Name: Linda McNabb
Date of birth: 16 August 1963
Place of birth: Rutland, England
Now living in: Auckland
- What is your favourite food?
- Chocolate!
- Do you have a nickname and if so what is it?
- There have been a few nicknames over the years but none have ever stuck (thankfully). Most of my friends call me Lin.
- What was your most embarrassing moment?
- I have a few of them and they are all due to my shocking memory. I often see people who greet me by name and I usually have no idea where I have met them. I usually remember their name just as they walk away!
- How do you relax?
- I sit somewhere quiet (hard to find at times) with a good book or I go for a walk alongside a creek on the reserve.
- Who inspired you when you were little?
- Other writers. The more books I read the more I wanted to write.
- What were you like at school?
- I was a bit of a dreamer. When a subject didn’t really hold my attention I wandered off into my own imaginary world. This didn’t help much when it came time to do the tests though!
- What was your favourite/most hated subject at school?
- I didn’t actually hate sports but I wasn’t very good at physical activities so I used to dread going.
I loved art and always enjoyed it even though I had no outstanding talent. - What was the book you most loved as a child?
- I don’t think I can narrow it down to just one. I had a shelf full of my favourite books. There are a few I still have so they must have been my favourites. Two of them are The wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula Le Guin, and Elidor, by Alan Garner.
- Which person from the past would you most like to meet?
- Both Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton. They had so many wonderful ideas that gave hours of pleasure to so many children (including me).
- Who is your favourite author/children’s author?
- Again it’s hard to pick one favourite but since I have all of Anne McCaffrey’s books I guess she’s top of the list for adults. Children’s author though is harder as there are so many great ones. Roald Dahl would have to be my choice if I had to choose.
- Why did you want to be a writer?
- My head was always full of ideas and stories. I often got in trouble by pretending these imaginary worlds actually existed. Eventually I found that writing my ideas down got me in far less trouble and gave me far more pleasure and satisfaction.
- Do you have a special place where you write your books?
- I do have a small study these days but all I really need is a pen and some paper and a corner to sit in.
- What’s the best thing and worst thing about being a writer?
- I think the worst thing is that I tend to shut myself away from real life when I’m deeply engrossed in a book and find it hard to go back to reality.
The best thing though is that it’s so much fun to do. 
If you weren’t a writer, what would you like to be?- I would always be a writer whatever else I did. I did dream of being an archaeologist as a child. I would still like to study ancient civilizations as they are so fascinating.
- What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
- Write as often as you can. Never stop and most important… have fun doing it!