Authors Hotline - Where authors and their readers connect

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

Sally Grindley

http://www.sallygrindley.co.uk
sallygrindley3ct@me.com
To download this profile page, click HERE

Q: What were you like at school?

I was mostly a good little girl, I think, but I was definitely naughty sometimes.

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

I didn't have the foggiest idea. Certainly not an optician like my father.

Q: What is your favourite word?

discombobulated

Q: What makes you cringe?

nose-picking.

Q: What are you afraid of?

Spiders

Q: What do you do as a hobby?

Play tennis and gaze in awe at Roger Federer.

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

When I had to change my clothes while parked in a layby on my way to meet the Queen. Why did several people choose that moment to use the layby as a turning circle? Pulling on tights without drawing attention to yourself is not easy. I got the giggles thinking about what the Queen would think if she could see my struggles, and that made me very hot!

Q: What strange habits do you have?

If I've got any strange habits, I probably think they're normal!

Q: What do you day dream about?

Having one of my books turned into a film.

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

I covered the school clock with a pair of knickers and stuck a waste bin full of papers on top of the science lab door so that it would fall on the science teacher's head when he came through it. Well, it was April Fools Day.

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

Film director.

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

Much, much, much, much younger. I still skip around like a spring lamb on a tennis court.

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

Roger Federer. I would go weak at the knees.

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

Honesty.

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

India. I loved every minute of my stay - the colour, the chaos, the smells, the extraordinary temples and the extraordinary people, who are soooo friendly.

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

Be true to yourself.

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

My socks!

Q: How long have you been a writer?

A quarter of a century!

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

I worked for a children's book club for seventeen years and learned a lot by reading other author's work. I started dabbling myself and came up with the idea for my first book when I was driving up the motorway one day.

Q: Where do you do your writing?

At the back of my sitting room, which is not ideal. When I move, which will be sooner rather than later, I'll make sure I have a dedicated room.

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

The best is doing the research and when ideas are flowing. The best is hearing from and meeting children who have enjoyed your work. The best is being able to down tools on a sunny day and hit the tennis court. The worst is when the ideas are not flowing. The worst is when you feel everything you have written is rubbish. The worst is not knowing how much you're going to earn - and it's never enough when you find out.

Q: Where do you get your greatest ideas from?

Looking, listening and thinking.

Q: What do you do to combat �writers� block�?

I don't believe in writers' block. Sometimes the ideas don't flow as freely, but you have to work your mind into a 'distraction-free zone' and allow it to roam until it loosens up. It's easy to give up trying when it gets hard, but you need persistence.

Q: What was your favourite book as a child?

The Wind in the Willows.

Q: What book do you wish you had written?

The Gruffalo.

Q: What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Keep practising, practising, practising, and read, read, read.

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

The Perfect Monster!

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