Sara Grant (Awesome Women)

I have the great pleasure today of welcoming Sara Grant to my blog. Sara is the debut author of Dark Parties, a dystopic YA novel, which will be published by the new Indigo teenage imprint for Orion on the 20th of October.

Sara also writes for The Edge and is here today talking about the fabulous women that have had an influence on her life. Here, first is the product description for Dark Parties:

Sixteen-year-old Neva has been trapped since birth. She was born and raised under the Protectosphere, in an isolated nation ruled by fear, lies, and xenophobia. A shield "protects" them from the outside world, but also locks the citizens inside. But there's nothing left on the outside, ever since the world collapsed from violent warfare. Or so the government says...

Neva and her best friend Sanna believe the government is lying and stage a "dark party" to recruit members for their underground rebellion. But as Neva begins to uncover the truth, she realizes she must question everything she's ever known, including the people she loves the most.

And if you'd like to know more about Sara Grant or Dark Parties, please do visit the following links:

Sara's website ... Sara's blog ... Sara on Twitter ... Sara on Facebook ... The Edge

Can you tell me a little something about yourself?

Hmmm...that should be an easy question, but I find it difficult to synopsize myself. But here goes...I was born in a small town in southern Indiana. I studied journalism and psychology at Indiana University. I spent the next fifteen years working in public relations.

I met my husband while standing in line for the ET ride at Universal Studios in Florida. There’s a longer story but it ends happily with me moving to London seven years ago. I went back to school and earned a master’s degree in creative and life writing from Goldsmiths College, University of London. I work as a senior commissioning editor for Working Partners, a London-based company creating series fiction for children. DARK PARTIES – a dystopian tale for teens – is my debut novel.

Oh, and randomly...orange is my favourite colour. I am an entertainment junkie – I love to read but also love watching movies and TV and now playing games on my iPhone. I think potatoes are the most perfect food. I have always loved to listen to music really loudly and have been known – since I was a teen and only when I was alone – to dance around my living room. I believe as Ralph Waldo Emerson said: nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.

Did you have a role model growing up?

I’m really lucky. I had several role models growing up. My parents demonstrated how to live life with honour, compassing and a great sense of humour. I also was very close to my grandma. My family has always been hugely supportive. They told me from a very young age that I could be anything I wanted to be.

Who do you look up to now?

I still look up to my parents. But now I would add my sister to that list. She’s beautiful in every sense of the word. She’s honest, hard working and compassionate. If I needed her, she would be on a plane as soon as she could – and she knows that I would do the same for her. She’s the one I call when things go wrong, and she’s the person I want to celebrate with when things go right. We call each other when we need someone to listen, understand and take our side.

And last but definitely not least, my husband. He is incredibly smart, supportive, thoughtful and funny – and if he lives with me he has to be uber forgiving. He’s my muse, cheerleader, and safety net as well as my editor, psychologist, hero and best friend.

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a singer and then an actress – specifically an actress on an American soap opera. From the age of about eight, I wanted to be a writer. But I thought my appalling spelling would prohibit me from achieving my dreams. Thank goodness for spell check!

Tell me something about the women in your life who have been an influence on you?

I have a heritage of awesome women in my family. I come from a long line of strong women: my grandma and her sister, my mom and her sister, and my sister. DARK PARTIES is a tribute to these women – in particular my Grandma Murray. She made me feel special. She spent lots of time with me. If you read DARK PARTIES, you’ll definitely notice a feminist theme. The women are the heroes and rebels.

I also had a long line of great female bosses. They demonstrated how to be a woman, wife, mother and leader.

Who is your favourite fictional character? And why?

I have many, many favourites. I love George Bailey from the movie IT’S A WONDDERFUL LIFE. It’s a silly, cheesy movie, but I’ve got to watch it every Christmas. I also love Atticus Finch from TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD. He’s heroic and human. These are both men who are quiet leaders in their communities. I think they remind me of my dad.

What were you like as a teenager and how did you cope with all the changes that occurred?

