name: Mary  Chapman
avg_rating: 3.1
ratings_count: 41
about: An interview with Mary Chapman:Q: What were you like at school?I think I was well-behaved at junior school, but I'm afraid my friends and I were rather naughty in some lessons at secondary school. My favourite subjects were always Art and English. I was quite good at hockey and athletics but hopeless at PE, which the games teacher thought was very puzzling. I remember dreading Thursday afternoons in my first year at secondary school because we had PE followed by Double Biology with a teacher who was very sarcastic.Q: What did you want to be when you were a child?At first I wanted to be a fashion designer and then a journalist; I actually worked as a reporter on the local newspaper in school holidays and university vacations. But after unive An interview with Mary Chapman:Q: What were you like at school?I think I was well-behaved at junior school, but I'm afraid my friends and I were rather naughty in some lessons at secondary school. My favourite subjects were always Art and English. I was quite good at hockey and athletics but hopeless at PE, which the games teacher thought was very puzzling. I remember dreading Thursday afternoons in my first year at secondary school because we had PE followed by Double Biology with a teacher who was very sarcastic.Q: What did you want to be when you were a child?At first I wanted to be a fashion designer and then a journalist; I actually worked as a reporter on the local newspaper in school holidays and university vacations. But after university I trained to be a teacher. I taught English for several years before changing careers and becoming a social worker, and then a family therapist. So it was a long time before I achieved my ambition of being a professional writer - not a journalist though, but a children's writer.Q: What makes you cringe?People who are pretentious.Q: What are you afraid of?Flying, but I try not to let the fear stop me doing it. So I have flown to Australia - twice.Q: What is your most treasured possession?I am a great hoarder so it's really difficult to choose the most treasured possession - I have so many! But I think I would say my collection of photographs - of people and places I love.Q: What do you do as a hobby?I read; see friends (very important); go to exercise classes; visit stately homes, gardens, museums and art galleries; do a bit of gentle gardening; play the piano (a little and not very well); watch TV; listen to Radio 4; research my family history. My current ambition is to add drawing to that list.Q: What’s your favourite food?I have different favourite foods at different times of day. I love breakfast for instance - orange juice, muesli with lots of fresh fruit, followed by toast and home-made marmalade and a mug of tea.Q: What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?I'm very happy with what I have done so far. My work has been really interesting and I hope it's been useful.Q: Do you feel younger or older than your current age?Younger.Q: What quality do you most admire in a person?The ability to listen to other people with genuine interest in what they have to say.Q: What is the most interesting place you have ever visited?It's a long time since I have been there but one of the most interesting places I have visited is the Mani, a remote region in the Southern Peloponnese, in Greece.Q: How long have you been a writer?I've been a published children's writer since 2006. I was writing children's fiction and submitting it to agents and publishers for about eleven years before my first book was published.Q: Was there a specific moment in your life when you decide to become a writer?As I said, it was an early ambition to be a journalist. Then I took a different direction until the ambition resurfaced as a wish to write for children.Q: Where do you do your writing?I mostly write at my lap-top in my study, but I also write sometimes in little notebooks - if I'm travelling on the train for example, or somewhere away from home. I often write 'in my head' - and then later transfer the words to my lap-top. Occasionally I write in the garden but I'm not so good at concentrating there.Q: What are the best and worst things about being an author?One of the best things for me is when the words and ideas are really 'flowing'. I also find it very satisfying when I am revising and editing what I've written, making it as good as I can, finding just the right word or phrase; and also when I am able to solve a problem or dilemma I've had with a particular event or character. And it's so exciting when a manuscript is accepted for publication, and then seeing the proofs, and the ...more