There's nothing like the peace of the countryside, the quiet and the lack of distraction. It helps you to focus your mind.
Jenny Nimmo
Inspiration comes from the world around me. I'm an inveterate eavesdropper.
I work in a room overlooking the river. I try to get to my desk as soon as I've fed my cats and chickens. I use a blue 3B pencil and scribble away for about 20 pages before transferring it to the computer.
My father died when I was quite small, so my uncle used to buy me books and read them to me.
I had written two or three books before my husband noticed that in every one of them a family member was missing. He suggested that it was because my father's death, when I was five, utterly changed my world. I can only suppose he is right and that this is the reason I am drawn to a narrative where someone's life is changed by loss.
I've read up on magic, and I think it sets you free, and it gives you hope. You can explore worlds you didn't know existed. It stretches your imagination, and I like my own imagination to be stretched and also the children I'm telling the story to. It gives you a sense of wonder.
Every book that you pick up takes you a step away from your real world, but if you read a book about magic, it takes you an extra two steps.
I try not to identify too strongly with any of my characters. I like to stand back and see them objectively. I think this is why I often use boys instead of girls, just in case I get too close and lose the overall picture.
