I’m totally addicted to chocolate!
2. What is your nickname?
Sah or Sahsie.
3. What is your greatest fear?
Sharks. Swimming in the ocean with me. Eek!
4. Describe your writing style in ten words.
Direct, fast-paced, humorous, usually with an underlying message or theme.
5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Hard-working
Dedicated
Persistent
Disciplined
Creative
6. What book character would you be, and why?
Lucy from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. I’d love to be able to go to Narnia and to be a heroine.
7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
Either prehistoric times so I could see mammoths, sabre-tooth tigers and prehistoric humans or way into the future, say 4020, to see if the world has become a better place.
8. What would your ten-year-old self say to you now?
I’m proud of you. Keep up the good work. It’s lucky I read so many books – it sure is helping with your writing.
9. Who is your greatest influence?
I’m pretty much self-driven. I work myself hard and don’t really struggle with motivation when it comes to writing. So, my greatest influence is more of a ‘what’. And that’s my love of books and reading and writing – this internal force that constantly pushes me to the desk – and my relentless craving to produce books to share with others.
My greatest supporters are my husband and my kids. They encourage me and make me feel good about my achievements each and every time.
10. What/who made you start writing?
It’s that old internal drive again, a little voice inside my head telling me ‘You have to write!’
11. What is yourfavourite word and why?
Can I choose two? They would be ‘home’ and ‘love’. Small but very powerful, emotive words that everyone can relate to.
12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Any of the Mortymer Saga trilogy of books by Alexander Cordell. They’re a series of books about the turbulent history of early industrial Wales set around the coal mines. I read them as a teenager and fell in love with Wales and the courageous Welsh because of Cordell’s words. Years later, I ended up marrying a man of Welsh descent. It’s funny how things turn out.
Aleesah has several major projects due out in 2016, including the Netball Gems Series (Random House); Mama and Hug, the story of a baby koala’s battle for survival (Wild Eyed Press); and Stripes in the Forest: The Story of the Last Wild Thylacine, which has been created to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the extinction of the Tasmanian tiger (Big Sky Publishing). Visit Aleesah's website and Facebook page for more information about her books and author events.