Sarah Forbes

Sarah Forbes

About Author

Sarah Stewart, writing under the name of Sarah Forbes, was born in Aberdeen and currently lives in Edinburgh. She used to work on magazines, interviewing pop stars for a living, but now she works as an editor, helping other writers to create their own stories. She was previously fiction editor at Scholastic Children's Books. Elspeth Hart and the School for Show-offs is Sarah's debut novel.

Interview

ELSPETH HART AND THE SCHOOL FOR SHOW-OFFS

PUBLISHED BY STRIPES

MAY 2015


Sarah Forbes's funny and warm-hearted debut, Elspeth Hart and the School for Show-offs, features an entire school devoted to showing off where lessons like Attention Seeking in General, Showing Off in Public and Extreme Boasting are high on the curriculum!

The story follows the fortunes of Elspeth who has worked like a slave for the loathsome Miss Crabb, her aunt, since her parents disappeared in a flood - until a jolt on the head starts to bring back Elspeth's memories of sweet shops and secret recipes....

There's a touch of the Dahl about it, so expect some wonderfully awful villains and fantastically horrible children! The story also features strong friendships, strange pets and some spectacular set pieces, with great illustrations by James Brown. It is aimed at readers aged eight years plus.

We spoke to author Sarah Forbes about showing off, secret codes and sticky toffee sauce....


Q: This is your first children's book but have you always wanted to write for children?

A: I used to love reading but wanting to write got me into trouble when I was still at school. When I was about eight I used to write little books and bring them to class to give to my friends and I got told off for distracting them.

As I still wanted to write when I left school, I went to work for DC Thomson, the magazine company, where I wrote features for children's magazines like Animals and You. I had to do things like visiting a Llama farm and once they wanted to photograph me with a rat, but I couldn't do it - it was the rat's tail....

I also worked at other publishers' for magazines like Mizz and Peppa Pig, which got me writing for different age groups and doing things like interviews and photo shoots with pop stars.

I'm naturally quite nosey so journalism was a good job for me! Most of the stars I met were really nice, they are trained to be cooperative during interviews. One of those I interviewed was Rihanna, before she became really famous; she seemed fairly quiet back then and I remember coming away with very little material to write with.


Q: You've also worked as an editor on children's books, haven't you?

A: Yes, I loved working on magazines but books are such a deep love for me that I started to look for a job in book publishing. Scholastic was looking for a fiction editor and I got the job. I was there for three years and worked with authors like Karen McCombie and I signed up Liz Pichon who writes the Tom Gates books, as well as working on silly things like Captain Underpants which was really fun.

I always wanted to write but because at that time I was involved in writing for a living, I felt that itch was being scratched. It was only when I went to St Andrews do a Masters in poetry and creative writing that I finally felt I could begin to do my own writing.


Q: How did you end up writing a book about a boarding school for show-offs?

A: I had been toying with the idea of writing about a little girl whose parents own a sweet shop but this story, The School for Show-offs about a funny old boarding school, arrived. It was probably because of all the boarding school stories I loved to read as a child, like Malorie Towers and the Dimsie Goes to School books.

I thought I would turn my school story on its head and have a protagonist who is an 'every girl' character while all the other students are show-offs. Also, as the Pandora Pants School for Show-Offs came to life, I realised you couldn't have pupils being taught science and maths, that would be no fun, so they have lessons like Showing Off in Public and Attention Seeking in General.


Q: How would you have coped at the School for Show-offs?

A: I remember channel surfing and seeing the film Fame and I thought that a school like that would have been awful for someone like me. I was quiet and shy as a child and I think I would have thought it was terrible being looked at all the time. For me, the worst lesson at the Pandora Pants School for Show-Offs would be Extreme Boasting, I would hate to have to boast like that.

I think we've all gone a bit mad about being famous and we live in a world where we worry too much about how we look and there's this idea that we need to look perfect in photos. It was my job for years to be part of that machine about fame and famous people but I'm happy to poke a little bit of fun at all that now.


Q: There are some very funny moments in the book - how hard is it to write humour?

A: I think a bit of chaos is entertaining to read and I have a very childish sense of humour, I laugh at people falling over and I think it's important to have a good dollop of humour in stories. Slapstick is part of it, but it's more instinctive than that.


Q: A secret recipe for sticky toffee sauce is an important part of your plot. Is toffee sauce a favourite of yours?

A: I used to love sticky toffee pudding but having had to make and test the recipe and having talked about it so much, I think I've overdosed on it.

I had to try out the recipe with my editor from Stripes, we were playing around with the recipe and tweaked it to perfection which meant having to make lots of batches of it. So while I used to love sticky toffee sauce and ice-cream, now I'm more into cheesecake...


Q: What's next for Elspeth Hart?

A: Elspeth develops as the book goes on and in the second book, which I've just finished writing, she is a bit more daring and finds her feet.

In the next adventure, Elspeth is going to stow away on a cruise ship from Southampton to New York to hunt down the evil Miss Crabb who has something she wants. I'll be drawing on my experience of travelling on ferries since I've never actually been on a cruise ship.


Q: Since you've worked as an editor, what would be your three top book recommendations for children?

A: I love Ross Mackenzie's The Nowhere Emporium, a beautiful, magical middle grade adventure I acquired while working at Floris Books. And my other recommendations are Liz Pichon's Tom Gates series, plus Holly Webb's sequel to the Secret Garden, which isn't even out yet but is likely to be wonderful!


Q: What are your three top tips for young writers?

A: I would say, don't listen when people tell you that you have to write about things you know about; use your imagination, it's much more fun!

Don't worry about your handwriting and spelling, get the story down, concentrate on doing that and the edits can come later.

And finally, be brave enough to share your stories and don't be shy about it. Writing is something that anyone can have a shot at and I hope they enjoy writing their stories.


Q: Can you describe your favourite day?

A: I think I'd wake up and it would be very sunny. I'd spend time with my niece and nephew, have brunch with friends, climb Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh which has lovely views over the city, mooch around bookshops and then have dinner with friends. I play the piano and I'm trying to learn to play the guitar, so it would also be nice to get a bit of practice in!

Author's Titles