I draw smiley faces on my hardboiled eggs so that I know they’re cooked.
2. What is your nickname?
Everybody calls me Al.
3. What is your greatest fear?
Losing the people I love.
4. Describe your writing style in ten words.
Fast, furious and adventurous, with underlying humour and warmth.
5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Curious, Accessible, Disciplined, Excitable, Passionate.
6. What book character would you be, and why?
Hmmm. Maybe Frodo Baggins: a huge adventure, an amazing friend in Sam, and five breakfasts a day.
7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
I think I’d go to 2050, just to see what we’re in for, and to make sure my boys are both doing okay.
8. What would your ten-year-old self say to you now?
“Good grief, you signed up for a job that feels as though you have homework every single day of your life? What were you thinking?”
9. Who is your greatest influence?
I am influenced by every single book I’ve ever read – an amazing wealth of knowledge and thought, when you think about it. Also, my family – Mum, Dad and siblings B, C and M, plus my husband and two boys.
10. What/who made you start writing?
I’ve always been a voracious reader and I used to write a bit when I was a child – mostly when I had to for school. When I got older, I was going to be a news journalist (or an actor, but that’s a different story), but I did work experience in year 11 and decided it wasn’t for me. Derailed, I did a business college course (which, I figured, would be great ‘back-up’ until I became a Hollywood star) and ended up at a magazine publishing company.
Within a year, I had a cadetship and was writing feature articles, which kept my writing urges satisfied for a long time. I always felt that fiction was something that other, very clever people did. It wasn’t until my 20s that I started writing fiction as a hobby, just to see if I could – and I’ve never stopped.
11. What is your favourite word and why?
I have so many favourite words (and an equally long list of words I dislike…). My current favourite is ‘usurp’. I just love the sound of it.
12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
The Lord of The Rings because a) it’s very long and b) I would have time to actually read all that Elvish song stuff that Tolkien spent so much time on (but which, I confess, I tend to skip over at present in favour of pushing forward with the story).
A L Tait is an Australian writer of fiction and non-fiction. Her middle fiction novel, Race to the End of the World (KBR review), is the first book in The Mapmaker Chronicles published by Lothian. You can find out more about the series at The Mapmaker Chronicles website and you can follow Al on Facebook for updates on her books, writing projects, events and other news.
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