Author Sophie Cleverly!

Sophie Cleverly was born in Bath in 1989. She studied for a BA in Creative Writing and an MA in Writing For Young People from Bath Spa University. Now working as a full-time writer, Sophie lives with her partner in Wiltshire, where she has a house full of books and a garden full of crows.The first two books of her Scarlet and Ivy series are out now from HarperCollins, with book 3 coming in June 2016. Aside from writing, she can often be found blogging about symphonic metal, watching fantastical TV and struggling to find her way out of her ever-increasing pile of books.

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Interview

1. Tell me about your books.
My Scarlet and Ivy series of books are mysteries set in the creepy Rookwood boarding school in the 1930s. In the first book, The Lost Twin, shy Ivy’s troublemaking twin Scarlet goes missing and Ivy is invited to ‘take her place’ in secret. Ivy already looks just like her sister; but she must think like her, act like her, become her, in order to solve the mystery of her disappearance. Her only hope is to find the pages of her twin’s secret diary, hidden throughout the school.
The second book, The Whispers In The Walls, continues the story into the winter term at Rookwood, and a third book called The Dance In The Dark will be published in June.
 
2. Why did you want to write MG books?
I think children’s books are some of the most important books we’ll ever read in our lifetimes – books that teach us, that shape how we think and feel and see the world. I also think they often have the most gripping stories, because kids demand that you hold their attention, and you don’t get caught up in the flowery prose you sometimes see in adult books. And simply – because they’re fun!
 
3. What do you do when you're not writing books?
I’m a huge fan of symphonic metal music (think heavy rock with orchestras), so I go to concerts whenever I can, and I also write reviews and blog articles on the subject. I love to relax at home with books, TV, games or movies – I think it’s important to absorb all kinds of different stories when writing your own. I especially love fantasy, historical and mystery stories, and my favourite authors are Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. I also love to chat about reading and writing online, especially joining in with Twitter chats like #UKMGCHAT and #UKYACHAT.
 
4. Are you working on anything at the moment?
I just finished the big edits on The Dance In The Dark. I’m quite excited for this book, since it has a bit of a different atmosphere to the previous two. There are themes of deception, theatrics and smoke and mirrors. The readers will also get to unveil more of the secrets from the twins’ past.
Aside from Scarlet and Ivy, I have several other writing projects that I occasionally work on when I have the time. My two favourites are a MG Victorian mystery and a YA fantasy.
 
5. If you could be any character from any book who would you choose and why?
That’s a tough question – there are so many I could pick! I think I will go with Lyra from His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman, because I’d love to have a dæmon to accompany me on my travels. My animal companion would definitely be a red panda.