Claire Waller
Claire Waller is a secondary school English teacher who currently teaches teenagers with mental health issues. She is the author of two adult horror novels, Predator X and Nine Eyes. Fugly is her first YA novel. She lives in Portsmouth, England, with her family.
Interview
What was your favorite book when you were a child?
Watership Down by Richard Adams
What’s your favorite line from a book?
From Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett: “The three rules of the Librarians of Time and Space are: 1) Silence; 2) Books must be returned no later than the date last shown; and 3) Do not interfere with the nature of causality.”
Who are your top three favorite authors or illustrators?
Terry Pratchett, Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman
Why did you want to become an author or illustrator?
I’ve always written stories in my head and have always had an overactive imagination—I used to write a lot of fan fiction when I was younger, and a lot of people would email me, asking me if I was a published author. Which made me —could I do it?
Do you have any advice for future authors or illustrators?
Listen to feedback. Act on it. Don’t hide from it. And don’t give up. If you give up, you’ll never know how truly close you were.
