What is your full name?
Natalie Kim Rompella

Where did you grow up?
In Waukegan, Illinois.  It is a city north of Chicago.

When is your birthday?
Christmas Day.  My name, Natalie, means “child of Christmas”
(Natale is Italian for Christmas).

Do you have any brothers or sisters?
I have a sister named Melanie, who is two years older than I am.

Do you have any pets?
Yes, I have two guinea pigs: Melba Toast and B.B. Joe. 

Did you always like to write?
On and off.  In elementary school I usually entered the Young Authors Contest and got to go to the regional ceremonies.

What hobbies do you enjoy?
I like to play tennis and badminton, dance, hike, and watch movies.  I also like looking for unusual insects and going to museums.

What got you interested in writing?
When I was in college getting my master’s degree, I wrote a children’s book about chemistry.  My professor said I should try to get it published. 

Who are your favorite authors?
I like books by Jerry Spinelli and Linda Sue Park.

What are your favorite books?
Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park
Rules by Cynthia Lord

Do you enjoy writing fiction or nonfiction better?
Both.  I think I’ve learned so much from doing research for my books.  I even got an idea for a fiction book from a nonfiction topic. 

Where do you get ideas from?
Everywhere. I always carry paper and a pen with me in case I think of something interesting.  In the car I talk into a little tape recorder when I get a new idea.

Where do you write?
Usually at my desk.  I like to get away sometimes for a change of scenery—Starbucks works nicely. 

How often do you write?
Not as often as I would like to.  Most of my writing time is spent editing and making revisions.  I probably spend four hours a day writing and editing.

What are your likes?
Candy, crayons, science, math, guinea pigs, gorillas, the cartoon Tom and Jerry, and books. 

What are your dislikes?
Gum, wearing rings, cold weather, and green peppers in foods.

What is your favorite food?
I love yellow cake with white frosting and sprinkles on the sides. 
I also adore Jamba Juice’s Orange Dream Machine.

What is your favorite insect?
Praying mantids.  I once was in a movie theater parking lot and heard a woman scream, “It’s a monster!”  I ran over to find a praying mantis nearby.  I took it to school with me to show my class (and named it Monster).  We let it go a couple of days later.

What is your favorite movie?
E.T.  I first saw it when I was in second grade.

What is your favorite color?
I like all colors.  I like colors put together, like green with pink or orange.

What do you want to be when you grow up?
I think it would be fun to be a scientist, like an entomologist (a person who studies insects) or a primatologist
(a person who studies primates, such as apes).

What was your favorite subject in school?
Math.  I still love it.  What I didn’t like about math, however, was that in first grade, our math book had a cover with kids at a food stand.  We had math at the end of the day, and the picture of the carton of milk made me want to run home and drink a glass of milk.  I also didn’t like fractions right away.  Now I think they’re fun.