Gillian Cross Official Website

Official Gillian Cross Biography Pt 2

Page 1 gives you the straightforward factual information - the things that get put on forms.
In between and alongside all those things, I've had quite a few informal jobs. I've worked as:

  • an unqualified teacher in a primary school (when I was 19)
  • an assistant to a village baker (when I was 23)
  • a childminder (when I was about 30)
  • an assistant to a Member of Parliament (when I was about 32).

For eight years, I was a member of the committee which advises government ministers about public libraries. I have always used libraries a lot, and I think it's very important that public libraries should continue to be free and open to everyone. Reading and information are getting more and more important for everyone and libraries are essential for keeping in touch and keeping up to date.

I spend most of my time writing and looking after my family. I also edit the parish magazine in the village where I live, and I travel around quite a lot, talking to children and adults. (It's pretty hard to stop me talking.)

I've done quite a lot of travelling abroad to speak about my books. I've been to Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Brazil, Australia and Mexico, among other places. Wherever I go, I like to talk to people (of course) and to look at paintings and sculptures.

I write because I love telling stories and finding out about things. My stories don't have 'messages', but I like to write about people in difficult and dangerous situations. I'm interested in how they cope and the decisions they make. Telling Tales

If you want to know more about me and my life, you could consult the AuthorZone magazine which has interviews and information about a hundred authors. You can find out about that on www.peters-books.co.uk.

You can read even more about my life and what I've written (and see my family photos) in a book called Telling Tales, which is published by Egmont Children's Books.

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