Jacqueline Wilson
Where and when were you born?
I was born in Bath in 1945, but spent most of my childhood in Kingston-on-Thames. I still live there now!
Which of your characters were you most like at school?
I wish I could say that I was like some of my daring characters but I'm actually a wimp really. In Double Act… I'm more like Garnet but I can get in a strop like Ruby sometimes.
What were your favourite subjects?
English of course and Art! I hated Maths and I was useless at P.E.
When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
I always wanted to be a writer and wrote my first “novel” when I was nine, filling countless Woolworths' exercise books as I grew up. As a teenager I started work as a journalist working for a magazine publishing company in Scotland.
What do you do in a typical day?
I obviously write lots but this is often done on trains and in the back of cars travelling to give talks to children. I swim, I dance, I go to art galleries and I love shopping.
What's your favourite film?
Thelma and Louise or Mandy, an old black and white movie about a little girl who couldn't hear.
What sort of music do you like?
All sorts — especially Queen and the late lamented Freddie Mercury.
What's your favourite book?
Lavender's Blue, a nursery book illustrated by Harold Jones. My favourite books as a child were Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield and Little Women by Louise M. Alcott.
Where did you get your ideas from?
I think it's a bit like asking you where you get your dreams from; you don't exactly know, do you? Dreams are distorted and you have no idea where they came from. I don't know what's going to come next! For instance, I came up with the name of Tracy Beaker in my bath. I was washing my hair and I pulled up this beaker to wash my hair down with, and that's when it came to me “Tracy Beaker”.
What are you passionate about?
My biggest passion and/or worst vice is buying books. I have over 15,000 books crammed into every corner of my house — and they've started to creep across the carpets. My favourite holiday place is Hay-On-Wye, which has about twenty second hand bookshops.
Which is your favourite out of all your books?
I can never make up my mind. Maybe The Illustrated Mum.
What's your favourite food?
I like fruit most. I also like cakes and chips and ice-cream (but not all together).
If you could have one wish for the 21st Century what would it be?
That people still make up stories.
What was your most embarrassing moment?
Falling flat on my face at my first dance!
What makes you proud?
My daughter Emma.