Name: Betty Gilderdale
Place of birth: London, England
Now living in: Auckland
- What is your favourite food?
- Apricots - raw, cooked, dried, crystallised!
- What was your most embarrassing moment?
- Probably too many to remember.
- How do you relax?
- Reading and walking.
- Who inspired you when you were little?
- My father.
- What were you like at school?
- Talkative - but I enjoyed many lessons.
- What was your favourite/most hated subject at school?
- Favourite: English and History
Most hated: Physical Education and Maths! - What was the book you most loved as a child?
- Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott.
- Which person from the past would you most like to meet?
- Shakespeare.
- Who is your favourite author/children’s author?
- Favourite children’s authors: Margaret Mahy and Dick King-Smith.
Favourite adult authors: Jane Austen and Jane Gardam. - Why did you want to be a writer?
- I always liked talking and writing was another way of talking.
- Do you have a special place where you write your books?
- Usually in my study.
- What’s the best thing and worst thing about being a writer?
- The best thing is doing something I enjoy.
The worst thing is when publishers do not market my work well. 
If you weren’t a writer, what would you like to be? - Prime Minister!
- What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
- Keep reading. Keep writing. Turn off the telly!
- Read some books written by Betty Gilderdale