Sharon Marie Jones grew up in mountainous North Wales. As a child, she listened in wide-eyed wonderment to local tales about giants and had her very own fairy door on the crab apple tree at the bottom of the garden. She studied English and Education at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth and graduated with First Class Honours. After completing a PGCE course, she became a primary school teacher. She is Mam to three boys and worked as a Primary School teacher for twelve years, before finally allowing herself to pursue that magical dream of becoming an author. She now happily gazes out of the window and writes full time. Grace-Ella is her first book.
Q&A about ‘Grace-Ella: Spells for Beginners’
What came first – character or plot?
Character. The name Grace-Ella whooshed into my mind on my way to work one morning, resulting in me having to execute an emergency stop then a swift swerve into the layby to start frantically writing notes down. Grace-Ella became alive in my mind. I knew that she was an ordinary 9-year-old girl, but that she was going to discover that she was a witch. Mr Whiskins quickly followed and I knew immediately that he was a mix of cuteness, mischief and obnoxiousness. The story grew around these two characters and I loved every second spent writing it.
Was this the kind of story you would have enjoyed as a child?
I devoured books. A visit to the library was a weekly highlight and I’d totter home, arms piled high with books. I loved Enid Blyton, my favourite being ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’. I loved anything to do with magic – be it fairies or witches or giants. I would definitely have loved ‘Grace-Ella’, as I often concocted my own potions in empty jam jars in the garden. I think books for this age group are so important, because these are the stories that can make a child a reader for life.
If you could cast any spell what would it be?
Oh goodness, imagine the fun! As a child I would probably cast a tidy up spell so that I could spend more time reading instead of tidying up my bedroom. I would also think of something really horrid for my eldest brother after he once tipped his fishing maggots into my jumper as a ‘joke’ and they fell all over me when I pulled my jumper on. As an adult, I think it would have to be a spell to make me invisible. Imagine all the conversations I could listen in on … the stories would bubble and brew in my mind. And it would also mean a few moments peace and quiet from the family, relaxing invisibly in the garden. Magical.
