One of my favourite children’s authors and illustrators joins me in The Reading Realm today! A big HELLO to Jen Carney!

Before we settle down in The Reading Realm for a chat, what’s your drink and snack of choice?

I love an iced caramel latte. Snack wise, I’ll take whatever’s going! I do love nuts, though.

Tell us about your book in three sentences and then three words!

My most recent book, The Day My Brother Got Famous, is a comedy adventure story set mainly on a kids’ residential space camp. 

It’s about the friendship that forms between the series protagonist (Ferris) and his latest foster brother (Arthur) as they attempt to realise two very different dreams – getting a sister (Ferris) and going into space (Arthur). 

As Ferris is a talented artist, this book, like the others in the series, contains lots of cartoons and comic strips alongside the story.

Three words would be: family, friendship, fun!

If one of your characters could come to dinner, who would you invite and what would you cook them?

I’d invite Arthur and I’d cook him his favourite meal: plain pasta followed by chocolate buttons. 

What do you think you’d talk about?

Definitely space. Arthur knows some fascinating facts, like about planets named after marshmallows. 

What’s the funniest word you know that always makes you laugh?

I love kerfuffle and use it a lot. It’s just a great-sounding word. 

For a book I’m writing at the moment, I was researching words Shakespeare invented and I now also love skimble-skamble which means nonsense! 

What’s the silliest or strangest thing you’ve ever researched for a story?

Just this morning I was researching different foods that potentially change the colour of your poo if you eat enough of them…

If your writing desk could speak, what would it say about you?

‘Why do you keep waking me up so early?’

(It’s currently the summer holidays. My youngest daughter has special needs. To get anything done I have to write between 5 and 8am!)

Did you like reading when you were a child? If so, what?

I LOVED reading. Going to the library to choose new books was one of my favourite weekly activities.  I enjoyed stories about family life, stories that made me laugh, and magical tales too.

Here’s me in my mum’s bed reading My Naughty Little Sister. (I’m the youngest of five children, so that was a very apt series for me!)

What’s your favourite book that isn’t yours?

I really enjoy books by Sarah Hagger-Holt. One of my favourites is A Sister Like You.

What’s the funniest a child has said to you?

‘How do you get the writing so neat and exactly the same in every single book?’

(Cue a simple explanation about the printing process!)

If you weren’t an author, what would you be?

That’s a tricky one because I had a lot of jobs before I became an author. I’d love to give narration and voice acting a try.

What BAD advice would you give to someone who wants to be a writer?

Always keep your story in your head rather than writing it down.

Never get out in the fresh air.

Stop reading.

SPEED ROUND:

Cake or biscuits?

Biscuits 

Dinosaurs or unicorns?

Dinosaurs

Pirates or astronauts?

Astronauts

Museums or theme parks?

Theme parks

Cats or dogs?

Dogs

Summer or winter?

Summer 

Aliens or robots?

Robots

THANK YOU Jen for joining us in The Reading Realm today!