I once got in a fight with the band Little Mix!
2. What is your nickname?
Most of the people close to me call me Car or Caro.
3. What is your greatest fear?
Losing my dog while on a walk.
4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
“Just trying my best to tell an interesting, funny story”
5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Cheerful, interested, and rarely late.
6. What book character would you be, and why?
Laura Chant from The Changeover, by Margaret Mahy. She’s so brave and funny, and she becomes a witch to save her brother!
7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
Paris in the 1920s – provided I was invited to all the good parties, of course.
8. What would your 10-year-old self say to you now?
I think she would be curious as to why I don’t have a pony.
9. Who is your greatest influence?
Diana Wynne Jones. She was a fantasy writer who wrote extremely complex books but they could all be understood by children.
10. What/who made you start writing?
I wrote my first story when I was about seven. It was about a magic tree, and the teacher said it was good. I went home and showed my parents, and they were so pleased and proud of me. I’m from a big-ish family so getting singled out for anything felt amazing, so I kept writing, and haven’t stopped!
11. What is your favourite word and why?
It changes all the time, but right now it’s 'vaccination'.
12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones. The book has so many layers, I don’t think I’ll ever understand them all.
Caroline O'Donoghue is a journalist and author. She has published two adult novels, Promising Young Women and Scenes of a Graphic Nature, and is currently working on a collection of personal essays exploring her experiences of feminism and witchcraft. She has a regular column in The Irish Examiner, and has written for The Irish Independent, Glamour, Buzzfeed and Vice, among others. Caroline also hosts Sentimental Garbage, a podcast in which she reviews commercial women's fiction titles with other authors. All Our Hidden Gifts is her first novel for young adults. Visit Caroline on Twitter: @Czaroline