Julia Jarman

Julia was born on 28 March just after the war had ended. Her parents called her their peace-baby. She lives in Riseley, a village north of Bedford, with her husband Peter and two cats. The cats are called Mr Grey and Ms Mitten.

“I put all my pets into my books so I can remember them after they’ve gone. Ka, the cat in ‘The Time Travelling Cat’, is a mixture of the two cats and a third, Mrs Gingerbits who died a few months ago. She has the wandering nature of Mr Grey, the super-intelligence of Mrs Gingerbits and the affectionate nature of Ms Mitten.”

Julia became a teacher after studying English and drama at university. She got married and had three children, who have grown-up now and left home. It was her daughter who encouraged her to start writing. “One day I told my daughter Josie about something very naughty I’d done as a child and she said ‘You should write that down. You’ve always said you wanted to be a writer really.’ So I did – in ‘When Poppy Ran Away’.”

When she was a child, Julia read as much as possible, finding secret places where no one would disturb her. She also went to the library, sometimes twice a day. She is convinced this helped her to become a writer.

Her advice for want-to-be writers is, “Read, read, read. Write, write, write. And don’t expect it to turn out right first time. Most writers do many drafts. I do. And spend some time every day doing nothing except thinking and imagining.”

Her latest book is entitled ‘The Curse of Tommy Bones’, part of the Collins Soundbites revolutionary series for 11-14 year olds with poor literacy skills, and is available from the end of April 2001.