Maria Semple joins The Times for a video chat

Join us Tuesday at 10 a.m. PDT for a conversation with Maria Semple, author of one of the funniest books of the summer, “Where’d You Go, Bernadette.”

Semple was a television writer on shows including “Arrested Development” and “Mad About You.” A former Angeleno, she now lives in Seattle, and the contrast of cultures runs through “Where’d You Go, Bernadette,” her second novel. Seattle is overly full of craftsman houses and natural hair color; L.A. has more jerks per square mile.

“Where’d You Go Bernadette” is a hilarious send-up of upper-middle-class troubles and a sweet love story between adolescent daughter and devoted if somewhat derailed mother. Just before the family is supposed to leave on a trip, mother Bernadette goes missing, and daughter Bee tries to find out what happened to her by piecing together emails, letters and an FBI dossier.

We’ll talk to Semple about her book and her life in Seattle after life in Hollywood. And I hope to find out if she’s the writer responsible for the “E4EA” episode of the original “Beverly Hills, 90120.”

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