Finding adventure at boarding school

When Alice Mistlethwaite is shipped off to boarding school - Stormy Loch in Scotland - unexpected adventures, and friendships, begin.

We asked author NATASHA FARRANT to tell us more about THE CHILDREN OF CASTLE ROCK: Q: Did you enjoy stories about adventure and boarding school as a child? A: I LOVED Enid Blyton as a child. You have to imagine me saying her name with a French accent, because I first read her in French (my first language). I read all the Famous Five and Secret Seven in French, before reading them all over again in English! I've never forgotten how her books made me feel - totally empowered by the belief that children could have proper, dangerous adventures without interference from adults. My favourite series were the Adventure books, and Mallory Towers. I guess Castle Rock brings the two worlds together... Q: The main character, Alice, is a dreamer and a passionate writer - is that drawn from your childhood? A: I was definitely a daydreamer, always making up stories in my head when I wasn't completely engrossed in a book. I do think it's important for young people to understand and appreciate the value and impact of stories - more and more, I am conscious of how much of our lives are told through stories. Stories help us empathise with others and help others understand us, which is wonderful, but they are also used to manipulate us, in politics and advertising for example. It's very important to understand the very subtle difference between a story which reveals a truth, and one which spins a lie... (most stories do a bit of both!) Q: You have two gorgeous settings in this story, Alice's original home and the boarding school she moves to - are either of these drawn from real life settings? A: Alice's original home is completely imagined, as is the boarding school. The landscape around the school is drawn from memories of holidays spent on the Ardnarmurchan peninsula, the isle of Mull and the Treshnish Isles. I visited the first two as a child, and I think that somehow the Scottish Highlands and Islands are the landscape of my soul. Maybe that sounds very grand, but it's true! Q: What would you have loved / hated if you had found yourself at Stormy Loch school? A: I think I would have loved the setting, the freedom, the mountains, the loch, the animals. I might not have liked killing the hens... Q: A strong theme in the book is failing parents; why did you want to explore that idea? A: I think there comes a point for all of us when people outside the family come more into the foreground. I'm not sure the parents in this book are failing, exactly - Fergus's parents and Alice's dad are just rather too caught up in their own lives to remember how much their children need them. By the end of the book, Fergus's parents have realised what they're doing, and make a sort of peace for his sake. Alice - well, Alice has to learn the difficult lesson that her dad isn't ever going to change, and that he's not good for her. But she also discovers that there are many other people who love her unconditionally, and she blossoms as a result, and that is such an important thing to remember, at any age. Q: Your characters - who have lots of freedom to make their own decisions - must also learn there are 'consequences' for the decisions they make, some of which are life-threatening. What was the worst decision you made as a child? A: Possibly to go swimming in the sea when everyone said I shouldn't, and nearly drowning? I remember being very scared, and receiving very little sympathy... The consequence is that I now have a very healthy respect for the sea! Q: The ending introduces a possible new story about Stormy Loch - will you be following up this book with other books about the school and new characters? A: Maybe one day, but I'm not thinking of it right now. Q: What are you writing now? At the moment, I'm writing a collection of princess stories, which I am loving. I've never written short stories before, so that's a fresh challenge, and the princesses themselves are turning into very strong, determined and independent young women who could totally sort out the world if they, um, actually existed... Q: What would your dream 'writing shed' look like and where would it be? A: My dream writing shed would be in a garden, with lots of birdsong, and a wood-burning stove (if it could be ecological), and a cat asleep on a cushion (but who would never hunt the birds), and the long wooden table from my grandmother's living-room in France at which she used to write her letters... Q: What do you enjoy doing when you're not writing? A: Reading! And being outside. Q: In your 'other life' you are a literary scout. What is this? A: It means I am paid by publishing companies all over the world to look for books for them to translate into their languages. Yes, it is a real job - I've been doing it for nearly 18 years!