Remember those old chain emails that went around and you’d share your favorite color, all those other fun tidbits? Well, I’m going to do a bit of that here.

But I found this list of questions to do a good profile interview, and I thought, “Wow, I bet I couldn’t even answer some of those questions.” So, I’ll give it a shot. Going to do this in four parts, though. The list is long. And I’m a trifle on the boring side.

1. What is your earliest memory? My earliest memory is of my backyard swing set at our home in Seattle. I remember playing in the kiddie pool with a pink, frilly bathing suit. I was cute.

2. Tell me about your mother and father – what were they like? My father is the most serious, and the funniest person I know. He’s a hard worker and savvy businessman. My mother is great with people, always smiling and quick to help anyone in need.

3. Who had the greatest influence on you during your childhood? I can’t say there was a single person. My whole family shaped who I am today.

4. Describe a typical day in your childhood. I was a dream child – happy to play with my horse figurines or read a book. I was always reading. Things haven’t changed much. (Except now I typically read from my Kindle, rather than a picture book.)

5. Do you remember your first day of school? Not really. I remember first grade pretty vividly. I had a boyfriend name Chris. He had dark hair and another girl named Nicole also had a crush on him. She had the same purple Beauty and the Beast lunchbox, so I didn’t like her.

6. What teacher had thee greatest impact on you? My sixth-grade teacher, Miss Maples (now Mrs. Anderson) influenced me in my writing and reading. She challenged us, encouraged us to expand our minds. That was a year of growth for me and she played a huge part of that.

7. What was the happiest day of your childhood? When I came home and found a new horse (my first horse), hay, tack and my family all sitting in the driveway. We’d been searching for a horse for months and come up short. I left for two weeks in Sunriver with my friend and came home to a new adventure.

8. What was the saddest day of your childhood? That same day, actually. I’d learned my kitten (a beautiful calico named Angel) had been killed while I was gone. Happy news coupled with sad news, all in one day.

9. What was your first personal experience with death? A good family friend of ours disappeared in the woods while he was hunting. My parents participated in search parties and we all prayed for his return. He never did. That was odd. I was pretty old – 12 or so, but it was a strange concept all the same.

10. Did you have pets? I grew up with a little mutt dog and when we moved from the city to the country, the pets multiplied. All those pets have influenced my writing and personality in some way. They are so much more than animals – they were true family members.