Many congratulations Claire on the publication of Welsh Giants, Ghosts & Goblins with Firefly Press, and thank you for answering a few questions for Libraries Wales!

Tell us a little about your background…

I grew up in Newport, Gwent, and went to Eveswell Primary followed by Hartridge High (now Llanwern High School) and Cross Keys College. My two English teachers at Cross Keys were a huge inspiration to me, and, after A Levels, I went to the University of Kent in Canterbury to study English. I bounced straight back to South Wales afterwards with my first job and I’ve been here ever since.

I was one of four children and money was often tight, but my father was a great storyteller, and my mother worked hard to pass on her love of books to us all. From an early age, books were my escape into faraway places.

What memories and influences stand out from your childhood?

My mother used to take us to our local library on Saturday mornings. This was before computers and we had cardboard library cards which the library kept in a giant box and she could rifle through and find the right cards in seconds, which I thought was some form of magic.

I remember coming across a book of Greek myths for the first time and being completely blown away by the larger than life stories. I had no idea I’d end up writing similar stories.

I’ve had some great teachers. My first form teacher in High School was also a book-lover and we used to swap recommendations. And my two English teachers in college expanded my reading horizons, read my early attempts at fiction and really made me feel as if I could have a career in the book world.

As a young person, who or what influenced you?

I’ve always had a passion for music, especially classical. I learned to play the cello and piano when I was a child, and a smattering of a lot of other instruments. I’ve always been fascinated with how instruments work and I can get a tune out of most things.

I wasn’t a huge TV fan, but I did love the classic sci fi shows such as Dr Who and Blake’s Seven. The first Star Wars film came out when I was a child and I loved that too.

In terms of books, my early love of Greek myth led me into fantasy and then science fiction. I loved the classic, British sci-fi of John Wyndham and H G Wells. And Tolkien, of course. I remember binge-reading Lord of the Rings over three days, finishing at 3 in the morning, barely able to keep my eyes open but unable to stop reading. I loved the sense that there was a bigger world out there waiting to be discovered.

What influences you now?

Very similar things, actually. I took up the piano again a few years ago and I’m having lessons and working towards a diploma. My TV and film watching is still an occasional thing. I’ve expanded into Studio Ghibli and a few anime series (my current favourite is Spy Family which is very silly and great fun.)

I am still fascinated with folklore. I love live storytelling – people like Daniel Morden, Hugh Lupton, Michael Harvey. They all have particular ways of bringing stories to life.

Being Welsh, of course, is a huge influence now. I didn’t have so much sense of national identity when I was young but I’ve become very proud of my heritage. I learned Welsh as an adult and went on to discover all sorts of weird and wonderful stories from the Welsh traditions.

When did you realise you wanted to write, was there an ‘eureka moment’, and did any particular factors make a difference?

Growing up, I always loved making up stories, but I never thought my writing was any good and it never occurred to me that this was something I could do for a living. I sort of fell into it when I left university. I was job-hunting and I saw an advertisement for a distance-learning course in freelance writing and I thought I might as well give it a go. I never expected it to turn into a career.

I started off writing for magazines and websites, which was very good training. My first book (The Accidental Pirates 1) came about because I spotted a writing competition for children’s books and I thought I might as well give it a go.

Come to think of it, a lot of what I’ve done is a result of thinking I’ll just give it a go and see what happens!

Tell us a little about Welsh Giants, Ghosts & Goblins, what inspired you write this book, and what do you hope readers will get out of the story?

Welsh Giants, Ghosts & Goblins is a set of stories inspired by Welsh tales, and held together by the adventures of Idris the teenage giant king, who leaves his castle to go in search of stories.

Some of the stories are retellings with a modern twist. Others are mash-ups and spin-offs using one or more traditional tales as a starting point. Each one has an introduction explaining where the original stories came from. As well as being an entertaining collection, I’m hoping it will inspire readers to go looking for their own stories to retell.

The book happened because I’ve previously written a collection of Welsh Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends. When I was researching that book I found so many stories that I couldn’t possibly include them all so when Firefly Press suggest I might like to write a book for them, I jumped at the idea. We didn’t want to be another collection of retellings, though, and so we made it a little different.

What are your favourite reading genres, and what book are you reading at the moment?

I still love fantasy and sci-fi, but I also dip into cosy crime now and then. I’ve recently finished Flame Chasers by Julie Pike, which I hope will become a classic. I’ve just started Voyage of the Damned by Frances White, which is a murder mystery in a fantasy world and has a great, sarcastic narrator. And I’m looking forward to Catherine Fisher’s new children’s novel, Starspill.

In what way have libraries influenced you during your lifetime?

Libraries have been a huge influence. I couldn’t do without them. My early trips as a child let me to develop my reading, discover the kinds of stories I liked, and gave me glimpses of a much larger world outside of my South Wales town. Books fuelled my ambition as a child and allowed me to hope and dream.

I spent a while working in a library before going full-time as an author so I’ve seen things from the other side of the counter too. I’m a regular at my local village library – being able to order books from anywhere in the county and pick them up just down the road is a huge benefit. I belong to the book group, too, which is a great way of getting me out of my reading comfort zone, and we have some hilarious discussions.

Do you have suggestions of how to encourage children and young people to read more for pleasure?

Let children choose their own books and don’t make them finish a book if they’re not enjoying it. Nothing kills the love of reading like slogging through something in a state of boredom. Never criticise anything a child is reading. Set an example by joining your library and reading for pleasure yourself, and discuss what you’re reading with your children. Make books part of your everyday lives. Audio books are great too.

Do you have a quote that inspires you?

From Stephen Kings ON WRITING: “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”

Thank you Claire! Welsh Giants, Ghosts & Goblins published on 1st August by Firefly Press.

Read our Get to Know the Author flyer and take a look at our previous Authors of the Month writing in English.