I wrote my first book when I was six. I say “book”, but it was actually a ten-page rip-off of Dick King-Smith’s Sophie series, with all the characters swapped for dolphins. Genius, I know.
Sophie Cameron
I always wanted to be a writer, but I had various backup plans. I also fancied being an artist (I have no artistic talent), a musical theatre performer (I have no musical talent) and a pop band manager… I still think I’d have been quite good at the last one given the chance, but I’m glad the writing thing has worked out.
Right now I have three jobs. Writing is one; I’m also an editor for an events magazine, and I work full-time for a digital communications agency in Barcelona. In the past, I’ve worked in a kilt shop, for the Scottish tourist board and at a Highland Games... I’m a bit of a stereotype.
My writing process is all over the place to start with. I might write a whole first chapter, then six lines of chapter three, then a page of chapter fourteen, then back to chapter two... It’s a bit messy, but it works for me.
The hardest part of writing for me is finishing. I accumulated a laptop full of half-written novels before I finally completed my debut, and I still find it difficult to ignore the shiny new ideas and keep going.
The books I read when I was younger have influenced me most. Especially Peter Pan, His Dark Materials, Skellig and The House of the Spirits, but there are hundreds of others too.
I love learning foreign languages. I speak English and French at home and Catalan and Spanish at my day job... though sometimes what comes out is a garbled mix of all four. I’ve been learning Japanese for ages, too, but I’m still pretty terrible.
My favourite words in English are subsequent, rustling and filibuster. I just like how they sound. In French I like ‘ouistiti’ (marmoset), in Spanish ‘tiquismiquis’ (fussy or picky), and in Catalan ‘xiuxiuejar’ (to whisper).
If I could choose a superpower, I’d pick the ability to learn new skills instantly. The top items on my list would be playing piano and drums, ice skating, and gymnastics. I’d settle for being able to do a cartwheel, to be honest.
Reality TV is my not-at-all-guilty pleasure. I’ve seen every episode of Catfish, I got totally obsessed with Terrace House, and RuPaul’s Drag Race is obviously the best show of all time.
