Q: Your essay is Through the Wardrobe is, in part, about traveling between worlds-- some of them hidden. What do you think Narnia and the Hidden World from your Thomas Trew series have in common?

A: They are both places you reach through our (human) world, and both are places where only exciting-- and no dull and boring and humdrum!-- things happen. Sometimes those things can be scary but they are never boring.

Q: If you could put any character from Narnia into one of your stories, who would it be?

A: Puddleglum the Marsh-wiggle from The Silver Chair. I love him!

Q: Has religion played a part in any of your books?

A: Quite often in my books there is a religious or spiritual undercurrent, but not usually specific or full-on. In two of my books however, religion played a central role: The First Day (2000), and Snow, Fire, Sword (2006).

Q: In your essay for Demigods and Monsters, you talk about having nightmares as a child of the Medusa, and how you defeated them. What do you think is the scariest monster in Greek myth? Still Medusa, or has that changed?

A: I think Medusa is still the scariest of all of them, because in a way I feel sorry for her-and yet it's fatal to feel sorry for Medusa! It seems such a terrible fate and yet you can't afford to pity her, or you're stone dead.

Q: If you were a half-blood, which Greek God do you think you'd be the daughter of?

A: Hermes-- I always liked him in the myths, and he gets to travel a lot!

Q: Stories based on Greek myth seem to be really popular lately. Any ideas on why that is?

A: They are really strong, powerful stories with great characters and adventures, lots of extraordinary creatures, magic, and some very full-on gods and goddesses! Plus they still have a lot to tell us about life, people, and the world.

Q: You write regularly for a blog called Writer Unboxed. Will you tell us a little more about the blog?

A: It's a blog written by a group of professional authors who all write in different genres-- fantasy, crime, YA, historical, and more-- in which they share their writing experiences, discuss the literary world, and post on topics that concern or interest them. I've written on such things as how myths and fairytales can be great sources for writers, about the influences I had as a writer, and more. I post there once a month.

Q: What are you working on right now?

A: I'm working on a YA novel called The Madman of Venice, which is set in the 17th century and is a mystery partly based on two Shakespeare plays, The Merchant of Venice and Romeo and Juliet. I'm in the editing process right now-- the book is coming out next year.

Q: If you could tell us to read one book this year, what would it be?

A: A book I've really loved this year is the extraordinary The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick-- it's a mixture of novel and pictures and works almost like a film in book form. Amazing and very beautiful!