umcover.jpgOhmystars - I’m totes exciteable.

Karen McCombie’s new book, Urgent Message of Wowness is out now and we have 5 copies of the book to give away - I know, we spoil you right?

Well, as if that wasn’t enough, Karen, author of Ally’s World, Stella Etc and lots and lots of other faboos books for girls, has come to play in our world o’ pink - we’ve put on our most favourite pair of spangly-glitter pumps, laid out the gingham table cloth and are servin’ pink lemonade and cupcakes - wanna join us?

Describe the sparkly-gorgeous author girl Karen in five words…
Scottish, confident, shy, calm, ditzy.

Have you always wanted to be an author-girl and how did you make it happen?
When I was eight, my teacher Miss Thomson (who always praised my short stories) told me I should write a book one day. I forgot about that for (lots of) years, then when I was working on teen mags, I scribbled a few short stories for them and suddenly thought, “Hmmm, I’d love to try and write a book… can I?” Luckily, I could. Yay!

You have written so many books - we love Ally’s world, Stella Etc. and Indie Kidd bestest, who are your favourites and why?
It’s going to sound a cop-out, but I like them all. Ally’s a funny worrier, like me aged 13; Stella has that shy-person-with-a-small-ball-of-confidence-inside that I had as a teenager (I’ve reversed that, and now I’m a confident person with a small ball of shyness inside!); and Indie has a mum with my dream job – if I wasn’t an author – which is working in an animal rescue centre.

What do you dig most about being an author girl?
I feel like I’m a bit good at it. Especially when I get e-mails from girls who’ve read my books and tell me how they make them laugh, or make them enjoy reading, or have cheered them up when they’ve been going through a rough time. And that feels great.

You used to work for the faboos teen mag Just 17, what was it like working on a teen magazine and how is it different to writing books?
A squillion miles different. On magazines, you write fairly short articles, and lots of them, very fast. To write a whole, loooonnnngggg book is a totally different thing. I guess my magazine training helped me with getting story ideas straight in my head (with a beginning, middle and end) and taught me to write quickly.

Tell us about your writing day, Karen…
After I drop my daughter Milly off at school, I get back to the house and start writing in my ‘office’, which is a corner of the playroom, so I’m surrounded by soft toys and lots of ‘babies’. (ALL of Milly’s babies are called Niall, which is the name of her best friend’s baby brother). Or sometimes when I’m a bit fidgety and restless, I take my laptop to the café at the garden centre round the corner and work there (and, er, eat cake). Or sometimes I work in my husband Tom’s office up in the loft, with the amazing view in front of me of Alexandra Palace, which of course stars in the ‘Allys World’ series!
I’d love to listen to music when I work, but I can’t ‘cause I’d end up dancing and singing along instead of working (oops).

How long does it take you to complete a book?
It takes me a couple of months to write a book. I like to write lots and fast – it keeps me hooked on the story and more in the mindset of the characters. Straight after I finish a book, I get very stupid and can’t finish sentences, as if I’ve used up all the words in my head on my book.

What books rocked your world when you were growing up?
The ‘Little House On The Prairie’ series did it for me; I’ve always had a thing about pioneering days, and would love to time-travel back and visit prairies and see roving herds of buffalo. Because I’m Scottish, I’m aware that lots of poor Scots emigrated over the centuries to America, and it blows my mind to think of some young girl from a slum in a Scottish city landing in the vast expanses of America… wow. I still re-read the series every few years.
I also loved Paula Danziger books, and ‘Catcher In The Rye’ by JD Salinger, and my favourite ‘kids’’ book of all, which was/is ‘The Strange Affair Of Adelaide Harris’ by Leon Garfield. It’s really dark and funny, and sadly, hard to get hold of. But v.v.v. worth it if you do!

Who and what makes you jump-in-the-air happy?
The ‘who’ would be my gorgeous, funny, sweet little daughter Milly, who is four-and-a-half-and-three-quarters, according to her.
The ‘what’ would be small stuff; I’m very big on small pleasures. Patting cats, a walk in the woods, having friends around for food and yakking about nonsense; brilliant.

What’s the Karen McCombie theme tune?
Milly adores the movie ‘Flushed Away’, and we’ve seen it heaps of times. I’m particularly fond of the slugs in it, and when a bunch of slugs sailed by in the sewers singing ‘Don’t worry, be happy!’, I thought, “Now that’s a pretty good thought!”

What’s next in the world of Karen?
Ooh, a whole new series, which I’m starting right now, if not sooner. I’m very excited and a little bit scared.

What advice do you have for would-be author girls?
Keep EVERYTHING you write, even if you think it’s pants. Come back to it and re-read it later, and you might see a funny line, an interesting idea or a fun character you could pinch from it and use in future stories.

The colour pink. Discuss.
Tea-rose pink, magnolia pink, cherry-blossom pink – mmm.

umcover.jpgAbout Urgent Message of Wowness:
Somebody stop the mayhem!
Heather thinks everyone in her family comes from Planet Perfect. Everyone except her, that is. Then dad drops a bombshell, and the world turns upside down…
Life’s become surprising, exciting and just a little bit mad - but is this topsy-turvy new family somewhere Heather can fit in?

WIN! WIN! WIN! For your chance to win a copy of Karen’s brand new book, Urgent Message of Wowness - send an email to: Lola@pink-world.co.uk with ‘Urgent Message of Wowness’ in the subject box before May 10th - good luck!
visit Karen’s site: www.karenmccombie.com