5 minutes with... Jess Black

Author Jess Black joins us to introduce her new junior-fiction series, Kitty is Not a Cat!

What is Kitty is Not a Cat about?

Kitty is Not a Cat is a warmly funny junior-fiction series about Kitty, a little girl who believes she can be anything she dreams - even a cat. When Kitty arrives on the doorstep of a house full of music-mad felines, their lives are turned upside down as they attempt to teach her how to be human.

Do you have a specific routine when writing your books?

Not really. I do lots of reading and research before I begin writing. Once writing I find it hard to think about anything else. A book will consume me until it is finished!

What is the best thing about being a children’s author? What is the hardest?

Best thing is getting to create characters and worlds that I love to spend time in and then sharing those worlds with kids. The hardest thing is starting a new series and facing the unknown!

What did you enjoy reading as a kid?

I loved anything by Enid Blyton – Magic Faraway Tree, Famous Five and Secret Seven. I also loved mysteries – Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys. I loved horses and read every horse book that exists! Later, I read lots of fantasy.

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Writing came to me later in life. I wrote for Theatre and Television and all the time I was writing short stories and doing writing courses. I never imagined I’d get published! I knew from my early twenties, but it didn’t happen for me until my mid-thirties!