by Jo Franklin

I was totally thrilled when  Anita Loughrey  asked to interview me for Writers’ Forum magazine. As we chatted, I suddenly realised that a certain theme crops up in my work again and again. The gawky awkwardness of  not fitting in.

Now I am an adult, I experience that horrible feeling when I go to a party and I don’t know anyone and even worse, I don’t know what to say to them.  I get overwhelmed by thoughts of What am I doing here? I am convinced that no one will be interested in me because I don’t belong.

As a child, that feeling was amplified. It wasn’t just a party I didn’t fit into. It was the whole world.

“I didn’t feel that I belonged. I didn’t know who I was. I had lots to say but no one around me was listening so I felt very isolated.”

A working title of Help I’m an Alien was “Alien/Misfit *delete as appropriate” which pretty much sums up how I felt growing up and continue to feel as an adult. I write about misfits because I am one!

“I’m not sure I ever fully grew up, so being a children’s writer is the perfect job for me.”

You can read the full article in Writers’ Forum magazine.