What a treat to get to speak to children’s author Eleanor Cullen today! Welcome to the Reading Realm, Eleanor!
Before we settle down in The Reading Realm for a chat, what’s your drink and snack of choice?
I’d love an ice-cold water please, with a gooey chocolate brownie.
Tell us about your book A MATCH FOR A MERMAID in three sentences and then three words!
Malu the Mermaid is about to become queen of the entire ocean, but she wants to marry someone who can help her rule. She interviews almost every merman in the ocean to find a suitable husband, but rejects them all! Eventually she realises that it wasn’t a man she was looking for all along..
Mermaids, love, bravery!
If one of your characters could come to dinner, who would you invite and what would you cook them? What do you think you’d talk about?
I’d invite King Kai, who is a merman spectacularly brought to life through David Roberts’ gorgeous illustrations. I would cook him nice homemade chips and sausages (not fish!) and we would talk about how he keeps his lovely long hair so glossy and tangle-free.
What’s the funniest word you know that always makes you laugh?
Doohickey! It makes me laugh because I taught a boy who used the word for every object that was slightly unusual. I showed up with a new pen? I had a doohickey. He crafted a creature out of paper? Doohickey!
What’s the silliest or strangest thing you’ve ever researched for a story?
Misspelt graffiti across the UK (There’s a lot!).
Do your characters ever surprise you?
Yes, all the time!
If your writing desk could speak, what would it say about you?
Stop putting on Taylor Swift playlists for “inspiration” because you get distracted for an hour at a time and don’t get anything written!
Did you like reading when you were a child? If so, what?
Yes, I always adored reading. My teachers used to call me Matilda! I read anything I could get my hands on, from encyclopedias to Enid Blyton.
What’s your favourite book that isn’t yours?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I also love anything written by Jacqueline Wilson.
What book do you wish you could read for the first time again?
Cookie by Jacqueline Wilson!
What’s the funniest thing a child has said to you?
“Knock, knock”
“Who’s there?”
“A really bad burglar”
If you weren’t an author, what would you be?
I’m very lucky to be a school librarian as well as an author, because that’s one of the best jobs around! I’d love to have my own half bookshop, half souvenir shop on the seafront though.
What BAD advice would you give to someone who wants to be a writer?
The first draft is always the best…
SPEED ROUND:
Cake or biscuits?
Cake!
Dinosaurs or unicorns?
Unicorns
Pirates or astronauts?
Pirates
Museums or theme parks?
Theme parks
Cats or dogs?
Dogs, especially mine!
Summer or winter?
Winter
Aliens or robots?
Aliens
THANK YOU Eleanor for joining us in The Reading Realm today!
