Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a science writer and author of the Takeshita Demons series, winner of the 2009 Frances Lincoln Diverse Voices Children’s Book Award.
I’ve also been editor of CSIRO’s Scientriffic magazine for kids, and a performer with the Shell Questacon Science Circus.
In 2006, I was selected for a Young and Emerging Writer’s Residency at Australia’s Varuna House, and in 2008 I won the Voices on the Coast Children’s Writing Competition.
I have four books in the Takeshita Demons series and regularly speak to schools and writing festivals in Australia and abroad.
Takeshita Demons: The Filth Licker was released in June 2011, and Book 3, Monster Matsuri, is scheduled for June 2012.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Book 4 in the Takeshita Demons series was inspired by all the mythical creatures in Japan that live under the water.
The first three books happen on land, so it was brilliant to venture to the bottom of the ocean for this adventure.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Green tea, by the gallon. Seriously.
It’s great for your health, forces you to take regular (bathroom) breaks and it’s a million times better than munching chocolate.
(Chocolate is my other writing habit, but I don’t think it’s unusual).
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I adore Roald Dahl and Margaret Mahy. Right now I’m reading a lot of Justin D’Ath.
What are you working on now?
A contracted non-fiction book for 6- to 8-year-olds. It’s Top-Secret and Super-Exciting.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Appearing at writer’s festivals…I love hyping the kids up and they love reading a book they feel they really know.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Write, a lot.
Read, a lot.
Get rejected by publishers and agents, a lot.
Drink green tea, a lot.
And enjoy…you’re creating something where there was nothing, and that’s AMAZING!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Read, a lot.
Seriously. It works.
What are you reading now?
Duck for a Day, by Meg McKinlay.
It makes me want to hug ducks. Even muddy ducks.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m working on a new fiction series, but that’s a side project and on the backburner till my non-fiction project is sorted. It’s great, though, working on two things at once.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Take The Long Path by Joan De Hamel
The Librarian and the Robber by Margaret Mahy
Under The Mountain by Maurice Gee
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Author Websites and Profiles
Cristy Burne Website
Cristy Burne Amazon Profile
Cristy Burne’s Social Media Links
Twitter Account