FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN A WRITER?
Fiction writing was one of my earliest goals in life, and I wrote my first book at the age of eight. After the longest time, I started getting published in a small way, so the proportions of time devoted to day job and writing shifted. I began in children’s writing right from the start, and ventured into writing for adults in my twenties, but always had a children’s novel on the go too.
WHAT OTHER CAREERS HAVE YOU HAD?
At the age of 25, I went through a complete career change. Having trained in hairdressing from the age of 16, I went back to university and took a degree in Combined Science (animal physiology, ecology, microbiology and environmental sciences). This led to a job at the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology. I’d sample soils, vegetation, and even sand from beaches that had been contaminated by oil, then take it all back to the lab and grind it up for other scientists to analyse. That grinding stage was one of my favourite jobs! It took place in a room of its own and it was noisy, so you were allowed to have the radio on and relax (and write in notebooks…). I then did a master’s degree in Health Science and went into health research, where I was chosen as lead author on some exciting research projects. The first time I saw my name in print was a dream come true. I switched to freelance science editing when my children were small, and worked on improving papers in scientific journals and text books. Alongside everything, writing was always the main goal, although squashing it into evenings and weekends was frustrating.
WHAT HELPED YOU THE MOST ON YOUR ROAD TO PUBLICATION?
Winning a Northern Writers’ Award, and being shortlisted for the Commonword Children’s Diversity Prize both made a huge difference to my writing journey.
WHY WRITE FOR CHILDREN?
The ages between eight and twelve have always been my favourites, not only to write for but to engage with in all ways. I particularly enjoyed being with my own children at those ages. Pre-teens have such clever and original ideas, and their language use is funny and inspiring. And of all the ages I’ve lived through myself, that period felt the most magical. The world teems with possibilities. You get glimpses of tantalising things, but you don’t always get the full facts, so your mind joins the dots and comes up with something new and fun (even if it’s completely wrong!).
That’s why those ages felt, to me, like really living your best life. You live in the moment, and carry that freedom into the world of every book you read, and that’s why middle-grade books feel so real and plausible to their readers.
WHO WERE YOUR FAVOURITE AUTHORS WHEN YOU WERE GROWING UP?
My absolute favourite was Tove Jansson. Her Moomin books definitely kick-started writing for me, and the books came with wonderful illustrations.
I also loved Philippa Pearce, especially A Dog So Small and Tom’s Midnight Garden. John Gordon’s The Giant Under the Snow was very influential, as was Patricia Wrightson’s An Older Kind of Magic and Down to Earth. I liked authors who could make unusual things seem realistic, and part of me believed every word.
DO YOU EVER WRITE FOR ADULTS?
Yes! My short stories for adults can be found in these anthologies:
The Conglomerate nos 7 and 8
Short Fiction Journal “Distinguishing Features”
I’m currently working on a novel written in short-story format. I’m also drawing on my time in hairdressing to work on a thriller for adults set in that world. For anyone who has enjoyed dark academia, wait until you enter the world of dark coiffeur!
WHERE DO YOUR IDEAS COME FROM?
Often, I get ideas from the little things I notice every day. I put lots of observations and thoughts into files, and sometimes ordinary things will strike me as potentially extraordinary if tweaked; or turned upside-down; or if I look at what almost happened.
DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR ASPIRING WRITERS?
My top tips are:
take an event that happened to you, or something you witnessed, and write about what didn’t happen, or what nearly happened. Turn it on its head.
find a favourite passage, character or theme in a book you love and try to figure out why it’s working so well, and what aspects of that technique you could apply to your own writing.
keep notebooks or files of funny or silly little things you’ve noticed in the world around you. Often, the smallest things can be worked up into the best stories.
don’t be afraid to write down an idea that seems only half-baked. Over time, your subconscious will add to it. (This happens best when your attention is on something completely different.)
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVOURITE THINGS?
The trundling tenacity of woodlice, endless rooms in big houses (preferably smelling of wood), tardigrades, frogs, constellation names (Andromeda; Cassiopeia), hares, curled-up cats, forget-me-nots, and my two boys.
