BEST LOVED CHARACTERS

YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE FAVOURITES

Giving birth to your books may not be quite as difficult as giving birth to your children, but, my God!, it's almost as hard work.

Naturally, once there you don't have favourites amongst your children, but it's a different story with your books.

Of all my novels, THE MYSTERY OF CRAVEN MANOR (for middle range children) has been the most successful so far,  but my softest spot is for Nick, the hero of CABBAGE BOY, a tragi-comedy for Teens and Young Adults.

Nick, going on sixteen, is a chronic worrier. He worries about his lack of height (sister Becca is already four inches taller), his cowardice, his virginity, his lack of friends, the fact that he's always the last to be chosen for anything - the list goes on and on. At last Nick finds a friend, an unusual one, and that's the biggest worry of all.

Not everything ends well. There's comedy and a touch of romance, but also sadness. Yet through it all Nick, despite his personal problems, behaves heroically.
I love him.