I was 80 per cent deaf until I had an operation on my ears about 10 years ago. My hearing must have gradually declined and I never knew how deaf I really was – it turns out I’d been getting by with lip reading and reading body cues. It probably explains why I’ve always been more comfortable buried in a book!
2. What is your nickname?
Chickers (my maiden name was Chicktong).
3. What is your greatest fear?
Snakes – we live in the country now and while I haven’t spotted one yet, it’s only a matter of time!
4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
Simple family moments captured with joy and fun.
5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Simple, joyful, optimistic, wry, pragmatic.
6. What book character would you be, and why?
Anne of Green Gables. She’s headstrong, obsessed with reading and writing, and dreams of big adventures for herself.
7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
I’d go back to 1938, when Enid Blyton was writing The Enchanted Wood. I’d ask myself in for a cup of tea, and ask her all about Moonface and Silky.
8. What would your 10-year-old self say to you now?
(Gasps in disbelief) “You did it! You became an author.”
9. Who is your greatest influence?
My mum. She loves to read, and we are constantly swapping books. We both have a tendency to forget what we read the minute we’ve closed the book, so we are hopeless at sharing what we loved and loathed about the books we lend each other. Mum solved that problem by writing little notes about what she thinks (no spoilers!) and tucking them into each book. I have a huge collection of those notes, and I treasure them.
10. What/who made you start writing?
I taught myself to read at a very young age, and was obsessed ever since. Some of my earliest memories are sitting at a typewriter, clunking out fairy stories. I almost can’t remember anything else from my childhood except reading and writing. Other kids were out playing in the street; I was inside reading and writing. I even used to read in the shower (much to my parents’ horror – imagine the water bill).
11. What is your favourite word and why?
Platypup. It’s a baby platypus. Cute!
12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Gerald Durrell’s My Family And Other Animals. It’s a tale of an eccentric family who find themselves living in on the island of Corfu in Greece, and is full of wildly joyful simplicity. Plus, I love Corfu!
Brooke Hill has worked for iconic Australian magazine titles Harpers Bazaar and The Australian Women's Weekly and is currently the director of The Content(ed) Copywriter. She lives in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. You Two, You Two is Brooke's first children's picture book. For more information, see https://www.brookehill.me/.