‘Nadia Elena Comăneci was born in Onești, Romania, (formerly known as “Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej”) in the Carpathian Mountains on November 12, 1961.’ So begins the Wikipedia entry for – up to now – arguably the greatest female gymnast in the world. I was 10 when Nadia Comăneci got her first perfect 10 on the uneven bars in … Continue reading
Summer holidays are here! Today, you are going to do something amazing. You’re going to write a story. Here’s how. This is an exercise I do in workshops sometimes, and I love it. It’s great for ghost stories and mysteries, but you can apply it to whatever genre you feel like. So first … pick … Continue reading
When I was 21, my parents bought a house in Shepton Mallet in Somerset. They’d lived all over the world and still had a stint in Norway to do, but finally they had a permanent family home. It’s still there. And I know that right now the garden will be full of roses, midsummer birdsong … Continue reading
Nearly a century has passed since the first women won the right to vote in the UK (in Switzerland they didn’t get it until 1971!), but it’s still hard to be a confident, successful girl. In all my books, brave girls are tested. They lose their confidence, and suffer, and somehow have to find the … Continue reading
No doubt you all know that today is the 400th anniversary of the birth of Shakespeare. Woo! The English language wouldn’t be the same without him. Happy Birthday Shakespeare! I shall be reading some of my favourite sonnets in his honour. To me, fair friend, you never can be old, For as you were when … Continue reading
It starts off as an idea. Then a few scribbles in a notebook. Sometimes, in a cafe. Then more scribbles, and maybe a Post-It note plot. Then it’s a nightmare. It’s hell. It’s ‘whydidIeverthinkIcoulddothis-Ican’tstringtwosentencestogether-auuuuuggghhhh!’ It’s words on a computer screen, tap tap tap. That’s draft 1. Then come drafts 2, 3, 5, 11 and 27. … Continue reading
To celebrate World Book Day next week, National Book Tokens have just announced the results of their Great Big Book Poll … and girls rock. In a poll voted for by men and women, girls and boys, 6 of the top 10 heroes of all time in children’s books were girls (and two of the … Continue reading
The daughter of a friend of mine turned 21 this week. My friend is a librarian (I’m Patron of Reading at the school this year), and see if you can guess how her profession has influenced her daughter: For a start, what a cake! Also … books and cake! As I have often said, the … Continue reading
Christmas is so close you can almost touch it, but as everything seems to be about you-know-what at the moment, I thought I’d tell you about another story. True, it has not, up to now, been a story best-loved by girls, but maybe that will change. I first encountered it when I was eleven, and … Continue reading
So. The last book is on its way out into the world. Advance reader copies with yolk-yellow covers are being printed as I write. The proofs are on the hall table, waiting for one final read-over, to check for any lingering mistakes. The next book is plotted in my head, and I’ve told the opening … Continue reading
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