Judi Curtin
About Author
Judi Curtin is Ireland's favourite children's writer. She is the best-selling author of the Alice and Megan series which has sold rights to Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Poland, Lithuania and Serbia. The series has sold over 200,000 copies worldwide. She is the author of the Eva series, also published by The O'Brien Press, and has been nominated for Irish Book Awards on numerous occasions. Judi lives in Limerick with her husband and three children.
Author link
Interview
VIVA ALICE (ALICE AND MEGAN SERIEs)
PUBLISHED BY THE O'BRIEN PRESS
JULY 2014
In Viva Alice! we have a welcome return to the Alice and Megan series by one of Ireland's bestselling authors, Judi Curtin. In this new adventure for the girls, Alice and Megan are invited to join a friend for a family holiday in Lanzarote and all is fine until the girls find themselves left 'home alone' for two days... The books are aimed at readers aged nine years plus. We asked author Judi Curtain to tell us a little more about the series and the latest story about the best friends.
Q: Why return to the Alice books and will you be writing others?
A: Even though I enjoyed writing my other books, I found that I was missing my old friends, Alice and Megan, and couldn't resist the urge to re-visit them. I'm not sure yet if I'll go back again.
Q: For children who enjoy the latest Alice and Megan books, how many others have you written and do you have a favourite?
A: Viva Alice is the ninth book. It's hard to pick a favourite, but I particularly like Alice in the Middle (and when I ask readers, they very often choose that one too.)
Q: Did you need to re-read your earlier books in order to get back into Alice's head?
A: Yes, I had to re-read the entire series, as some of them were written almost ten years ago. I had forgotten a lot, and was pleasantly surprised at what I found.
Q: What is it like to go back to writing a character you know so well?
A: Knowing Alice and Megan so well made it easy to write about them. I always knew what they would do in any given situation. I have written three series so far, but the first book in each was always meant to stand alone; the series come about because of my reluctance to say goodbye to characters I like.
Q: Many of your books focus on friendships, why do you feel that's such an important thing to write about?
A: Friendship is important at all ages, but especially so for young girls. A good friend can make bad things so much easier to cope with.
Q: We get a glimpse of romance in this story - will we see the friends growing up, boyfriends etc?
A: No, I dont think Alice and Megan will ever get that old. I fear they will be forever thirteen!
Q: You re-introduce another earlier character, Melissa, to this story. She has bullied Megan in earlier books so why did you decide to bring her into this story?
A: In the previous books, Melissa was all bad, and this time around, I wanted readers to see that she is more complex than first appears. Bullying is a complicated issue, and generally says more about the bully than the person they pick on. If I do write more Alice and Megan books, I expect Melissa show her face again.
Q: Do you have strong memories of being this age and what were you like then? What were your main preoccupations?
A: Yes, I can very well remember what it was like to be Alice and Megan's age. I was quiet (a bit like Megan), and I spent all my spare time reading.
Q: How does your writing day go - any bad habits?
A: I try to write in the mornings, but I am very easily distracted.
Q: What takes up most of your time when you're not writing?
A: I love to spend time in my garden - either reading or growing vegetables.
Viva Alice!
