Not So FAQ

What’s your guilty pleasure?

I love choco­late, and I love ice cream, so it’s prob­a­bly no sur­prise that my favorite treat is the Chunky Choco­late Pud­ding ice cream avail­able at Bed­ford Farms in Bed­ford, MA. Here’s a descrip­tion: choco­late ice cream, fudge swirl, brown­ie chunks, and choco­late chips. YUM!

Photo 19866990 | Chocolate Ice Cream © Rafer | Dreamstime.com

In what Olympic sport would you like to win a gold medal?

I’m not very ath­let­ic, but I do like minia­ture golf. I don’t think that’s an Olympic sport, but it should be.

Are you a night owl or an ear­ly bird?

I’m a big-time ear­ly bird. I’m most pro­duc­tive in the morn­ing, so that’s usu­al­ly when I write. In the after­noon, I do research, respond to email, do errands, etc.

Describe your favorite pair of paja­mas ever.

When I was in col­lege, I spent a term at the Uni­ver­si­ty of Bath in Bath, Eng­land, and rent­ed a room at a house near­by. Because heat­ing oil is so expen­sive in Great Britain, most peo­ple keep their homes very cool in win­ter. My lit­tle room at the top of the house was freez­ing. Luck­i­ly, my mom found a pair of adult-size paja­mas with feet and sent them to me along with a wool hat and mit­tens. I was so grateful.

Photo 19866990 | Chocolate Ice Cream © Rafer | Dreamstime.com

What’s the first book you remem­ber reading?

Mr. Mys­te­ri­ous and Com­pa­ny by Sid Fleis­chman. I was thrilled to meet Mr. Fleis­chman at a writ­ers’ con­fer­ence in New Hamp­shire and tell him how much his book meant to me.

Mr. Mysterious and Company Sid Fleischman

What’s the first book report you remem­ber writing?

I wrote two reports in sixth grade. One was about air pol­lu­tion, and the oth­er was about the human heart. Even back then, I loved science.

What do you wish you could tell your 10-year-old self?

Don’t wor­ry about the two girls bul­ly­ing you or the fact that your teacher doesn’t do a thing to stop them. You end up with a great life — the job of your dreams and a hus­band you love with all your heart.

If you were a punc­tu­a­tion mark, what would you be?

I’d have to be a ques­tion mark because I’m so nat­u­ral­ly curi­ous and because most of my books begin when I ask myself a question.

If you could be anoth­er kind of ani­mal, what would you be?

That’s easy. I’d be a chip­munk. I love the way they zip around dur­ing the sum­mer, and I’d love to be able to hiber­nate all win­ter long.

(Some of these ques­tions were first answered for the “Skin­ny Dip” col­umn of the e‑magazine Bookol­o­gy.)

Mr. Mysterious and Company Sid Fleischman