'The best books, reviewed with insight and charm, but without compromise.'
- author Jackie French

Monday 15 November 2010

Fun Facts with author Nette Hilton

Author Nette Hilton, in our latest Behind the Books feature, has shared with us some interesting facts about herself - a real glimpse into the person behind the books...


  • Before I was an author I was a tax officer, a governess on a sheep station, a receptionist for an Italian company (that was fun especially since I didn’t speak Italian – I learned fast, though), a receptionist in a car-sales yard for half a day, and then a teacher. I was a teacher while I was writing many of my books which meant I worked late into the night and now... tra-da!... I’m a full time, rootin’-tootin’, cotton-pickin’ writer.


Nette's top five interests are:

  • Mastering my guitar. 
  • Being able to sing a solo with my guitar – in tune. 
  • Painting – I am working at illustrating my own text and belong to an art class where I drink a lot of coffee and eat cake and splash lots of paint around. 
  • Dance – I belonged to a swing dance group who fling themselves around to music from the forties… sadly our teachers quit so now I have only tap dancing. 
  • And embroidery – it keeps me awake when I’m watching television.


Eight Little-Known Facts About Nette Hilton…

  • My bravest moment – letting a huge python slide up my arm and around my neck and then smile up at me from my hand.
  • I sometimes chuck a wobbly – big time.
  • I don’t like things that don’t work – this causes a wobbly, guaranteed.
  • The kid in The Innocents who fell into the river was me.
  • I love laughing – and my family are the ones who can make an ordinary day hilarious.
  • My mum still treats me like I’m twenty although I should be grateful – my girlfriend’s mum treats her like she’s fourteen (and she’s way older than that. So am I – that's a little known fact as well).
  • I rush a lot – once I bought a pair of shoes that were really lovely and I was so keen to wear them I forgot to take the cardboard shoe-liner out. That was bad enough –but I didn’t even discover it until I was back in the shoe shop trying on another pair because the ones I had were too tight. (I still cringe).
  • I make wishes every month on the full moon and keep them in a wish jar.