It’s funny. I just attended my 25th class reunion. I realised again that – although I enjoyed high school – I didn’t fall neatly into any particular clique. I was friends with everyone and no one. I was overweight so I firmly believed that I would never find a boyfriend let alone a husband. I knew that anything I wanted out of life I was going to have to get for myself. Sure, not attending my junior prom and waiting until the day after my seventeenth birthday to get my first kiss were difficult, but I always told myself that my day would come. And, I was right.

I wrote a lot of poetry – okay really bad poetry, but I found writing was a way to understand my feelings and cope with any teenage trauma.

If you had any advice for yourself as a teenager, what would you say?

It gets better. Have faith. Keep trying. Believe in yourself. And never, ever give up on your dreams.

Of the issues and concerns that women are faced with today, what's the area you most like reading/writing about?

I’m concerned that young women don’t dream big enough. I want young girls to read books and see movies and TV shows where woman are more than a sex object or victim. I crave more female heroes and leaders – not only in fiction but in real life. I am continually disappointed to see so many reality shows that focus on brainless, beautiful women whose main goals appear to be: shop, get a man and, well, be bitchy in general. I want to write and read about physically, emotionally and mentally strong women.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Just thanks for having me! (Oh, and DARK PARTIES will be published in the UK on 20th October.)

Thank you so much Sara for being here today! I love dystopic novels in general, but one that covers feminist themes and is a celebration of the awesome women in your own life makes me even more excited to read it. I look forward to it. Thank you again.

Dave Cousins (Awesome Women)

Today I'd like to extend a very warm welcome to Dave Cousins author of 15 Days Without A Head which will be published in January of 2012. Dave is the first man to take part in my Awesome Women feature, but I think honouring and appreciating awesome women is definitely not limited to either gender! Here's the summary for 15 Days Without a Head, which sounds really good:


Two brothers. One cartoon dog. And a load of trouble.

Meet Laurence, fifteen years old and six feet tall. Very soon, he'll dress up as his mum and impersonate a dead man on the radio.

Meet Jay, his six year old brother. He looks like an angel but thinks he's a dog. He'll sink his teeth into anyone who gets in the way.

Today is Tuesday and the next fifteen days will change the boys' lives for ever.


Thank you so much for being here today Dave! And if you'd like to find out more about Dave Cousins or 15 Days Without A Head, please do visit the following websites.

Dave's blog ... Dave on Twitter ... The Edge

Can you tell me a little something about yourself?

I should point out right from the start that I’m not an awesome woman. I do however know a few, so hopefully that means I’m eligible to take part in this feature.

I grew up in Birmingham, in a house full of books, records and table football. When I was a kid I wanted to be an astronaut, but ended up going to art college in Bradford instead. There I joined a band, moved to London and was nearly famous. I now live in Hertfordshire with my family, and write every day in a corner of the attic with an anarchic ginger cat for company.

Did you have a role model growing up?

My parents were young when they had me, so I grew up with lots of their friends around, which meant I had a lot of interesting role models to choose from. I spent a great deal of time with both sets of grandparents too – making cakes and dismantling car engines in the morning, then playing football and learning how to knit in the afternoon (my nan was a demon goalkeeper).

Who do you look up to now?

My wife! It may sound like I’m trying to score points saying that, but she really is an inspiration. She’s one of the most creative and generous people I’ve ever met and she’s prepared to fight for what she believes in. Whereas a lot of us moan about stuff, she’ll actually do something about it, write letters, or go out and campaign. I respect her opinion and trust her judgement.

She’s my second best critic (after me!) and will always give me an honest opinion on my writing. If it wasn’t for her, I’d have binned the early draft of 15 DAYS WITHOUT A HEAD. She convinced me it was worth sticking with. I’m glad she did!

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

For a while I wanted to be Batman, or to play football for Birmingham City, or be an astronaut. I actually wrote to NASA asking how I could join – and they wrote back! They sent me some great photos from the moon landings and told me I would need to be good at maths and science, and then join the air-force.

Not long after that though I discovered The Beatles, and decided that being in a band looked a lot more fun than science and maths. I was lucky enough to achieve that dream, and spent ten years touring and recording – even appearing on TV a few times. But writing was something I always did, whatever else was going on.Eventually I decided to have a proper go and see if I could write anything as good as the books I loved to read.

I’m not sure I’ve grown up yet, but when I do, I’d like to still be a writer!

Tell me something about the women in your life who have been an influence on you.

That’s a question with potentially a very long answer! There have been so many – my wife, my mum … friends … the list goes on. But, I’ve decided to narrow it down and just tell you about my two nans, both of whom had a great influence on me and still do. Physically they couldn’t have been more different: one was small and cuddly, the other tall and glamorous.

My Little Nan (whose name, until she married, was actually Little) was a genius at making things and once conjured a pair of football boots for my Action Man from a pair of old leather gloves (they had studs and everything!) She was inventive and incredibly patient, but the thing I remember most was how much she loved books. Having suffered whooping cough as a small child, she had problems breathing for the rest of her life and had to spend a couple of hours each day using a nebulizer. She never complained and used the time to read – working her way through the entire works of Charles Dickens, at least twice. From the time I started reading, up until a few months before she died, my Little Nan and I read, talked about and swapped books. Sadly she didn’t live to see my book published – but she did find her way into the story itself. I think she would have been pleased about that.

My Tall Nan has never been a typical grandma. Even as a young teenager I was aware that some of the advice she offered was somewhat radical. But she’s always been the best kind of bad influence. She encouraged me to believe in myself and follow my heart – not be steered by other people’s expectations or criticism. She always believed I would be a writer and bought me the computer on which I typed my first novel.

She travelled a lot as a child and when the Second World War broke out joined the British Army in India, transferring to the Navy a few months later because, she says, they had better uniforms! She rose through the ranks of naval intelligence, earning a letter of commendation from the Vice Admiral. Following her own philosophy and ignoring the objections of her family, she left the services after the war and married a penniless Irish teacher. Never one to walk away from a fight, she has beaten off muggers with her umbrella and embarrassed my dad on many occasions by breaking up skirmishes outside his school. She’s in her eighties now and still awesome – doing exactly what she wants and not caring what anybody else thinks.

Who is your favourite fictional character and why?

Another tough question, but as the theme of this interview is Awesome Women, I’ve decided to go for my favourite fictional heroine. It was still a difficult choice, even when I narrowed it down to heroines from teen books. Artemis Fowl’s adversary and sometimes friend Holly Short was a contender, as was Hester from Philip Reeve’s MORTAL ENGINES and Gemma from Lucy Christopher’s STOLEN.

In the end I chose Sally Lockhart, from Philip Pullman’s series of Victorian thrillers. She not only battles some truly evil enemies, but also the inequalities of the era – epitomised by the fact that Sally refuses to marry the man she loves until the law changes. This was a time when women were not allowed to vote, and the law regarded a married couple as one person. Women were forced to give up the rights to any property they brought into a marriage, and hand over legal control of all money to their husband. Of all the brave and dangerous things Sally does in the books, this act is probably the most painful for her, but shows a strength of conviction you have to admire.

What were you like as a teenager and how did you cope with all the changes that occurred?

I suspect I was fairly normal, i.e. grumpy and introspective. We moved away from Birmingham when I was eleven, so I had a period of adjustment leading up to my teens, starting a new school, making new friends. It wasn’t easy at times, but taught me to be adaptable and not fear change.

I remember spending a lot of time in my room, reading and listening to music, which inspired me to write angst-filled stories and tortured songs. Through listening to bands like The Jam and Billy Bragg, I developed an interest in socialism and read lots of George Orwell. There was a period of time when I couldn’t watch the news without running off to write a song or a story about something I’d seen. I’ve still got some of my notebooks from that era – they’re very earnest and sometimes quite funny – if unintentionally so.

If you had any advice for your self as a teenager, what would you say?

Don’t be so serious. Get out more. Have fun!

