12 Curly Questions with author Kaye Baillie

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.
I once closed my eyes while riding my bike home from school to see if I could stay on the road... I rode straight into a ditch!

2. What is your nickname?
At high school it was Wilsy but I don’t have one now.

3. What is your greatest fear?
I am terrified of riding ferris wheels and of heights in general.

4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
Heartwarming and emotional or takes readers on a rollicking ride.

5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Curious, boppy, emotional, determined, proud.

6. What book character would you be, and why?
Maya from Maya and Cat by Caroline Magerl. Maya is observant, kind, reactive and fair. Maya is determined to make sure Cat finds its home and sets out to ensure this happens, even if it means giving up her new-found friend.

7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why? 
I would travel to 3020, one thousand years from now to see what people are doing and how things are going.

8. What would your 10-year-old self say to you now?
Why did it take so long for your first picture book to come out?

9. Who is your greatest influence?
My mother and sister. They were such funny, lovely, great people who I adored and respected enormously. We ‘got’ each other so well that I could always be myself around them and they encouraged all my writing attempts.

10. What/who made you start writing?
I wrote when I was a kid because I wanted to put my ideas down, turn them into stories and bring them to life. This is the same for me now. It was just something I wanted to do. Nobody actually got me started. Although I remember admiring my sister’s story called Salt Water, which she wrote in primary school, about a world flooded by the sea. I always wanted to be like her.

11. What is your favourite word and why? 
Kerfuffle. It makes me think of something going wrong but in a humorous way.

12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton. I could go on adventures with the children up the tree and visit the Land of Take What You Want. 

 

Kaye has a Diploma in Professional Writing and Editing which she began while still an Executive Assistant in a power supply company in Melbourne. Following her passion for picture books and storytelling, Kaye continued to study creative writing to achieve her goal of becoming a full-time children’s author. One of her recent titles is shortlisted (2019) in the Western Australian Young Readers’ Book Awards and the NSW Premier’s History Awards. She has a passion for telling stories about remarkable people. Kaye has four forthcoming picture books. She is an active member and the Assistant Co-ordinator of SCBWI Victoria and is a member of the Children’s Book Council of Australia. Kaye lives in a Victorian coastal town with her family and high maintenance pets. She loves baking and eating puddings. For more information, see www.kayebaillie.weebly.com.