Where do you work?

When I first started writing, nearly twenty years ago, I worked in a corner of my kids’ playroom. I had one desk and an old manual typewriter with sticky keys. When my children were little there were many advantages to being a mum working from home, but also lots of distractions! I spent one Christmas holiday getting up during the night and working between 2am and 5am in order to get a book illustrated.

Does it take a lot of discipline to write at home?

I find it suits me well. My office is available 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and I use it round the clock! I can get my cleaning, cooking and washing done while I think about my work, and I can run to the computer and jot down inspirations. The advantage is that I can manage a family and housework without leaving my office. The disadvantage is that I never escape from either the housework or the office, so whichever I’m spending time on I always feel guilty that I should be doing the other one!

Where do you get your ideas?

I have always been fascinated by the way people lived in the olden days – though I hated the boring history taught at school. This fascination has been the basis for many of my books. I love research and I always have to drag myself away and force myself to do the writing. I love being a detective and I enjoy the excuse that being a writer gives me to intrude in other people’s lives and ask embarrassing questions. I do a lot of workshops in schools and many of my ideas come from the students’ questions, or their reactions to things I tell them about.

Can you give us some illustrating tips?

Always draw from real life or a photograph. I keep all our albums of family photos in my study and look through these for pictures to draw from. I do rough drafts in pencil and then use my light box so I can trace through onto good quality paper. Sometimes I do the black ink outline then photocopy that onto watercolour paper and then colour in the photocopy – that way I can use ‘white-out’ to make changes or corrections to the black ink version before I photocopy onto good paper.

Can you give us some writing tips?

Again, the tip is to use real life as your model. I look for ideas in history, but you can look for ideas in the news or in things that happen in your own life. It is the little details that make your story come alive, so you have to be able to picture the scene in your head before you write it down. If you can't do that, find something else to write about. Watch the story like a film in your head and then describe everything, not just the bare bones of the action.

Have you won any awards or grants?

In 2003 Runestone was chosen as a Notable Book by the Children's Book Council of Australia, and all the Viking Magic books have been shortlisted for various children's choice awards. In 2005 I was very fortunate to be awarded a 2-year grant by the Literature Board of the Australia Council to work on my new book Night of the Fifth Moon. In 2008 Night of the Fifth Moon was chosen as a Notable Book by the Children's Book Council of Australia.

Does your family help you with your work?

When my children were little they posed for all my illustrations and I used them to test out my stories. They are now grown up but I have a new special helper, and you can find out about her here.