Welcome to my world: Jodi Picoult

BESTSELLING author Jodi Picoult's many novels include The Tenth Circle, The Pact and My Sister's Keeper, which is currently being made into a film starring Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric.

Her latest novel, Change of Heart, is out now (£16.99, Hodder & Stoughton). She will be appearing at Renfrewshire's Eastwood Park Theatre today at 3pm. Tickets from the box office (0141 577 4970).

Describe your perfect weekend

I'd be with my family, up at our home on a lake in New Hampshire, sitting on the deck, reading a book while my kids swim… It sounds so perfect I want to be there now.

What would you do if you ruled the world?

I'd congratulate myself for getting it all under one umbrella – and then I would make chocolate free.

Who did you last receive a text from?

A fan named Barry from San Francisco, to tell me he loved Change of Heart.

What's your guiltiest pleasure?

Shopping, because I don't need anything – I just love doing it.

When did you last feel sorry for yourself?

Driving to the airport on Friday evening as I was setting off on the book tour, thinking I was going to be away from my family for six weeks.

What one thing would improve your life?

Being able to take my kids and my husband away with me – that and a private jet. And getting the builders out of my house – I have never seen anyone slower at getting a job done.

What's your earliest memory?

Standing in front of the TV at my home in Bayside, New York, dancing to a programme while my mother sat on the couch and watched.

What do you wish you'd never done?

I don't really have regrets, but I don't enjoy the memory of my job on Wall Street after leaving college.

Would your mother be proud of you?

She is proud of me – so proud sometimes I think she might explode.

What is your greatest achievement?

Having three incredible kids who are becoming three incredible adults.

When did you start writing?

When I was five years old.

What would you be if you weren't a writer?

A pastry chef – I make very good desserts.

What are your favourite books?

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell is the book that made me want to write; Alice Hoffman's Turtle Moon was the one that made me a reader; Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises – he says so much with so few words; F Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby – one of the most unreliable narrators; and The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch, which I used to read to my daughter, Sammy, when she was a baby, and which has a fantastically unorthodox ending.

What's the most embarrassing thing that's happened to you?

I was working on the screenplay for The Pact with a producer who was horribly offensive, but with whom I was contractually stuck. He wrote me a hideous e-mail which I forwarded to my agent, but by accident sent it back to him.

What's the most you've spent on a purchase?

I bought one of those really thin MacBook computers that Apple makes – it has revolutionised my book tours, and my shoulder health has improved immeasurably because it is so light to carry.

Who does the cleaning in your house?

Tim, my husband, and I do it… I have to say, though, a better question would be who does not do the cleaning, and that is my kids.

Do you vote?

Of course.

Who would play you in the movie of your life?

I have no idea. May I play myself?

What worries you in the wee small hours?

Usually what I'm writing about next – so right now about getting something going on that last unturned stone in America – gay rights.

Who was your favourite teacher?

Mary Morris at Princeton. She was my thesis tutor and a terrific writer too. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here today.

Who is your fantasy date?

My husband – as a surprise he could find his way on to the same continent as me.

What is your most treasured possession?

A 500-year-old coin from Greece – it has Athena for wisdom on one side and Pegasus for creativity on the other. My husband had it set into a necklace and I wear it all the time.

What would you do if you were invisible?

I would have a look at what my 14-year-old son is writing in his messages to his girlfriend.