About Lara
Ten things you didn't know about me
- I was born and studied in Northern Ireland graduating with a degree in Fashion before moving to London. After freelancing for various magazines including Elle and More, I settled at J-17 as Beauty Editor. I like daydreaming, tap-dancing and writing. Not at the same time.
- I was named after Lara in Doctor Zhivago.
- I live not far from Enid Blyton's house and also the cottage that was said to inspire Enid to write about Noddy’s Toyland home.
- C S Lewis was also born in Northern Ireland and places I know and love were the inspiration behind the landscapes in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. So, in my mind I like to think I grew up in Narnia.
- Every year on my birthday I wake up at 5.30 am, which was the time I was born. Spooky! In my second book I made my character keep waking up at 5.43.
- My party trick is wiggling my ears and raising one eyebrow.
- Stars, sequins and stripes pretty much sums up my entire wardrobe. I have decided that I will pay no attention to those lists that tell you what you should wear as you age. In fact, I am determined to wear glitter forever and look forward to growing old disgracefully.
- When I was nine I saved a small piece of stone from the snow as I was worried it would suffer in the cold. I kept it and still have it.
- At six I fell off a little wall and when I hit the ground I managed to put my teeth right through my lip. Look closely and you can still see the scar.
- I am a believer that white feathers, butterflies and robins are little ‘hello’ messages from those we’ve lost in the past. I also called my towns in the books Paradise and Eden to represent a happy place; that place being their home even if the characters don’t realise it yet. Another fact: I was actually born in Eden too.
- Like Becket in The Boy Who Sailed the Ocean in an Armchair I don’t like to stick to the rules. Ha!
Inspiration for writing A Boy Called Hope
Before I wrote A Boy Called Hope I had written a paranormal story and although there was some interest in the story it never quite made it all the way to publication. One day someone said to me ‘why don’t you write about families, you know a lot about them’. I thought, yes, I do. I know more about people than I know about ghosts. A Boy Called Hope was the story I wrote after that conversation and one that I wrote with my heart.
My real inspiration for this book is ordinary people. Here’s a little secret I’ve discovered along the way. Ordinary people aren’t ordinary at all – they’re extraordinary. Each person has an extraordinary amount of hope and dreams and that’s where the magic lies. So although I don’t write about magic in an obvious way I really like to think I do because there’s magic in people, just stop and look.
My favourite books to read if I was sailing the ocean in an armchair
The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis
Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton
The Magic Wishing Chair by Enid Blyton
Skellig by David Almond
The Famous Five by Enid Blyton
The Thirteen Treasures by Michelle Harrison
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
The Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum