Q.
What was your first book and how did you get it published?
A.
I was in fact really lucky
with my first book. I was writing a book for adults, a sort of comedy
thriller, but didn't have the first idea how to go about getting it published.
One day the aerobics class I went to was cancelled so I had a coffee instead
(always a wise choice) with another girl. When she asked what I did for
a living, I told her about the book. She fortuitously had a friend who
was a 'proper' writer. To cut a long story short, I sent my manuscript
to him, he ripped it to pieces, I cried for a week. Then he very patiently
taught me where I was going wrong, taught me to write a decent synopsis
and generally was a brilliant mentor. His name is Stephen Thraves who
was at the time writing a series of 'Adventure Game' books. A little later
I co-wrote one with him. It was called 'Ghost School' and was a pefect
introduction to writing and being published. Stephen is now responsible
for writing and creating 'Fetch the Vet'. I will be eternally grateful
to him.
Q.
How Do you Start A New Book?
A. I usually sit down
with a mountain of paper and a pen and make hundreds and hundreds of notes.
These consist of the major storyline, the characters involved and how
the whole jigsaw fits together.
At first my notes are very general and then they become more and more
detailed. When I can't see my desk for paper and when I realise that I'm
making the same notes over and over again I know that it's time to get
down to the serious business of writing. And then of course everything
becomes a distraction - even the ironing seems like the most exciting
thing in the world! I don't know why I put off starting to write like
that because when I do finally get down to it I love it!
Q.
What made you want to be an author?
A. I guess I always
loved English at school, especially the 'creative writing' bit. I love
thinking up interesting characters and putting them in different situations.
It's great to be able to create really quirky characters and imagine what
it would be like to be living in their shoes. I am quite shy, so it's
great to be able to pretend to be one of my characters who is really confident.
Or sometimes, if I've been upset about a situation, it feels really good
to write about it from the point of view of somebody else. It really does
make me feel a lot better.
Q.
How long does it take you write a book?
A. Ooh, that is a really
tough question. It all depends upon what is happening in the book and
how much research is needed for it. The hardest, and usually the longest,
part of writing a book is the planning. It's like doing a jigsaw puzzle:
I know what is going to happen at the beginning and I know what is going
to happen at the end and then there are all the pieces in the middle which
need fitting together properly. I always allowed myself 2-3 months to
write a 'Sleepover Club' book, but usually the writing part only
took a month.
Q.
What research do you do?
A. Well
that really depends upon the book. The Internet is a great source of research
because you can get information on just about any subject so quickly.
Sometimes though you need to go out and about to experience things. For
'Sleepover Girls on Horseback' I visited the 'Diamond Riding Centre' which
specialises in helping children like Adam in the book who has cerebal
palsy. It was an amazing experience, very inspiring and very humbling.For
'Sleepover Girls Go Camping' I visited a Residential Brownie Camp which
has a assault course similar to the one in the book. I suppose I really
should have gone on it, but I really am like Fliss and VERY wimpy when
it comes to things like that!
I do watch a lot of children's TV and read masses of children's books.
It is really important to do that to see what else is out there and to
identify what the age-group I write for are 'into'. I always think my
local newsagent must think I'm very strange when I buy nearly every girls'
magazine on the shelf! I badge-test for my local Brownie pack which is
great fun and another useful way of keeping in touch with the age-group.
And I always, but always, get my nieces - Emily who is 11 and Isabel who
is 7 - to read what I am currently writing and ask them to give me their
honest opinions.
Q.
What is your favourite book?
A. When
I was little I had the most brilliant book called 'Five Dolls in a
House' by, I think, Helen Clare. It was the funniest book ever about,
believe it or not, five dolls who lived in a dolls' house. They each had
their own personality and came alive when they thought no-one was watching.
There was a really rude toy monkey who used to sit on the roof of the
house and look in on them. He was always saying really funny things. It
is long out of print but I would give just about anything to have a copy
of that book now