Transparent (27 page)
Authors: Natalie Whipple
When I was little I wanted to be a writer. As I grew I also added teacher, comic book illustrator, animator, theatre designer, and linguistics professor to the mix. Somehow I ended up back at the childhood dream, as if it was waiting for me all along.
What advice would you give to budding writers?
Work hard. It’s one thing to dream about writing, and it’s another thing entirely to actually pursue it. The dream is filled with ease and wonderful things. The actual pursuit of writing is a lot of hard, tedious work. If you want the dream, put in the work to get it.
Also, have fun. Which seems contradictory, but you have to enjoy what you’re writing, otherwise you won’t have the passion necessary to get through all the hard work. It’s not worth it if you don’t love what you’re doing.
What were your favourite books when you were a child?
I was a big Narnia fan. It’s really the only series I can remember reading as a child, though I know I read other things. I always came back to Narnia, and even now it’s the only series that I’ve ever reread.
Where is your favourite place to write?
I end up writing in bed mostly, since I have three small children and it’s the only place I can hide for a little peace and quiet. My husband is wonderful enough to watch them while I steal a couple hours to work.
Natalie Whipple, sadly, does not have any cool mutations like her characters. Unless you count the ability to watch anime and Korean dramas for hours on end. Or her uncanny knack for sushi consumption. She currently lives in Utah with her husband and three children
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Follow Natalie at
betweenfactandfiction.blogspot.co.uk
First published in Great Britain in 2013 by Hot Key Books
Northburgh House, 10 Northburgh Street, London EC1V 0AT
First published in the US in 2013 by HarperTeen, a division of HarperCollins
Copyright © Natalie Whipple 2013
The moral rights of the author have been asserted.
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ebook ISBN: 978-1-4714-0077-3
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Hot Key Books is part of the Bonnier Publishing Group