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10 Questions: Kate Saunders
1. Sum up your book in three words.
Love, war and loss.
Love, war and loss.
2. Where did the initial idea come from?
The idea for this book came to me a long time ago, when I first read the scene in E. Nesbit’s The Story of the Amulet where the children visit the Professor in the future.
3. How was the title chosen?
I have to admit that I didn’t think of the title myself – I’m rather bad at titles generally, and the subject was so big that I didn’t know where to begin. But I love this.
4. What's your writing routine?
I do my best writing in the mornings and try to get to my (very messy) desk early enough to get a good amount done before lunch. This makes me sound very efficient and says nothing about hours spent staring at an empty screen, or even more hours cutting out everything I wrote the day before. The work is always harder than I thought it would be.
5. Which book do you wish you'd written?
I wish I’d written Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons – though if I’d written this hilarious novel I wouldn’t have had the joy of reading it.
I wish I’d written Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons – though if I’d written this hilarious novel I wouldn’t have had the joy of reading it.
6. What's your favourite word in the English language?
My favourite word in the English language is fudge, so expressive of what it is.
My favourite word in the English language is fudge, so expressive of what it is.
7. Who's your favourite fictional character?
Which fictional characters do I love most? It’s a tie between Mr Beaver in C.S. Lewis’s The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh.
8. What was your favourite book as a child?
As you can guess from the answer above, I adored the Narnia books when I was a child. I also loved Noel Streatfeild’s girly classic, Ballet Shoes.
As you can guess from the answer above, I adored the Narnia books when I was a child. I also loved Noel Streatfeild’s girly classic, Ballet Shoes.
9. What book are you recommending to everyone at the moment?
Although I write for children, I never know what other writers are up to. When people ask me, as they sometimes do, to recommend books for a reluctant reader, I tell them they can’t go wrong with either Harry Potter or Horrid Henry.
Although I write for children, I never know what other writers are up to. When people ask me, as they sometimes do, to recommend books for a reluctant reader, I tell them they can’t go wrong with either Harry Potter or Horrid Henry.
10. What do books and reading mean to you?
Books and reading mean as much to me as breathing. I was very lucky to grow up in a house that was stuffed to overflowing with all kinds of books – for a bookish kid, this is heaven. Some of my best old friends are books. This is one reason why I haven’t yet got myself a Kindle.
