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Jenny Mounfield lives north of Brisbane with her husband and three children. She spent most of her childhood travelling around Australia, living everywhere from Lord Howe Island to Darwin.

She has since had numerous articles and short stories published, both online and in print.

Has your interaction with fans, for example, at conventions, affected your work?

I don’t think I have any fans as such, though I did meet a group of children at a school writing awards presentation who had all read my second effort, The Black Bandit. I must confess to being amazed there were actually real, live kids out there reading my stories. I didn’t feel quite so fraudulent after that.

Is there any particular incident (a letter, a meeting, a comment that stands out?

Sadly, the above example is my one and only claim to fame.

Do you have a favourite author or book (or writer or film or series) that has influenced you or that you return to?

As an avid reader all my life there are quite a few, but the leader of the pack would have to be Stephen King. His knack for turning the normal into the absurd has always impressed me.

Stephen King if it was a lift. But a spaceship, definitely someone capable of flying the thing, so I’d say Star Trek's Mr Spock.

Who is the person you would most DISlike to be trapped in a lift with? Or a spaceship?

Madonna. I loathe the woman with a passion. Unless we’re in a spaceship. It might be fun to shove her through a hatch without a spacesuit.

What would you pack for space? (Is there a food, beverage, book, teddy bear, etc that you couldn't do without?)

Coffee, lots of clean underpants (can’t live without those) and a huge stack of books.

What is the most important thing you would like to get/achieve from your work?

Apart from fame and perfection, erm… Nah, fame and perfection will do.

What is the special satisfaction of your work?

Creating something new gives me such a buzz. Seeing a story breathe for the first time is the closest thing to magic I know. As long as it feels good I’ll keep doing it.

submitted by Jenny Mounfield January, 2009 For other answers to the usual questions click here Just the Facts: Born: Western Australia date: December 1962 Lives in: North Brisbane Queensland Bibliography: Storm Born (Koala Books), The Black Bandit (Lothian Books) Out of Time Trust Me! anthology (Ford Street Publishing) The Ice-cream Man (Ford Street Publishing) .

Autograph, Jenny Mounfield