How did your hit podcast, Bedtime Stories with R.A. Spratt, influence the writing of this book?
All these stories were originally scripts for my podcasts. That’s how I know they are so good to read aloud, because I read them aloud.
What was your favourite short story to write in Astonishingly Good Stories?
I don’t like to have favourite stories, in case I make the other stories jealous. But I do have favourite turns of phrase. And there was a line in the story about the merpig that I am particularly proud of: ‘“It was a classic love triangle,” lamented Nanny Piggins. “Boy loves girl, girl loves cake, cake is an inanimate object that doesn’t care about anybody.”’
Which character do you relate most to and why?
The character of Mum in the Tall Tales because I am Mum. It is based on me and my real-life conversations with my daughter.
How do you come up with such creative ideas for stories?
I just have a brain that works this way. They are normal ideas to me.
What message do you hope readers will take away from this collection of stories?
It’s not really a message kind of book. Astonishingly Good Stories is the literary equivalent of a packet of Tim Tams. It’s full of joyously irresistible snacks of storytelling to share with your friends and family. Perfect at the end of a long day when you need a chunk of silliness or a little pick-me-up of imagination.
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