Heather Dyer on Heather Dyer
Why did you begin writing/illustrating?
I first began writing when I was seven. Then, I was trying to copy Enid Blyton. I loved the feeling of being in another world when I was reading her books, and when I’d read them all I started to write my own story in the same world, so that I could carry on being there. I copied her style, as well.
I think I still write to try and make a world that other people can get inside.
How would you describe your books?
So far, my books have all started out with an ordinary person who soon meets someone quite peculiar. That person might be someone like Eliza Flot, who looks like a girl from the waist up, but has a tail like a fish (The Fish in Room 11). Or Hilary in The Girl with the Broken Wing, who can fly. Or Ernest – an old man who finds something rather extraordinary hiding in a cake.
I hope that when people read my books they feel like they’re in another world, quite like this one but just a little bit magical. I hope that they can see everything like a movie in their head. Some bits might make them laugh, as well.
