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Linda Newbery
http://www.lindanewbery.co.uklindanewbery@hotmail.com
To download this profile page, click HERE
Q: What were you like at school?
I was very quiet and shy and always tried to sit at the back of the class behind someone bigger. My favourite subjects were French, English, Art and Biology - but, most oddly, one of my best O-Level results was for Maths.
Q: What did you want to be when you were a child?
A writer - but also a vet.
Q: Which three words describe you best?
Lazy, hardworking, changeable.
Q: What do you do as a hobby?
I love yoga, gardening, walking, birdwatching, swimming, going to the cinema, and reading (of course).
Q: What’s your favourite food?
One of my favourite meals is simple but delicious: mushrooms on granary toast, with black pepper, cooked by my husband who can do this better than anyone else I know.
Q: Do you feel younger or older than your current age?
Younger, definitely, and it depends which book I'm writing at the time - I might be eight, twelve, seventeen or (for the adult book I'm writing at the moment) thirty-three.
Q: What quality do you most admire in a person?
Generosity.
Q: How long have you been a writer?
I've got two answers: one is from the age of eight, when I decided that my ambition was to write stories for other people to live in; my second answer is from the age of thirty, when I realised that I'd have to make it happen by finishing a book and sending it to a publisher.
Q: Where do you do your writing?
I have a writing hut in my garden, where I can sit and look at birds while I'm thinking, or at my stone Green Man near the arbour opposite. I also do quite a bit of writing in bed, first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
Q: What are the best and worst things about being an author?
The best thing is having the freedom to do or be whatever you want. The worst thing is that when the writing is going badly, it can seem completely pointless.
Q: Where do you get your greatest ideas from?
Several of my novels have begun with places. THE SHELL HOUSE is based on a real ruined mansion on the edge of Epping Forest; NEVERMORE began with a visit to Snowshill Manor in Gloucestershire; AT THE FIREFLY GATE takes place in an imaginary village in Suffolk, but one that feels very real to me.
Q: Which of your own characters do you most identify with?
For each book it would be the viewpoint character: Hilly in SISTERLAND, Hal in THE SANDFATHER. Sometimes the viewpoint is divided, as in SET IN STONE, where I wrote alternate chapters from the points of view of Charlotte, a governess, and Samuel, a young artist.
Q: What do you do to combat “writers’ block”?
I usually give myself a good telling-off and make myself sit down and get on with writing. That usually works.
Q: What was your favourite book as a child?
One of my favourites was BAMBI, by Felix Saltern - I read it at the age of eight or nine, and it's stayed with me vividly ever since.
Q: What book do you wish you had written?
BAMBERT'S BOOK OF MISSING STORIES, by Reinhardt Jung - a strange and wonderful book.
Q: What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Think of yourself as a writer. Try to write every day. Make it part of your life.
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The Sandfather
ISBN
9781842555484
Published By
Orion
Status
In Print -
Lob
ISBN
978-0385610810
Published By
David Fickling Books
Status
In Print -
Set in Stone
ISBN
978-0552774017
Published By
Random House
Status
In Print -
Posy
ISBN
978-1843625100
Published By
Orchard
Status
In Print -
Rain Cat
ISBN
978-0746097281
Published By
Usborne
Status
In Print -
The Shell House
ISBN
978-0099455936
Published By
Random House Definitions
Status
In Print -
Sisterland
ISBN
978-0099472827
Published By
Random House Definitions
Status
In Print -
Nevermore
ISBN
978-1842555477
Published By
Orion
Status
In Print -
Flightsend
ISBN
978-1862308947
Published By
Random House Definitions
Status
In Print -
Lost Boy
ISBN
978-1842555187
Published By
Orion
Status
In Print -
Andie's Moon
ISBN
978-0746073100
Published By
Usborne
Status
In Print -
Polly's March
ISBN
978-0746060315
Published By
Usborne
Status
In Print -
Catcall
ISBN
978-1842555682
Published By
Orion
Status
In Print -
At the Firefly Gate
ISBN
978-1842551950
Published By
Orion
Status
In Print
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