In all honesty, I’d probably just whisper – “Don’t worry, it all works out OK”. I wouldn’t want to change anything or I might not end up with the life I have now. You have to make mistakes and go through set-backs in order to learn and grow. Having said that, I might have something to say about my choice of hair style and clothes. The eighties was a truly terrible decade for fashion.

Of the issues and concerns that women are faced with today, what’s the ar ea you most like reading/writing about?

Of course I can only answer this from a male perspective and therefore am not as tuned in to the issues and concerns facing women today as a woman would be. However, I’m often drawn to stories of injustice, and despite the fact that the position of women in British society has improved in many ways since Sally Lockhart’s time, there is still a long way to go and each change brings its own set of pressures. The world is full of inequality and every day people take small steps towards making things better – many of them women. Whether it is as fundamental as finding food and water for their children, speaking out against domestic violence, or like the women of Egypt at the moment – campaigning for a right to shape the future of their country. Injustice makes me angry, so I’m always interested in reading about people of either gender who are brave enough to attempt to effect change.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I have an idea for a story that requires a female protagonist and I would like to write it in the first person, but I’m nervous about getting it wrong. It’s very important to me that characters feel authentic and believable, so to write as a teenage girl would be a challenge to say the least. I’m sure I’d learn a lot along the way though and stories are all about putting yourself in someone else’s shoes – even if they are a pair of Top Shop t-bar flats. Whatever happens, I can promise I’ll do my very best to make her awesome …


Thank you so much for that, Dave! Brilliant answers. I think I'd have loved to have had a Nan like either of yours!

Katie Dale (Awesome Women)

Katie Dale is an actress and author. Her first book, Someone Else's Life will be published in February of 2012, and I for one am VERY excited to read it. Here's the product description from GoodReads:

When seventeen-year-old Rosie’s mother, Trudie, dies from Huntington’s Disease, her pain is intensified by the knowledge that she has a fifty-per-cent chance of inheriting the crippling disease herself. Only when she tells her mum’s best friend, ‘Aunt Sarah’ that she is going to test for the disease does Sarah, a midwife, reveal that Trudie was not her biological mother after all... Devastated, Rosie decides to trace her real mother, hitching along on her ex-boyfriend’s GAP year to follow her to Los Angeles. But all does not go to plan, and as Rosie discovers yet more of her family's deeply-buried secrets and lies, she is left with an agonising decision of her own - one which will be the most heart-breaking and far-reaching of all...

To find out more about Katie or Someone Else's Life, please do visit Katie's blog, follow her on Twitter or read the collab blog, she's part of, The Edge. For now, over to you Katie...



Hi Clover, thanks for inviting me to your blog!

Can you tell me a little something about yourself?

I was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, and swore to never lose my northern accent, but sadly did when I moved to Sussex, where I have lived ever since. My life so far has been pretty varied – after attending an all-girls school I went to pretty much an all-boys school (girls permitted in Sixth Form) followed by an English Lit degree, the second year of which I spent studying abroad in North Carolina, because Dawson’s Creek was filmed there (yes, really!).

Then I moved to London to follow my dream of going to Mountview drama school, and spent the next few years travelling all over the place pretending to be other people, from Laura in The Glass Menagerie in Brussels to Juliet in a national Shakespeare tour, and then went travelling through South-East Asia, where I heard the exciting news that I’d been chosen as a winner of the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) Undiscovered Voices competition! Unfortunately I was still in Vietnam so I missed the launch, and I’d only written half the book, so on my return I got my act together and my debut YA novel Someone Else’s Life will be out in February 2012.

Did you have a role model growing up?

As an aspiring actress I completely idolized Kate Winslet – I went to see Titanic about 5 times! – I loved her because she was so beautiful (without being a stick insect) and so talented but so utterly down-to-earth.

My mother, Elizabeth Dale, has always been a role model to me. She’s utterly selfless, and unfailingly kind, caring, and fair, and has always encouraged me to follow my dreams. She is also a children’s book author, and inspired my love of writing from a very young age.

Who do you look up to now?

