I like tubas. There should be more tuba music, especially jazz.
2. What is your nickname?
I’m not sure I have one. I used to be called ‘the walking encyclopaedia’ in primary school, but I’m not sure if that was a nickname or a taunt.
3. What is your greatest fear?
As a mother, my greatest fear is always for my child.
4. Describe your writing style in ten words.
Clear. Easy to read. Occasionally lyrical. Story = character/character=story.
5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
(This is hard!) Committed to storytelling. Hopeful. Um… compassionate?
6. What book character would you be, and why?
See, book characters go through bad things – that’s why we read the stories, because stuff happens to them, and often the stuff is really awful. So I think I’d like to be Clover Pink, a secondary character in my Princess Betony series, because a) no really bad things happen to her (yet) and b) she gets to learn magic and c) she can be friends with Betony, whom I really like, which is why I keep writing stories about her. And Clover’s mum is a Chief Palace Gardener so she lives in a beautiful garden. And I have plans to send Clover off on a graphic novel adventure when she gets a bit older.
7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
1599 – first night of Hamlet. Because Hamlet is my play, the one I go back to over and over again.
8. What would your ten-year-old self say to you now?
Really? I get to be an author? Yay me! Also: Can I have some of that Ventolin, please? (Because it wasn’t around when I was 10.)
9. Who is your greatest influence?
Hmm… Mrs Wall, the librarian at my local library when I was young. Her buying policies and the way she guided my borrowing probably affected me more than anything else.
10. What/who made you start writing?
I started with fan fiction (Star Trek, mainly). But really, I started writing for other people to read when I was working as a scriptwriter for ABC Kids. My producer asked me to write some stories for a program I was working on (to be told to camera). The very first children’s story I wrote for it, The Virtues of Felicity, was published in the NSW School Magazine, and I just kept going. So thank you, Jennifer J.
11. What is your favourite word and why?
Decrepit. No idea why, I’ve always just loved the way it feels in the mouth.
12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
The Complete Works of Shakespeare. So many stories. So many great characters. (Is that cheating? If it has to be one story…probably Lord of the Rings.)
Pamela Freeman is an Australian author of books for children and adults. Her books include the junior novels Victor's Quest and Victor's Challenge. Pamela's most recent books include the picture book Desert Lake: The Story of Kati Thanda - Lake Eyre (part of the Nature Storybook series) and Princess Betony and the Hobgoblin, the latest book in the Princess Betony series (released in July 2016), both published by Walker Books. Visit Pamela's website for more information about her books and author events.