Lucy Strange

Lucy Strange is a bestselling children’s author. Her novels for booklovers aged 9+ include The Secret of Nightingale Wood, Our Castle by the Sea and The Ghost of Gosswater.
Lucy Strange pic

What was your favourite childhood book and why?

So many to choose from – I devoured all sorts of adventures and mysteries as a young bookworm. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett will always be a favourite, and a clear influence on my writing too – it’s so full of magic and mystery and hope. I used to listen to the audiobook every night when I went to bed, and I think the words seeped into my unconscious brain as I slept!

Which of your own books is your favourite and why?

The book I most enjoyed writing was my spooky gothic mystery story The Ghost of Gosswater – I had that brilliant feeling of being lost in an imaginative world: I fell asleep thinking about it, and I woke up thinking about it, and I couldn’t wait to get back to my desk to write the next chapter! I’ve also LOVED working on The Mermaid and the Millpond – a new, short, illustrated novel for Barrington Stoke. It was such a fun challenge to fit all my favourite story ingredients into a much shorter book!

Why do you choose to read?

It isn’t always easy to find time to read, but I’m always glad when I do. I put my phone out of reach and get all comfy with a hot drink. Then I open my book . . .  It is time for me to think and to imagine, to escape to other worlds and to live other lives. Reading has given me so much: it has filled my brain with words and ideas; it has filled my heart with adventures and magic. To quote one of my own characters – Grammy, in Sisters of the Lost Marsh: ‘Even if they are made up, stories are full of the truth. Stories are the places where we learn and feel and dream . . . ’

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