Elen Caldecott

I get sent lots of questions. I do reply to all of them, but I post some of the answers here too so that everyone can read them. If you would like to ask a question, write it in the box on the right hand side of this page.

I had a lovely message from Humna after meeting her at a talk in Oxford. She said she thought 'How Ali Ferguson Saved Houdini' was a great mystery and now she can't wait to read 'Operation Eiffel Tower'. - Thanks, Humna!

A question from Clare: Did anyone inspire you to become a writer?

Elen writes: Kind of. I started writing in junior school. Like most people, I was told to write stories in class. One day, I wrote a really dark story about a girl visiting another planet where giant spiders tried to eat her soul. Cheerful stuff. I remember my teacher telling me that it was good. That praise stayed with me and gave me encouragement. Once I left school, I did write in secret, but it took me a long time to be brave enough to show my work to anyone.

A quick comment from Amy after a school visit: I really found your talk interesting.

Elen writes: Thanks, Amy. I'm glad. I love visiting schools and libraries. I like to share some of my tips on how to write exciting stories. Hopefully, people leave full of ideas about stories of their own. Happy writing!

Two short and sweet questions from Scarlett: What happened to Dawn's ipod? If it was lost was she mad?

Elen writes: This is a great question and one no-one has asked before. I think that the ipod would have been lost for a little while, but once the dust had settled, Kirsty was probably able to get it back. Dawn might have been angry for a bit, but I like to think that she would have been impressed by Kirsty's plan, don't you?

A bit of a cheeky question this, as it was emailed to me by MY BROTHER! But it's a fair question, so I'm putting it up. Marc asks - In 'How Kirsty Jenkins Stole The Elephant' , are there elements of your personal life that have been brought into the book?

Elen writes: Yes...and no. There are lots of things I feel passionately about. For example, I think it's important to listen to children when they say what they think. This belief of mine made it into the story. I also think it's important to show that half-brothers and -sisters can love each other very much. I don't think there's enough of that in books; so that made it in. But if you are asking me, is my life like Kirsty's, then the answer is no! I have never stolen anything from a museum.

Two questions from Ellie - Do you have any brothers or sisters? Do you have any recommendations for books?

Elen writes: Yes, I have lots of brothers and sisters. Like many of the characters in my books, my parents divorced when I was young and remarried. This means I have half- and step- siblings as well as a 'full' sister. My siblings are very important to me, I love spending time with them, even if we squabble sometimes! My youngest brother was born when I was 23, so he is still young enough to play games with and build snowmen and that kind of thing.

I do have some favourite books that I'd like to recommend. I love Hilary McKay's Casson family series (the first one is called Saffy's Angel). I also like Frank Cottrell Boyce's books, especially Framed because it is set in Wales, where I was born. I also like some older books, like The Secret Garden and The Little Princess (Hilary McKay wrote a sequel to The Little Princess called Wishing For Tomorrow, which is brilliant!). For slightly older readers I would also recommend Holes by Louis Sachar which is a funny, moving and magical book. Thanks for your questions, Ellie!

From Hannah: Where do you get ideas for your books from? Is it hard to write a book?

Elen writes: I like to visit museums and galleries. Quite often a picture I see, or an object will spark an idea for a story. I will ask myself questions about the person in the picture, or the artist behind it. Who are they? How did they live? What problems did they have? I will ask lots and lots of questions and hopefully the seed of a story will emerge.

It is quite hard to write a book. Mostly, making yourself sit still for long enough to do it. I take about two months to write a first draft, then another six or eight months to edit it. So, from start to finish, it takes me about a year to write a novel.

Some questions from Lucy - How old is Kirsty? How old is Dawn? How old is Ben? How old are you?

Elen writes: When I wrote the story down, I didn't want to say exactly how old everyone was, because I think that way, everyone can think that Kirsty is about their age. When I was at primary school, when I was in Year 4, I thought that the Year 6s were so old they were nearly grown up (to be honest I was a little bit afraid of some of them). I didn't want anyone to feel that way about Kirsty (because she isn't scary at all, as I'm sure you know). So, she is about 8 in the story. Ben is about 11, and Dawn is about 14. They're all older now, of course, because it takes a long time for a book to be written.

I am 33. Which is quite grown-up. But I'm not scary either.

A question from Mia - I really like How Kirsty Jenkins Stole the Elephant. Are you doing any more books?

Elen writes: Thanks very much and yes! The next book is called How Ali Ferguson Saved Houdini. It is set in Kirsty's town, but has different characters in it. This time, Ali, who has just moved to the estate with his mum, has to investigate some strange night-time goings-on and as well as save his mum from danger. Next year I have another book coming out which is called Operation Eiffel Tower.