Meet Kimberly Andrews, a finalist for The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults
Kimberly Andrews is an author shortlisted for the Picture Book Award in The New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. We speak to her about writing Hound the Detective.
Did you always want to be an author?
No, not really. I studied science (biology and geology) and loved nature and the outdoors. I think I wanted to be like Jane Goodall, and go study animals in the wild.
How did you go about becoming one?
I was always artistically inclined, but began to refine my writing skills during my masters degree in Geochemistry. Then while working in a bookshop during my ‘O.E’, I re-established my love of picture books. This led to me starting to write and draw my own stories.
Can you share some advice, a tip or hint that someone gave you that you’ve found helpful or inspiring?
A great tip I received before the publication of my first book Puffin the Architect was, to always have your next project lined up once you finish your current one. This is so important in publishing, as everything takes much longer than you think, so you can be working on your new project while doing all the publicity and events for the current book. This is how I wrote and completed Hound the Detective and the newest one Moose the Pilot.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
My inspiration comes from things I love and things I have experienced e.g. Hound the Detective is a combination of my dear old family dog Mogul, a three legged beagle and my love for detective mysteries. Puffin the Architect came from a combination of me having traveled to Iceland to see Puffins in the wild, as well as building a tiny home and working with Architects. ‘They’ say write what you know…
What was your favourite book as a child and why did you like it?
Winter Story by Jill Barklem from the Brambly Hedge series. I loved all the detail, the cross sections and the possibility that this amazing little world of mice and their busy lives could be going on under my feet and in the trees I was hiking by in the woods.
What kind of books do you like to read now and why?
I still love detective mysteries and continue to read them e.g, Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz. I also love reading non-fiction about how creativity works, and how to encourage it e.g. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.
What do you do when you’re not reading or writing?
I spend most of my time with my two young daughters, working in my t-shirt business Tumbleweed Tees or illustrating and drawing! It is a busy, but very fun life!
Buy The Hound Detective published by Penguin Random House NZ.
View the other category finalists:
