favorite questions...

What kind of student were you when you went to school? I got very good grades, but all my teachers said I talked too much in class. Some of my friends say I still talk too much.

What were your favorite books? If I Were Going remains my all-time favorite. It’s all about Mr. Sanders, a railroad and steamship agent, who won a trip around the world. Reading about all the places he and his wife visited made me want to travel, too. Richard Haliburton’s Book of Marvels was another one of my favorites. The places he talked about fascinated me and made me want to travel the world. I read Anne of Green Gables over and over again and I cried every time.

Did you always want to be a writer? No, I wanted to be a pop singer, and I still want to. Who knows, I might become one…. if I ever got enough time to practice singing.

Where do you get your ideas? Ideas are everywhere. Friends sometimes tell me about something interesting that happened to them, and I think, "Oh that would make a good book." I read a newspaper article about someone and start doing research. I have at least one hundred ideas in a folder in my file drawer. Ideas are not the hard part. Neither is research, though some stories are harder to track down than others. Writing the story is the hard part. Finding the way to shape it, to tell it in the most interesting way, is what it’s all about.

Which book of yours is your favorite? The book I am working on is my favorite. Some of my books took two and three years to write. If you don’t like the book you are writing, if you don’t think it’s great, you can’t write a good book.

Is writing fun? No. Writing is hard work. It’s a challenge. It’s solving a puzzle. There are many frustrating times during the process, but conquering the challenge makes you feel great.

How do you feel when an editor makes comments about your manuscript like your teachers used to do in school? I feel lucky that someone is taking time to read my book, think about it, and help me make it better.

Where do you live? I live in two places—New York City and Copake Falls, a small hamlet in rural New York. I love the city for its theatre and museums and diversity and energy. I love the country because it’s quiet and beautiful, a perfect place to write and garden and cook. I’m finally learning to bake.

What do you do when you’re not writing? I go to the movies. I laugh a lot with my friends. I read a good book. I travel. I talk . . . a lot.

Do you have grandchildren? Yes, I have eight grandchildren. I’m writing a book about all eight grandchildren, their parents and Poppi, their grandfather. It’s a funny book. . . I hope.

Did you ever write a book you weren’t proud of? Never. And I don’t think that will happen, because I only chose to write about what I care about and that makes me work hard to make the book fly.

Do you think everybody can become a good writer? If you work hard at your writing, if you have the courage to revise and revise and revise, you will see your writing improve one hundred percent. I was not as good a writer when I wrote my first book seventeen years ago as I am now. Hard work pays off and makes you feel great.