Carole Anne Carr

Q: What were you like at school?

A goody-two-shoes. At primary school I was given a book prize for 'good manners and behaviour'. I was shy and I've made up for this since!

Q: Which three words describe you best?

Caring, hard working, interested in everything old and new.

Q: What did you want to be when you were a child?

An ice skater. My Father took me to see Cinderella, an ice show in London, when I was eight and I thought it would be wonderful to be able to wear lovely glittery clothes and to skate on ice.

Q: What is your favourite word?

Friendship

Q: What makes you cringe?

Other people being ignored and deliberate bad manners.

Q: What are you afraid of?

I try not to be afraid of anything. I used to be afraid of spiders but after living in Africa for a long time I became used to them being my house guests.

Q: When did you last have a really good laugh?

This happens every day. My husband and I are always laughing together.

Q: What is your most treasured possession?

A small pottery statue of a woman. It is very simple with a plain dress painted in a brown and cream glaze. The arms and face are without any colouring and this is a nice contrast. It was made by my Mother and there are indentations where she pressed her fingers into the clay.

Q: What do you do as a hobby?

I love collecting old toys, cardboard theatres, children's books, teddies and Beatrix Potter soft toy characters.

Q: What strange habits do you have?

Clapping my hands together when very pleased and making up my own nursery rhymes and singing them to silly tunes.

Q: What’s your favourite food?

I love French and Italian food.

Q: What do you day dream about?

Writing a book that as many children as possible will love.

Q: What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve done?

I ran away to Africa.

Q: What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?

Designer of costumes and sets for the theatre.

Q: Do you feel younger or older than your current age?

Younger, probably because I write children's books and have spent many years teaching.

Q: If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be?

Anne Fine, the children's author. I would love to ask her many questions about her stories and how she came to write them.

Q: What quality do you most admire in a person?

A kind heart.

Q: What is the most interesting place you have ever visited?

That is hard to decide. There are so many wonderful places. Perhaps the Victoria Falls.

Q: What is the best advice anyone has ever given you?

You can do it.

Q: What would you most like to change about yourself?

I'd just like to be able to be a better person.

Q: What has life taught you?

To be brave when life is hard and to help others.

Q: How long have you been a writer?

I've written stories since I could hold a pencil. I wrote plays and my friends acted in them and I wrote a newspaper when I was in primary school.

Q: Was there a specific moment in your life when you decide to become a writer?

I have always written. I wrote the Christmas plays when teaching in primary school.

Q: Where do you do your writing?

In my study that overlooks the garden. It has two clocks, one UK time and one Eastern American time so that I know what time it is in Atlanta, Georgia when my friend calls me on Skype. There is a desktop computer with two large screens that I use for my writing, a laptop computer that my husband uses. He sits at a desk next to mine. There is also a notebook computer that is very light and that I take to meetings. The noticeboard is full of letters, birthday cards, soft toys given to me by friends, and glass Christmas decorations, for I love all things that glitter, especially tinsel. The room, like other rooms in the house, has many shelves overloaded with children's books by other authors.

Q: What are the best and worst things about being an author?

The satisfaction of hearing children say good things about my books is the best, and the worst thing is being very tired and having to finish a book by a certain date.

Q: Where do you get your greatest ideas from?

The very varied life I have lived, my many careers, provides me with ideas. I have worked in a bank, been an actress, teacher, a church minister, had my own art and crafts business, and lived in many different places.

Q: Which of your own characters do you most identify with?

As a writer I become each character in turn. Different parts of me become different characters.

Q: What do you do to combat “writers’ block”?

I have to force myself to keep going.

Q: What was your favourite book as a child?

Alice and Thomas and Jane by Enid Bagnold.

Q: What book do you wish you had written?

The Little Grey Men by B.B or any book by Anne Fine.

Q: What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Never stop writing, never think that you are not good enough.