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?
A total swot. I loved school. I even loved exams. Does that make me weird? Probably.
Q: What did you want to be when you were a child?
Velvet Brown in National Velvet, until I was old enough to find out about boys, at which point I wanted to be the weird one in Breakfast Club.
Q: Which three words describe you best?
short, determined, happy
Q: What is your favourite word?
egg
Q: What makes you cringe?
Pessimism. My mother. Usually combined.
Q: What are you afraid of?
Dying.
Q: When did you last have a really good laugh?
Last night, when an old friend reminded me of a very funny line from a film.
Q: What is your most treasured possession?
My photograph albums, a signed Reef CD, and my daughter, in no particular order.
Q: What do you do as a hobby?
Read.
Q: What strange habits do you have?
I can only eat cold toast, because I don't like melted butter, unless I'm having Marmite, in which case it has to be hot, brown and melty.
Q: What’s your favourite food?
Marmite on brown toast
Q: What do you day dream about?
Stories
Q: What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve done?
Curtsied to the Prime Minister
Q: What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?
Jockey
Q: Do you feel younger or older than your current age?
Younger. I don't think I've ever felt older than 17.
Q: If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be?
Can it be fictional? If so, Jed Bartlet.
Q: What quality do you most admire in a person?
Optimism.
Q: What is the most interesting place you have ever visited?
The War Room. And Jeffrey Archer's bathroom.
Q: What is the best advice anyone has ever given you?
Never underestimate the comedy value of a monkey.
Q: What would you most like to change about yourself?
My confidence levels as a teenager.
Q: What has life taught you?
That if you don't do it yourself, it probably won't happen.
Q: How long have you been a writer?
Fiction since 2003, but journalism and speeches since the mid-90s.
Q: Was there a specific moment in your life when you decide to become a writer?
No. In fact I wanted to be anything but - I wanted my life to be movie or book-worthy. But when I found myself at No 10, and realised I still wasn't satisfied, I figured maybe I could write a good story instead of trying to live one.
Q: Where do you do your writing?
Mostly in my attic. But I tend to have moments of inspiration at odd hours so it could be anywhere. A number 12 bus has been the oddest.
Q: What are the best and worst things about being an author?
The best things are going to work in your pyjamas, and getting fanmail. The worst things are mean reviews, and worrying you'll never write another good story.
Q: Where do you get your greatest ideas from?
Life.
Q: Which of your own characters do you most identify with?
Rachel Riley, because she's based entirely on me.
Q: What do you do to combat “writers’ block”?
Having been a journalist, and government writer, I'm so used to hearing someone shout "we need it yesterday" that I find I can always write something. If it needs editing later, it needs editing. I don't get precious about it. When you've had the PM's red pen all over your work you lose that indignation.
Q: What was your favourite book as a child?
James Thurber's "The Thirteen Clocks" and "The Wonderful O"
Q: What book do you wish you had written?
Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce
Q: What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Write every day. Otherwise you're not a writer. You're just aspiring.
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