I stuttered badly as a child, and had to read lots of poetry and Shakespeare out loud in an attempt to cure me. It helped a lot, but I still stutter when I’m tired or nervous.
2. What is your nickname?
Katie-pie
3. What is your greatest fear?
Being stuck somewhere without a book to read.
4. Describe your writing style in ten words.
Suspenseful, magical, adventurous & set far, far away & long, long ago.
5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Always willing to try new things.
6. What book character would you be, and why?
I’d like to be Lucy from The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe so I could travel to Narnia and have amazing magical adventures.
7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
I’d like to go to just about any time in history … as long as I got to come back again! The periods of history I’m most interested in are Scotland in the time of Mary, Queen of Scots (that’s when my time travel novel The Puzzle Ring is set!)
8. What would your ten-year-old self say to you now?
Thank you for making my dreams of being a writer come true!
9. Who is your greatest influence?
All the great children’s writer whose books I loved so much as a child – writers like Enid Blyton, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R Tolkien, Susan Cooper, Diana Wynne Jones, and Joan Aiken.
10. What/who made you start writing?
I’ve written stories from the time I could first hold a pencil and wrote my first novel when I was only seven. I always knew I wanted to be a writer! I think I wanted to write books because I loved them so much – it didn’t matter what was happening in your everyday life if you could escape into the pages of a book.
11. What is your favourite word and why?
Joy! Because it was my grandmother’s name and both me and my daughter have it as our middle name … and because I take joy in my writing and in the stories I tell and in the life I have.
12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I read about 4-5 books a week, and so that is my idea of hell! I’d have to reply a magical book that is filled with all the stories of the world and never ever ends ….
Kate Forsyth is a bestselling and internationally acclaimed Australian author of books for both children and adults. Her books for children and teens include the picture book Grumpy Grandpa and novels The Puzzle Ring and The Chain of Charms series. Kate has recently retold two Scottish folktales for the Christmas Press book Two Selkie Stories from Scotland. You can find out more about Kate, her books and her thoughts on reading and writing by visiting her website, blog or Facebook page or chatting with Kate on Twitter.
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