INTERVIEW
What was your favourite childhood book?
It’s impossible for me to choose one. Every book I read as a child, even the picture books I spent so long looking at, threw me into worlds of adventure and totally captivated me. Perhaps it’s the diversity in reading that inspires? Every book – a new story….another adventure!
Did you have lots of books as a child?
So many you won’t believe….
As a child, who were your favourite authors?
From Tove Jansson through Enid Blyton, Nesbit, Frances Hodgson Brunet, Mark Twain, Jack London, Lewis Carol, Kipling, C.S. Lewis, and Tolkein - I loved them all; their books gave me joy and moved me to tears. Hans Andersen’s ‘Little Match Girl’ is still the saddest story I think I’ve ever read in my life, I cried my way practically all the way through ‘Call Of The Wild’ and ‘The Lord Of The Rings’ (in my opinion) is still the greatest masterpiece ever written in the genre of fantasy.
What sort of books were you into as a teen?
I don’t think there were any books specially written for teens when I was that age. If there were, I never heard of them. In my teenage years, sadly, I had far less time for reading. Exams had to be passed and the workload really increased in the school I was in but whenever I got the chance, I read mainly historical novels and science fiction - Victoria Holt, Isaac Asimov and Leon Uris were my favourite authors during this period.
As you've grown older, how has your reading evolved?
Oh gosh….gasp…TERRIBLE! From the time I met my husband and set off wandering about in various parts of Africa (for twenty years) I suppose I stopped ‘reading for escapism and adventure’ and lived my own adventures instead. During this period of my life I had no time to read and when I finally came out of Africa and settled in France, inspired by the big old farmhouse that we live in and the nature all around me, my love of reading transferred into writing.
Name one book you couldn't live without?
The Bible….It radically changed my life. The answer to ‘the world the universe and everything’ is found inside its pages!
What inspired you to write ‘Six Minutes Past Midnight’?
Someone told me once – ‘If you want to write, write about something that you know’ ‘Six Minutes Past Midnight’ was born out of a collection of joyful childhood memories mostly from Denmark, combined with the inspiration from rural France all spun together and thrown into the dimension of fiction. The girl’s attic bedroom is based on our attic bedroom here in France. The Laurel tree which grows past the corner of the roof – exists. The barn owl lives in our barn. The mysterious path of pink and yellow bricks is in our garden and I have done that glorious bike ride from Copenhagen to Alborg. ..er only it wasn’t in the 18th Century.
How long did it take to write/complete?
You know, it took me AGES!!! A full two years to put it all together.
What are the characters like?
Ah, now that’s funny. They’re all strong characters and some are actually based on real people who I know very well. One whole chapter was inspired by two children who came along with their parents on a visit and the characters ‘Annelouise and Frederik’ reflect these two real life children.
What are the best qualities of ‘Six Minutes Past Midnight?’
From a reader’s perspective, I would say that the book manages to captivate several ages at once. Younger children are drawn into the fast moving action and adventure, older ones relate to the twists and surprises, all ages laugh at the navigator and parents find humour in ‘tongue in cheek’ digs at electronic translators and car specifications applied to bicycles etc. Practically every chapter ends in a cliff hanger and with two storylines going on in alternating chapters it keeps the reader on two cliff hangers instead of one - It makes ‘Six minutes Past Midnight’ very difficult to put down… I think. Perhaps the best quality from an author perspective is that the book is ‘wholesome.’ There’s nothing nasty, inappropriate or upsetting for children in its pages. As an author, I believe this is very important.
Who would this book appeal to?
Judging from the feedback I’ve had, everyone who has read the book seems to have really enjoyed it. A comment came in from a 74 year old friend of mine yesterday. He said, ’Why do you keep saying it’s for children? This is a book that Grandparents would LOVE to read to their grandchildren.’ So in conclusion, I would say ‘Six Minutes Past Midnight’ will appeal to anyone with a heart for adventure and a sense of humour who are searching for a real action packed, enthralling ‘tall tale.’ Also, it’s possible, that being ‘culturally different’ may also be a part of the book’s appeal.
Could we have a synopsis of ‘Six Minutes Past Midnight?’
Due to the twists and surprises and because two stories are intertwined, a synopsis is really difficult to do without giving things away. I can only say that Angie and Crystal wake up in the middle of the night to the greatest adventure of their lives and a boy named Hans, living in another age is taken out of his ‘comfort zone’ and thrown headlong into a blinding snowstorm in 18th Century Denmark.. But that’s just the beginning!
Will there be another book?
Yes, I really have to do a sequel. So many parents and children are pestering me for more - and that makes it all worthwhile… doesn’t it? So I’m scribbling away again.
Do you think society has an issue with reading?
The world changes doesn’t it? Everything seems so fast paced now ‘so much to do so little time’ There are computers and cell phones and so much to watch on tv. To some, these are all alternatives to reading. If once though, the joy of reading is discovered, especially at an early age, I believe that it can never be replaced by anything else.
Do you think children are bored of reading now a days?
I really believe that if a child is bored of reading, then the problem is the book - not the child. In general, children have short attention spans and what excites a young mind is a fast moving story line and lots of action. Stories must have the ability to hold a child’s attention, spin them into worlds of make believe, and be so fascinating that they cannot put the book down. Children have the ability to ‘live’ stories along with the characters in them and good children’s books inspire the high levels of imagination that belong mainly to children.
Do you think reading inspires imagination?
Yes absolutely! It’s purely because I was such an avid reader from such an early age that I’m writing today. I feel so lucky that I grew up with all the ‘golden oldies’ (which were not classed as ‘dated’ when I was a child). There were no ‘cyber nasty’s’ then, good books were just that…GOOD books! Excellent, mind blowing brilliant reads which excited and stimulated my young mind and taught me how to ‘live’ a story. In a small way ‘Six Minutes Past midnight’ is a reflection of that glorious experience of ‘stepping into the pages of a book’ that I experienced so many times, when I was a child and an insatiable book worm. And I hope that every child who reads my little book will discover the joy of ‘living’ it too.
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I absolutlely loved interviewing Annie Christensen, we had lots of fun e-mailing back and forth, questions were changed slightly in order to sound better. Her answers were brilliant, thankyou Annie for letting me wreak havoc on you for a while.
Tomorrow I shall be reviewing 'Six Minutes Past Midnight.' in my book review, I have not yet decided which other book to review?? Maybe 'Neverdark' By C.S. Enfield? We shall see.
And a huge thankyou to Kevin Kimmage for helping me, you know what for, thankyou.
I absolutlely loved interviewing Annie Christensen, we had lots of fun e-mailing back and forth, questions were changed slightly in order to sound better. Her answers were brilliant, thankyou Annie for letting me wreak havoc on you for a while.
Tomorrow I shall be reviewing 'Six Minutes Past Midnight.' in my book review, I have not yet decided which other book to review?? Maybe 'Neverdark' By C.S. Enfield? We shall see.
And a huge thankyou to Kevin Kimmage for helping me, you know what for, thankyou.
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