When did you start writing and why?

I started writing picture books when I was five, and my first chapter book at aged 11, but I sadly abandoned writing around aged 13 until 40. This was the longest tea and biscuit break in writerdom, and a big mistake!  Once I started writing again I could not stop. I get so grumpy and out of sorts if I don’t have a writing project on the go.

What is your favourite book that you’ve written?

Ah… this question is a little like when my children ask me which is my favourite child! I love them all!

But usually I will feel like it’s the last one I worked on. I adored writing the villains in the Badgers Are Go books as I am a sucker for a scoundrel! Also because they were the first books I’ve written with several characters talking to each other, rather than just one talking to the reader. Dialogue is my favourite thing to write – just like the pretend play I used to do in the school playground as a child, only it is in my head!

What were you like as a child?

I was a daydreamer, exactly like my badger character Lulu in the Badgers Are Go books, but with slightly less whiskers. I was a big reader, with a pile of library books and a stack of audio cassettes by my bedside table at all times. If I loved a character a lot I would pretend to be them, in my play. I spent a lot of time being Lucy Pevensie in the garden.  But the book I related to most was A Dog So Small by Philippa Pearce. The main character, Ben Blewitt, imagines a longed for dog so vividly, it is almost real to him.

What superpower would you like to have?

I would love to have a singing voice so beautiful I could move people to tears, but alas I do not. People might weep, but not for the right reasons.

Do you have any pets or what imaginary pet would you have?

I have a cat called The Mymble after a character in The Moomins. I adore her, but if I had an imaginary pet it would certainly be a badger, an anteater, or a squirrel. Perhaps I could be allowed all three.

Where do you write and what do you use?

I put all my ideas together into their final form in my study, but I tend to generate ideas away from my desk. I write those in my notebook, or if that isn’t to hand, anything will do, like bus tickets or the backs of cornflake packets. Once my pile of scribbled snippets of ideas and dialogue grows high enough on my desk,  I start typing them into my laptop and trying to nudge them into the shape of a story.

What happens in your virtual author sessions?

My workshops are designed to get children excited about reading for pleasure, the power of their imaginations and their own story making potential. My writing workshops feature a live reading from my books, activities designed to spark a love of books and ideas for the children’s own story making, and chance for the children to share their ideas and ask questions about my books and writing. I have a Badgers Are Go assembly designed to immerse children in the world of The Rumpington Academy of Badgering, in which we discover whether there are any secret badger operatives stationed in your school. I also have a writing journey assembly with all my top tips designed to spark creative confidence for writers of any age, right through from reception to year 6.  

What’s the best thing about being an author or illustrator?

I am addicted to trying to make children laugh. It is my catnip!

What is your favourite book to read?

My favourite author is Tove Jannsson and I cannot think of a more wonderful place to visit via a book than Moomin Valley.  As someone who suffers from a surplus of worry, I find something so soothing in the way that the characters amiably muddle their way through disasters like floods, comets, electrifying hattifatteners and visits from Hobgoblins. 

And finally, what’s your top writing or drawing tip?

Get REALLY good at daydreaming. This means giving it plenty of your time and practising it as often as you can. Ideas need daydreaming like seeds need water and sunlight, to grow. No one really  tells you how to do it,  but I can give you some of my favourite tips for daydreaming in my workshops!

Book a virtual visit with Susannah via her website.