She will be talking to all of KS2 about her writing and sharing some of her favourite book extracts. After school Anne will also be available to sign some of her books. The prices are...
£4.99
£5.99
£6.99
Please being in your pocket money - or any Christmas money if you still have it left - so that you can buy a copy and get it signed!
In a recent interview, Anne answered some questions about her writing...
HOW DID YOU COME TO BE A WRITER?
The flip answer is that one January there was such a blizzard I couldn’t get to the library and so I sat down and began a book of my own. And never stopped writing. But, more sensibly, the best advice I was given at school was “Find out what you like doing most in all the world, and then find someone who’ll pay you to do it”. So it’s not surprising I’ve ended up in a job that’s mostly reading and writing.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT BEING A WRITER?
The silence. Working alone, I even write the books for me. (Me at 5, me at 11, me at 14.) Then I hope there are readers out there who like the same sorts of books as I do.
DO YOU LIKE THE FILMS OF YOUR BOOKS?
I feel as if they have little to do with me. What interests me is why people act the way they do: what’s deep inside, pushing them. Film can’t show that. It can show brilliantly what happens. But only the book can explain the complex thoughts and feelings behind those actions. So the films people make of my books are, for me, a bit like the fancy icing shell without the cake inside.
WHICH OF YOUR OWN BOOKS IS YOUR FAVOURITE?
ROUND BEHIND THE ICE-HOUSE. Don’t ask me why. Other people seem to vote for CRUMMY MUMMY AND ME, FLOUR BABIES and GOGGLE-EYES.
HOW DO YOU WRITE YOUR BOOKS AND HOW LONG DO THEY TAKE?
I’m a slow worker. I work in soft pencil, so it’s easy to rub out over and over till I feel it’s at least halfway right. Even once it’s typed up, there’ll be layers of changes and additions and corrections. (It is work.) I hated going over things when I was at school. I’d just sit and let it pour out, and if I’d been asked to redraft it, it would have got staler, and worse. But now I enjoy nitpicking till it’s absolutely the best I can do. Some books take over a year. Short books for young readers take just weeks or months.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE A WOULD-BE WRITER?
Read, read, read. If you don’t have a library card you can’t be serious. Then write the book you yourself would most like to read.
Where did you get the idea for...
THE DIARY OF A KILLER CAT
From a newspaper. It’s what’s called an “urban myth” – one of those stories that always happened to the friend of a friend. It just amused me. (This has to be one of the only jobs in the world where lying in bed reading newspapers can be useful).
THE BOOK OF THE BANSHEE
There was a time when we couldn’t even bump into friends on the street without swapping horror stories about what our teenagers were doing now. It struck me it was the stuff of comedy. And as soon as things calmed down a little, I managed to write it. (Watch out for the handy hint with alarm clocks.)
FLOUR BABIES
From an article about a Californian school which made its pupils care for flour sacks to make them think about the job of being a parent. I wrote it after twenty years of being a parent, so I suspect Simon’s mixed bag of joys and frustrations with his flour baby mirrored my own.
JENNIFER’S DIARY
One of our most famous adult authors was sent home from school for adding juicy bits to his friend’s diary. Add that to all the letters I get from children saying “I can’t think of anything to write”, and you have a story.
GOGGLE-EYES
I wanted to write about the importance of standing up to be counted to make the world a better place. But most readers are just as interested in the part of the story that deals with Kitty getting to know her mother’s new partner. I think I’d never realised how many children end up in this complicated situation. So I went on to write…
…STEP BY WICKED STEP
I spread the six stories out over happy and unhappy families. I admit the research did shock me. I hadn’t realized how insensitive some parents can be to their children’s feelings. I hope the book’s a comfort for those in tricky situations, and an eye-opener for everyone else.
Why did you write...
THE TULIP TOUCH
I suddenly began to wonder what it must be like to grow up now, when all the bad news in the world is swept into your home every day through radio and television. Wouldn’t you end up with a sinking feeling that if there were that many horrible people around, you’d be safer in hiding? But it’s the unknown that terrifies. So Natalie gets to see behind the wild girl who’ll be in the headlines soon. Natalie understands Tulip. And I hope, through Natalie, the reader will come to understand how we could reach out to people like Tulip before they fall, and so make things better for all of us.
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