EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW….
Wednesday 22nd August 2007
Reader Naomi Smith met and interviewed me at the recent Edinburgh Book Festival… find out what we talked about and ask some nosy questions of your own!
Naomi: You’re a really big author now, but if your books had never been published, what would you be doing?
Cathy: Teaching art, writing short stories, being an agony aunt and bringing up my kids in the Scottish countryside. I’d be dreaming of making it as a children’s author, though!
Naomi: Who is your fave character from the books and why?
Cathy: Mouse, definitely. I loved him in Dizzy, so lost and alone, and was determined to give him a happy ending in Lucky Star. I loved writing about Mouse and his talent for trouble… the world needs more boys like Mouse!
Naomi: What has been your worst job ever?
Cathy: Shredding up roast chickens in a BHS cafe to make chicken sandwiches when I was a teenager. I was a veggie – not good. I was also a spectacularly bad waitress….
Naomi: If you had a magical power, what would it be and why?
Cathy: I’d like to grant wishes… or maybe fly!
Naomi: What was your most embarrassing moment?
Cathy: Getting my swishy skirt trapped in the toilet door on the flight to Sri Lanka this spring. I was stuck, blocking the aisle, and the stewardesses couldn’t get the trolley past me… the whole plane was smirking. When the door opened again and I was released, there was a round of applause, but by then I was too embarrassed to go to the loo anyway!
Naomi: You’ve said you are quite a shy person, how do you overcome that to talk in front of loads at people, like at the Edinburgh Book Festival?
Cathy: I am shy, and I get REALLY nervous, but I’ve learnt that I can survive – and often people don’t even notice that I’m nervous! Shyness is a pain, but never, ever let it beat you… go for it!
Naomi: What’s the best thing about being an author?
Cathy: It’s a dream come true for me, and I get a real buzz from seeing my books in a shop, but the best thing ever is getting feedback from my readers and knowing that they love the stories as much as I love writing them.
OK, your turn now… if you’ve got a question for me, post it below… I’ll answer the best online!
I started being veggie when I was 14 (I tried earlier but didn’t last very long!). I just didn’t want to eat animals, and used to feel sorry for the chicken every Sunday lunchtime… I am still veggie all these years later, and I know I will never go back to eating meat. I spent 8 or 9 years of that time as a vegan, a v. strict veggie who doesn’t eat dairy, eggs or anything to do with animals, but that was very tough and now I am back to being just plain veggie.
Cathy x
hi cathy, i`ve read sundae girl and scarlett and when i got to the last page i didnt want it to end, now its got me thinking, will you ever do a series of books like harry potter that would be fab. Hope to meet u bye
Laura, I don’t think I’ll ever do a Harry Potter type series, but I have been thinking lately about a series of books all based on the same main characters… I think my readers would really go for that. I just need some ideas, now!!!
Cathy xxx
YEh!! a series based on the same charcters would be LUSH! because you really get too know them and it would be great for that too cotinue book after book! x
Wow Cathy it would be great if you did a series of books! I would really like it i’m sure it’d be fab!
Cathy that would be amazing!I love all your characters!If you were to continue your books could you start with Scarlett?Thats my fav book!
Thanks!
Love Sarah xxx
how amazing would a series be! I would totally 100% read them! you are amazing!
OK… so a series would be good, then! I’ll have a think about it and see what I can come up with… promise!
Cathy Cassidy x
Hey Cathy. I would just like to tell you how much I love your books and your different techniques of writing. I would love to write and finish a book. It would be a huge achievement for me. But I simply just do not have the patience that is needed for that type of thing. I enjoy English and Art most at school. I am very creative and imaginative, I would really love to meet you. You are so down to Earth and just an amazing writer, I wish that all of my teachers at school were like you! They are just, “Sit down and listen. Do as your told.” They don’t care about individuality, it doesn’t exist to them. I hate it ever so much. I love to read your books and just escape from it all. I think your best is Scarlett. I just really want to know, what makes you want to continue to write books? Like, if you messed up the storyline like half way through, what makes you want to fix it and end the story, not just throw it away and forget about it like I would do? Is it your fans, your passion for writing, or something else? Please answer this, I would really love to hear from you. I never want your books to end when I read them. It makes me sad when I turn the last page knowing that I’m going to have to wait for the next book until I can fall in love with one of your characters again. Please answer 🙂 xxx Adelaide xxx
Wow, thanks for the enthusiasm Adelaide… I do know what you mean about school, but there are some switched on teachers out there, honest! I think the reason I can’t give up on a story is that I get so involved with the characters I’ve created that they seem real to me… I couldn’t just abandon them. I’m so hooked into the daydream/story that I have to go on writing! You’re right, though, my fans are so fab and supportive I’d never want to let them down, either…
Cathy Cassidy x