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?
Worried. I was sent away to boarding school when I was seven
Q: What did you want to be when you were a child?
A train driver so I could escape from my school - there was a train line at the bottom of the playing field.
Q: Which three words describe you best?
Curious. Creative. Curmudgeonly.
Q: What is your favourite word?
Flapdoodle
Q: What makes you cringe?
TV Talent shows.
Q: What are you afraid of?
Things that go bump in the night.
Q: When did you last have a really good laugh?
Playing snowballs with my family.
Q: What is your most treasured possession?
My home in Wales
Q: What do you do as a hobby?
I’m a cartoonist and card maker.
Q: What strange habits do you have?
I whistle a lot.
Q: What’s your favourite food?
Cheese.
Q: What do you day dream about?
Being a bird.
Q: What’s the most outrageous thing you’ve done?
I'm saving it up for when I'm much older.
Q: What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?
Teaching
Q: Do you feel younger or older than your current age?
When I was young I felt old; now I'm older I feel quite young.
Q: If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be?
The poet Sylvia Plath.
Q: What quality do you most admire in a person?
Playfullness.
Q: What is the most interesting place you have ever visited?
The temples of Gokarna in South India.
Q: What is the best advice anyone has ever given you?
People who don't make mistakes don't make anything.
Q: What would you most like to change about yourself?
I'd like to be a little less shy.
Q: What has life taught you?
Some people can dance and I'm not one of them.
Q: How long have you been a writer?
Since I was about ten.
Q: Was there a specific moment in your life when you decide to become a writer?
It was probably in 1996 when my youngest son started going to playschool
Q: Where do you do your writing?
I always start my writing at the kitchen table with pen, paper and biscuits and then I when I'm happy with the rough outline of a story or poem I move on to the computer and leave the biscuits behind.
Q: What are the best and worst things about being an author?
The best thing is knowing that your words are being enjoyed by people all over the world. The worst thing is spending months working on a story only to discover it is utter rubbish!
Q: Where do you get your greatest ideas from?
Children.
Q: Which of your own characters do you most identify with?
Emily because she is quite stubborn and crazy and loves guinea pigs.
Q: What do you do to combat “writers’ block”?
I tidy up my desk, throw things away and dig up potatoes
Q: What was your favourite book as a child?
A tiny picture book called 'The Inquisitive Harvest Mouse.'
Q: What book do you wish you had written?
'Where the Wild Things are' by Maurice Sendak
Q: What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Read A Lot.
Baby Baby blah blah blah!
ISBN
1862337190
Published By
Gullane Children's Books
Status
In Print
What if?
ISBN
978-0333734858
Status
Out of Print
Lucky Duck
ISBN
978-0333986714
Status
Out of Print
Busy Busy Busy!
ISBN
978-0261670143
Status
Out of Print
How to be a Happy Hippo
ISBN
9780439217934
Status
Out of Print
In the Night
ISBN
978000184652
Status
Out of Print
Horrible Crocodile
ISBN
9780307175212
Status
Out of Print
Emily's Perfect Pet
ISBN
9781862334212
Published By
Gullane
Status
In Print
Waiting for Snow
ISBN
9781901862324
Published By
FBA Publications
Status
In Print
Showtime
ISBN
9781901862416
Published By
FBA Publications
Status
In Print
The Cooking Pot
ISBN
9780861526406
Published By
Heinemann
Status
In Print
Going to the Match
ISBN
9781901862331
Published By
FBA publications
Status
In Print
Thoughts like an ocean
ISBN
859024491
Published By
Pont Books
Status
In Print
Second Thoughts
ISBN
1843230461
Published By
Pont
Status
In Print