What were you like at school?
I was a bit of a dreamer and I was always getting told off for laughing too loudly. I'm afraid I still laugh too loudly, but at least no one tells me off any more! People always mention my laugh though... can't think why!

Did you like school?
I preferred my secondary school to my junior school. I went to an all girls grammer school in London called Honor Oak Grammar School It doesn't exist any more though. It used to be on the north side of Peckham Common

What was the first book you had published?
It was a book called Not So Stupid! which is a collection of horror and science fiction stories for young adults. More than half of the ideas for the stories in this book came from nightmares I had...

What was your first novel?
Hacker. It was my first novel but my fifth book.

Do you earn a lot of money?
No! I wish I did!

Are you in any of your books?
I never put myself in any of my books until Noughts and Crosses. Weird as it may sound, the person whose character is closest to my own is Callum - a white boy!

Do you put other people you know into your books?
Never. I used to use the names of people I knew in my books but then those people would think I was writing about them - and I wasn't. Now I make sure I never use the names of friends. It makes life a lot easier.

What's your favourite book of all the ones you've written?
That's a hard question to answer as obviously all my books are very dear to my heart. If I had to pick just one though, it'd probably be Noughts and Crosses.

Who is your favourite character in all the books you've written?
Vicky from Hacker, Cameron from Pig-Heart Boy and Callum and Sephy from Noughts and Crosses.

What's your favourite book that you haven't written?
I've got hundreds of favourite books so there's no way I can just pick one. But I try to read everything by writers such as James Berry, Philip Pullman, Philip Ridley, Catherine Johnson, Jacqueline Roy, Jacqueline Wilson, Melvin Burgess, etc. One book that would be in my top ten though would be Holes by Louis Sacher. If you haven't read it, get hold of a copy as soon as possible. I thought it was brilliant!!

Do you write every day?
I try to. I work whilst my daughter is at school.

Which of the covers on your books is your favourite?
My favourite covers are Animal Avengers (illustrated by Stik who's a genius!), Noughts and Crosses and An Eye For An Eye. I think Noughts and Crosses and An Eye For An Eye are very simple but incredibly effective. And I love the Animal Avengers cover because it seems to be almost 3D. The tiger seems to be about to leap right off the cover. Stik, who illustrated the cover and the story inside (it's a graphic novel) did such a brilliant job, I hope I have the chance to work with him again.

Do you prefer writing scripts or books?
I love writing both. I've been lucky enough to adapt a number of my own books for TV such as Thief, Whizziwig and Pig-Heart Boy (the first four episodes). I've also written a couple of original dramas for children's TV. The Amazing Birthday was my first theatre play. It was performed at the Polka Theatre for six weeks in February/March 2002. I hope to write a lot more TV, film and theatre plays as well as books.

Do you ever copy other writers ideas?
No way. I would never copy anyone else’s ideas. Like them or loathe them, at least I can say, hand on heart, that the ideas in my books are mine. In fact, I was once in the middle of writing a novel when I saw a book based on a very similar subject in my local bookshop. I immediately stopped writing my one and started writing something else.

Do you want to write adult books?
Yes, I do and in fact I have a couple of ideas and I’ve actually plotted out one of them. The problem is finding the time to sit down and do them – but I will one day.

Do you illustrate your books?
No. I wish I could, but even my matchstick figures need a lot of help.

How long does it take you to write a book?
That depends. If it’s a picture book, it can take anywhere from two days to a month. If it’s a longer novel like Pig-Heart Boy or Hacker, it can take from four months to almost a year – but a lot of time is sent mulling over the ideas in my head and letting things stew before I even start writing. A lot of my writing takes place in my head. Writing it down or typing it out is the final part of that process. The Noughts and Crosses trilogy took over five years to write in total with the last book in the trilogy, Checkmate, taking just over two years.

Where do you get your ideas?
I get asked that question a lot. Ideas come from anywhere and everywhere – you just have to be open to receiving them. My ideas have sprung from newspaper articles, things on the telly, conversations I overheard, things I saw in the street, visits to other countries, things I’ve been told, things that happened to me or friends of mine at school – like I said, anywhere and everywhere.

What would you do if you weren’t a writer?
If I wasn’t a writer, I’d still like to be involved in books in some way, so maybe I’d work in a publishing house, or in a bookshop or as a librarian or as an agent. I’m not sure, but definitely something to do with books.

Was it difficult to get published?
It was for me. It took me two years to get my first book accepted for publication. I got rejection letter after rejection letter and I must admit I came that close to giving up once, but then I pulled myself together and thought, ‘I’m going to be a writer and I’m not going to take no for an answer.’ Thank goodness I don’t know when to admit defeat!!

What was your favourite subject at school?
English. Followed by Chemistry, although I wasn’t terribly good at it. My worse subject was probably Maths, even though I enjoyed some aspects of it. The most boring subject I did was Geography.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to write?
Keeping a diary is a good way of getting into the habit of writing every day. If you do keep a diary, write down your thoughts and feelings about things, not just the dry facts like ‘I went to school today’. Find your own style and your own way of expressing yourself. Don’t copy anyone else. And most importantly, READ. In my opinion, if you don’t read, you can’t write.