Ask an author

Introducing our new blog series, ‘Ask An Author’!

Contents

    Are you a writer who dreams of being a successful author? Or perhaps you’re just curious about what life as an author is really like… Either way, you’re in the right place!

    We’re delighted to introduce Ask An Author, our brand new blog series where we put all your burning questions to successful writers. Whether you’re wondering how to juggle a full-time job with writing, navigating the tricky terrain of imposter syndrome or just trying to figure out how to stay motivated, this series will have you covered.

    We’ll be bringing you the first piece very soon, so watch this space. In the meantime, read on to meet the authors!

    Ali Clack

    After University, A. J. Clack (also known as Ali!) moved to London to pursue a career in television. She worked on a wide range of shows from Teletubbies to Friends, while also writing development scripts/pilots for children’s tv and plays for the Edinburgh Fringe. She now writes YA and lives in Suffolk with a houseful of teenagers. She can often be found freezing on the side of a rugby or football pitch.

    Her debut novel, Lie or Die, is a contemporary YA novel. ‘Big Brother meets Mafia’, Lie or Die pits contestants against each other as they try to discover who is a murderous agent and who is an innocent player. The sequel, Blood Moon, is coming soon.

    You can buy Lie or Die here.

    Cara Miller

    Cara started working life in publishing as an editorial assistant for her mother, Judith Miller, on the Miller’s Antique Price Guide and as a researcher for the Antique Hunter’s Guide to Europe and then went into hospitality and events. After she had children, she decided to follow her long-held dream of becoming an author and took time out to concentrate full-time on her writing.

    Her debut, The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder was an instant international / USA Today bestseller. Her second book, Death on the Red Sea is out on Feb 13th – you can preorder it here, or click here to visit her website.

    Sue Cunningham

    Sue H Cunningham writes young adult fiction with humour and a hint of magic. She won the Write Mentor Children’s Novel Award 2020 and was a SCBWI Undiscovered Voices winner in 2022. She has also been shortlisted/longlisted for other awards including Northern Writers’ 2022, Bath Children’s Novel Award 2020, Sussex Amazing Book Awards 2024 and Buckinghamshire Book Awards 2024. Her debut YA murder mystery, TOTALLY DECEASED, was published in October 2023 and her new supernatural romcom, CLOUD NINE, publishes in February 2025.

    Sue lives in Manchester with her husband, two sons and a female cockapoo (a last-ditch attempt to even up the sexes). When she’s not writing, or tripping over electric guitar cables and decapitated squeaky toys, she works for the NHS.

    You can follow Sue on Instagram, Bluesky and TikTok @suehcunningham and X (Twitter) @susywrites.

    Sebastien de Castell

    Sebastien de Castell’s acclaimed swashbuckling fantasy series, The Greatcoats, was shortlisted for both the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Fantasy and the Gemmell Morningstar Award. His YA fantasy series, Spellslinger, is published in more than a dozen languages. He spends his time writing, travelling, and going on strange adventures.

    Read more about Sebastien’s adventures and latest releases here.

    Laila Rifaat

    Laila writes children’s novels mostly set in and inspired by Cairo, Egypt, where she lives with her husband, four children and adopted street-cat, Moxie. When she’s not writing, editing, or plotting her next novel, you’ll probably find her reading with a cup of coffee or binging on period dramas, preferably British. She’s also a horse-crazy football/Swiftie mum.

    Laila’s debut, Aliya to the Infinite City was published by Chicken House Books in 2024, with the sequel, Aliya Aboard the Time Train published soon after. Find out more about Laila here.

    Kirsty Collinson

    K. Collinson is a romantasy writer. She grew up on the west coast of Scotland surrounded by dramatic landscapes, ruined castles, and stories of heroes who battled the odds for freedom. Inspired by her Scottish heritage, she creates Celtic-themed worlds which bring to life great heroines from our past, not to mention the occasional monster that once roamed the glens.

    She is represented by Helen Boyle of Pickled ink and is a member of SCBWI-UK, the Society of Authors, and the British Fantasy Society. She has written feminist business columns for the national press, mentors women in tech, and has won Entrepreneur of the Year awards for her nonfiction publishing and tech businesses. She now lives in Leeds.

    Sarah Brooks

    Sarah Brooks is an author and academic based in Leeds. Her novel The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands won the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize in 2019 and a Northern Debut Award from New Writing North in 2021.

    It was published in June 2024 by Weidenfeld and Nicolson in the UK, and Flatiron in the US, and was a Sunday Times Bestseller. It was selected for the Goldsboro Books Prem1er collection. She is also Deputy Director of the Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing, and co-editor of Samovar, a bilingual online magazine of speculative fiction in translation.

    You can find out more about Sarah here.

    Alex Atkinson

    Alex Atkinson loves scary books filled with oddball characters. She blames her idyllic North Yorkshire childhood spent playing murder-in-the-dark and listening to her dad’s blood-curdling bedtime stories.

    After studying English and Politics at Newcastle University, she worked as a website content editor. She lives in a busy village in Hertfordshire with her husband, kids and dogs, but dreams of deserted towns, abandoned houses, ghosts and zombies.

    Her debut novel, The Cinderman, published by Usborne in 2024, is the first in the Spooksmiths Investigate series: spooky tales packed with mystery, adventure and humour. Find out more about Alex and her spine-chilling activities here.

    Jessica Popplewell

    Jess Popplewell is the author of The Dark Within Us, the Times/Chicken House Chairman’s Prize winner for 2022. She writes YA and dark-ish fantasy, and by day she’s also a careers advisor.

    She was raised in the historic city of York, so she absolutely thinks about the Roman Empire more than is normal. And the Danelaw. And the Harrying of the North, which she still hasn’t forgiven the Normans for.

    Jess got her undergraduate degree in English and Creative Writing from Lancaster University in 2011 and her MA in Creative Writing from York St John University in 2016. She’s also a former gothy emo kid, traits which continually crop up in all her writing.

    You can read more about Jessica’s books and other things she’s up to here.

    Katja Kaine

    Katja Kaine is an up and coming YA fantasy author, who writes immersive narratives that weave Asian-inspired fantasy with strong feminist themes. Her writing has won several awards and has secured her a major six-figure deal with Penguin Random House with her debut novel Blood of Gods and Girls, to be published in 2026.

    She is half-German and half-Singaporean and lives in a decrepit mansion in West Yorkshire with three adults, two children, two cats, one dog and way too many spiders. She can usually be found wandering through ancient woodland or raging at the patriarchy.

    She is also the visionary behind The Novel Factory, a leading software for writers, designed to be a novelist’s complete creative companion. You can read more about Katja’s journey to publication here.

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