. They're fantasy writers generally. Charles De Lint is my favorite favorite, Neil Gaiman's a close second. I don't really have a non-fiction favorite.

Candace Bushnell?

See, her actual writing is so nothing like mine. It's much more direct and blunt. And she writes in this weird third-person thing, her invented character Carrie. I read it at first when I started the column, like, "Yay, this'll help me!" And then I'm like, "Oh, no it won't." And I don't think I'm allowed to write about things like threesomes.

Do you have any plans going into your second year with the column?

For my second year, I'm going to try to continue being more personal, although that's not always possible because sometimes my life is really boring. I'm also planning on taking more risks and putting myself out there more, potentially trying on-line dating, speed-dating and, if I'm feeling crazy, actually asking out guys myself. Then I'll write about it. I also want to make it clear that my advice and rules are just my opinions, and not expert words from a high priestess or something.

It must be interesting to think about these issues and write these columns while you're single and dating. After the past year, do you think that it's helped you in dating, or changed the way you look at dating?

Putting so much thought into dating really makes me wonder how it ever works out at all, for anybody. PersonaIly, I always seem to choose the wrong guys, or they find me. I'm looking forward to a relationship that doesn't bog me down with drama or complications.

I also have realized that I need to follow more of my own advice. I break my own rules all the time. I even forgot to offer coffee to a one-night stand, and that's a simple rule to follow. Eventually, I need to become more brave and speak up for what I want. We'll see if I can do it.