1. When I'm not writing or illustrating books, I like to read and go see movies and read and play video games and read and try new recipes and read and make jewelry and read and travel and read and take care of wild baby animals and read and hang out with friends and read. So I guess that means I like to clean house. Not.
2. My favorite color is red. Most of the time. But when it's not red, it's either really, really deep and beautiful blue or a rich, royal purple. Or, on occasion, it's turquoise. Or...
Why do I have to have a favorite? As an artist, I NEED all of them!
3. I like ice cream okay, but I LOVE the Daiquiri Ice made at Baskin Robbins. Lucky for me, they don't make it year round!
I can pass up ice cream, but I can't pass up homemade cookies. I am a recovering cookie monster.
Okay, that's a lie. I am a full-fledged cookie monster, who wishes she could say "no" to the offer and become a recovering cookie monster.
4. My favorite hobbies, other than writing and illustrating? What does that mean? My whole life is one big work of art, in constant process! Everything I do feeds into writing and illustrating, so when I see a wonderful sunset, I think of putting it in a book. When I rescue a baby wild animal, I think of putting it in a book. When something funny happens to me or anyone I know, I think of putting it into a book. And when I'm not thinking of my own book, I am reading someone else's book!
5. My very first job was to be a Big Sister when I was a one-year-old. That's when my kid brother, Cliff, was born. I don't remember life without him. I considered myself of great importance to the family, because it was my job to corral "Bubba" from Day One; when he got older, it was my job to bug him and razz him and tattle on him if he crossed the line. When he got bigger than me, it was my job to keep my mouth shut when he crossed the line - hey, he was WAY bigger than me! I'm not a fool!
My first paying job, besides baby sitting and helping around the house, was at Kentucky Fried Chicken. I came home smelling like the store - my family would start drooling when I walked through the door, hoping I had been able to score some leftovers.
6. What do you wish you could do better?
Oh, wow, I wish like crazy I could sing! I can't carry a tune in a bucket. My latest book, On a Road in Africa, is the closest I've ever come to a song in public (although I do a great "RESPECT" in my car when I'm alone and the windows are up).
I also wish I could put my fingers in my mouth and do one of those incredibly loud whistles. That would be very cool.