Sinead Moriarty

Because if you love the character, then you're going to walk a mile in their shoes.

And that's what I'm trying to do.

I want everybody to walk a mile in the shoes.

Well funny story about this I had researched an adult book and I did about three months research into burns and I started the book and I just couldn't get it to work it was about five maybe six years ago and I was absolutely devastated because I'd done all this really intense research

And then I thought, hang on, that book might not have worked, but why don't I write one about a child?

So I actually had done a lot of the research.

But with children's books, we're always very careful.

We had a nurse from Burns Unit read the book to just make sure that everything was as it should be.

And she only suggested two very small changes.

And so, you know, that's obviously very important too.

I don't want to frighten children.

I want to just make them just think outside the box a little bit.

Yeah, well, I'm doing both and I'm managing to do both and loving to do both.

I think with my adult books, I always had loads of kids in them because I loved writing about kids.

And then I wanted to write kids books, but I wanted to write about something that was kind of serious but engaging.

And then, as you said, my first book, The New Girl, was about a Syrian refugee.

And I met the amazing Sarah al-Hariri.

who I went to her graduation, she graduated in pharmaceutical science.

So she came here at 17 after a very traumatic time in Greece.

And I just cried the whole time through her graduation.