When I was 18 I travelled from Cardiff to Newquay for the big solar eclipse of 1999, on the back of an old moped which was decorated all over in flowers. It didn’t go above 40 miles per hour, so what would normally be a four-hour trip by car took 2.5 days. I was also wearing silver hot pants and fairy wings, so we got quite a few strange looks going along the dual carriageway.
2. What is your nickname?
In high-school it was Big Bird because I was so tall. Luckily, I’ve lost that one! My best friend has called me Sweetpea for over 20 years. Her children even call me Aunty Sweetpea, and she introduces me to everyone as Sweetpea, to the point where a lot of her friends don’t know my actual name! To everyone else, I’m just Ros.
3. What is your greatest fear?
Being in a plane crash, which is ironic given that one of the Let’s Go! books is about having fun on an aeroplane! I’m quite a nervous flyer, which is very inconvenient because I fly a lot between the UK and Australia.
4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
Sing-song rhythm and rhyme – true to my Welsh roots
5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Happy, excited, tongue-in-cheek (does that count as one word?), amusing, fun.
6. What book character would you be, and why?
Sophie from The Tiger Who Came To Tea, because I love any excuse to visit a cafe, and it would be pretty cool to have a tiger come to your house.
7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
I’d go to Berlin on the night the wall fell in 1989. It would have been an incredible moment in history to witness. I lived in former East Berlin for five years in my 20s and met lots of people who’d lived through the GDR. I’ve always been fascinated by Berlin’s stories.
8. What would your 10-year-old self say to you now?
I can’t believe you don’t have a dog.
9. Who is your greatest influence?
From a writing perspective I love books by Rachael Bright. They are clever and light-hearted, but always have a great message. Her rhyme and rhythm is always spot-on too. From a life perspective, my mum has always been a huge influence (much to my husband’s despair).
10. What/who made you start writing?
I loved to write as a child, but it’s really been since having my children that I’ve written as an adult. Discovering so many amazing picture books, and rediscovering ones I loved from my own childhood sparked something in me. It’s something I do for myself and I find it very relaxing and fulfilling.
11. What is your favourite word and why?
Onomatopoeia. Such a funny word, and it reminds me of messing around with my friends in high-school English lessons with an exasperated teacher standing at the blackboard.
12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
The Artificial Silk Girl by Irmgard Keun (translated from German) is a book I was introduced to at university, and has remained my favourite book ever since. It’s the only adult book I have read more than twice. I must have read it at least six times!
Rosalyn Albert is a British children’s author based in Sydney with her husband, Pete, and two young daughters, Sophie and Mila. She longs to have a dog but is talked out of it on a regular basis. When not writing, or doing mum chores, she can be found with her family enjoying Sydney’s beaches. Read our review of Rosalyn's first Let's Go! book here. For more information, see www.rosalynalbert.com.
