I think picking your nose is a perfectly acceptable thing to do, as long as you do it in private, preferably with a tissue handy.
2. Do you have a nickname and can you tell us what it is?
I've always been too boring for a nickname, though my mother used to call me Kitty-Kat.
3. What is your greatest fear?
Identifying my greatest fear is like trying to identify my favourite book — there are just too many to choose from!
4. Describe your writing style in ten words.
My style is all about rhythm, sound, pace and flow.
5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Disciplined, humorous, inventive, eclectic, imaginative.
6. What book character would you want to be, and why?
I'd like to be Fanny from Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford, because Fanny had a calm, happy life and a great marriage, but also went to lots of fabulous parties and was friends with lots of rich, hilarious people with dramatic, interesting stories to tell. So she got all the fun and laughter without the stress.
7. lf you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
I'd like to travel forward in time, to the year in which they discover the secret of eternal youth.
8. What would your ten-year-old self say to you now?
'Oh, my God! Are you ME? Oh, no!'
9. Who is your greatest influence?
My mother is my greatest influence. You can't shake off your upbringing.
10. What/who made you start writing?
Reading made me start writing.
11. What is your favourite word and why?
I think my favourite word is probably 'Yay!', which sums up how most people want to feel most of the time.
12. If you could read only one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
The Neverending Story.
Catherine Jinks' most recent book, A Very Peculiar Plague, is the second book in the City of Orphans series. It was published by Allen & Unwin in June 2013. The first book in the series, A Very Unusual Pursuit, was reviewed by KBR here.
For more information about Catherine Jinks, please visit her website at www.catherinejinks.com
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