Author: Sally Prue
Would you please tell us about the inspiration and creative process behind your most recent publication?
I don’t generally get flashes of inspiration, it’s more a matter of making connections.
With WHEELS OF WAR, I was wondering about how people manage to carry on with their lives even though they are at the mercy of huge outside forces, as happens in wartime. I chose to set the book in the early 1800s because I read Jane Austen a lot, which I thought would be a help (but it wasn’t, really, except with the dialogue). Learning about the invention of the kaleidoscope led to some interesting ideas about what people notice – and, also, about what they refuse to see.
The rest was all about following my characters and describing their stories as vividly as I possibly could. Trial and error, really.
I did make a detailed plan, but, as always, it turned out not to work. For instance, after my ‘final’ draft I went back and cut out the hero and heroine. Whoops.
The thing is, my books are all explorations; and of course the point about exploring is that you never know where you’re going to end up. That’s the excitement of it – and, also of course, the danger.
Wheels of War by Sally Prue
What inspired you to start writing children’s books?
Being poor.
Believing that children are much more interesting than grown ups, because children are always turning into something else, while most grown ups are stuck as they are.
How do you get into the mind of a child in order to write in a way they can relate to?
Oh, I wouldn’t ever try to do that. I just follow my characters around and let them show me things. Clarity is the sign that I’ve got the writing right.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known when you started writing children’s books?
Actually, I rather think that ignorance was bliss.
What are your views about Electronic Book Readers?
I should imagine they’re like MP3 players – all right for a bit of background entertainment, but not for anything you’d want to treasure.
Having said that, I don’t believe anyone who claims to tell the future unless they’ve won the lottery three times in a row.
So I’m sorry, I haven’t a clue.
For a parent who has a child only interested in watching TV what advice would you give them to interest their child in reading books?
Go to your local library and let them choose anything they like. Enjoy it together, even if it’s about giant diggers in underpants.
Come to think about it, though, reading is rarely an interest – it’s more usually a means of being interested. I think that’s an important distinction.
How would you involve and educate kids about green issues?
Feed the birds, go for walks, look at stuff, ENJOY.
Would you please tell us about your causes or charities you are involved with?
The Hertfordshire and Essex Wildlife Trust (and lots of other conservation charities).
HOPE for Children, which is a charity founded by a neighbour which helps children all round the world, particularly in developing countries.
What are your dreams?
To write very well indeed, and to see my family very happy. I like handbags, too.
Would you tell us a little about you are working on now?
A book linked to COLD TOM called ICE MAIDEN. It’s set in 1939, and is about a German boy who comes to England and discovers someone invisible and dangerous living on the common near his house.
What were your favourite childhood books and why?
THE LION THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, because it allowed me to escape from my very dull and rather unhappy childhood.
THE LAND OF GREEN GINGER because the words exploded like fireworks and made me laugh and laugh.
How do you keep in touch with your audience?
I love visiting schools and libraries and festivals. More information about visits can be found at www.sallyprue.co.uk.
