They’re mostly the same. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. The Harry Potter books. Pride and Prejudice was my favorite Jane Austen book when I was growing up, though now I have a soft spot for Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. I loved Harriet the Spy and the Nancy Drew books and The Baby-Sitters Club. Bloomability by Sharon Creech. The Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series by Louise Rennison. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye.

If you could travel in time, where would you go and what would you do?

Look, I’m a woman of color. I only travel into the future. I love reading history, but participating in courtly intrigue anywhere on this planet is truly not a game I’d like to play if I don’t have to. The stakes are way too high. I also like modern dental care and anesthetics.

What’s the best advice you have ever received about writing?

Weirdly, it was Natalie Dormer talking about her own acting career. But she said not to envy someone else’s career, just learn to appreciate your own, and that has always stuck with me. And by “said,” I mean, I think I saw this literally in GIF form. But anyway, accept your career for what it is, and don’t worry about anyone else. Staring at their career with jealousy does nothing to further your own. We all get different assets and drawbacks in our careers (and in our lives). Learn to make the most of what you do get and not worry too much about what you don’t get. It’s out of your hands, anyway.

What advice do you wish someone had given you when you were younger?

You’re gonna be all right, kid. Or something of that variety. I was so scared when I was younger that I didn’t have my life mapped out, that I didn’t have a plan, that I wasn’t sure what I wanted. I’m sure people told me this, but I really wish I had listened. As long as you keep trying, you’re gonna be all right.

Do you ever get writer’s block? What do you do to get back on track?

I do! Depends on the writer’s block. If it’s something I’m afraid to write, I have to confront that fear. If I’m feeling burnt out, I have to go outside, go for a walk, or go to a museum and look at other people’s beautiful art. If I’ve written myself into a corner, I have to just delete everything until the last moment I wasn’t stuck and start over.

What do you want readers to remember about your books?