Certainly not in primary school; they were all awful. Secondary school I had one history teacher who did help me to stop wasting words. She called me Waffles Warren and failed me until I tightened up my essays. So I’ll say her. But I can’t remember her name.

Which member of your family influenced you the most?
KW: In writing and reading, my Dad. He’s a voracious reader and had a fantastic SF collection, as well as lots of other books. I read all these growing up. He’s a great writer too.

How similar are your political beliefs to those of your family?
KW: They are shifting a bit, I think. But none of us have extreme differences.

Have you ever been lost?
KW: Ha! Strangely enough, the person I dedicate my novel Slights to, (apart from my children) is a stranger who helped me when I was lost in the suburbs of Melbourne when I was fourteen. I think of it as a turning point, because he was the first adult who really said to me, “You can be a writer if you believe you can.”



What do you hope for?
KW: Continued writing success. A Hollywood deal so my husband can stop working and start making clay pots in a shed in the back yard. Happiness for my children.

What is stopping you?
KW: Absolutely nothing. All of that is possible.

If I asked your partner what you were good at what do you think he/she might say?
KW: He’d say I was good with people. And food. He’d say I throw a mean dinner party.

What beliefs do you have that you think will never change?
KW: That you can use the things that happen to you as a reason, but not an excuse.

Do you think it’s okay to lie?
KW: To avoid hurting someone’s feelings; yes.

Do you believe in the supernatural?
KW: Yep.

Do you have a clear description of any part of your life you wish to change?
KW: No, I don’t. No life is perfect, but mine is pretty bloody lucky and I never forget that.

Have you ever come close to dying?
KW: No. I think you glimpse it when you are coming out of anaesthetic, though.

Is there any such thing as a good author/dust jacket photo?
KW: The ones that aren’t blurry around the edges are all right. I hate any kind of posed photo, though. We don’t even have any family portraits for that reason! One day I’ll write a story about those posed photos. I find them quite disturbing, especially the ones used in woman’s magazines as the only existing photo of a man who went on to murder his entire family.



Slights by Kaaron Warren is published by Angry Robotˇ, a new publishing imprint from HarperCollins with a mission to provide the global science fiction/fantasy community with new content both in physical and digital form - $20.99, NSP. www.angryrobot.com