Q: You are a matchmaker — your goal, hook up two characters from two of your favorite books. Who would it be? How do you think it would go?

I couldn’t think of any romantic pairings, but two characters who I’d like to see in a room together are Marina Singh from Ann Patchett’s State of Wonder and Claire Fraser from Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander. They’re both scientifically-minded career women, tenacious yet tender, and face situations that nothing could prepare a person for. I think they’d have a lot to talk about given an afternoon in each other’s company.