Seven things I'd like my readers to know about me, by Laura Wood

7 October 2021

To celebrate the release of her new novel, A Single Thread of Moonlight, we asked author Laura Wood to open up for her readers as part of our 'seven things' series. Here's what she had to reveal...

1. I think Autumn is the perfect season. Crunchy leaves, a crisp bite in the air, tights and jumpers and blankets and candles. I love that back to school feeling that makes me want to shop for pencil cases.

This year I plan to go all in on Autumn. I think it’s because the pandemic has kept us at home so much that this season feels like a gift at the moment– perhaps being so confined in Spring and Summer was stifling, but now Autumn is here and I’m happy to get cosy. I’m hoping to slow down on work, bake, walk, read and have long, lazy dinners with my friends.

2. I’ve read all of Georgette Heyer’s books so many times that I’ve lost count. For me she is the ultimate comfort read, unbeatable for her witty and swoony romances. I love that her books are also a way of identifying kindred spirits… if someone mentions they love Heyer then I know we’re going to be friends.

3. I won my agent in a competition. In fact my whole writing career began because in 2015 I won the Montegrappa Scholastic Prize for New Children’s Writing, and I won not only my agent but a contract for my first book with my publisher, Scholastic.

4. I also won the most beautiful Montegrappa fountain pen which lives on a velvet cushion in its own ornate, duck egg blue and silver box on my desk.

5. I much prefer to go outside my house to write and I have a favourite café in the shadow of Shakespeare’s house in Stratford-Upon-Avon where I get all my best work done. I think there are good writing vibes in the air!

6. I love to travel and I’ve travelled all over the world, but my favourite place is Cornwall. My Mum’s side of the family are Cornish and I think that magic place is in my blood. I visit as much as I can, and I can’t seem to stop writing books that are set there. The scenery, the light, the art, the food… it’s heaven.

7. A place I haven’t been to, but that is on my bucket list is Prince Edward Island in Canada. I am an Anne of Green Gables superfan, and I would love to visit. There’s an amazing reading group there called ‘Reading Between the Wines’, and they have supported me and my books from the beginning. It seems mad that my books connect me to people all across the world, but it’s the kind of magic I think Anne would appreciate.

Laura Wood’s new book, A Single Thread of Moonlight, is out now, published by Scholastic.