Elizabeth Baguley

Q: What were you like at school?

School? I loved it. My mother was really upset when, on my first day at primary school, I ran off into the classroom without even turning to wave goodbye - and I never looked back. Not surprisingly, I loved writing stories but I wasn't too keen on anything to do with numbers!

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

A witch, a fairy or anything magical. I also played at school a good deal and ended up being a teacher.

Q: Which three words describe you best?

Enthusiastic Scatty Dramatic

Q: What is your favourite word?

ooze

Q: What makes you cringe?

The thought of gutting a fish

Q: What are you afraid of?

The dark

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

This morning! My daughter found a website with ridiculous tips for making old objects into something useful. Some of them were absolutely ridiculous. I laugh a lot.

Q: What is your most treasured possession?

I don't think possessions are terribly important, but I would be very upset if I lost my wedding ring.

Q: What do you do as a hobby?

Star-gazing

Q: What strange habits do you have?

Reciting bits of poetry. My children are sooooo embarrassed by it.

Q: What’s your favourite food?

Jacket potatoes with melted cheese.

Q: What do you day dream about?

Walking through snow on a long journey and then finding myself in a dream home with a log fire.

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

I don't think I've ever really done anything outrageous, although my family think that standing on a stage telling stories is completely abnormal!

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

I would love to be a musician.

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

Oh, younger - absolutely!

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

My mother died when I was relatively young and I'd love to be able to meet her again now that I have my own children.

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

Cheerfulness, particularly in people who have had hard or difficult lives.

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

West Kennet long barrow, in Wiltshire. The stones rang with history and magic.

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

"Don't put it down, put it away." For someone like me, who is a bit disorganised, it means a lot to have everything neat and tidy and where it can easily be found.

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

I'd like to be more practical.

Q: What has life taught you?

That although it has its ups and downs, life is a gift and it's good.

Q: How long have you been a writer?

I've always written in one way or another, but I've been published over the last five years.

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

Yes: when my children were small and I read them picture books. One evening, I just thought: I can do that - and I did!

Q: Where do you do your writing?

In my kitchen, mostly, where it's warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

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

The best thing is being able to spend time writing, which is my greatest love. The worst thing is that sometimes I have to come back into the real world and do household chores!

Q: Where do you get your greatest ideas from?

My best ideas come to me in the fuzzy time between being asleep and being awake.

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

Meggie Moon. She is a girl who creates things to play with out of rubbish, which is what I did when I was a child. I suppose, as an author, I still create something out of nothing when I write. Meggie has imagination and I like to think I do too.

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

I stop trying and let the ideas find me rather than the other way round.

Q: What was your favourite book as a child?

Noddy! My mother used to read me the stories and I loved them.

Q: What book do you wish you had written?

Susan Cooper's "The Dark is Rising". It still sends shivers down my back when I read it.

Q: What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Don't just think about it, get on and do it - and keep on going even when publishers turn your ideas down. Also, if you really are a born writer, you'll write just for the joy of it rather than just to be published.