Singing has never been particularly easy for me.

Growing up in England, of course you do absorb certain ways the royals wave their hands and carry themselves. Like most girls, I fantasized about being some sort of a princess.

I am very proud to be British. I'm very conscious of carrying my country with me wherever I go. I feel I need to represent it well.

My books have three W's on them, which are "words," "wisdom," and "wonder." Words inevitably lead to wisdom, and wisdom inevitably leads to wonder and awe at this phenomenal world around us.

If somebody can act out one of the books as a play, if they can see a play, film, or television show that's related, that can be so stimulating for them. Anything that makes children engage and think - and love what the story is about - can only bring the most enormous rewards.

Because I come from the theater, I use the images of the theater and of movies a great deal when I write. I see the story in my head. I have to break down the outline of a story first. I have to know where I'm going. Usually I have a good beginning and a good ending, and then I think, "Now I have to find my way through it."

The thrill of being in front of a camera remains exactly the same.