Hiding an impressively large stash of chocolate in the cupboard where nobody else can find it.
2. Who is your favourite literary villain and why?
I have a favourite group of villains rather than a single one. The Bottersnikes in SA Wakefield’s children’s series, Bottersnikes and Gumbles are villainous green, wrinkly creatures with long pointed ears that turn red when they’re angry. They eat mattress stuffing, are the laziest creatures alive, and spend their days trying to shove the sweet giggly Gumbles into baked bean tins and roll them down the hill. Brilliant stuff.
3. You're hosting a literary dinner party, which 5 authors would you invite? (alive or dead)
I would invite five authors who have had a hold over me at various periods in my life. In sequential order they are: Dr Seuss, Judy Blume, Agatha Christie, Sylvia Plath and Helen Garner.
4. Which literary invention do you wish was real?
Well I’d quite like to be able to escape to a fantastical world, particularly one that involves battles and talking animals. So I’d have to say the wardrobe in the CS Lewis classic, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.
5. What are 5 words that describe your writing process?
Messy, procrastinating, caffeinated, quiet, unplanned.
6. Which are the 5 words you would like to be remembered by as a writer?
Died with pencil in hand.
7. Picture your favourite writing space. What are 5 objects you would find there?
A laptop. A blunt pencil. Scrap paper. A half-drunk cup of coffee. And a bag of jelly snakes.
8. Grab the nearest book, open it to page 22 and look for the second word in the first sentence. Now, write a line that starts with that word.
The nearest book is Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell and the word is cabin.
Cabin wished his parents had named him something normal like Tom or Jack, because he was tired of all the questions every time he introduced himself.
9. Think of a new title for your favourite book.
Firstly, I’m really bad at titles. And secondly, I have many favourite books, so I’m choosing one that I’ve reread most recently.
The book is: Came Back to Show You I Could Fly by Robin Klein
My new title with apologies to Robin Klein is: Remember me when
10. What advice would you give to your 10 year old self?
Ignore anyone who tells you not to be a writer and keep writing. Oh and also you will really regret getting a flick perm and washing it out when you get home.
11. If you could ask one author one question, what would it be?
I’d ask Joan Lindsay about why she wrote Chapter 18, the excised final chapter of Picnic at Hanging Rock that was published posthumously in 1987.
12. Which would you rather: 'to never write another story or never read another book'?
That is impossible to answer. So I’ve come up with a loophole. I’d never read another book because I’d get someone else to read to me, or listen to audio books because it’s technically not reading. That way I get to keep them both!
Nova Weetman is an Australian writer whose work includes books for children and teens, articles for literary journals and screenplays for children's television and short films. Her novels include Frankie and Jolie, and The Haunting of Lily Frost. Her latest book is The Secrets we Keep, a middle fiction novel published by UQP. Visit Nova's website for more information about her books and other writing projects.
