Name: Donna Bryant
Date of birth: 8 July 1955
Place of birth: Dunedin
Now living in: Nelson
What is your favourite food?
Peas in the pod and strawberries — equally!
Do you have a nickname and if so what is it?
No — but my son Edward calls me ‘Mumma’.
What was your most embarrassing moment?
I’m never embarrassed.
How do you relax?
Read, garden, swim and play with Edward (5).
Who inspired you when you were little?
My parents.
What were you like at school?
Very talkative when young, quite studious when older but always enjoyed myself and school.
What was your favourite/most hated subject at school?
Favourites: English and Art — and Latin. Liked all subjects but wasn’t great at Physics.
What was the book you most loved as a child?
Helen Keller — a biography (don’t recall the author).
Eloise: the little girl who lived at the plaza, by Kay Thompson. (Published 1955, Simon and Schuster).
Which person from the past would you most like to meet?
My father who died in 1997.
Who is your favourite author/children’s author?
Favourite author: many — Charles Dickens, J. P. Donleavy.
Favourite children’s author: Quentin Blake, David McKee.
Why did you want to be a writer?
Always knew I would be — love words, stories, reading, communicating with others. I enjoy working alone (and with others when I’m writing for television).
Do you have a special place where you write your books?
Yes. It’s a blue office upstairs in my house. It has bookcases and two desks. I write and draw at one and the other has my blue i-Mac computer.
What’s the best thing and worst thing about being a writer?
Best: Writing. Meeting deadlines.
Worst: There are no ‘worst things’ other than late payments for work done.
If you weren’t a writer, what would you like to be?
Designer or painter.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Write every day. Keep notebooks and journals for ‘ideas’. Read everything you can. Don’t give up. If you believe you’ll be successful you will be. Always meet your deadlines.
Read some books by Donna Bryant
More information about Donna Bryant
This interview is from 2002.
