The questions from St Mary's Wellington appear above Nadia's responses:
FROM Nadia:
When was your first book published ?
My first book, FIVE TIMES DIZZY, was published in 1982. I wrote it in 1977, but it took a long time to get it published!
What gave you the idea for lukes way of looking?
I met Matt in Perth during one Children's Book Week, and asked if he would like to collaborate on a book, if I came up with a story. A couple of weeks later, I thought up the story of LUKE'S WAY OF LOOKING. It came in the middle of the night, when I was worrying about how I was going to deal with a whole lot of dreary adult problems. I guess the idea came partly through the fact that my partner Ken is a painter. I think I was influenced by his stories of growing up and going to school. As you might expect, Ken and I go to art galleries a lot, and we have always taken his two children. They are grown up now, but when they were younger it was interesting to see what they liked to look at.
Who is your favorite illustrator?
I love the work of lots of illustrators, including Maurice Sendak (in America) and John Birmingham (in England) and Ron Brooks (in Australia).
But it is not really a matter of choosing a "favourite" illustrator in
general. Different artists are suited for different stories. I chose Matt
for LUKE, because I thought he and Luke (the character) would fit well
together. As I explained above, I wrote the story especially for him.
What is your favourite book that you have published?
My favourite book that I have published is probably a YA novel called THE HOUSE THAT WAS EUREKA, which is being launched tomorrow night!
What made you think of the title?
The title was part of the idea that came in the night. It came so strongly
that I got out of bed and went into my study and wrote it down. Sometimes I get the title with the original idea -- as with LUKE'S WAY OF LOOKING and also my book MY PLACE. Other times the title takes years and years to come. (It can take me up to twenty years to write a book!)
Thanks again for writing... and all the best with your own writing.
Best wishes,
Nadia Wheatley
