Today in our ‘Getting to know’ segment we meet Annabelle Sami author of Llama Out Loud and Agent Zaiba Investigates series.
Hey Annabelle, tell us a little about yourself…
Hi! My name’s Annabelle and I write children’s books. I also write poetry for fun and the occasional script. Sometimes I work for an arts organisation too called Fevered Sleep, helping them make their performance work.
Tell us about your latest book…
I have two series out at the moment, Agent Zaiba Investigates and Llama Out Loud. Agent Zaiba is about a girl whose biggest dream is to be a secret agent. In each book she finds a different mystery to solve with the help of her best friend and little brother. Llama Out Loud is about a shy girl called Yasmin who wants to learn to stand up for herself more, unfortunately the thing that comes to help her do that is a talking toy Llama called Levi. He’s very sassy and VERY loud!
What was your nickname at school? (If you had one)
Anni. But only my family are allowed to call me that now!
Were you good at writing at school?
Yes! In my opinion it doesn’t matter if you’re good at it, as long as you love it and try your best. I used to stay up for hours after school trying to write the longest stories for our homework – I wanted to have the most pages written in the class!
What was your favourite book as a child?
Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson (amongst others!)
What was it that inspired you to become a writer?
It’s the only job I ever wanted to do! My mum inspired me to really pursue it though so I owe it to her.
What are common traps for aspiring writers?
Trying to copy other people’s writing style or trying to follow trends. Being original and writing a story from your heart will always give you the best outcome.
If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
Stop being so dramatic and try to get some jokes in there!
What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?
My dad is Pakistani so half of my family speak Urdu. I can’t speak the language so at a lot of family gatherings me and my sister would sit not knowing what people were saying. Being able to use the small amount of shared language I have with my relatives is really important and helps me feel close to them.
What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?
I have online author friends… but not real life ones, yet!
If you weren’t a writer, what would you be doing?
I mentioned earlier that I work for an arts company so I’d probably be doing that. I love making live shows, both performing onstage and helping to create the work, it’s so exciting.
Has a book ever made you cry? What was it?
Lots of books have made me cry. I used to cry a lot at Michael Morpurgo books, he’s one of my favourite authors ever. He signed one of my books when I was little and now I’m with the same publisher as him!
What is your writing Kryptonite?
People trying to talk to me when I’m writing. I have to be completely alone to get in the zone!
What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
Lots of money on coffee and chocolate…
As a writer, what would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal?
Levi the llama from my book, Llama Out Loud. It’s the first children’s book I ever wrote so I can imagine him on my shoulder going, ‘Oi! Annabelle! Hurry up and write me another story!’
What does literary success look like to you?
When a child says they liked my book, or that it made them smile.
Do you Google yourself?
Sometimes when I need to find a link to buy my books online … luckily I’m not famous so there are no embarrassing paparazzi photos!
And most importantly… What is your favourite biscuit?
A chocolate malted milk, yummmmmmm.
Many thanks to Annabelle for being quizzed and revealing a little on family life and what it takes to be an author. And your choice of biscuit is ?
You can follow Annabelle on Twitter and if you’d like to buy Annabelle’s books please do from your local independent book shop if you can!
Buy ‘Llama out Loud’ from Bookwagon
Buy ‘Agent Zaiba Investigates’ From Hive
Or check out Waterstones
*If you would like to do your own q&a to feature on the blog then send me an email…
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