AUTHOR INTERVIEW
Jacqueline Wilson

Where were you born?
Bath, Somerset - but I've lived in Kingston in Surrey since I was Three.

How old are you?
Older than your mum but maybe not as old as your granny.

What sort of family do you have?
I have one lovely grown-up daughter, Emma (and a fiercely independent old mum who lives 1O minutes away). I don't have any brothers or sisters, Though I have always longed to be part of a big family.

What sort of house do you live in?
I live in a tiny terraced house crammed to the ceilings with 10,000 books. I've got hundreds of pictures covering the walls, witch dolls hanging in odd corners, a life-size fashion model in my bedroom, a herd of ornamental elephants on my window sill and a large family of teddy bears has taken over The sofa.

Do you have any pets?
I don't have any pets because I travel around so much and it wouldn't be fair. One day I hope to have a small dog, a Yorkshire Terrier' or a miniature poodle.

What are your hobbies?
I like reading, going to Art galleries and films, swimming (50 lengths in my local pool before breakfast every morning) arid Line Dancing.

What do you look like?
I'm small and skinny with very short spiky hair and silver glasses. I nearly always wear black and I have a big ring on every finger.

What's your favourite food?
I like fruit most. I also like cakes and chips and ice-cream (but not altogether).

What's your favourite TV programme?
I don't watch television very much but I like E.R. and Friends, and South Park sometimes makes me giggle.

When is your birthday?
17th December, which is a pity as it's so near Christmas.

What sort of music do you like?
All sorts - especially Queen and the late lamented Freddie Mercury.

What's your favourite film?
An old black and white movie called Mandy about a little girl who couldn't hear.

What's your favourite colour?
Black and silver.

What's your favourite animal?
A lemur.

What was your favourite subject at school?
I liked English and Art.

What was your worst subject at school?
I hated Maths and I was useless at P.E.

Which school did you go to?
Latchmere Primary School and Coombe Girls Secondary School.

Did you have any other job apart from writing?
I was a journalist in my late teens. The girls' magazine Jackie was named after me!

Did you always want to be a writer?
Yes, from The age of six I was always making up stories.

Who was your best friend at school?
A girl called Chris. We're still friends.

Who was your first boyfriend?
He was called Alan and he had fair hair. He wrote me my first love letter.

Were you ever married?
I was married to a man called Millar, but we're separated now.

How many books have you had published?
About 70? I've lost count!

Which is your favourite out of all your books?
I can never make up my mind. Maybe The IlIustrated Mum.

Which book has won the most awards?
I Think it's probably Double Act. It won The Smarties Prize, The Children's book of The Year Award and the Sheffield Book Of The Year.

Have any of your books been made into a TV series?
Cliffhanger has been on schools television.
Some of my other books might be television serials soon.

Have any of your books been staged?
The Lottie Project was on at The Polka Theatre in Wimbledon. I loved it.
I saw The play Three times!

Where do you get your ideas from?
I don't know. They just seem to pop into my head.

Who is your favourite character in your books?
I'm very fond of Tracy Beaker even though she's totally outrageous.

Do you base your characters on real people?
No, it's much more fun making them all up. I wish some of them were real though. I'd love to meet Elsa from The Bed and Breakfast Star - she's such a kind, cheerful girl.

Are your books always illustrated by Nick Sharratt?
Nearly always. I absolutely love Nick's pictures. I'm very pleased and proud that we work together.

Why are there two illustrators for Double Act?
Because Ruby and Garnet are meant to have done the pictures themselves. Nick drew all the Ruby illustrations and Nick's friend, Sue Heap, drew Garnet. They both look great. It's hard telling them apart.

Which was your favourite book when you were a child?
I loved an American book called Nancy and Plum by betty MacDonald about two sisters who run away from an orphanage. I also liked Noel Streatfield's stories (especially BalIet Shoes) and Little Women and What Katy Did.

What are your favourite books now?
I love Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and Katherine Mansfield's short stories.
My favourite children's book now is Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.

Do you know any other children's writers?
Heaps! My special friends are Jean Ure, Adèle Geras and Ann Jungman.

Have you ever written for adults?
I've written five crime novels - but they all had children in them.

Why do you always write about girls?
I do sometimes write about boys. Cliffhanger and Buried Alive are about Tim and his best friend Biscuits.

Do you ever write about teenagers?
I've written Three books about girls in year nine, Girls in Love, Girls Under Pressure and Girls Out Late and Vicky Angel.

Do you have a fan club?
No, I try to write to everyone myself.

How long does it take you to write a book?
Between three and six months.

Where do you write?
I write in notebooks in my study or at the kitchen table or on trains travelling to schools - anywhere! I can't use a computer. I have to type my stories out on a little old-fashioned typewriter. I always have my lucky mascot rabbit Radish close at hand when I'm writing.

What did it feel like to see your first book in the shops?
It felt absolutely fantastic.

Do you meet lots of children?
I meet lots and lots of children. Each week I talk in schools or libraries and I often do signing sessions in bookshops on Saturdays.

Do you travel all over the country?
Yes, I zoom up and down Great Britain. I've even been lucky enough to do book tours in Australia and New Zealand.

Do you get lots of letters from fans?
I get at least 200 a week. It's great that so many children want to write to me but it's hard work replying to everyone.

What's been your most embarrassing moment?
Falling flat on my face at my first dance!

What's your proudest moment?
Holding my new baby daughter in my arms.

Have you got any special ambitions?
I'd like to write 100 books - and be on a Line Dancing team!

If you could have one wish for the 21st century what would it be?
That people still make up stories.

What's it like being a famous writer?
I'm just a little bit rich (so I can buy lots of rings and books) and just a little bit famous (so that children recognise me occasionally and ask for my autograph) but it's WONDERFUL being a writer.