FAQ:

1) What were you like as a girl?
I was a tomboy princess. I loved playing with cars, making mud pies, playing baseball or kickball in my back yard, riding my boys' BMX bike over ramps, playing with my dolls and Barbies, making up circus shows on my jungle gym for my parents to watch, and wearing dresses as I usually wasn’t allowed unless it was a special occasion because I got them all dirty.

2) Where were you born?
In Ohio, where I lived until I was 29

3) Where do you live now?
In bonnie Scotland

4) What do you most enjoy in your spare time?
Sitting in a big comfy chair reading or writing on my laptop, or travelling somewhere, especially far away places to do research for books I’m writing (well that’s how I justify the vacation, anyway)

5) Why did you start writing?
Well, I started making up stories in my head because I couldn’t read very well, but it wasn’t until my father died that I started writing them down. My father would have been the world’s greatest children’s author, had he written any of his stories down, but he just told them to my sister and me. This is something that still makes me very sad. I think he was dyslexic too.

6) What was your first book called?
"Mostly Cats" - it was a collaboration of short (misspelled) stories and poems written when I was in elementary school for a class project. They were mostly about cats, hence the title.

7) Do you have any pets?
Yes, Casper Flannigan my west highland terrier and Murphy, my kitten

8) What’s your favourite animal?
First a cat, then a giraffe; imagine what would happen if they crossed. The Cataffe wouldn’t need to climb trees - he would think he was already up there!

9) If you could be any character from any book you’ve read, who would you be?
Easy: Anne Shirley from the Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery because she always had so much fun getting into trouble, and had such an interesting view on things

10) Did you like school?
Not for the reasons a person should. I liked being with my friends. The only reason I went to school is so I didn’t miss out on anything socially. I didn’t do well in school because I had undiagnosed dyslexia. I wasn’t diagnosed formally until College. Everyone just thought I was being “lazy” or “stupid”. No matter how hard I tried, I got very low grades in English and Math. All the letters and numbers moved around. I had no idea that they didn’t move around for everyone; I just thought I was dumb. I couldn’t read very well, let alone write, but that’s all changed since I found out I wasn’t just “stupid” (though I do still take my time reading). I now love reading and writing!