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?
Dozy. I was such a day dreamer, I couldn't concentrate on anything for long. When I was playing by myself, my parents used to talk to me and I wouldn't hear a thing. "He's in the land," they always said. It helped me get lousy grades at school.
Q: What did you want to be when you were a child?
I always loved the natural world, and\ my favorite books when I was young were by Gerald Durrell - one of the first conservationists. He founded Jersy zoo, but befroe that he used to travel round the world collecting animals for zoos. What a job! I started wanting to be a writer when I was about 14.
Q: Which three words describe you best?
I don't know.
Q: What is your favourite word?
Pancakes. With sugar and lemon.
Q: What makes you cringe?
Emarrassing things that I've done in the past, that I'm not going to tell you about.
Q: What are you afraid of?
Falling off a cliff. Falling out of love. Falling ill ... falling, I guess.
Q: When did you last have a really good laugh?
Yesterday. I have a good laugh most days. I'm hoping to have one later today.
Q: What is your most treasured possession?
My dad's writing desk.
Q: What do you do as a hobby?
I cook. I garden. I walk; and I love nature watching - including watching people.
Q: What strange habits do you have?
I'm certainly not answering that - they're far too strange!
Q: What’s your favourite food?
Freshly boiled lobster with lashings of sweet butter.
Q: What do you day dream about?
Travelling in wild places.
Q: What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?
Cheese making. Or runing a smoke house.
Q: What quality do you most admire in a person?
Kindess.
Q: What is the most interesting place you have ever visited?
Nepal. I went on safari on elephnat back - it was fabulous.
Q: How long have you been a writer?
I've written all my life, but I was first published about twenty years ago.
Q: Was there a specific moment in your life when you decide to become a writer?
I was realy quite useless at school, so when a teacher told me how great my writing was, I believed her. She was the first person who'd told me I was any good at anything for years - except for my mum and dad who didn't count becuse I knew they'd always tell me I was good.
Q: Where do you get your greatest ideas from?
In the bath.
Q: What was your favourite book as a child?
The Wind in the Willows
Q: What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Just don't stop. It's not the people with brains as big as planets who suceed - it's those who never give in.