Malorie Blackman

And I think that's why I wanted Callum to say that and say, the whole thing about nought sounds like zero, sounds like nil or nothing.

and it's the in the very name in what they called has that negative connotation and I thought that was very and with crosses it's that kind of thing of I wanted that that that feeling of feeling they were closer to God in every way kind of thing you know thinking and that sort of um that kind of vibe so they are the you know and I and I kind of wanted that to be

underplaying what's going on in the story.

But first and foremost, it had to be about Callum and Sephi and their friendship, and you had to believe in them and care about them as characters.

and everything else is kind of the backdrop that obviously affects their lives.

But for me, most important were the characters and hoping that the people reading the book would really invest in them and care about them and kind of really grow to feel like they were real people and friends and that they cared about.

I think it was like the third Shakespeare play that we did at school, and I was blown away by the fact that they were teenagers.

I mean, it is a bit Solomon Grundy, and it all happened so quickly.

I think within the space of a week, they kind of meet and marry and then die, so it's really quick.

It's kind of condensed.

But it was the fact that it was...

There were misunderstandings and then they were trying to just, they just wanted to be with each other and the families were saying no.

And then it was like people working against them and some people working for them, but it was not to be.

And then, you know, and then the two of them just dying.

And that's what it took for the families to finally say no.

No more.

Okay.

And put their conflicts aside.

And I thought, and I remember we went to see it as a play.

It was one of the first Shakespeare plays I went to see at the theatre.