I admire an awful lot of people. Anyone who’s had the guts to follow their dream, and everyone who devotes their lives to helping others. Since researching/writing Someone Else’s Life, in which one of the characters has Huntington’s Disease, I have been completely bowled over by the people I’ve met who have Huntingtons – particularly Pat Leslie-Penny and Matt Ellison – their incredible courage, strength and humour are utterly humbling and truly inspirational.

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

My first ambition was to be a farmer’s wife! I loved animals and imagined myself feeding chickens and stroking lambs all day!

Later, the acting bug kicked in when I scored the role of Mary in the local Nativity (age 8) – only to lose my two front teeth! D’oh! It didn’t deter me, though, and I eventually made it to drama school, where I spent a crazy year singing, dancing and playing everything from a yapping toy dog to Sonya in Uncle Vanya. Writing is sort of an extension of acting for me – both are all about creating characters and getting inside their heads, and both allow you live a million different lives vicariously through those characters, which I love.

Tell me something about the women in your life who have been an influence on you?

When I was growing up I had an amazing drama teacher, Marguerite Beale, who despite being in her eighties had an incredible joie de vivre – she loved children, playing cards, laughing and tap-dancing! She was utterly inspirational and completely unforgettable.

My grandmother, Margaret Dale, was the epitome of grace and dignity. Despite not having much money, she was unfailingly cheerful and kind – a true lady.

Elizabeth Gow, my partner’s grandmother, is very similar, but for her wicked sense of humour! She is truly young at heart and I hope that at her age I am half as feisty!

My partner’s mother, Christine Woods, is another awesome woman. As well as working all hours, she is a Brown Owl and is one of the most patient, selfless and kind people I’ve ever met.

My sister Caroline, with whom you cannot help but laugh. She is a primary-school teacher, finds humour and pleasure in everything, and always makes me giggle. She fills her life to the seams and always invests herself 100% in everything she does.

My littlest sister Jenny, who has overtaken me in life by getting married and having beautiful children before I even feel grown up enough to do either. She makes me feel old! But she’s given me a gorgeous niece and it’s lovely to turn to her for advice now the tables have turned.

But most of all there’s my incredible mother, who inspires me every day.

Who is your favourite fictional character? And why?

Oh, heaps! Here’s a few:

Marianne Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility, for her incredible passion for love and life.

Peter Pan – I’m still captivated by the boy who wouldn’t grow up.

Scarlett O’Hara, because she’s an utter force of nature, and while she may be extremely selfish, vain, and thoughtless, she actually has a huge heart and enormous strength and never, ever admits defeat.

What were you like as a teenager and how did you cope with all the changes that occurred?

At my all-girls high school I was really quite studious, and despite being a bit of a boffin and a school prefect somehow also managed to find myself in the popular crowd. I loved drama and was in all the school plays, but I’ve never liked sport.

When I started at Sixth Form suddenly the ratio of boys to girls was about 6 to 1 and after four years at all-girls school, this was quite a wonderful shock to the system! I got a bit distracted from my studies, but stayed true to my love of drama – the boarding school was organized into Houses and each House put on a play each year – for which the boys houses always needed girls for the female roles!

If you had any advice for yourself as a teenager, what would you say?

Don’t worry so much about fitting in. Be yourself. Don’t be so shy!

Plus, boys are great, but they come and go – but the girl friends you make could last you a lifetime.

Of the issues and concerns that women are faced with today, what's the area you most like reading/writing about?

The issues I’m interested in are controversial ones – subjects that are fiercely disputed by the general public, and have compelling arguments on both sides, with no clear right or wrong answer, and how the people who are personally affected by these issues find ways of dealing with them, whether they’re male or female. Human dilemmas, that could affect any of us, which leave the reader with food for thought.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Not really, except thank you so much for having me!

Thank you SO MUCH for those brilliant answers Katie! :)

REVIEW: Hidden by Miriam Halahmy

I really loved Hidden by Miriam Halahmy! I won my copy of the book in a Twitter competition, and I'm really glad for it as well. It would have been a shame to have missed out on this thought-provoking and topical book that explores really important themes such as racism, immigration and judging by appearances.

