Not one, not two but three authors for the price of one!

I was wrong – my interviewee comes in three parts like Gaul or a Celtic goddess:

Julia Golding

Joss Stirling

Eve Edwards

Happily, they worked together as one to answer my questions.

What was the title of the earliest piece of work you can remember writing?

‘The Tapestry Room’ an adventure story (with illustrations by the author) about a girl who goes through into other worlds via a tapestry that keeps changing every time you look at it. I sense a big Narnia influence here!

Parents sometimes disapprove of certain books – did yours, and did you read any?

No. My parents weren’t bookish types so I was left up to my own devices. I did try reading some of their James Bond novels when I was about ten just to see what adult fiction was like but I found them boring, not like the films at all!

What was the best advice you ever had from a teacher?

More a word of encouragement – my teacher in Y6, Mr England, told me one day that he fully expected to see my books in the library when I was older. The fact that he took me seriously as a writer (even of the derivative The Tapestry Room) gave me the ambition to be a writer.

What’s the weirdest thing you have ever eaten or drunk?

There are lots of possibilities here. How about snake when in Singapore? I also tried Iguana in the same Chinese market.

Clearly not impressed

Which book would you give an alien?

Hmm, no knowing if they speak our language so maybe a book of photographs from the National Geographic collection. I think almost any story might make them want to wipe us out as we rarely treat each other nicely in books so that would be too risky.

You have to live on or under the sea – where would you choose?

Atlantis naturally.

Which smell makes you happy?

Chocolate

What’s the best invention yet to come?

Nuclear fusion

Some people keep books in the bathroom – what’s in yours?

Not much as we have small bathrooms. There is a joke book in one in the hopes of my husband picking up some new jokes.

Have you ever dressed up as something strange – if so, what?

A pantomime horse to pull Cinderella’s carriage when I was about 13.

Which book hasn’t yet been filmed – and ought to be?

All of mine! And I’d like to see a film of Artemis Fowl – it’s been in the works for a while and might just about be getting out of development limbo.

What do you wish no-one had ever thought of?

Nuclear, chemical and biological weapons

What’s your greatest extravagance?

A large coffee in a café once a day (it adds up!)

Thank you very much for answering that hotchpotch of questions!

Good luck for the UKMG Extravaganza on the 17th.