Why do you write teenage fiction rather than adult or children’s books?
It turns out I naturally write for teenagers, that's just my style - I think it helps that I'm mentally stuck
at 15yr. However, I do think teen fiction is the best. It has a real lust for life that other fiction seems to lack.
Children’s books tend to be beautiful but very straight-forward and a little unrealistic. No one ever dies horribly in a
children’s book and it always ends happily ever after. Both adults and
teens know that life isn’t really like that. But adults seem to get desensitised by life. For them
life is no longer a bright and shiny pebble but a rather dull grey one - and I think
this is often reflected in their fiction. Teen fiction, however, is all shiny and full of
possibilities, expectation and wonder. In short it’s always so full of life.
That’s not to say I'll never write other types of fiction, of course. Never say never.
Where do you get your ideas from?
My stories just come to me. I’m a real daydreamer and I’ll just be shopping or on the bus or doing the washing up
when a story will start to develop. Sometimes I will even dream them in my sleep and have to write them down when
I wake up. I have a special folder full of ideas that I keep for future reference.
Once I’ve got the beginnings of a good story, though, it needs to be cultivated and I need peace and quiet to work
out the plots. The best place for this is in the bath, with the lights out.
What three words best describe you?
Hmmm.... I think: philosophically-demented, childishly-optimistic and fluffy (have I cheated slightly with the hyphens?).
How long does it take you to write a book?
I can write quite fast, about 5000 words a day so I can finish a book quite quickly. But that
doesn't take into account all the research you have to do before, or all the re-writes/editing you have to do afterwards. Both of
which take longer than the actual writing. So to finish a book properly I would say it takes me about 9-12 months - which is just ages!
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
I don’t really think of myself as a writer. Writers are experts with the written word. What I do is tell a story.
I create characters and situations, and weave them together to entertain, teach and inspire. I think of myself as
a storyteller. I work with the imagination not the written word. I just use words to do it.
So in answer to the question, no, I haven’t always wanted to be a writer. I have, however, always been a storyteller. That’s innate. I was born with it.
Do you have any tips for wannabe writers?
I believe you need three things to be a successful writer:
* Natural Talent
* Hard Work
* Luck
If you've got natural talent and you work really,really hard at getting better and better by reading and writing loads, then
all you'll need is a bit of luck and you'll be set!
What is your favourite colour?
I love colours, so all of them! I suppose at a push I'd say 'electric purple' (a pinky purple which I refer to as 'Catwoman purple' because
Catwoman wore a catsuit in this colour in the 1990's) but green and orange are also good. (see role model question for this to make more sense!)
Which authors/books have influenced your writing?
Everything you read influences the way you write, even if you don’t notice it. I've read a really broad range of books in my time so
there must be many books and authors who have influenced my writing. Having said that I do like authors who write 'quickly'- as in the action is
constant and keeps you page turning. Authors like: Thomas Harris (adult scary stuff), Laurell K Hamilton (oh, er, more adult scary stuff!).
Almost all teen books are written in this style (suiting the small attention span of adolescence?!?) which is another reason I like them
so much (suits my brain too).
Who is your role model?
You would expect it to be a writer/storyteller wouldn’t you? But it’s not. I have always been in awe of powerful female
figures, from Boudicca (the legendary warrior queen) to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I love 'em.
The biggest impression came when I was 12yrs. I was just turning into
a teen and went to see Batman Returns (1992) at the cinema. WOW! Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman knocked me sideways. She was exactly
the independent, self-assured, and strong female role model I was looking for. And I have to admit I am still a HUGE
Catwoman fan today - really I'm just one of those kleptomaniacs who like to collect stuff (I have heaps of Catwoman related tat all
displayed in glass cabinets).
How old are you?
My age changes, so I'll just say I was born on 15th January 1980 and you can work it out from there.
What is your favourite book ever?
Ah, the classic question but almost impossible to answer. I love so many books! BUT there are only two books
in the whole world that I have read more than once (I very rarely reread a book however much I loved it) and
these are:
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
and
Watership Down by Richard Adams
Between these two? Hmm, if I could only take one book to a desert island, it'd be the complete works of Lewis Carroll
- because he wrote tons of other great stuff, whereas Mr Adams was a bit of a one hit wonder :-/
You say you're dyslexic. What does this mean?
It means you don't have to be good at English to write good stories!
Dyslexia is when your brain is wired slightly differently than most people's and you might have problems in reading,
spelling, writing, speaking, and/or listening. It appears differently in different people. I'm not severely
dyslexic (to some people words dance all over the page!) but I do have difficulty 'hearing' words and numbers.
Because of this I find it very difficult to spell - I can't 'hear' letters properly to reproduce them on paper -
but I've learnt to memorize words and to rely on the dictionary - a lot (although there's nothing worse than
trying to look up a word in the dictionary which you don't know how to spell!). Also I have to make sure I have a very good attention
to detail, to spot my (many) mistakes. I don't consider my dyslexia a bad thing, it's just another piece of
the 'Kelley' puzzle that makes me a unique individual.
There are many famous dyslexic novelists including: Sally Gardner, Hans Christian Andersen, Agatha Christie and
Terry Goodkind amongst others.
What happened to your teenage reading groups?
I ran a number of successful book groups for teenagers 2004-08 - getting lots of press coverage and talking at conferences. They were lots and lots of
fun, but a lot of hard work. A mixture of me having a baby or two, coupled with the explosion of excellent teen book content on the web made me think it was
time to move on. Online book forums reach millions of teens for a really good discussion at any time of the day, and has the added bonus of not having
parents drive anywhere.
I still think teen book groups can work, but probably best within an existing group setting such as a school.
Why, oh why, are there little cat-women figures all over your site?!?!
Oh, yes, those. Well, the truth is I have a little poseable figure that sits on my desk and when I need a
quick mental break from writing, I pose her! She's an integral part of my writing process so I thought
it was only polite to give her space on the website too!
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