Northern Highlight - Amy McCaw

 NORTHERN HIGHLIGHT

AMY McCAW

1. Why did you become a children’s writer?

I've wanted to be an author for as long as I can remember. I've still got notebooks crammed with neatly joined handwriting and animal illustrations, as well as any scrap of paper I could lay my hands on. By my teens, I was desperate to write a dark, entertaining book like the ones by my favourite authors. I've tried writing books for different ages, from young children to adults, but I always come back to YA. Those are the books I love to read, and for now they're all I want to write.

2. Tell us about where you live.

 I live in a South Yorkshire town called Doncaster, which is known for its market and horse racing. I've always like the fact that the countryside is only a short drive away, as well as numerous castles, ruined abbeys and other buildings with fascinating histories. 

3. Where do you write?

Lately, I write on the sofa with a laptop balanced on my knees while my baby is asleep. When I'm plotting out ideas, I like to use post-it notes and a large artist's sketchbook, so I do that at the dining table where I can spread out. I'd love to write in coffee shops and on trains again when we get back to some version of normalcy. There's something about writing around other people, with the buzz of background noise and tea flowing, that makes me feel more creative.

4. What for you is the ‘spirit of the North’?

The North immediately makes me think of down-to-earth, friendly people and gorgeous, rugged countryside.

5. Has this spirit influenced your work?

Even though Mina and the Undead (my debut) is set in 1995 New Orleans at a vampire festival, I wanted to bring in my northern roots. Mina is named after the main character from Dracula and is from Whitby, one of the settings in Dracula.

6. Who for you are the great northern children’s writers?

Two of my favourite northern authors write YA: Danielle Jawando and Cynthia Murphy. Danielle Jawando wrote the moving, beautifully written And the Stars Were Burning Brightly, which is perfect for fans of gritty contemporary YA. Cynthia Murphy wrote Last One to Die, a YA thriller full of horror, historical references and some of the tensest scenes I’ve ever read.  

7. If you could be transported to anywhere in the North right now, where would it be? 

I’m a big Brontë fan and I love visiting Haworth. The walk to the Brontë Waterfall is one of my favourites, with the most stunning views of the Yorkshire Moors.

8. What would you like to see from children's publishing in the North?

 

My publisher, UCLan Publishing, is committed to raising the profile of northern publishing. This is something I’d really like to see happening more widely, as a lot of opportunities for authors and those aspiring to work in publishing are still centred around London. 

9. What's your favourite children's book set in the North?

 

I loved Room 13 by Robert Swindells when I was growing up, which is a children’s horror novel set in Whitby. A group of children are staying in a creepy guest house on a school trip and sinister things start happening, things that are connecting to Whitby’s Gothic legends… I reread Room 13 to a class as a teacher and enjoyed it just as much as I did as a child (and so did they).

You can find Amy on Twitter and preorder Mina and the Undead here.