Our Pass the Book Baton series took a break for the spring school holidays … and now it’s back! Every Friday we’ll feature a book creator who answers one question before throwing a new question to the next Friday visitor. (It’s kind of like a book relay in slow motion.) You can see earlier interviews in the series here.

You might remember that we left Tamsin Janu with the book baton in September. Today she passes the baton to Jen Storer. Welcome, Jen!

Jen Storer writes … she illustrates … and she has so many novels and picture books behind her! Her writing features humour, adventure, and sometimes horror.

Here are just some of her books:

Last month Tamsin Janu asked:

What is the absolute best thing about being a children’s author? What aspects of writing do you find the most challenging?

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Jen answers:

The best thing about writing for kids is meeting my readers! I love chatting to them in real life or via the post or email. I love seeing them dressed up as my characters, too, or when they use phrases my characters use.

I also love hearing from the parents of readers. Sometimes the letters from parents make me cry. A parent wrote to thank me for The Accidental Princess, it had comforted her daughter while she was dangerously ill and in hospital for a long time. Another parent wrote to say Clarrie Pig’s Day Out was the only story that calmed down her little boy after he’d had a terrible fright and would not come out from under his doona. These letters always amaze me. They’re the unexpected rewards that I hold dear.

I find the actual writing the most challenging aspect of being an author. I always want to do other stuff instead of sitting down and doing the writing! I have to bribe myself with chocolate.

For more about Jen Storer and her books — check out her website: girlandduck.com

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And now Jen passes the book baton to the next Friday visitor — Deb Fitzpatrick. Deb has published books for adults, teenagers, and children. Her latest book is The Spectacular Spencer Gray.

Jen asks:
“How long do you spend planning a book before you start writing it? Also, do you put people or animals you know into your stories? ”

Check in every Friday for mini interviews with children’s authors and illustrators. (You can catch up on all the interviews in the Pass the Book Baton series so far!)