Amelia Curzon is a children’s
author, children’s book reviewer and occasional blogger. She is the mother of
two wonderful children and grandmother to one incredibly sweet and bright two year
old. Amelia’s interests include horses and all other animals (wild and domesticated),
the environment, art, music and books.
Welcome to The Book Keepers Blog. We are very happy to have you here.
Thank you so much for having me on your blog, Charina. I am really
thrilled to be here.
Why write children’s
books?
This is a question I am often
asked, as I am sure are many children’s authors, and the answer for me is very
simple. I thoroughly enjoy it. And I know, and remember with fondness, what it
is like to be a child. I believe a little of the child remains in all of us. Children’s
books are also terribly important, and some rarely forgotten. How many of us can remember the stories we read
or heard ourselves as children? How many of us have passed those on to our own
children? Countless stories and books are handed down from generation to
generation – sometimes even by word of mouth.
The same can rarely be said of adult literature. And, contrary to
popular belief, writing for children is not easier than writing for adults. Children can be extremely demanding and
writers need to be very creative, but it is something I personally have always had a great deal of
fun with. Smug as it may sound, and it most certainly isn’t meant to be, I feel
happy knowing that, just maybe, I have produced something children will learn
from. That is a very satisfying thought.
What kind of music do you
listen to?
For me this is sometimes a mood
thing and sometimes a location thing. In the car I love listening to anything
loud. Curious, and I don’t know if
anyone else does this, but when I hear a track I like, I turn it up full blast
and somehow I always seem to drive faster – lots faster. I have very eclectic
tastes in music. For instance, I am a great lover of Eric Clapton, especially
such tracks as “Let it Grow”, “Cocaine” and “Peaches and Diesel”. But there are many pieces of music, singers
and songs that I like. I do listen to a lot a classical music, but I also love
contemporary music. Some of the best popular songs I have heard in the past few
years are “Human” by The Killers and “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga. Then there is my
stock list of favourites like James Taylor, Leonard Cohen, Meat Loaf, Queen, The
Alan Parsons Project, The Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart. I never tire of those.
If you could eat any type
of food while you are writing, what will it be? Why?
I always eat Danish Pastries –
lots! Chocolate and any cake washed down
with gallons of coffee works well too. But they are all a bit sticky, so ideally
I would eat clean finger foods which don’t mess up the keyboard. I am quite lucky; I never put on weight and
can get quite greedy about food, so I am always open to suggestions.
If you could write any
book, even if it has been written already, which one will it be? Why?
Great Expectations by Charles
Dickens! Dickens was one of the greatest
story-tellers of all time, and this is one of my all-time favourites.
Five things you’ll take
with you to a deserted island
1. A hammock – I would absolutely hate the thought of not being able
to sleep above ground on an island where I knew nothing about the wildlife
living on the floor.
2. A water purifier – Since
salt water is undrinkable, I would be looking towards the heavens for pointers
to the nearest fresh running water source. Better to be safe…!
3. A machete – Strictly for
cutting fruit and other edible vegetable type goodies! Killing things is not my
bag – so if I don’t catch any fish, which seems very likely, I will be living
off fruit. I would also use the machete to cut wood and reeds for a shelter,
and possibly a raft if I am not rescued within a reasonable amount of time.
4. A supply of disposable lighters
– All those fish, I may or may not catch, will be just begging to be cooked over
my driftwood fire.
5. A mosquito net – Just in
case! (and, if there were a 6th choice – malaria pills).
Good luck with your book! It was a pleasure to have you here.
Amelia is the author of “Mungai and the
Goa Constrictor.”
No comments:
Post a Comment