Name: Janet Pates
Date of birth: 22 March 1935
Place of birth: Pukekohe
Now living in: Tuakau (in the Franklin District)
- What is your favourite food?
- My friend Bev’s fig and chocolate cake.
- What was your most embarrassing moment?
- Losing the button off my knickers. (It was during the war, and you couldn’t buy elastic, so the button was what held them up!)
- How do you relax?
- Reading, walking, gardening.
- Who inspired you when you were little?
- My first teacher. She was very pretty and wore a striped dress.
- What were you like at school?
- Quiet. Usually had my nose in a book.
- What was your favourite/most hated subject at school?
- Favourite - English. Most hated - Maths
- What was the book you most loved as a child?
- Coral Island, by R. M. Ballantyne.
- Which person from the past would you most like to meet?
- King Arthur.
- Who is your favourite author/children’s author?
- Adult: T. H. White. Children's: Vince Ford or Fleur Beale (it’s a toss up!)
- Why did you want to be a writer?
- Because I've always loved books and admired writers.
- Do you have a special place where you write your books?
- Yes. A small room with my computer, lots of children’s drawings and photographs.
- What’s the best thing and worst thing about being a writer?
- Best: seeing your book in the bookshops. Worst: worrying that you might never get a good idea again.
If you weren’t a writer, what would you like to be?- An entomologist (someone who studies insects).
- What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
- Read a lot, and write a lot. Start when you are young, and keep going even when you get rejected.
- Read a short story by Janet Pates
- Read some books written by Janet Pates
- More information about Janet Pates