I don’t like to sleep with my back to the door. If anything’s coming to get me in the deep, dark hours I don’t want to be caught unawares.
What is your nickname?
The man in my life calls me Blue because I have blue eyes, while my work colleagues at the paper where I used to work called me Mary Poppins. I like to think they were referring to my basically sunny outlook and ability to see magic in the everyday.
What is your greatest fear?
Losing the people I love.
Describe your writing style in ten words.
Mainly lighthearted and quirky, with a touch of understated humour.
Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Optimistic, versatile, constantly evolving, generous.
What book character would you be, and why?
Probably Pollyanna. She used her ‘glad game’ to always look for something positive in every experience and brightened the lives of all who knew her. I like to think I quietly spread a little bit of sunshine around the place.
If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
1966 … I had just started work at my first job (in a department store, because I didn’t think I needed a university degree to become a writer) and I felt part of an exciting time of revolutionary cultural thinking. The years ahead offered so many possibilities, and I was free of the responsibilities and concerns that came so soon afterwards with marriage and children.
What would your ten-year-old self say to you now?
Don’t forget how to play.
Who is your greatest influence?
My father. He encouraged me to think for myself and listen to my heart.
What/who made you start writing?
I love words and how we can use them to convey thoughts and feelings and create a mood. Books have always opened a window to other worlds for me and I wanted to be able to do this too. I’ve also always had a head full of stories that are clamouring to be written and shared.
What is your favourite word and why?
That would have to be ‘interesting’. It’s a word I use often and expresses how I feel about my life.
If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Stillness Speaks by Eckhart Tolle.
Teena Raffa-Mulligan is a reader, writer and daydream believer who believes there is magic in every day, if you choose to find it. Teena writes for children and adults and her publications range from poetry and short stories to picture books and a middle grade novel. Her writing life has also included a long career in journalism. She shares her passion for books and writing by presenting talks and workshops to encourage people of all ages to write their own stories.
