When we left primary school last year, my friends and I decided to start our own book club. We thought it would be the perfect way to keep in touch as we were going to different secondary schools. We share our ideas about different books and get together every couple of months. We take it in turns to pick our favourite book and everyone will read it. We then get together to discuss it at the host’s house. Sometimes as well as discussing the book we have a themed activity, such as when we read Girl Online, we made milkshakes because they feature in the book!
Anne-Marie Conway’s latest book Tangled Secrets has just been selected by the Guardian as one of their best new children’s books for 2015. Our book club read the book and we were lucky enough to interview Anne-Marie about being an author and ask her our questions about Tangled Secrets. It was amazing to be able to speak to the author of the book in person. She was really fun and we even suggested some ideas for her new book which she is writing at the moment, Night Dancer. Hopefully, some of our suggestions will make it into the book. We will have to wait and see!
When and why did you decide that you wanted to become an author?
I have been running a theatre company for children for many years and one year I decided to write a comedy sketch for a group of boys who wanted to do something funny. I wrote a sketch about a group of women at the hairdressers discussing their husbands and put the boys in hairdressing gowns with their hair wrapped in towels. The sketch was a big success and I began to wonder if maybe I could write something a bit longer. Shortly after that, my first baby was born and I had some time off work at home and that’s when I started writing Phoebe Finds Her Voice, the first book in the Star Makers series. That was thirteen years ago and I’ve been writing non-stop ever since.
What was your favourite childhood book?
My favourite childhood books (I have to say books rather than book because it was a series) were the Malory Towers books by Enid Blyton. I can’t even begin to describe how much I loved them and how many times I read them. I think if you’d asked me at the time I would’ve said that Malory Towers was a real school and that all the characters were real people. I so wanted to go there and be best friends with Darrell.
And what is your favourite book of all time?
I do change favourite books all the time, but one of my favourite of all time is Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. I read it in Cephalonia where it’s set, so maybe that made it even more special.
How do you come up with ideas for your books?
My first series of books were based on my own children’s theatre company, Full Circle, and even though the main characters are fictional, many of the things that happen in the books are based on funny things that really happened at drama. Since then I’ve written three novels: Butterfly Summer, Forbidden Friends and Tangled Secrets. [Read the first chapter of Butterfly Summer]
I got the idea for Butterfly Summer after chatting to a friend about a day she spent at Butterfly World in St Albans. The setting sounded so idyllic, I decided to write a really dark story set in a beautiful place. The idea for Forbidden Friends came after a holiday to Portugal where there was a mix-up with my suitcase. I suddenly realised how easy it is to grab the wrong suitcase by mistake as they come round the conveyor belt, and then I thought how exciting it would be to have a plot where you try to swap the suitcases on purpose in order to pass on a secret message.
Are your stories ever autobiographical?
I think little elements of my own life creep in. For instance, in Butterfly Summer, Becky and her mum have moved to a new village where she has no friends and nothing to do. I actually had to go and live in a different country at the same age as Becky, where I didn’t know anyone or even speak the language. Likewise, in Forbidden Friends, Bee and Lizzie are forbidden from seeing each other because of problems between their two families and I had a very similar experience with my best friend when I was growing up.
Who is your favourite character you have created?
My favourite character is Rosa May in Butterfly Summer because she loves Becky but hates her at the same time. She’s so bitter that Becky is living the life that she thinks belongs to her.
How would you spend your perfect day?
My perfect day would have to follow a perfect night’s sleep which I hardly ever get. I would then go down to Hastings to stay with my sister and her family. We’d go on a long, long coastal walk together followed by a lovely dinner in a pub with an open fire. I’d then go to bed and have another perfect night’s sleep!
As a writer, have you imagined the whole of Kieran Black’s life story even though it’s not all in Tangled Secrets?
Yes I have imagined, planned and plotted Kieran’s whole life story. It’s not even something I have to do consciously, I simply couldn’t create a character without imagining their life from way before the actual beginning of the book.
Are you planning to write a sequel to this book?
I’m not planning a sequel at the moment. I’m quite tempted to write a sequel to Butterfly Summer, but I would have to see if my publishers were interested in me doing that. [Spoiler warning] I think Tangled Secrets reaches quite a satisfying conclusion with Maddie coming to terms with her Nan’s death and finding the confidence to speak out in class again.
How do you feel about the relationship between Maddie and her mother?
Maddie’s relationship with her mum has been shaped by the arrival of her little brother who was born prematurely. Not only is her mum consumed with worry after Charlie is born, but she also feels guilty, as if it’s somehow her fault. This has a devastating impact on Maddie’s relationship with her mum – she feels left out, jealous and insecure, and turns to her nan for love and support.
[Spoiler warning] Do you think Maddie would have got over the death of her gran if she hadn’t had the support of the group at school?
I have no way of knowing the answer to this as it would be a whole different book. However, I do believe that every school should have a nurture group – a safe place where children can explore their feelings and express their emotions. Growing up is hard, especially the secondary school years - and I think we (parents and teachers) can underestimate just how hard sometimes.
Tell us a secret!
What do you mean??? If I told you, it wouldn’t be a secret!
