	Select a link below:

	biography

	interview

	more by Harriet Castor

Harriet Castor

Fat Puss, the cat who manages to make the most out of being stout, is the creation of one of Viking Children's Books youngest ever authors. Harriet Castor was just twelve years old when she wrote her first story about Fat Puss. She decided to try to have it published and fulfilled every would-be author's dream of having her first story accepted by the first publisher she sent it to.

Harriet was born in 1970 in Cambridge. She comes from Leamington Spa where she lived with her parents, brother and two sisters. She has always liked writing and it was in the summer of 1982 that she decided to create a simple illustrated tale about a cat. Harriet attended Girton College, Cambridge as a History student. She has recently been working as an editor for Penguin Books, but is now concentrating on writing full-time.

Harriet says,"I started off by drawing some cats and I discovered that because of my limited artistic ability, that I could only draw fat cats."

From these drawings, however, the character of Fat Puss evolved. Viking Children's Books liked her first story so much that they suggested she might produce several more to make a book of linked short tales suitable for very young readers. Illustrator Colin West was extremely enthusiastic about the project and put his artistic talents at Harriet's service to bring Fat Puss to splendid visual life on the page.

PUBLICATIONS
Fat Puss and Friends
Fat Puss on Wheels
Fat Puss and Slimpup

PLACE & DATE OF BIRTH:
Cambridge, 30/6/70

FAVOURITE BOOK:
The Lymond Chronicles by Dorothy Dunnett – they’re a series of 6 historical novels, which is cheating isn’t it, but you can’t read one without reading them all!

FAVOURITE SONG:
A different one every week, I’m afraid.

MOST TREASURED POSSESSION:
A ring left to me by my grandma.

FAVOURITE FILM:
Dangerous Liaisons (the one with Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Uma Thurman, and Keanu Reeves in it)

When did you start writing?
I can’t remember, I’m afraid. Relics found in old cardboard boxes in the loft suggest a very early date before I was at all handy with a biro (very splodgy). I’ve been writing stories as long as I can remember, basically I used to make them into little books and try to sell them to my family for 2p a throw. Cheap, but still they didn’t fall for it.

Where do you get your ideas and inspiration from?
Anywhere and everywhere. Things that happen, things I see, books I read, how I feel. It’s often difficult to pin down exactly where an idea comes from. My head’s a bit like a stewpot – a lot gets chucked in and stirred around. It bubbles for a while. Sometimes good ideas float to the surface. Sometimes it’s along wait!

Can you give your top 3 tips to becoming a successful author:
1. Write. Write, write, write. Don’t worry if you end up throwing things away because you think they’re not good enough. Just keep practising.
2. Read. Keep finding out what you like as a reader. Let your favourite authors inspire you. Then try to work out how they do it.
3. Don’t give up. Your worst enemy is that feeling ‘I can’t do it’. Everyone feels that sometimes. Ignore it. Say ‘I can’ instead.

Favourite memory:
The day when I was 12 when I came to London to visit the chief editor of Puffin. She was going to give me the final ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on whether she would publish my Fat Puss stories. My parents and sister had travelled with me and the best thing was she told them to come back later and she took me out to lunch all by myself, treating me like a grown-up. I still remember what sort of pizza I ate. Then the even better thing was she said ‘yes’ to my stories.

Favourite place in the world and why?
Home, wherever that happens to be. I love being at home. Is that allowed as an answer? If not, I’ll say Prague, in the Czech Republic. The most beautiful city I’ve ever seen. Stunning. Gorgeous. Wow.

What are your hobbies?
I’ve just done a course in dance notation – how you write down dance (the equivalent of written notes for music). It’s fascinating – you can write anything, even wiggling your little finger! It’s a bit too much like hard work to be a hobby, though. So – reading. Wishing I had a cat. Eating biscuits.

If you hadn’t been a writer what do you think you would have been?
When I was at school I wanted to be a ballet dancer but I had the Wrong Sort of Legs. Then I wanted to be an actress, but I found being watched by a theatre-ful of people a bit embarrassing – at least when you write a book you don’t have to be THERE when someone reads it. What would I have been? Let me think about it for a few more years…