As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Favourite book character (not one of your own!)
Isabel Archer from Portrait of a Lady
How did you feel when you saw your first ever book in a bookshop?
It just looked weird — I don’t think I really processed it until later!
What are your five favourite words?
Easy, Incandescent, Catalyst, Sublime, Dusk
What is most precious to you?
What is the first book you read and loved?
Little House on the Prairie
What is the last book you read and loved?
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
What is your biggest fear?
Having to get a real job!
What is your earliest childhood memory?
Sitting with my dad, who was playing guitar, on a very threadbare Persian carpet, in what was then called Married Student Housing at UC Berkeley, eating cherries out of a wooden bowl.
What is your greatest extravagance?
It’s boring, but I probably spend too much on clothes.
What is your worst habit?
Afternoon naps when I should be working.
What makes you happy?
Getting cozy by a fireplace.
Where were you born and have you got an accent?
Berkeley, Ca—it’s not much of an accent, but I suppose someone who was really paying attention could hear the California girl in me.