A potted and neatly cling-filmed history:
I used to be a child. Here is the hard evidence:
(That's me as Dorothy in a school production of the Wizard of Oz.)
As a child, I spent many hours shut away in my bedroom writing and illustrating picture stories. Everything from tales about a man and his pet monkey, to (later) teen romances. Oh, and fashion designs. Because as well as writing, I was a 'really good drawrer'. This meant I did get some admiration ('draw me a horse! Draw me a cat!) which is just as well as I was shorter than everybody else, rubbish at sport and generally odd in an introverted, day-dreamy sort of way, so very prone to having the chair removed from beneath me and things like that.
Here's a drawing I did for a school production of The Wizard of Oz . (Interesting, isn't it, that I depicted Dorothy with long blonde hair and long legs. Definitely a case of wishful thinking.)
I also read avidly, and if you know my books you will not be surprised to learn that the Greek myths just blew me away. Still do!
Then I grew up. No I didn't. Here is the hard evidence:
I went to art school. Art school is FUN. It is also meant to be hard work; in my case it wasn't. I left after one year, knowing in great detail what I didn't want to do (graphic designer, starving artist in garret, etc) but not much about what I did want.
I got a job in a commercial art studio. This was back in the Pre-Digital Age; offices were places full of typewriters and analogue telephones. I shared a room with a person who re-touched photos with a thing called an airbrush, and a lettering artist who actually painted headlines by hand! I drew the pictures for advertisements. I was well paid, but the work was disposable. When everything you do ends up in the bin, it gets depressing after a while. I yearned to make something more lasting! Something profound that would change and enrich people's lives forever! And so I turned to...
...Telling jokes. A picture book full of them, to be precise; my first one. I wrote and illustrated it. Then I wrote a couple of storybooks, and also did the illustrations for other people's stories. Here are some of my old books, sadly out of print now. They are all picture books, which I wrote and illustrated. You can still get hold of copies, but they are rare! If you look in my attic, you'll find out more about all this!
After a while I stopped making children's books and started making children. My husband Pano and I have two kids, Helena and George. They were both born in New York, where Pano is from.
When Helena and George went off to school, I decided I wanted to write for older kids, but there were a lot of rejection letters before I got anywhere. I was very lucky because I had several friends who helped me hugely. And finally, in 2004, The Truth Cookie was published!
Are you related to Joyce Dunbar?
No.
Where do you get your ideas from?
The question all authors dread! For some this may be partly because they imagine the questioner wants directions for a short-cut to inspiration-land, but I think most people know there is no such thing. The main reason is simply that it is so hard to answer!
For me, it starts with the germ of an idea (don't ask me where that comes from; I really don't know!) and then, once I start exploring and researching, gazillions of other ideas follow on from that, and the story eventually takes shape. So for the Lulu Baker books, the germ was 'girl with magic recipe book'. When I came to thinking about what she might use it for, it made sense to me that her enemy should be someone obsessed with dieting; similarly, when I thought about what she would make the recipes from, I realised I wanted fantasy ingredients. So that led on to researching herbalist theory and mythology, and other ideas led on from there.
Here's a brainstorm page from when I was thinking up ideas for Under the Stairs. In it you can see a Tenniswelly and the Hooversaurus. There was also a Golflogog and the Sneezing Dusterbirds.
Do I have to read the Lulu Baker books in the right order?
The right order is as follows: The Truth Cookie, Cupid Cakes, then Chocolate Wishes. I REALLY WANT you to read them in the right order, because there is a logical progression in the sequence. But if you picked up Cupid Cakes or Chocolate Wishes and read it before you knew it was part of a trilogy, NEVER FEAR! My publisher strapped me to a seat and forced me to give lots of background info in books two and three, just in case people did exactly what you've done, so they do work as self-contained stories to some extent.
Are any of your characters based on real people?
Most of them are composites; one character will have attributes of two or three people I know or have known. Lulu Baker, for example, is a little bit of me, a little bit of my daughter Helena, plus something extra that's just made up. Torquil is much more horrible than any boys I knew growing up, but his money-making scams were inspired by a friend's brother. Varaminta is inspired by the mother of someone I used to know - but again, exaggerated!
There are elements of someone I used to know in Aunt Dot, from Toonhead ; the pipe smoking, brown teeth and green clothes all came from this lady. Also LJ Sylva is somewhat inspired by someone I had the misfortune to be acquainted with. I have known two people with diamond studs in their teeth, so that's probably why I thought to give Nolita Newbuck one (Silk Sisters).
How do you think up your characters?
