Liz Flanagan joins Ian Eagleton in The Reading Realm today to talk about her new book, THE MOONLIGHT DRAGON…
Before we settle down in The Reading Realm for a chat, what’s your drink and snack of choice?
Ooh, a cinnamon oat latte please, with a slice of flapjack, ta very much.
Tell us about your book in three sentences and then three words!
Luna rescues a baby dragon with her new friends: Tobi the anxious prince and Elodie the librarian’s daughter. Together they must hide Spark the growing dragon AND solve the mystery of why the king is so afraid of dragons. But time is running out!
Mystery. Rewilding. Dragons!
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?
If I invited Rowan from the Wildsmith series, I hope she would bring one of her magical friends – maybe Isla the Selkie. I’d better make fishcakes for her. We could talk about all the beautiful animals we’ve both fostered!
What’s the funniest word you know that always makes you laugh?
I love the word syllabub! It’s got silly built into it – you can’t say it in a sensible voice, I think. Though I don’t think I’ve ever actually eaten one, so maybe I need to go find a recipe!
What’s the silliest or strangest thing you’ve ever researched for a story?
I’ve just been researching hedgehogs, for a new story. Did you know they ‘anoint’ themselves with new and smelly foods, wiping it over their spines? It’s a bit like us pouring gravy on our heads!
Do your characters ever surprise you?
If that happens, then I know the story is going well – it’s a lovely moment, probably about halfway through a first draft. Though I have writer friends who say their characters actually talk to them. That would give me a right shock.
If your writing desk could speak, what would it say about you?
It might gently suggest I need to have a tidy up and do I really think I’m reading all ten of those books piled on my table at once? Thing is, I probably am, I like to have lots of different books on the go at once, to suit different moods.
Did you like reading when you were a child? If so, what?
When I was eight, I was ill and had weeks off school – this is when I really turned into a massive reader. My favourite book was The Ordinary Princess by M.M Kaye about a girl who doesn’t want to be a princess, so she runs off to a forest and tries to live an ordinary life.
What’s your favourite book that isn’t yours?
Trickster’s Choice by Tamora Pierce is one I re-read every few years – the start of a perfect fantasy series.
What book do you wish you could read for the first time again?
Anything with a twist – although my memory is so bad, if I leave it a few years, I will probably have forgotten anyway!
What’s the funniest thing a child has said to you?
A reader asked me what happened to the characters after the story finished. I didn’t actually know – the story is finished! – but I made it up on the spot. I love that they seemed like real people, walking around out there.
If you weren’t an author, what would you be?
Hmm, I wanted to be a vet when I was little, or maybe a dog walker. Something with animals in it, anyway.
What BAD advice would you give to someone who wants to be a writer?
‘Wait till you’re ready.’ No one is ever ready – just start! Try not to notice that your first draft isn’t perfect, just keep on going till you can see the shape of the story and the end is in sight. Then you get to go back and fix it, adding all the extra juicy bits you’ve thought of since you began.
SPEED ROUND:
Cake or biscuits? Cake! Can’t miss out on all that filling!
Dinosaurs or unicorns? Unicorns, are you kidding?
Pirates or astronauts? Pirates – much cooler…
Museums or theme parks? Hmm, museums, but you gotta choose wisely…
Cats or dogs? Don’t make me! OK, dogs
Summer or winter? If I say autumn, is that half and half?
Aliens or robots? Aliens
THANK YOU Liz for joining us in The Reading Realm today!
