2. What is your nickname?
Family and old school friends call me Kirst, though I was Big Bird for a while in high school after the incident of the bright yellow dress.
3. What is your greatest fear?
Putting aside my biggest mortal fear of bad things happening to people I love, my biggest everyday fear is getting a chai latte when I ask for a chai tea – it’s a totally different drink and it really needs a totally different name.
4. Describe your writing style in 10 words.
Fresh, relatable and hopefully leaving the world a better place.
5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Supportive, interested, considered, honest, playful.
6. What book character would you be, and why?
I’d quite like to be one of the kids in my next book – sharing backyards with your best friends would be
pretty cool.
7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
Hmmm, let’s say 1994 – I spent a year living in a van in Spain and I wouldn’t mind doing it again, but this time I’d bring my husband.
8. What would your 10-year-old self say to you now?
Yay, you finally found something we really love doing.
9. Who is your greatest influence?
Probably my inner child, so thank you 10-year-old-self.
10. What/who made you start writing?
Once I decided I didn’t want to go back to full-time teaching I thought I’d do a few courses and see what interested me. I wanted to do something creative and I’d done writing courses over the years so I was excited to see a Writing for Children course at a local community college. It was run by the lovely Zanni Louise and I was hooked from the very first class. So serendipitous!
11. What is your favourite word and why?
Serendipity – it sounds beautiful, is fun to say, and who doesn’t want delightful discoveries by accident?
12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Oh gee – luckily I would still have audio books, right? Maybe a Spanish language textbook or dictionary – I could definitely become fluent if I didn’t have any books to read.
Kirsten Ealand writes fresh, relatable books for kids that she hopes will leave the world a better place. She works at a public library, getting kids excited about books, and has always wished she could dive like a gannet. For more information, see www.kirstenealand.com.