FAQS

These are the questions that I get asked most often in schools.  It's really boring having to answer the same questions over and over again.  It's like having to eat cheese on toast every day of your life.  Tasty the first couple of times but pass the sick bag after that.  Hopefully now that this website is up and running, people will check on here before putting their hand up in q&a sessions.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WRITING?

Ever since I was a child!  If it were a flat surface, it got written on, I'm afraid. My mum used to say I should go and live in a cave, so I couldn't write on the uneven walls.  Even when I grew and had proper paying jobs like cooking burgers and selling theatre tickets, I still wrote in my spare time.  Today I am a full time writer, which means I tinker around with my mac all day.

I read lots too, anything from big fat novels to the instructions on packets of washing powder.  You can't be a writer if you don't read.

WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR IDEAS FROM?

From the man with the ideas van!   Honestly, I'm not sure where my ideas come from.  I sort of become aware of them floating around in my brain. If they don't go away after a while, like headaches and toothaches, I know they have to be written. I have too many ideas for my own good.  It's really crowded inside my head.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE YOU TO WRITE A BOOK?

It depends on how long the story is and how much research I have to do.  I tend to plan things for a long time befoe committing one single word to paper or laptop. A picture book usually takes me a week to write, a short story for a gift book three days. The novel I am working on is taking ages.  When I finish a first draft I tend to put it away in a file for a week or so and move on to something else. That way I can come back to it with a fresh eye.

WHERE DO YOU WRITE?

I have a small office with a large desktop mac where I do final edits, send emails, etc, but I write anywhere: on trains, in the loo, in coffee shops.  I especially like writing in the loo.  I have a very fancy bathroom with a black chandelier and Laura Ashley wallpaper.

I take a small laptop with me everywhere. When I can't use it, or scribble in a notebook, I write in my head.  It helps pass the time when you're in a queue at the supermarket.

IS IT FUN WRITING A BOOK?

Getting ideas and selling them to a publisher is fun. Seeing my books in shops, libraries and readers' hands is a definite thrill.  The bit in between, though, is very difficult.  Writing is really hard work and you're never sure you're not wasting your time until the story is finished.

DAFT/BRILLIANT QUESTIONS

I've been asked some pretty daft, cute and brilliant questions over the years.  The daft/cute ones tend to come from Foundation and Year 1. Here are my favourites.

IF A SHARK FOUGHT WITH A DOLPHIN WHO WOULD WIN?

This is the kind of question I really like.  The answer is, it's difficult to predict. Sharks are usually no match for dolphins, which can put out a grey reef with a wallop of their bottlenose. Then again, the dolphin could be old in which case it would definetly lose against a young strapping Great White.

ARE YOU SANDWICHES OR SCHOOL DINNERS?

I took this to mean was I having a school dinner or had I brought my own lunchbox with me?  I'd prepared healthy sandwiches that day but left them in the fridge by mistake, so the answer was school dinner.  And very tasty it was too!   Dessert was jamp pudding with toffee yoghurt, if I remember right.

DO THEY HAVE TOILETS IN YOUR COUNTRY?

I'm not quite sure why I keep being asked this question in schools, but I do. Often! I've lived in three different countries: Malta, Spain and - for most of my life - the UK.  I think there are toilets in all three!