I originally fell in love with language at an early age. As a teen, I loved the notion of journalism. But when I fell in love with literature, I realized that with fiction, you had far more freedom to be creative. That, of course, does not reduce your responsibilities to young readers in any way whatsoever. I have been writing since I was six years old. I started to write professionally ten years ago, when I knew that writing made me very happy. Great literature and great writers inspired me to write, and to improve my craft with each new book I publish.
Difficult to choose. I think for children it would be "Paddington Bear" or "The Wind in The Willows." For young adult, it would be "The Snow Queen." And for adults it would be "The Remains of The Day," "The Great Gatsby," "To The Lighthouse," or one of Jane Austen's perfectly structured novels.
