I can do a very convincing horse impression.
2. What is your nickname?
Swear Bear, unfortunately.
3. What is your greatest fear?
Fairly predictable of any parent: harm coming to my children.
4. Describe your writing style in ten words.
I always try to take a less is more approach.
5. Tell us five positive words that describe you as a writer.
Honest, economical, vivid, occasionally humorous.
6. What book character would you be, and why?
This is tricky as I don’t envy many of the characters in the books I like. Probably Elizabeth Bennet for her wit and the fact that she doesn’t really care what others think of her. I imagine Pemberley would have excellent stables as well, which is a big drawcard in my opinion.
7. If you could time travel, what year would you go to and why?
Anytime in the 1920s, mainly for the frocks. Midnight in Paris is my dream.
8. What would your ten-year-old self say to you now?
It doesn’t matter if you can’t spell, you can still be a writer.
9. Who is your greatest influence?
I think it is very difficult to be an Australian YA author and not be influenced by Melina Marchetta and John Marsden. Looking For Alibrandi and Marsden’s So Much To Tell You were books that I read over and over as a kid.
10. What/who made you start writing?
I think I’ve always written stories. The first that I remember was an ongoing piece of fan fiction based on The Wombles. I used to read installments of it to my class for ‘show and tell’ in year two. However, it wasn’t until I read Zadie Smith’s White Teeth that I seriously entertained the idea of pursuing a career in writing. This is possibly the first time White Teeth has been mentioned in the same paragraph as The Wombles.
11. What is your favourite word and why?
Gloaming. It evokes a wonderful sense of menace.
12. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
One! What a cruel question! Probably Pride and Prejudice.
Claire Zorn's debut novel, The Sky So Heavy, was published by UQP in August 2013.See our review here.
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