I get a lot of email from students doing school projects who have to know, at midnight, the night before their paper is due, EXACTLY where and when I was born. Or where I live now. Or any of the millions of other things that teachers come up with to make you work really really hard. So here, to make it easier, are all the answers. Or at least a few of them.
Exactly when and where were you born?
I was born in Nanaimo, BC, on June 12, 1970. I don’t know if it was a dark and stormy night. I doubt it, it was June after all. Also, I think it was fairly early in the morning. Ask my mum, she’d know.
Where do you live now?
I live in Victoria, BC. It’s not that far from Nanaimo, so you could say that I haven’t really got very far. But I love Victoria and I can walk out my front door and be on the beach in less than two minutes, and that makes it paradise. Also, all my family is here. I live in a yellow house. No one has ever asked me what colour my house is, but I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before that’s the third question on your homework sheet.
Where did you go to school?
I started school in grade 2 because my mum had already taught me things at home, such as how to read and do long division. (Kindergarten seemed a bit redundant at that point.) After I graduated, I went to UVic and dabbled in this and that. Then I went to UBC and dabbled in more of that and a bit more of this. I ended up with a degree in International Relations (‘91) and most of a degree in Physiology, that I never quite finished. Science is hard. Well, it’s hard for me. It might be fun and easy for you, which is great. Don’t take my word for it. Do what you love to do.
Why did you become a writer?
I became a writer because I didn’t have any other choice. I tried to do other things. I wanted to act but ended up being better at writing a play than starring in one. Then I thought about being a lawyer, but it turns out that it DOES matter what grades you get as you stumble around university and I didn’t get in. (Although I must tell you that I excel at writing standardized tests and I totally whipped the LSAT). After that, I contemplated the Foreign Service. Sadly, the year I graduated with my International Relations degree, the Foreign Service implemented a hiring freeze, later announcing that in order to work there you must speak a minimum of two languages. So that was out. Not to be dissuaded, I decided that really being a doctor would be my best choice, so I tried that and then... well, I got tired. While I was recovering from all that school, I started to write and I realized that, of course, it was obvious all along that it’s what I’d end up doing. And I did. I do. I write.
Where do you get your titles?
I make them up. Mostly. One book was named for me by the publisher. If you guess which one it is, you win a signed copy of that book. (First come, first serve!)
What were you like when you were a kid?
I was a bookworm. I read so many books, it was ridiculous. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of books. I was also really skinny. When I was nine, I got glasses. Big glasses. It was the 1970s and/or 1980s, so that’s what glasses looked like. I got a lot of bad haircuts. I’ll post a picture if I can find one. In retrospect, I was really really funny looking. I blushed a lot. I never knew how to do a cartwheel. I thought they’d teach us at school but it turned out everyone else knew how to do one before they even got there. I was pretty quiet and shy. I think I was sometimes funny and loud, too. I was always pretty competitive so I got good grades. I think at different stages of my life, I was a lot like some of my characters.
What’s your favourite book for kids?
For a long time, I avoided reading kids' books or YA at all because I thought if I read someone else's book, I might think my own books didn't measure up and I would be filled with self-doubt and loathing. I've learned recently that this is just silly. Now I read a lot of YA and I have tons of favourites and you should read them all. My most recent favourites are Jaclyn Moriarty's Ashbury High books and John Green's Will Grayson, Will Grayson. But my favourites change all the time.
Are you married?
Yes. No. Sort of. My sort-of-husband would say ‘yes’. I’d say ‘no’. I have a wedding dress though. And a lovely ring. And two gorgeous children. So I’m mostly married, yes.
Is Haley, from the Haley Andromeda series, based on you?
No. Yes. Sort of. A lot of things that happen to Haley also coincidentally happened to me. But I think she’s much funnier and much less serious than I am/was.
Do you have any pets?
My stepson has a leopard gecko named Stripey. We currently have no other pets.
Do you write every day?
Yes. You should, too. I recently restarted writing every day, and I write a blog here and at I Spuddle and I write a minimum of 1000 words on whatever book I’m currently working on. Writing every day is necessary to keep me from panicking about how little I’m getting done and also makes me feel slightly more sane than when I don’t write every day. For a while I didn’t write at all and I think everyone would agree they like me better when I’m writing, as long as I’m not trying to write 10000 words a day, which generally makes me hard to be around because I’m stressed and grumpy and tend be snappish and unkind. 1000 words a day is a good balance for me and makes being around me more like being around a tree full of monkeys who are trying to steal your hat and less like being around one of those really aggressive bonobos who throw poop at you at the zoo.
What’s your favourite of your books?
I’m so proud of all of them for different reasons, I could never pick a favourite.
What’s your favourite colour?
Green.
Lucky numbers?
3. And 3,858.
Favourite ice cream?
Right now it’s old fashioned, regular, not too rich and not too anything, chocolate. It changes. Right now I particularly like this ice cream in the form of a Coke float, oh yes I do.
But my pants don't.