Name: Helen Taylor
Date of birth: 29 August 1968
Place of birth: Oamaru
Now living in: Lyttelton, Banks Peninsula
What is your favourite food?
Italian.
Do you have a nickname and if so what is it?
No.
What was your most embarrassing moment?
I try to avoid them.
How do you relax?
Read a book.
Who inspired you when you were little?
Children’s book illustrators. Beatrix Potter. E. H. Shepard
What were you like at school?
Very shy.
What was your favourite/most hated subject at school?
Art was my favourite. Maths my most hated.
What was the book you most loved as a child?
The Narnia series by C. S. Lewis.
Which person from the past would you most like to meet?
An artist, Gustav Klimt.
Who is your favourite author/children’s author?
Fantasy - Cecilia Dart-Thornton.
Children’s - J.K. Rowling.
Picture books - Shaun Tan, Helen Ward.
Why did you want to be a illustrator?
I love art and books.
Do you have a special place where you write your books?
In the living room with the family!
What’s the best thing and worst thing about being a writer?
Best: I love what I do. So do my kids.
Worst: it’s a hard way to make money.
If you weren’t a writer, what would you like to be?
A curator of my own art gallery.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Never give up!
Read some books by Helen Taylor
More information about Helen Taylor
Read posts featuring Helen Taylor from the Christchurch Kids Blog.
This interview is from 2006.
