When I was 8, I lived in Canada for a year. Tobogganing, ice skating, snow fights and Halloween are some of my wonderful memories.
2. What is your nickname?
I don’t have one now, but in my first year of university my nickname was ‘Surf-pup’. Back then I spent so much time at the beach my skin was very brown and my hair was sun-bleached.
3. What is your greatest fear?
I have a fear of heights, but I usually deal with it by facing the fear. In June, I zip-lined over the Cloud Forest in South America. But I have never skydived.
4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
Usually action with some humour for energetic boys.
5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Imaginative, uplifting, loving, laughing, inspiring.
6. What book character would you be, and why?
Harry Potter, so I could fly on a broomstick.
7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
2118 to see if humanity has managed to live in harmony with nature.
8. What would your 10-year-old self say to you now?
Don’t take life too seriously! (10-year-olds tend to be wise.)
9. Who is your greatest influence?
Andy Griffiths and his Just series.
10. What/who made you start writing?
My son, Josh, found reading difficult when he was very young. He loved Andy Griffith’s Just series, which in turn inspired me to write for reluctant boy readers.
11. What is your favourite word and why?
Humongous, because it sounds like its meaning.
12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Dolores Cannon’s The Three Waves of Volunteers and the New Earth, because it reminds me what I’m doing on this planet.
Sally Gould wanted to be an astronomer when she grew up but instead she studied law and politics at university and became a corporate lawyer. After having her second son she did a writing course and began writing for children. That's when she decided that writing children's stories was for her. The Brave Knight is her fist published picture book. See www.sallygould.com.au for more information.
