Consider This - Questions taken from a Kids Book Review interview

So, I'm trawling the interweb and find this interesting little interview on Kids Book Review with Australian Author Elizabeth Kasmer. So I thought I might use them.

1. Tell us something hardly anyone knows about you.

I'm actually a really shy person, but I come across as all Extroverted in a crowd.

2. What is your nickname?

I've never had one! A friend tried to call me Wivawhy for a bit (Lynda wivawhy) but it never stuck. Even when nicknames were being handed out at my Church Youth Camp, I told the Director who was the main culprit for giving nicknames that had never had one before. And he said that would never change. LOL. But I did have some students I taught who called me HP (Harry Potter) so they could distinguish me from their other teacher. I used that as my Scout Leader name.

3. What is your greatest fear?

Leeches. Hate them. They freak me out.

4. Describe your writing style in ten words.

Layering story, characters, meaning and hidden meaning in multiple edits.

5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.

Adventuresome, courageous, frustrated, optimistic and thoughtful.

6. What book character would you be, and why?

Hermione Granger - because she is a diligent student, obeys the rules but is not against breaking one or two to make things happen (or if the rules are stupid). And she's smart and courageous and does WAY too much stuff in her life. I need that Time Turner!

7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?

The time of Jesus. To meet the man, see the times, and better understand what things were like back then.

8. What would your ten-year-old self say to you now?

Here, read this adventure story or Sci/Fi. You might actually enjoy reading. And don't worry if you can't do or understand English. You will. The world may appear black and white. For English, you only need to PRETEND ;) that's grey. The teacher's won't know the difference ;)

9. Who is your greatest influence?

My Dad. He always had time for me, despite being an academic and always busy. He taught me lots of stuff, he is still teaching me and my boys stuff AND he is the one who challenged me to become an author and not just a writer. (And my Mum, who showed me how to make a busy life work.)

10. What/who inspired you to start writing?

I ALWAYS loved writing. From the moment I could write. Stories with my dolls turned into stories on the page, turned into creative writing pieces that earned me a school Scholarship and a couple of Highly Commended awards in high school. But it was my Dad (see question above) who took me from writer to author. In 2000 he challenged me to write something that was publishable. So, no more FanFic. I had to come up with my own world!

11. What is your favourite word and why?

Cushion. I just love the way it sounds like a cushion.

12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?

It would have to be "Dune" by Frank Herbert. I love the way he can take very disparate elements and bring them all together in the end. And I don't want to smack any sense into any of his characters (Katniss Everdeen! Oh my! But I did love "The Hunger Games".)

There we go. 12 question. If you have any more for me, just ask :D