About
About me
About me
A little bit about me… I was born in Kent, and have travelled quite a lot and lived all over the world. One of the countries I lived in for a long time was Singapore, which was fantastic - very hot, very exotic, and really fun! But now I’m back in Kent again with my family and my dog, Scout.
I haven’t always been a writer. I’ve had all sorts of jobs. I’ve been a cleaner, a school dinner lady, a waitress, a nanny (not the goat type, the ‘looking after children’ type!). Then I worked as a physiotherapist, for quite a long time, which was a great job, but not as fun as writing!
I always tried to write stories when I was young, but I found it very difficult. It was only when I had my own children, and read books to them over and over again, that I worked out what a really good
book sounds like. That’s when I started to write properly.
I love walking (so does Scout!), and walking is an excellent thing to do when you’re trying to write a story… so we do a lot
of walking! I often talk to myself out loud on my walks. I get very strange looks from passers by!
I’d love to hear from you, so please get in touch through my contacts page.
Q&A with Rachel (kindly provided by Bloomsbury)
What are your 5 favourite books, and why? (not necessarily children’s books)
Ooooh so tricky! Here is a heavily whittled down list:
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak– probably my favourite book, the most brilliant story.
Where’s My Teddy? by Jez Alborough. This is the ultimate simple, cyclical children’s story. It’s one I turn to again and again to remind myself how I would like to write.
The Incredible Book Eating Boy by Oliver Jeffers. Light, funny, clever, perfect!
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini – I adore any book that gives deep insight into another country, another culture or another time, and this one is amazing, devastating, moving… just beautiful.
Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina – such an absurd story, I love it!
Who are your 5 favourite authors/ illustrators, and why? (not necessarily children’s authors/illustrators)
Margaret Atwood – without fail her books are so cleverly written, with such humour and insight to the human soul.
Julia Donaldson – I could read her stories to my children (and myself) endlessly! Clever, hilarious, wonderful!
Catherine Rayner – quite possibly my favourite illustrator, and creator of Augustus, a tiger who has stolen my heart!
AA Milne and EH Shepard – I grew up near Ashdown Forest, which meant I was never far from heffalumps, honey, pooh bridge and the bear of little brain! Gorgeous stories and even better pictures!
Judith Kerr – I couldn’t finish my list without the creator of The Tiger Who Came to Tea, and all of the wonderful Mog books. Her stories are so simple, readable, and beautifully written.
What was your favourite book when you were a child?
Despite my love of Pooh Bear, I’d have to say... The Magic Faraway Tree collection by Enid Blyton.
I vividly remember reading them (again and again!), and losing my head in the lands above the cloud, the characters, the slippery-slip…
Who is your favourite hero in a book?
Atticus Finch, for standing up for something he believes in.
Who is your favourite villain in a book?
Burglar Bill
If you could be a character from a book who would you be?
George from the Famous Five - headstrong, brave, has the best adventures, a dog, and her own island!
If you could recommend just one book for everyone to read what would it be?
To Kill a Mockingbird. I must have read it twenty times, and never tire of it.
What book do you wish you had written?
I’ve never wished I had written someone else’s book, but I frequently wish I had the skill of other writers…. Julia Donaldson, Lauren Child, Mo Willems, Maurice Sendak… I can only dream!
Who or what was your biggest influence in deciding to become a writer?
My husband, who told me to stop dreaming about writing and just do it!
What inspired you to write your latest book?
Looking into princess books, I was struck by the shocking lack of stories that don’t involve the princess marrying the prince! So I set to, writing a princess book with a trio of intrepid, heroic, intelligent princesses, who couldn’t care less about marrying the prince!
When did you start writing?
At the age of 7 I borrowed my mother’s typewriter, and wrote The Bathroom Story…. fully illustrated (in crayon, by me). It featured Tommy Toothbrush, Sarah Soap, Fran Flannel etc….!
If someone wanted to be a writer what would be your number one tip for them?
Keep writing….despite being told you’ll never get published... despite the first 20 rejections… and the next 20... despite almost making it, then not… Just keep writing!
Is there any particular routine involved in your writing process (favourite pen, lucky charm, special jumper)?
Most of the time I take up residence in a corner seat in my favourite coffee bar. But if it’s all going horribly wrong then going for a run invariably sorts out the problem!
Do you have any abandoned stories in you ‘bottom drawer’ that you would like to revisit?
Oh yes! Though perhaps not The Bathroom Story…
About the Illustrators
About the Illustrators
Ed Eaves
Ed Eaves has been working as an illustrator since 2000, when he graduated from Kingston University in Surrey with a first class honours degree. Ed is the award-winning illustrator of Welcome to Alien School and How to Grow a Dinosaur (both published by Simon & Schuster).Ed now lives in a village on the Kent coast with his wife and fellow illustrator Rebecca Finn and their two dogs.
Katie Weymouth
Katie graduated from John Moores University with a degree in Illustration. Now that her three children have grown huge and flown the nest, she has thrown herself full pelt into making her stories with influences from the books she used to read to them when they were small – the likes of Shirley Hughes, Mini Grey, John Burningham, Edward Ardizonne and David Lucas. Oh and not forgetting Satoshi Kitamura, Shaun Tan and Lauren Child.
Rebecca Bagley
Rebecca Bagley is a freelance illustrator and book designer, currently based in Bath, England.
After Graduating from a BA in Graphic Communication, Rebecca meandered pretty quickly into kid’s publishing as an assistant designer…and just didn’t leave. Though she still designs stuff for children’s publishing from time to time, she primarily makes herself busy by colouring things in like a real, grown up illustrator. She likes to make pictures that tells stories; from single image editorial pieces to book illustration and sequential work.