When I first recieved Hidden, and saw that it is set on Hayling Island, the first thing I did was to look Hayling Island up on Google maps as I'd never heard of the island before. It seems like a really great setting for this book (as well as the next two books planned by Miriam Halahmy) as the location certainly makes sense in terms of finding a washed-up asylum seeker!

I admit, when I first started this book I was shocked into silence after the main character, 14 year old Alix, very early on refers to a classmate, Samir, as a 'suicide bomber' - But to be honest, that is something that Hidden does so well - first addressing and then challenging this type of racist assumptions. I thought it very realistic and believeable the thoughts and feelings of Alix towards Samir and later towards Mohammed.

When Alix and Samir rescue a man out of the sea, things really begin to shift for Alix. Already she's struggling at home as her mother relies Alix a lot more after Alex's mother breaks her leg and also Alix is sort of estranged from her father. But still, there's no way she could abandon the poor man after all the troubles he's been through - being beaten, abandoned and nearly drowned. Alix finds shelter for him, gives him food and clothes and by helping him, she begins to have a better understanding of asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants.

Though she is being taught about immigration at school, there are quite a few people in her class and in her community who have intolerant and racist viewpoints. Alix, who has a growing awareness of these topics, must make up her own mind about how she feels as well as decide how she can help, if at all. There's this struggle within her that shies away from speaking up or causing trouble by calling people out on their racist behaviour.

Hidden is a very different book to any I've read in awhile. While sharing information, it never feels preachy or heavy-handed in any messages. So many people will judge others based on their appearances, Alix included, and it was wonderful to challenge these assumptions so wonderfully - with racial assumptions like with Samir and Mohammed, but also assumptions based on appearances or people's associations. I'm very much looking forward to the next book in the series by Miriam Halahmy, which I believe focuses on my favourite character, Lindy - the sister of the local bully.

Hidden is a really wonderful book, one I can highly recommend!

REVIEW: Angel's Fury by Bryony Pearce

Angel's Fury by Bryony Pearce felt very different to everything I've been reading lately. There were parts to it that were quite difficult to read with some dark and almost menacing aspects to the storyline, but it was also really easy to fall into the story and empathise with the characters.

Cassie has an unusual problem. Every night, she is plagued with nightmares. For as long as she can remember, Cassie has witnessed the death of a young Jewish girl, Zillah, in Germany during WWII. Cassie sees and feels everything about Zillah's tragic death and despite everything she has tried, Cassie can not rid of herself of seeing this poor girl's face.

It can be quite hard reading of some of Cassie's experiences, both with the exhaustion she feels after getting very little sleep due to nightmares, but also the treatment she recieves from classmates. She's picked on quite a bit for being different and you can sense the isolation that Cassie feels. After a school trip to Germany confirms that the nightmares about Zillah were in fact historically accurate, Cassie begins to feel like perhaps there's a message hidden in the nightmares. Maybe by helping Zillah in some small way, Cassie will be cured of her night terrors. But it isn't quite that simple.

Instead, Cassie is sent to get help from a rather terrifying and quite strict doctor who specialised in the treatment of patients with past lives, where she comes into contact with other exhausted children and teenagers who share the same predicament. What Cassie learns there is both terrifying and disturbing.

Angel's Fury really had me gripped right from the beginning. Once I started, I was loathe to put this book down, so eager was I to learn of the mystery that surrounds Cassie's dreams. I haven't included the product description in this interview, because I feel it to be slightly spoilerish, so if it's possible, I'd recommend not reading the back of the book! Having said that, there are other mysteries to solve and though the clues are there, I didn't pick up on on them at all until it is revealed to Cassie! I absolutely adore books that are able to surprise me so completely as Angel's Fury did.

Angel's Fury is a wonderful read. It's an interesting premise - that the knowledge of previous lives is not a positive thing at all, but something that is quite destructive and difficult to live with. I felt quite sorry for Cassie, being in such a terrible position, both physically and socially. During the course of the book, she meets some really interesting characters and some of the psychological treatment from the Doctor are really fascinating to witness.

