Hello! Do you have a question about Takeshita Demons or writing or me? Hopefully I've answered some of your questions below. You can also search my blog or email me (cj AT cristyburne.com) directly to say HI.
How do you pronounce "Takeshita"?
"Takeshita" is actually two words: "ta-ke", meaning "bamboo", and "shita", meaning "beneath". You pronounce it ta-ke-shta.
What you usually write about and who you write for?
I love to write about adventures and dangerous escapades (because adventures and dangerous escapades are super-exciting). I almost always write for children (because children are so good at adventures and dangerous escapades).
Why do you write?
I write because I love reading. It's SO MUCH FUN to create stories and ideas in my head and share them with other people. I can’t imagine my life without all the intrigues and mysteries of reading.
Where do you write?
I write wherever I can, usually on the dining room table (with my keys, two empty glasses, the radio, a letter from my bank, 80 pence, some chocolate and about twelve pens). Sometimes, when I’m feeling rich, I write in a coffee shop. I take care to sip my coffee slowly, so I can stay and write for hours.
What inspired you to enter the Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Award?
I think the media that we consume—the things we read and watch and listen to—helps to shape the people we become and the way our society functions. As a writer, I can contribute to that media, and perhaps influence the society we are creating. As a very-soon-parent-to-be, I want my children to be exposed to different ideas, and to enjoy different ways of thinking and doing. Reading provides a magical door into understanding and celebrating that diversity.
What was your favourite book as a child?
How could I ever choose just one favourite book? As a kid I read and read and read, sometimes reading six or seven books at the same time. I read hundreds of mystery adventure stories: The Secret Seven and Famous Five, The Hardy Boys, The Three Investigators, Trixie Beldon, Nancy Drew (though I was a bit annoyed that Nancy was always being rescued by her boyfriend Ned; why couldn’t she just rescue herself?).
Two books that stand out from my childhood in New Zealand are Under the Mountain by Maurice Gee and The Haunting by Margaret Mahy. Beware: both are really exciting and a little bit scary.
