Q: First tell us something about yourself?
I grew up in London, England. It’s a busy city with lots of fun things to do. You can ride high in the clouds on the London Eye, have a delicious tea of scones, jam and clotted cream and tiny little cucumber sandwiches at Fortnum and Mason, fly a kite in Regents Park, walk over Tower Bridge and look down through a glass floor and see all the city below you! Can you imagine? And then of course you can take a look at Buckingham Palace, the Queen and her collection of corgis. But 21 years ago I moved to Baltimore, USA, where I got married and had two daughters.
Q: How and when did your journey start as a writer?
As a child I was always reading and always making up stories in my head. Eventually, I started to write them down. At school the teachers loved my work and encouraged me to keep developing my imagination. One teacher told me I should be a novelist when I grew up and that thought has never really left me. I keep on writing stories and illustrating them too, as I am also an artist.
Q: When did you write your first story? Is it published or not?
As a child, my favorite author was Judy Blume and I wrote a book inspired by her, where I was the eldest of six children, living in America. I was sort of like their mom and they were always doing mischievous things like squirting toothpaste all over the ceiling. It is funny that I wrote that book while I was a child in the UK as I now live in the US…it’s almost like I could predict the future! That book wasn’t published, but it was the first one I wrote.
Q: Tell us something more about your books?
I have just finished a fantasy middle grade novel that will be released soon about zombie mermaids who invade a seaside village, which will be part of a series. I am also writing and illustrating a graphic novel about a mouse that roars instead of squeaks who becomes a mouse pirate.
KATY ON BROADWAY is Book 1 in the KITTY IN THE CITY series. These books follow the adventures of a singing kitty called Katy Cat and her street smart sidekick Weasel. Together they have lots of adventures in New York City.
KATY ON BROADWAY is about a cat who longs to sing, but everyone around her tells her she can’t sing. But instead of being discouraged, she believes in herself and decides to try to appear on Broadway and show the world she can sing. This is a powerful message to children everywhere, that if you can dream it, you can do it. Don’t let anything stand in your way!
Q: Why do you choose kids as your readers ? is there any specific reason?
I enjoy creating characters for children. I am also an illustrator and love to create colorful and charming characters that children respond to. I especially like to create animal characters because they are so cute.
Q: How did these stories and characters come to your mind?
The inspiration for KATY ON BROADWAY was Mouse, my black and white tuxedo cat. In fact, this cute and very vocal tuxedo kitty was the inspiration for the whole Kitty in the City series. She is always cat-er-wailing for my attention! It was like she was always singing so I decided to write a book about a singing tuxedo cat.
Q: Do you want to leave any message for your readers?
If you have a dream to be a writer just start writing. Don’t be afraid that your stories are not good enough. The more you practice the better you will become.
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