I can scratch my nose with my big toe.
2. What is your nickname?
At the moment, the kids at school have started calling me Shellster. Hmmm, not sure what I think of that.
3. What is your greatest fear?
I’m nervous about a lot of things: height, public speaking, but I still talk to groups and I’ve been sky diving. I think the only thing that really terrifies me is something happening to someone I love.
4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
I am chaotic in scene order, but disciplined in approach.
5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Eager, regular, early (as in mornings), daydreamy, focused.
6. What book character would you be, and why?
Lucy Pevensie, because I always wanted to find a door to another world.
7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
All of them, all the years, forward and backwards, from the beginning of time until the end. If I could time travel, why would I just go to one point in time?
8. What would your 10-year-old self say to you now?
‘You look just like Nanny.’
9. Who is your greatest influence?
CS Lewis, because he did help me find a door to a magical kingdom.
10. What/who made you start writing?
See above, I read the Narnian Chronicles and decided I wanted to write too.
11. What is your favourite word and why?
Hiraeth. It’s a Welsh word which means homesickness for a place you’ve never been.
12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
No, that would be torture. Noooooooo. If you’re asking me what my favourite book is: Tess of the D’Urbervilles.
TC Shelley studied creative writing and literature at university. She has been teaching English for over 20 years and her first school was classified as the most remote in Australia. She loves an audience and long before she took up teaching was writing and performing her poetry and short stories. She began writing novels to entertain her daughter, who wisely suggested that she try to get them published. Shelley lives with her husband, her daughter and two dogs in Perth, Western Australia. For more information, see www.bloomsbury.com.
