I Would Hate To Live

I Grew Up On A Suburban Street With Lace Curtains And Dull Neighbours, So I Made Up Stories To Tell My Friend, In Which They Became Serial Killers And Burglars. She Told Her Mother, Who Then Told Mine.

People Who Don't Read Seem To Me Mysterious. I Don't Know How They Think Or Learn About Other People. Novels Are A Very Important Part Of Our Education.

I Would Hate To Live In The Country, Unless I Was Living On A Farm.

But I Don't Write About Sex For Today's Teenagers. Or Doc Martens Boots Either. I'm More Interested In Exploring How Exactly The World Is Run, Which Doesn't Really Change That Much From One Generation To Another.

I Like Writing For Children. It Seems To Me That Most People Underestimate Their Understanding And The Strength Of Their Feelings And In My Books For Them I Try To Put This Right.