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1. What's your hidden talent?
I’ve recently started making bread, short-crust pastry, pasta and anything that has a dough that needs to be made from scratch. After working in food marketing for over a decade and now on a kids’ book series all about food, I’ve been inspired to take more risks in the kitchen and upskill!
2. Who is your favourite literary villain and why?
The White Witch from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is such a fascinating villain. I love wintertime and who wouldn’t want to have access to a magical potion that creates enchanting foods like hot chocolate and Turkish delights. Except I would use this magical potion for good causes like creating bottomless pits of writing snacks.
I’d invite the masters of middle-grade fiction that have inspired generations of kids through the years – Lucy Maud Montgomery, Katherine Paterson and Nova Weetman. I’d also invite my two middle-grade reading children who are budding authors themselves and are in the process of writing their own first novels. We would laugh, listen and learn from one another over a scrumptious four-course meal (with a double serve of dessert of course!)
4. Which literary invention do you wish was real?
Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak – perfect for escaping and finding moments of calm to squeeze in more uninterrupted writing time.
5. What are five words that describe your writing process?
Daydream, plot, plan, speed-type, and REPEAT!
6. Which are the five words you would like to be remembered by as a writer?
Inspiring, authentic, heartfelt, engaging and inventive.
7. Picture your favourite writing space. What are five objects you would find there?
My favourite writing space has plenty of natural light streaming in, my cosy lap cat to help me edit, lots of research papers and reference books scattered everywhere, a gigantic mug of coffee and a pen and paper to scribble down any random thoughts worth keeping.
8. Grab the nearest book, open it to page 22 and look for the second word in the first sentence. Now, write a line that starts with that word. (Please include the name of the book!)
The closest book on my desk at the moment is my sparkly advance copy of A Slice of Sadie, the fourth book in the Sadie Series. The second word in the first sentence of page 22 is they. My line is inspired by a wonderful bunch of book-loving children that I met today at an author visit: They spent the afternoon pawing through the mountain of new library books. The books had sparked a connection and a furious debate on the agenda of the next book club meeting.
9. If you could ask one author one question, what would the question be and who would you ask?
I’d ask Jane Austen: ‘If you were alive in today’s world, what would you write about?’
10. Which would you rather do: 'Never write another story or never read another book'?
I would never be able to go a day without reading a book so in that regard I would give up writing to be forever surrounded by the power of other people’s words and perspectives.
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Lana LOVES writing kids’ books just as much as Sadie LOVES sprinkles! Her writing is endlessly inspired by her young daughters who she lovingly calls her little book butterflies. Lana spends many hours treasure hunting in bookshops and attempting messy home bakes. She hopes to inspire a love of storytelling through her books and sensationally sweet characters. The latest book in the Sadie series is A Slice of Sadie, out now with Affirm Press. For more information, see www.lanaswrites.com.
