The Author Hotline
is
being developed by CW4K, or Creative Writing 4 Kids. They are the company behind a website that enables children to create and publish their own stories online. In its first year it has signed up over 2000 members and has been enthusiastically received by children, parents and teachers. In fact the response has been so encouraging that they are planning a huge expansion of its services. Embedding The Author Hotline into the site is part of that expansion...
For more information on CW4K CLICK HERE
Q: What were you like at school?
I remember after my first few days at school the shock of realising that I actually had to go every day! I hadn`t understood that... I didn`t enjoy school very much - I spent a lot of time feeling anxious and confused and wanting to go home! I rather resented school getting in the way of what I wanted to do - which was to draw and make stuff. I always had projects on the go - ideas that I wanted to work on, and I looked forward with huge excitement to the weekends so that I could get on with them.
Q: What did you want to be when you were a child?
For a long time I just wanted to be a child - I really didn`t want to grow up. When I realised that there was a certain inevitability about that, I wanted to be an actress, a teacher, own a flower shop, be a singer....
Q: Which three words describe you best?
Happy, forgetful ....what was the question?
Q: What is your favourite word?
Tranquility
Q: What makes you cringe?
Reality TV
Q: What are you afraid of?
All the usuals - bad things happening to friends or family, global warming, breakdown of society, snakes - oh, and driving....
Q: When did you last have a really good laugh?
Watching TV with my kids.
Q: What is your most treasured possession?
my mums diaries, paintings my children did when they were small, my diamond tiara..
Q: What do you do as a hobby?
sing and garden - sometimes at the same time
Q: What strange habits do you have?
see above
Q: What’s your favourite food?
oh - so many - curry, roast dinner, anything someone else has cooked!
Q: What do you day dream about?
books I want to make, the people I love, my perfect garden/house/holiday....
Q: What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve done?
Deciding in the middle of a chaotic Year 8 art lesson, when I was doing my teacher training, that I really didn`t want to be a teacher after all, not in secondary school anyway, and walking out....it changed the course of my life!
Q: What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?
I`d like to be involved in aspects of special education and art-therapy, or teaching in a primary school... Or run a childrens bookshop... Or be a singer.
Q: Do you feel younger or older than your current age?
On Monday mornings at my Pilates class I feel much, much older. But when I`m all excited about something I still feel about 6!!
Q: If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be?
It would have to be my Mum who died a few years ago - there are so many things I want to ask her and tell her...
Q: What quality do you most admire in a person?
Compassion.
Q: What is the most interesting place you have ever visited?
(I really can`t answer this one - I`m not particularly well travelled but I`ve still seen some fascinating and wonderful places -there are so many....)
Q: What is the best advice anyone has ever given you?
My mum used to say that when you feel overwhelmed by life and work and the world, you should just focus on the little bit in front of you, concentrate on getting that right, then move on to the next bit.
Q: What would you most like to change about yourself?
I wish I was more courageous.
Q: What has life taught you?
That it whizzes by and you should take time to notice the small things - bird song, wind in the trees, the way shadows move, the smell of rain...
Q: How long have you been a writer?
All my life, but professionally about 25 years
Q: Was there a specific moment in your life when you decide to become a writer?
Not really - it crept up on me....
Q: Where do you do your writing?
In the shed at the bottom of the garden - that's where my family keep me - they only let me out occasionally.
Q: What are the best and worst things about being an author?
Best - freedom to organise my own time, freedom to be creative. Worst - loneliness, which I only really notice when the work is not going well. Oh, and doing my accounts.
Q: Where do you get your greatest ideas from?
Dreams, children, films, books, the news, overheard conversations (usually in restaurants - it drives my husband nuts!)
Q: What do you do to combat “writers’ block”?
Go for a long walk....never fails!
Q: What was your favourite book as a child?
Fin Family Moomintroll and Alice in Wonderland (yes I know that's two...)
Q: What book do you wish you had written?
Tom`s Midnight Garden
Q: What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Write.
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The Dollhouse Fairy
ISBN
1846169062
Published By
Orchard Books
Status
In Print -
Snow White
ISBN
1406311839
Published By
Walker Books
Status
In Print -
The Apple-Pip Princess
ISBN
1846161002
Published By
Orchard Books
Status
In Print -
The Moonbird
ISBN
0552550035
Published By
Corgi
Status
In Print -
The Lost Happy Endings
ISBN
0747579229
Published By
Bloomsbury Publishing
Status
In Print -
Lugalbanda
ISBN
1844287467
Published By
Walker Books
Status
In Print -
Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden
ISBN
1903919061
Published By
Eden Books
Status
In Print -
Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet
ISBN
0744588243
Published By
Walker Books
Status
In Print -
Can You Catch a Mermaid?
ISBN
1841212962
Published By
Orchard Books
Status
In Print -
From a Distance
ISBN
0525458727
Published By
Dutton Childrens Books
Status
In Print
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