Partly from the above, but also I find it helps to draw them, when I am at the 'imagining' stage. Having an image of a character in my mind helps me to then go on and make other decisions about them. Elsie Silk (Pink Chameleon) is, as you will see elsewhere on the site, unique so far in that she was inspired by someone I've never met!
Will there be any more Lulu Baker books?
Chocolate Wishes completes the trilogy so no, I am not planning any more. There is scope for expanding the theme so it's not completely inconceivable - but am busy writing book 3 of the Silk Sisters, so not for now!
How many Silk Sisters books will there be?
It's another trilogy; books two and three are out in 2008. I have already written book two, called Blue Gene Baby.
I've never seen the Richie Roach cartoon show [Toonhead]. Is it real?
No, I made it up!
Are you sure you're not related to Joyce Dunbar?
Quite sure.
How long does it take you to write a book?
Between three and six months for the actual writing; but the hard part is all the plotting and researching and cogitating that goes on before I reach that point, so it's really hard to give a timeframe. That can take just as long as the writing stage, and it's a 24-hour-a-day process. You program a question into your brain, and it can take hours or even days for the answer to come to you. That's why I often keep a pad by my bedside, because my best ideas come at 3 o'clock in the morning!
When did you get your first book published?
My first picture book, You'll Never Guess! was published in 1991, when I was, um, 29-ish. Below on the left, is the dummy of You'll Never Guess before they changed the title!
What is your favourite book?
How can you have one favourite book? Impossible! And of course it changes all the time. I like all sorts of books; take a look at my fave reads and you will see what I mean. But all sorts of things inspire me, not just books; art, movies, cartoons, songs, music videos, really stupid websites.
I heard you pretend you're not related to Joyce Dunbar. Is this true?
Look, I know Joyce and she is a lovely person and a wonderful writer, but no, as far as I know we are not related.
What about Polly Dunbar, then?
Not her either!
How can I be a published author like you?
With a lot of hard work, and at least a bit of talent! For more detailed answer to this question, go to my 'Fiona's Desk' page, and click on the .
Do you write on the computer, or by hand?
I think it's fair to say that nearly all writers use a bit of both, and that's certainly true of me. I don't know anyone who turns in hand-written manuscripts, that's for sure! I write on the computer, but I do my working out in a notebook; again, for more information, take a look at my desk.
I think the Lulu Baker books would make a great film. Is there going to be one?
No. Not yet, anyway (we can always hope!) Believe me, if one went into production, I'd have it splashed all over my website, you wouldn't be able to miss it. This does not stop me from casting the film in my head.
I want Cameron Diaz for Varaminta, and Queen Latifah for Cassandra, please (I'm sure they can both do an English accent).
The books have, however, been optioned for a TV series.but we'll have to wait and see. It might never happen.
I saw those drawings on your website by Ona Bindfrau. Who is she?
She is my cousin's mother's nephew's wife's sister-in-law.
That last one wasn't an FAQ at all, was it?
Yes it was.
You're pulling my chain; it wasn't.
Was too.
There's no way that was a Frequently Asked Question.
Oh! I thought 'FAQ' stood for Fairly Absurd Quizzes.
Five books I loved as a child*:
The Molesworth Books, Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle. Life at St Custard's, apporling speling. Futbol! They may be boys' books, but I was a fan. (I'd actually forgotten until recently that the school was called 'St Custard's', yet Torquil's school in the Lulu Baker books is called St Toast's, so something must have stuck!) Loved Searle's drawings, too. 
*I am excluding the ones we read at school, even though I adore some of them still!
Five children's books I love now:
Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking-Glass, Lewis Carroll. It has been remarked that this is probably more admired by adults than by kids, which may be true. Brilliant satirical jokes. Fantastic made-up words in Jabberwocky ('all mimsy were the borogroves', etc); puns in the Mock Turtle's Story (learning about 'reeling and writhing', etc). Just the idea of a mock turtle! 
Peter Pan and Wendy, JM Barrie. For Mrs Darling putting her children's minds in order at bedtime, Peter having his shadow stitched back on, the Lost Boys. I also loved this as a child, of course, but later came to appreciate it on another level. 
Holes, Louis Sachar. OK, I know; you all do it at school and I sound like your English teacher. But it's just such a perfect story, isn't it? 
The Story of Tracey Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson. When I read this to my daughter several years ago, it made me laugh and also brought a lump to my throat. This was long before the TV series. Deceptively simple storytelling, fantastic characterisation; JW is a national treasure!
Three Great Crazy Men, or Things Have Never Looked Quite The Same Since:
Others too numerous to mention. Oh go on then; I love:
Great Expectations , in spite of the fact that I had to study it for O'Level. Which is saying something. Probably my favourite Dickens novel, though I must confess I haven't read them all. 
