Sue Purkiss

Q: What were you like at school?

Tall, geeky and very bad at games!

Q: What makes you cringe?

The scraping sound you get when a metal spade is dragged along a pavement! Also, looking down from tall buildings...

Q: What are you afraid of?

Heights and deep, still water.

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

Yesterday (and the day before that, and the one before that, and so on, and on and on...)

Q: What’s your favourite food?

Muffuns, toast, and little Polish pancakes called plotzkis. (May have spelt that wrong - it's very hard to spell in Polish!)

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

Couldn't possibly say - wouldn't wish to set a bad example!

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

I'd like to work in a museum or art gallery.

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

Nelson Mandela.

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

Kindness.

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

If something's worrying you, ask yourself if it'll still matter in 12 months' time. If it won't, it's probably not worth worrying about. (This was my Dad's advice.)

Q: What has life taught you?

That you can do a lot more than you think you can.

Q: How long have you been a writer?

I've always written, but my first book was published six years ago

Q: Where do you do your writing?

I have a hut in the garden. But sometimes I find it's best to go somewhere else, like a cafe for instance. It depends what stage of a book I'm at.

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

The best thing is when you write something you're really pleased with. The worst is when it just won't come right.

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

Cerys, in Warrior King. She's Welsh, she can do magic, she has silver eyes, and she's both wise and beautiful. Clearly a dead ringer for me.

Q: What do you do to combat “writers’ block”?

Take the dog for a walk, come back, keep writing; or, switch to something else for a while.

Q: What was your favourite book as a child?

The Lord Of The Rings. I read it every year for a very long time.

Q: What book do you wish you had written?

Where should I start? Philip Reeve's Starcross, Mal Peet's Keeper, Kevin Crossley Holland's Seeing Stone, Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising... could go on and on!

Q: What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Read lots, watch people and write lots.