Why I Write
Thursday, 12 November 2009 06:11
Written by JFK Miller

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In this new series of Web exclusives we talk to authors writing in or about the Middle Kingdom about their literary habits, preferences and peculiarities and examine the question at the heart of being an author – why they write

Taking her inspiration from the animals of the Chinese Zodiac, author Sarah Brennan has written three children's books as part of her 'Chinese Calendar Tales' series: The Tale of Chester Choi, The Tale of Run Run Rat and The Tale of Oswald Ox. The fourth book, The Tale of Temujin. will be out early next year.

Why I write
I write for fun and because it makes me happier and more fulfilled than just about anything else I do! I also write for a living now, which makes me a very lucky person.

Do you write every day? If so, how many hours?
I wish I could write every day. But as I also run a publishing business, do school tours and workshops and have a husband, two kids and a dog! I'm extremely busy with work and family, and have to set aside time for writing new books. When I do write, I write for about six hours a day.

Worst source of distraction?
E-mails and the phone, followed by our very cute Cocker Spaniel Bobby.

Best source of inspiration?
Chinese history, culture and traditions, which are so rich and fascinating and largely unexplored in English-language children's books.

WHY I WRITE
Rachel Dewoskin
Catherine Sampson
Paul French
Jeff Wasserstrom
Lynn Pan
Zhang Lijia
Adam Williams
Frances Wood
Sarah Brennan
Linda Jaivin
Charles Cumming
Graham Earnshaw
Mishi Saran

How often do you get writers' block/doubt your own ability?
I very rarely get writer's block. I always plan my stories, so that by the time I get down to writing them I know exactly where they're going and how they're going to end. But if I do get stuck, I ask my daughters for ideas and they always come up with good ones! Like all writers, I do get moments of self-doubt, and the best remedy for that is to knuckle down and keep working!

Contemporary writer in any medium who you never miss?
Non-fiction: the historian and travel writer William Dalrymple. His books are treasures to be savored. Fiction: William Boyd and Sebastian Faulks. The first for his inventiveness and extraordinary imagination, the second for the sheer beauty of his writing.

Favorite Chinese writer?
There are so many amazing modern writers coming out of China and the Chinese diaspora that it's hard to choose. I think I'll just cheat and say Confucius!

Best book about China?
My Chinese Calendar Tales of course!!

Favorite book?
That's a really horrid question for anyone to have to answer! But if I had to pick just one book I'd say The Count of Montecristo by Alexandre Dumas. I cried when I finished it, because I didn't want it to end.

Favorite writer?
Another really horrible question! So I'm going to pick five: Charles Dickens, Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo, Edith Wharton, Henry James.

The book you know you should have read but haven't?
Ulysses by James Joyce. It's meant to be the best thing ever written in the English language, but life's too short to do battle with abstruse masterpieces!

What are you working on now and when is it out?
My next Chinese Calendar Tale, The Tale of Temujin, has just gone off to the printers ready for release just prior to Chinese New Year. It's a tale of tigers, tantrums and very fine dining, from the steppes of Mongolia to the gates of the Grand Imperial Palace in China!

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