I once entered a beauty contest.
2. What is your nickname?
Ally
3. What is your greatest fear?
Spiders. Eek!
4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
Lyrical, funny, heart-centred, whimsical, evocative, musical, meaningful, warm and fuzzy.
5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Persistent, patient, hopeful, supportive, enthusiastic.
6. What book character would you be, and why?
Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, so I could be best friends with the Scarecrow, Tinman and Cowardly Lion.
7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
I would travel back to the early '80s and buy lots of shares in a dodgy new computer company called Apple. Then, with my new fortune, I would buy books. Lots and lots of books.
8. What would your 10-year-old self say to you now?
“You can make up stories? But we’re terrible at creative writing. What happened to us?!”
9. Who is your greatest influence?
My children. They fill my work with funny stories, and they also hold the last word on what they consider to be funny.
10. What/who made you start writing?
When my children were little, we were reading endless picture books and I fell in love with the artform. I decided to try writing them and, 15 years later, I finally figured out what I was doing.
11. What is your favourite word and why?
Serendipity – because who doesn’t love unexpected magic.
12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
The Passage, by Justin Cronin. I have a thing for vampires and dystopian futures.
Alison McLennan is an Australian children’s author. She has published two picture books, Hotel For Bees and Growing Pains, Her third book, Great and Small, will be published in 2022. Alison is a proud member of SCBWI and Writelinks, a mother of two beautiful teenagers and one fur baby. She is also a professional voiceover artist and singer. For more information, see www.alisonmclennan.org.
