Sarah Matthias - author

What memories do you have of reading when you were a child?
My favourite books were The Little White House by Elizabeth Gouge and Five Children and It by E Nesbit. I also used to read Noel Streatfield - things like White Boots, Ballet Shoes etc. I also loved Enid Blyton! I read the Five Find-outers and Dog stories and also the Famous Five and Malory Towers!. My introduction into adult fiction was through Jean Plaid's historical novels which gave me a taste for historical novelists like Georgette Heyer and Anya Seeton. Then I discovered the Brontë sisters and I was hooked on them for a long time. When I was about 15 I began to read Charles Dickens who is my favourite author.

Is there a reason that you chose to write books or poems for children rather than adults?
I have four children and I began writing for them. I might try to write for adults in the future but at the moment all my idea are for children's books. I really like children and I find the idea of exciting them to read with my writing very fulfilling. I also like the fact that with children's fiction you get to visit schools - I really love doing school events and RIF events.

What would you say to a reluctant male reader of any age?
Just read anything you like, whether it is the newspaper of fiction or factual accounts or picture books. Just read and try to discover what you like. There's no right and wrong about what you should read. Reading is for pleasure! My son who is fifteen read almost nothing until one day somebody gave him To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee. He did not move from his chair until he finished it and has read constantly ever since. He then read One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, 1984 and Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell. It was so odd how he suddenly found a love for reading from being sucked into book and finding what a pleasure it is to read!

What do you read with your children (if appropriate)?
I love a good story well told so I like things like Ann Pilling and Roald Dahl and Cornelia Funke. I like reading things that inspire my children's imaginations so something in the historical fantasy genre like Joan Aiken always goes down well.

Why do you think reading is fundamental?
If you want to know how to spell and to write and to communicate I believeyou need to read. Reading is the bedrock on which everything elseis built. If you want to know how to communicate you need to read good writing and find out how other people do it.

Where and when do you like to read?
I like to read in the bath and in bed and on the train and when I am walking my dog - she loves to run off and not come back so I spend ages waiting around for her to finish chasing squirrels etc so I always take a book. I also read walking along the street and I badly sprained my ankle falling down a kerb when I wsa walking along not looking where I was going!

Why do you think reading is fun?
I read biographies and history and also fiction. I love to be transported into another world with fiction so that I can forget all the stresses and strains of life and I like to read history and biography because I like to know all about things and about people.

Do you ever use your friends/family as models for characters in your book/poems? If so, do you tell them?
Not really. I think my characters are much weirder and more extreme then anyone I know. I think to model your characters on your friends and family would be a very good recipe for rows and broken friendships!!

If you weren't an author, what would you be?
I used to be a Barrister and then I taught Low in a university. I really enjoy teaching but I think I prefer teaching children to aduls and maybe I would like to be a Junior School Teacher. I have thoroughly enjoyed going into schools and talking about my book and doing RIF events. I enjoy seeing the children and talking to them about reading and writing .

What book/poem, or author/poet, has been most influential upon your writing?
Charles Dickens - definitely. He is absolutely my favourite author. I have read everything he has written - which is a great deal!

What advice would you give to a child who was interested in becoming an author/poet?
You need to have a really good imagination and be prepared to experiment with different styles of writing. Most of all you need to read books written by other people and think deeply about how they have created atmosphere and characters and suspense and pace - that sort of thing. Try writing short stories first - they are hard to do well but are more self-contained then a whole novel and a bit less daunting for someone starting out!

What do you do to relax (apart from read!)?
I enjoy cooking and seeing friendsand walking my dog. I also play the piano and the violin and I sing in a choir. I am in a book group too with my friends and we read books chosen by members of the group and we meet for a meal to discuss them. I like this because I read things I would never have picked for myself and often find I have really enjoyed what somebody else has chosen. I also like going to rugby. I am English but my husband is Welsh and we go to see Wales play rugby in Cardiff when the internationals are on. It is very exciting going to a stadium with 74,000 other people!

Who do you admire (author/poet or otherwise)?
I admire William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, the Bronte sisters and Wilkie Collins. I admire alots of authore. I also admire people who have done things that have helped the world such as scientists who have made wonderful discoveries such as LouisPasteur and Marie Curie and politicians who have changed the way we think about issues such as William Wilberforce or great war leaders such as Winston Churchill. I admire eople who stand up for their beliefs even if other people mock them such as the Suffragettes and Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Ghandi. I like people who don't just follow the crowed but will do what they believe to be right.

Did you have another career before you became an author/poet?
Yes. I worked for the BBC as a Journallist and then I trained to be a Barrister. After I had my four children I taught Law in a university and then I became a writer.

What was the strangest place you ever stopped to read a book?
Probably when I was giving birth to my daughter!

What is the best place you have ever been on holiday?
Istanbul. I like travelling and I am very interested in history. It is a fascinating city and I would like to go back there and spend more time there. I also like America but I have only ever been to New England which I really like.

Any finally...Marmite: friend or foe?
I LOVE MARMITE!

Bibliography: The Riddle of the Poisoned Monk.