What’s your guilty pleasure?

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.

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.

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.)