Though romance is not a major factor of the storyline, there is still a very sweet and subtle love interest that was present and complicated enough to make me very happy. My only minor complaint with Angel's Fury is that I kind of wish that the elements that are present at the end were a little more apparent in the beginning and middle of the book as well. Otherwise, top read!

Keren David (Awesome Women)

I'm very pleased and honoured to welcome Keren David to my blog today! Keren is the author of the absolutely brilliant When I Was Joe and Almost True, which I've read and absolutely ADORED. Her new book, Lia's Guide to Winning the Lottery will be published by Frances Lincoln on the 4th of August. I, for one, can't wait to get my hands on a copy! She is also Find out more about Keren and her books at the following websites:

Keren's website ... Keren on Twitter ... Keren on Facebook

Keren is also a pretty prolific blogger. Not only does write intelligent and interesting blog posts at her own website, she also writes for Crime Central and The Edge.

Can you tell me a little something about yourself?

I worked as a journalist all my adult life before starting to write books three years ago. My first book When I Was Joe was published in 2010, followed by the sequel, Almost True. My third book, Lia’s Guide to Winning the Lottery is being published on August 4th. I live in London with my husband and two children.

Did you have a role model growing up?

I always despaired of ever being as sweet and nice and good as my mum. Apart from her I knew one person who worked as a journalist - my Auntie Gloria. She wasn’t my real auntie, but our families were the closest of friends, and I was fascinated in her job as a columnist for the local newspaper, and also running the children’s page.

Who do you look up to now?

I admire people who are creative, unpretentious and who enjoy their work, always trying new things and getting better all the time. Victoria Wood springs to mind, and in the world of children’s books Hilary McKay is my current heroine.

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was 11 I drew a picture of myself all grown up as a ‘lady writer’. I wish I’d kept it.

Tell me something about the women in your life who have been an influence on you?

My grandmothers - two strong, talented, feisty women who were frustrated by circumstances and couldn’t have the careers they deserved.

My mum – one of the most caring people in the world. She’d wrap us all up in cotton wool to protect us from the world if she could - and can never understand why we don't want that! She’s a wonderful musician and a great teacher.

My sister – she’s just a superwoman really.

My colleague, Jennifer – she was chief reporter on my first ever newspaper when I was a clueless teenage reporter. Without her help and guidance I would never have had a career in journalism at all.

My mother-in-law – now sadly no longer with us, but Minnie was a fabulous effervescent energetic lady, who was interested in everyone and everything, and never walked when she could dance. When she got ill, at the age of 86, she didn’t know what was happening. When we suggested it might be age-related, she snapped: ‘It shouldn’t matter if I’m 86 or 106.’

My sister’s sister-in-law, the novelist Melissa Nathan. Melissa wrote funny romantic novels, which were deservedly best-sellers. She died far, far too young, but she showed us all how to live a creative life - and how important it is not to waste precious time.

Amanda Swift - the children’s book writer who ran the course at City University on Writing for Children which kick-started my writing career. Amanda’s always encouraging, positive and helpful, a great role model!

Who is your favourite fictional character? And why?

Too difficult to pick just one!

What were you like as a teenager and how did you cope with all the changes that occurred?

I was very bored, and I spent most of my time wishing that I was older. I felt miserable a lot of the time and I did not concentrate on my school work. I was very glad to escape school and get a job on a newspaper when I was 18.

If you had any advice for yourself as a teenager, what would you say?

Don’t be too hard on yourself. Don’t bother trying to do revision all on your own, that won’t work, you need people around you. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Of the issues and concerns that women are faced with today, what's the area you most like reading/writing about?

Errrrrrr…..hmmmm….it’s the writing that counts for me, not so much the issue. I like reading about art and artists.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Only how much I value my female friends. We don’t hear enough about how great women are at being supportive, funny, inspirational and practical. I’m really lucky to have so many wonderful friends.

Thank you Keren, for answering my questions here today! It sounds as though you've been surrounded by some really incredible women!